Devil’s Tower

This isn’t exactly a recent photo, but it came up recently during a Saturday seminar I taught for the college. The shots I took at Devil’s Tower in 2011 turned out to be relevant for two reasons.

First, two of the students were preparing for a trip to South Dakota, so I spent some time talking about my experiences shooting in the Badlands and the Black Hills. I also mentioned our excursions into Wyoming and Montana, including the day I shot this picture.

Second, it demonstrates the concept of digital zoom. As originally shot, the focal length was quite short (zoomed out, giving me a wider field of view). This worked well when I was trying to capture the whole tower. But if and when I go back again, I’m taking a newer camera and a telephoto lens as well.

Let’s look closer to see why:

Those tiny specks you can see here and there on the cliff face are climbers. Let me point them out:

Those are the ones I’m sure of. I may have missed a climber or two.

The overall effect gives you a great sense of just how big the thing really is. But it would have been nice to have an image in which the people look like something other than cupcake sprinkles. For that I would have needed a higher focal length (zooming in for more detail) or a higher resolution (so I could “blow up” the parts with the people).