Badlands / Little Missouri National Grassland, 1999

In June 1999 we took a trip west from Minneapolis to the western half of the Dakotas. I was using a pair of Hasselblads on a tripod for most of my work and there are many images (such as these) which were never printed or scanned.

These pictures were captured at the end of a summer day on Agfa Ultra 50, a slow 120 negative film which I rarely used. The trio was scanned yesterday on the Epson V700.

There are other “newly-minted vintage” items found throughout the galleries I’ve been working on, including more photographs from this trip which you can see here (the three images in the middle).

If you’re not familiar with these badland formations, there’s various spots where they’re found in the western plains, from Texas all the way to Canada. Little Missouri National Grassland is in North Dakota.

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8 thoughts on “Badlands / Little Missouri National Grassland, 1999”

  1. I appreciate and take to heart how you almost reverently treat the images, that colors can also be experienced as “soft”. A restraint I miss in the expanding flow of AI images nowadays.

    1. Thanks. That soft look of seamless contrast is the look of pre-digital c prints, especially landscapes shot in low light with a medium or large format camera. There was a book by David Plowden which set me off in pursuit of that look fifty years ago: “Floor Of The Sky.”

      And the closest I got was with a Hasselblad 903SWC, made in Sweden. 😊

  2. We drove through the Dakotas while we were living MN. The parks and landscapes are just beautiful (as are these shots). I think anyone traveling there would see sights that are unique to the Dakotas. I’d love to return but it’s unlikely.

  3. The warmth of the film comes through and is very attractive and the three images play off one another well, too. I see what you and Hans are talking about – the “seamless contrast” – exactly! Every transition is as smooth as butter. It’s great that you have the scanner and can put these (and more, hopefully?) online. I’ll look at the gallery, too.

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