# Can someone challenge me??



## wyogirl (Jun 21, 2013)

_UPDATED with link to pics.  Here is a link to the thread where I posted these photos:http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/nature-wildlife/334798-one-day-rained-wyoming.html 

_I was in the forum for photo assignments but it looks a little abandoned.  Can someone (anyone) give me a photo challenge.  I live in po-dunk nowhere Wyoming (Moved from beautiful Cincinnati).

I'm feeling uninspired with my surroundings so I need a task to get the creative juices flowing again.


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## Josh66 (Jun 21, 2013)

Do you have a flash that can be used off camera?


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## wyogirl (Jun 21, 2013)

yes, but I don't have the trigger yet... I just ordered it.  I actually have two speedlights.


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## 480sparky (Jun 21, 2013)

Exactly where in Wyoming?


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## wyogirl (Jun 21, 2013)

Rock Springs... which for Wyoming isn't po-dunk at all.  I'm just used to having urban access all the time.


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## 480sparky (Jun 21, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> Rock Springs... which for Wyoming isn't po-dunk at all.  I'm just used to having urban access all the time.



Cool! I was there last fall.

Can you go to the hotel I stayed at and get the phone charger I left there back for me?


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## TATTRAT (Jun 21, 2013)

I use to pick a color, and give myself a mile radius from the house to stay within. I had the most fun with Project Red as it was just before winter was really ending. The few things that naturally remain red really popped against the starkness of the other winter colors (or lack thereof). I'm sure you could task yourself with a similar self challenge.

Also, nothing against Cincinnati, but, I would venture to think there is some AMAZING natural beauty to Wyoming that Cincinnati could NEVER offer.


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## ShooterJ (Jun 22, 2013)

In Adobe Town, there used to be wild horses.. a lot of other wildlife too, but the horses were amazing and so is the landscape and features.  Find the horses, get some shots.  I'd love to see them.


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

Flaming Gorge and Seedskadee NWR aren't too far away.  Maybe a day trip.


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## SCraig (Jun 22, 2013)

You are in the mountains of western Wyoming and can't find something to photograph?  It's only because you aren't looking.

OK, here's your challenge:  I want a photograph that says, "This is Wyoming and nowhere else in the world."  It can be a scenic of the sun rising or setting over the mountains, it can be a tree or flower or animal or bird that is found nowhere else, it can be the rapids of the Green River, it can be whatever you want it to be, but find me something that categorically states that THIS *IS* WYOMING and nowhere else.


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## kathyt (Jun 22, 2013)

Do you have a macro lens or a tripod?


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## snowbear (Jun 22, 2013)

Shoot the alphabet - a photo of something that begins with "A," then "B," etc.


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## runnah (Jun 22, 2013)

Are you high? Come visit me and I'll show you nothing to take photos of!


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## sm4him (Jun 22, 2013)

Scott's (SCraig) idea is a good one, as are some of the others, like the alphabet and colors.

Then there's the Monthly Photo Challenge, which HAS been resurrected, thanks to Mish, the Bunny and the Medic... 
This month's theme is "Something You Don't Like." Which reminds me, I know what I wanna shoot, but I gotta get busy finding my intended subject...

Also, a "10 within 10" challenge often helps me get the creative juices flowing. From wherever you are, find 10 things to photograph within 10 feet of you--it's a good way to make yourself look at mundane objects from different perspectives and *find* the shot.


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## 12sndsgood (Jun 22, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> Rock Springs... which for Wyoming isn't po-dunk at all.  I'm just used to having urban access all the time.



I'd just take a deep breath look around and be happy you got out of Cincinnati. That's what I do.


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## manaheim (Jun 22, 2013)

Ummm...
*
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...allenge-june-13-something-you-don-t-like.html*


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## paigew (Jun 22, 2013)

manaheim said:


> Ummm...
> *
> http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...allenge-june-13-something-you-don-t-like.html*


Yeah this should be easy for you. Just take a pic of Wyoming


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## sashbar (Jun 22, 2013)

SCraig said:


> OK, here's your challenge:  I want a photograph that says, "This is Wyoming and nowhere else in the world."



Find a Wyoming road sign, hang a phone charger on it, shoot it,  and at least two guys here will be happy.


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## SCraig (Jun 22, 2013)

sashbar said:


> SCraig said:
> 
> 
> > OK, here's your challenge:  I want a photograph that says, "This is Wyoming and nowhere else in the world."
> ...



I was serious.  Wyoming is a gorgeous state from the photographs I've seen of it.  The western half of the state is in the Rocky Mountains while the eastern half of the state is considered "High Prairie".  Google "Green River Wyoming" and look at some of the scenery that she has to choose from.  I'd LOVE to hang around there for a month or two doing nothing but photographing scenery, birds, and wildlife.

And my challenge stands: Find me a photograph that cries out "THIS is Wyoming!"


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

SCraig said:


> ...............e:  I want a photograph that says, "This is Wyoming and nowhere else in the world."...........



How about a sign that says, "Welcome to Wyoming.  Annual Wyoming Wind Festival: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31"


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## SCraig (Jun 22, 2013)

480sparky said:


> SCraig said:
> 
> 
> > ...............e:  I want a photograph that says, "This is Wyoming and nowhere else in the world."...........
> ...



If that's your idea of what Wyoming "Is" then go for it.


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## manaheim (Jun 22, 2013)

I love Wyoming.  I got my boots there.


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

Why does everyone think I hate Wyoming? :meh:


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## pic_chick (Jun 22, 2013)

https://www.google.com/search?q=fla...TX0QGh2YDIBw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=895

Man I would live in flaming gorge place looks like soooooo much fun 

ALL the photos are from above try to take some from below and still show the scale. 

1.Show the your new "urban" home in hdr?
2.find a livestock sale and shoot that 
3.make a set of textures
4.get all dressed up for the city and then take a self port on the street or at the market somewhere you look like you don't fit showing how out of place you feel. I see hat Sunday dress and heel in a rodeo arena maybe with it set up for barrel racing or poles good leading lines with the poles.
5.country dogs


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

Thanks for some ideas.  I'll try the color one first, although if it isn't brown it will be hard to find.  To all of you who say "you are in WY and you can't find anything to photograph" please come visit me.  I went to Adobe Town... its dirt.  Went to the Killpecker Sand Dunes... more dirt and some ATVs.  I went all over this darn county that I live in and its dirt and sagebrush.  I actually took a weekend photography workshop that covered 400 miles and I have maybe 2 interesting photos.  I don't find ANYTHING here beautiful.  I did see some wild horses but I had to drive 100 miles in the desert down a two track "road" and really a horse is a horse and you can't beat Lexington, KY for that.  There is no grass, no trees, no water.  So, if you like dirt, or if you like to drive FOREVER in the desert down what normal people call a trail, but the locals assure you is a road, then Welcome to Rock Springs!  Its true that there is a lot to shoot here, I just think its ugly.
I'm here for work like most everyone else.  I miss GREEN!  I miss flowers.  I miss water, and I miss the city with its old churches and cemeteries. I miss real farms that actually GROW stuff.  I miss riverboats and old bridges.
So maybe the real problem is not that I have nothing to shoot but more that I can't find the beauty in shades of brown.


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> Thanks for some ideas.  I'll try the color one first, although if it isn't brown it will be hard to find.  To all of you who say "you are in WY and you can't find anything to photograph" please come visit me.  I went to Adobe Town... its dirt.  Went to the Killpecker Sand Dunes... more dirt and some ATVs.  I went all over this darn county that I live in and its dirt and sagebrush.  I actually took a weekend photography workshop that covered 400 miles and I have maybe 2 interesting photos.  I don't find ANYTHING here beautiful.  I did see some wild horses but I had to drive 100 miles in the desert down a two track "road" and really a horse is a horse and you can't beat Lexington, KY for that.  There is no grass, no trees, no water.  So, if you like dirt, or if you like to drive FOREVER in the desert down what normal people call a trail, but the locals assure you is a road, then Welcome to Rock Springs!  Its true that there is a lot to shoot here, I just think its ugly.
> I'm here for work like most everyone else.  I miss GREEN!  I miss flowers.  I miss water, and I miss the city with its old churches and cemeteries. I miss real farms that actually GROW stuff.  I miss riverboats and old bridges.
> So maybe the real problem is not that I have nothing to shoot but more that I can't find the beauty in shades of brown.




Dayum!  You need to come to Iowa!


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

480sparky said:


> Flaming Gorge and Seedskadee NWR aren't too far away.  Maybe a day trip.



The gorge is nice but I have to get a sitter to go out there and the phone reception is spotty at best so its hard to leave my 2 year old with a sitter since we don't have family here.  NOT that I mind leaving him, its the "in case of emergency" situation with no phone service.  The gorge can be dangerous and there is a lot of hiking to get to the "sweet spots".  Also its about an hour or more away to get to the pretty parts.  The gorge isn't something I'm comfortable doing alone and I don't have a photo buddy yet.


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

SCraig said:


> You are in the mountains of western Wyoming and can't find something to photograph?  It's only because you aren't looking.
> 
> OK, here's your challenge:  I want a photograph that says, "This is Wyoming and nowhere else in the world."  It can be a scenic of the sun rising or setting over the mountains, it can be a tree or flower or animal or bird that is found nowhere else, it can be the rapids of the Green River, it can be whatever you want it to be, but find me something that categorically states that THIS *IS* WYOMING and nowhere else.



I'm not in the mountains... I'm in the high desert plains.  You live in TN and those are some beautiful mountains... I got married on the side of one.  These are dirt ugly... but I accept your challenge and I'll submit in a few days.


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

runnah said:


> Are you high? Come visit me and I'll show you nothing to take photos of!


Tell me when and where!


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> I'm not in the mountains... I'm in the high desert plains.  You live in TN and those are some beautiful mountains... I got married on the side of one.  These are dirt ugly... but I accept your challenge and I'll submit in a few days.



You call *THIS* 'dirt ugly'?








Yeah.... this is about 20 miles west of you.


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

SCraig said:


> sashbar said:
> 
> 
> > SCraig said:
> ...



Those Google pics LIE!  They are the reason I agreed to let my husband drag me out here!!!  Those places are hundreds of miles away and down a dirt "road".


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

480sparky said:


> wyogirl said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not in the mountains... I'm in the high desert plains.  You live in TN and those are some beautiful mountains... I got married on the side of one.  These are dirt ugly... but I accept your challenge and I'll submit in a few days.
> ...


YUP-- that is Chimney Rock and I think it is gross!  I hate brown... poop is brown.  LOL.  Find me some GREEN!


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## snowbear (Jun 22, 2013)

OK - revised alphabet assignment:  Skip the letter "D" (dirt, dust, desolation, deserted - you get the idea).


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## frommrstomommy (Jun 22, 2013)

self portrait!


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## snowbear (Jun 22, 2013)

I love the stratification in those rocks.


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

'None are so blind as those that will not see.'

If you really want to be challenged, then try this:  Start looking past your own prejudices.


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

The National High School Rodeo Finals is coming up next month... maybe I can get something there.  I'm working on the alphabet list... skipping D of course lol.
A-Altitude (6300 feet)
B-Bitter Creek (don't worry its usually dry, unless you are referring to the Brewery which is the only good thing here)
C-Does "Crazy Ass People" count?

And SCraig, I'll work on your "Wyoming" challenge too.
Thanks everyone... stay tuned!


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## snowbear (Jun 22, 2013)

Get up close to things and look at the details.  What is the texture of a tumbleweed?  How big are the grains of various soils (dirt)?  Can you see little shells embedded in the sides of the brown hills?


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

snowbear said:


> Get up close to things and look at the details.  What is the texture of a tumbleweed?  How big are the grains of various soils (dirt)?  Can you see little shells embedded in the sides of the brown hills?




















Yep.... these are all from Wyoming.


Oh, and I thought THIS was Chimney Rock:


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

I suppose there is more than one Chimney Rock in Wyoming.... The first one is in Sweetwater County and that is what the locals call it.  I've not seen the one you posted.
I like the pic with the old wagon, but I still think the scenery is ugly.  Its actually prettier in the winter all snow covered but I'm too much of a wuss to be out in the cold here.  It was -15 average this winter and got as cold as -30!  Plus the wind is anywhere between 10-60 MPH on any given day, probably averaging 30 MPH gusts.  Maybe this winter I'll kick in the 4WD and get some shots from the car!


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## SCraig (Jun 22, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> I'm not in the mountains... I'm in the high desert plains.  You live in TN and those are some beautiful mountains... I got married on the side of one.  These are dirt ugly... but I accept your challenge and I'll submit in a few days.



Fair enough, I'll be waiting for your results.  I admit I haven't been to Wyoming, but I have been to half the states in the USA.  Every state I've been through has ugly places and beautiful places.  Sometimes the trick is in seeing them, but I guarantee there are some shots right in front of you just waiting to be taken.  It's not so much where you are but how well you see what is right in front of you.

Oh, and our mountains are in east Tennessee.  I'm in middle Tennessee right on the edge of the foothills.  I have to go about 120 miles to get to them


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

At least y'all GOT mountains! :er:


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## pic_chick (Jun 22, 2013)

I think you do not want to see anything to shoot so you will not see anything to shoot sunsets over the dessert is never brown sunset on the dune ohh god rolling thunnder storms farms markets trains the night sky all not brown there are bridges dams and lakes fish birds wild life of all kinds lots of bugs all not brown. I think you just want to be unhappy and pine for the city. 
other spots to check out most would be a weekend trip:
The Reliance Tipple building (ghost town/mine)
Expedition Island (history trees and water)
 White Mountain Petroglyphs (kid friendly?maybe)
 Yellowstone National Park 
Grand Teton National Park
Rock springs has an 100 year old Cemetery with green grass and trees unless the web tells lies


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## pic_chick (Jun 22, 2013)

480sparky said:


> At least y'all GOT mountains! :er:



yeah I hear ya!! I would trade my swap for you brown mountains Until winter that is


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## SCraig (Jun 22, 2013)

480sparky said:


> At least y'all GOT mountains! :er:



There is that   They aren't mountains compared to the Rocky Mountains but they are pretty nice.

Edit ...
I rode my motorcycle to the Cherohala Skyway a few years ago.  The Skyway is 41 miles of wide, twisty mountain roads connecting Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC.  It's a fun road to ride at any time, but this day it was over 90 degrees in Tellico Plains and when I got to the crest of the Skyway (5,390' MSL) it was 70 degrees.  Here are a couple of photos to satisfy your "Green Craving".  Lousy photos since they were shot with the bridge camera I carry on motorcycle trips.  They also show how the Smoky Mountains got their name.


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## TATTRAT (Jun 22, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> YUP-- that is Chimney Rock and I think it is gross!  I hate brown... poop is brown.  LOL.  Find me some GREEN!


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

SCraig said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > At least y'all GOT mountains! :er:
> ...



Thanks for those...:heart:


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

pic_chick said:


> I think you do not want to see anything to shoot so you will not see anything to shoot sunsets over the dessert is never brown sunset on the dune ohh god rolling thunnder storms farms markets trains the night sky all not brown there are bridges dams and lakes fish birds wild life of all kinds lots of bugs all not brown. I think you just want to be unhappy and pine for the city.
> other spots to check out most would be a weekend trip:
> The Reliance Tipple building (ghost town/mine)
> Expedition Island (history trees and water)
> ...



You might just be right.  We don't get thunder storms... I miss those.  Our farmer's market has everything shipped in from Colorado and California so we don't get the quaint little farmers and vendors, we get commercial farms.  That cemetery you refer to is 100 years old but all of the old markers have been replaced with modern ones.  Expedition Island does have water but it also has trailers and junk all around that sticks out in your photos.  We have a beautiful park downtown but the surrounding homes are so run down and dirty that you can't really get good shots there.  

I asked for a challenge, a topic, an assignment.... not for anyone to make me fall in love with the desert.  I fully agree with you, I will never love this place for its scenery ever.  Which is why I was looking for things like the alphabet challenge or the color challenge or the "this is WY" challenge.  I don't need anyone to tell me what I already know, which is I think this place is ugly.  But I'm not talking about the whole state... I'm talking about Rock Springs.  If I drive 100 miles in any direction the scenery improves but with a toddler and no family here... 100 miles is usually out of the question.


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## wyogirl (Jun 22, 2013)

And I shot the tipple, but its surrounded by chain-link fence so I'm not happy with any of the wide shots.  Also its by a bunch of trailers so you can only shoot from the east.


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## 480sparky (Jun 22, 2013)

wyogirl said:


> ...........  If I drive 100 miles in any direction the scenery improves but with a toddler and no family here... 100 miles is usually out of the question.



Sounds like it's time for a vacation.

Git yessef to Cornpatch.... we got lots to shoot! (But not tomorrow morning... I gotta mow the yard.)


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## manaheim (Jun 23, 2013)

This thread is like a drunken rhinoceros on an icy road in a thick fog during rush hour.


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## ShooterJ (Jun 24, 2013)

*Sigh* I'll just have to go back myself and find the horses.  hehehe

I'm in Oklahoma, I can see horses every day.  But wild horses are way, way different.  Especially a large group of them.  If you've never seen that, then you've never really seen horses.


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## sashbar (Jun 24, 2013)

I think the most appropriate name for the challenge project here would be *Wy, Oh Wy*


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## 480sparky (Jun 24, 2013)

Take a page from this guys playbook.


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## Dmariehill (Jun 24, 2013)

SCraig said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > SCraig said:
> ...



You'd need to take that shot on I-80 and include either semi's pulled over because the road is closed or an RV with an awning that's partially pulled off from the wind to be realistic!


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## Dmariehill (Jun 24, 2013)

wyogirl - I feel your pain.  I think the hardest thing about moving cross country is the loss of the familiar.  You're homesick right now - for the people you know and love, for the scenery you're used to, for home. It almost sounds like you're afraid to let yourself see any beauty as if seeing the beauty where you are would invalidate the joy and beauty of home.   I went through the same thing when we moved to Salt lake city.  We realized after just a short time there that we wouldn't be there forever and we needed to take advantage of what the area had to offer before we ran out of time.     You're an easy weekend trip from Yellowstone park, and from Jackson Hole (awesome skiing) or fly fishing on a small creek just across the border in Idaho(Those are all weekend trips we took from SLC).  One of the things that SLC taught me was how to find the beauty wherever I am.  Before SLC, I couldn't see the beauty in a bunch of red rocks, or a high mountain desert.  Now I smile at the memory of an indian paintbrush giving a small burst of color amid a barren landscape.  Sometimes we have to learn that there isn't just one definition of beauty.  All of creation has beauty in it's own way.   When you can learn to see the beauty in a barren landscape, you'll be able to appreciate a lush landscape that much more.  Good luck.


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## wyogirl (Jun 24, 2013)

I actually have a shot of a herd of 100 or so wild horses.  But the shot was taken in noon day sun so its a little flat and doesn't capture the magic of the moment so to speak.


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## wyogirl (Jun 24, 2013)

I def. need the middle of winter highway closed photo.  Closing the highway was a huge surprise to me, we don't really do that for snow back east....even in white out conditions.


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