What is the best way to convey a sense of the massive expanse of the badlands in North Dakota? That was the dilemma that faced me last week as I stood at the Skyline Vista observation point in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Would a single photo suffice? What about a panorama shot? Perhaps a video might work?
An informational sign at Skyline Vista noted that, “They may look like mountains, but landforms in the badlands are buttes. Mountains form when land is thrust upwards. This process has not taken place in the badlands. Buttes form as erosion removes surrounding material. Rainwater, creeks, and the river are constantly eroding the badlands, leaving behind fantastically shaped buttes.”
My initial instincts pushed me to try a couple of traditional approaches. In the first image, I composed a shot with the flowers in the foreground to add some visual interest, rather then focusing attention simply on the buttes. In the second image, I tried to use the curving highway as a compositional element.
I then switched to considering methods that took advantage of the capabilities of the iPhone 11 with which I was shooting at that moment. I used the iPhone’s pano mode to create the third image and really liked the wide view that it provided of the badlands. In my final attempt, I filmed a short video in which I panned across the horizon, holding my phone vertically that I posted to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mTxPxVPlQVE) and have embedded below. The video provides an even wider view than the panoramic shot.
Is there a “best” way to show this rugged landscape? I would be hard pressed to say that any of the methods that I used was the “best”—each shows a slightly difference sense of what it was like for me to be at that observation point. Many of the other people that I observed simply took a single shot and returned to their cars and drove away. I personally think it is much more enjoyable to “work” a subject and look for creative ways to capture its beauty.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
You’ve given me another reason to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I was sorry after we spent time in South Dakota in 2017 that we hadn’t pushed the extra bit further into North Dakota.
I loved it there, Steve. From what I understand, this national park is significantly less crowded than Yellowstone and Glacier and even places like Mt. Rushmore. I spent two days camping there on my drive from Virginia to Seattle and another two days there on my return trip two weeks later. The landscape is incredible and I had multiple wildlife encounters with bison, wild horses, and prairie dogs.
So lovely and different from the East!
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
Beautiful buttes! All of your presentations work well in different ways, but I personally like the video best. It really emphasizes the vastness of the land. Well done!
Thanks. I tend to agree with your about the effectiveness of the video. I previously had a kind of mental barrier about doing videos, but now that I realize that it is not tough to make simple videos, I will probably integrate them into more of my posts as a supplement to my more traditional photos.
Wow, again! I like the first image best, with the flowers in the foreground. I think it helps give context to the size and openness of the land. That said, they all tell a story. The panorama with the road snaking across the left is a very pleasing composition- I feel I am there.
I see those “jump and snap” folks around here all the time—I hardly think they will remember they experience when they get home they are in such a rush.
A trip like this real helps to open up to the photographic possibilities in landscapes, which are not part of my normal routine, in which telephoto and macro lens are the most frequently used lenses.