Category Archives: Southwest Minnesota

Southwest MN Corn Harvest at Sunset

Corn Harvest at Sunset ~ Joyce Meyer

In spite of strong wind with gusts up to 30+ mph, the DJI Mini 2 drone was able to capture this Southwest Minnesota corn harvest in action. Manual setting ISO 100/2.8 /1/500. My heart stopped a couple of times when gusts of wind severely tilted the drone but I felt great relief when it quickly recovered. The sky image was captured with a Canon Mark 3 later that same evening. Composite image edited with Photoshop and Topaz.

Winter Beauty

Image and haiku poetry by Joyce Meyer

Gate City to the West

People in small towns, much more than in cities, share a destiny. ~Richard Russo

Gary, South Dakota

Gary, SD is a small community (population 224) nicknamed “Gate City to the West” located along the SD/MN border.

Background image photography and edit by Joyce Meyer. Canon 5D Mark 3 with a 70-200, 2.8 Canon IS L lens, cropped and sized in Photoshop to fit the 11 x 17 inch poster format with Impressionistic painting effect added using Topaz Studio.

Kudos to graphic designer, Diane Swenson, Canby Print Shop, Canby, MN, for her stellar design work on the 2019 Gary Rodeo poster (which features my image as the background). Canby, MN is a small, southwestern Minnesota town of just 1700 people located 14 miles east of Gary, South Dakota. Our communities may be lacking in size, but we know how to get things done.

You’ll find the Gary Rodeo grounds located on the northwest edge of Gary, SD, in a natural setting with the quaint prairie community of Gary, SD, as its backdrop.

Maybe it’s time for you to take a little trip and experience the life in Gary, South Dakota!

Santaland 2018, Madison, MN

Fun holiday tradition located in Madison, Minnesota!
  • Christmas, my child, is love in action. ~ Dale Evans

Farm Boys Go to War

Marietta Legion Post #156 in Marietta, Minnesota has chosen to honor these fallen soldiers with commemorative metal displays. While working on the images and designs I couldn’t help but wonder about the anecdotes and stories behind these young farm boys called to duty during WW II.

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Did soldiers from the farm really make better soldiers? I’d like to think so. Farming in our agricultural region along the Minnesota-South Dakota border couldn’t have been easy during the Great Depression that preceded the war. They would become competent carpenters, plumbers, electricians, engine mechanics and general tinkerers. If they didn’t have a part they made their own and jury-rigged items together just to get by. Transfer these skills to military life and the powers that be would have considered them invaluable assets.

28-3171aThese were not the only soldiers from our area to die as a result war. The list above includes all Lac Qui Parle County casualties during WW II. I recognize familiar surnames from the area and wonder about their stories, as well.

Adventures of Digital Photography

I had no plans of creating the final composite product when I shot these images, but sometimes things just develop and ideas flow.  Hmmm. What if…? 

Three rambunctious boys ride their scooters down my driveway.Kruse-3056Swap images in to add their sister and improve expressions. Kruse-3056sw2Add a colorful sky scene I captured in the Pyrenees back in 2014 (Looks like the South Dakota hills).2014Camino-1060917dmvpaintPRINT Road dust colored in by using Photoshop brushes and finished it off with Topaz edits.KruseComposite3cr_vibgrtFinal product: The Dusty Sunset Gang!

 

The Flag and Freedom

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right ~Peter Marshall Gary, South Dakota is the kind of community Norman Rockwell may have used as inspiration for a painting with picturesque surroundings, historic buildings and friendly people. The small town swells with pride and people during its annual flag waving July 3rd and 4th  Celebration.

Our local American Legion and Legion Auxiliary organizations are made up of proud, selfless individuals who support our community, especially the youth, through summer baseball/softball programs as well as a Junior Legion Auxiliary organization. You will find these people volunteering their time at community events, parades, Veteran funerals, playing taps, etc.  Click on the link for a history of the Peden-Cole American Legion web page thanks to the American Legion Centennial Project.

Much controversy has revolved around a professional football player kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality against people of color. This is his right… Maybe it was an efficient way to bring attention to his cause and he’ll go down in history books as some sort of hero. Or, maybe it backfired and came across as being selfish, bringing negative attention to his team.  So much publicity involved not respecting the flag and the United States that it may have taken away from the actual purpose of his protest.  Our country is all about standing up for what you believe in, but needs to be done in a way that conveys the actual point you wish to make.  And above all, be kind.

 

Summer on the Prairie

Image by Joyce Meyer

 

…summer on the prairie.