Webster County, Nebraska

"Trees were so rare in that country, and they had to make such a hard fight to grow, that we used to feel anxious about them, and visit them as if they were persons. It must have been the scarcity of detail in that tawny landscape that made detail so precious."

Willa Cather - My Ántonia

Spent my weekend in Webster County, Nebraska. The home of Willa Cather and the landscapes that inspired many of her writings. It's also the hometown of my college bud Jeff Haller, who was making a visit home this past weekend. The photo above is from the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie that sits along the Kansas-Nebraska border. It had just been burned recently, and with recent rains, it could not have been greener.

Red Cloud, the county seat, is where Willa Cather grew up. Jeff returned to Red Cloud a couple of years ago to work on a project about small town America for his master degree at Ohio University. I encourage you to check it out. Jeff's got a great passion for his hometown.

This trip was all business for him. He was shooting photos in Red Cloud, and nearby Guide Rock, for a website to promote the towns. I tagged along and made a few photos myself.

Realized over the weekend just how little I get the still camera out these days because of my duties working on video for Kansas.com. It felt good to just focus on photographs again.

As Jeff well knows, there are fewer photo subject as interesting as small town America. I think there's a part in all of us that yearns for the lifestyle you see in photos from places like Red Cloud. Simple, honest and safe.

Poor dog.

Poor bird.

Trust me, this photo disturbs me as much as I'm sure it does you. But I couldn't resist posting it. Jeff was shooting photos of this kid's sister riding her bike down the middle of the street. The kid pulled a BB gun out of his mothers car, took aim at this robin and plunked it right out of a tree. It was horrifying, but he was obviously pretty proud.

Trust me, when the two of us get together, it's never all work and no play. (Though Jeff works pretty damned hard and that makes playing difficult)

We threw a few back at The Palace Steakhouse. They make some pretty stiff drinks there.

I was reading through some Willa Cather quotes tonight. I came across this one and found it fitting for Jeff.

"When we look back, the only things we cherish are those which in some way met our original want; the desire which formed in us in early youth, undirected, and of its own accord."

Willa Cather - The Song of the Lark

It's That Time Of Year (Updated)

I used to define a successful night of storm chasing by coming home with a photograph of a tornado. Guess I'm getting old and wiser. Or maybe just slower.


Had some nice lookin' storms come into the Wichita area Friday night and for a little while it was looking like it might be tornado city.

No funnels, but I felt pretty good about the image above. A perfect, rotating thunderstorm that just couldn't get its act together.

After it was all said and done, Wichita was awash in a beautiful orange sky for a brief moment. Ran to the top of a parking garage to snag this snap(s). Check out my friend Jaime's take on it.

You Want Ketchup Or Mustard With That?

The winner of this funnel cake eating contest received a free skybox party during a semi-pro baseball game. Hardly worth the trouble, I'd say. 

Suspect this guy doesn't even like baseball. 

Funnel Cake Eating Contest from Travis Heying on Vimeo.

Greensburg 360

Made a return trip to Greensburg two years after it was leveled by a tornado.

Every now and again, I try to make a 360 panorama of the town's park. Basically, I shoot a series of vertical photos, turning in a circle as I do it. Using Adobe Bridge's Photomerge tool, they're stitched together into a panorama. Additional software, in this case a program called "MakeCubic" turns it into a QuickTime VR movie. You can grab the photo and spin around in a circle. You can also click on the +,- buttons on the bottom to zoom in on certain details.

Here's the stitched photo laid out flat.