Exploring Kansas - what to photograph!?

Sometimes you find the most amazing images are created close to home. I've been exploring Kansas for a little while now and have had to get used to the differences from Victoria...there just aren't the same landscapes!

My first foray into 'country' Kansas was a learning experience. It's a very flat landscape near Kansas City...not many features similar to what I'd photograph back home. I managed to get a few images I was happy with, but I knew I was going to have look at this place a little differently to find the hidden gems.

I liked this image due to the gradations of tone being nicely split into thirds. An example that follows one of the key 'rules' of photography. It also communicated the landscape. There wasn't much out there!

I felt that this one spoke of the landscape also...long, straight, undulating roads through fertile lands. Lots of hay and livestock!

It wasn't until I started exploring some the more local parks that I discovered that Kansas has a ton of wonderfully complex and interesting environments. Environments that I look forward to revising over the year to see the changes through the seasons.

Lake Lenexa has been one of my favourites so far...it's a great mixture of natural and well-designed built forms. These next few photos give a feel what what you'll find:

Even closer to home, there are some amazing old buildings:

And this one reminded me of many a US movie scene....the slightly ominous railway (in De Soto, just west of Kansas City):

Kansas - what are you likely to find here? All kinds of natural and human built wonders! I've only scratched the surface, but I'm hoping to tell a bit of the Kansas story through my images. More to come :)