Lincoln, Nebraska

Hi I'm from the RMNPN forum and I'm thinking of going to Union College in Lincoln and I was wondering are there any good photo spots within a general 200 mile radius of lincoln, scenic, wildlife, nature, historic landmarks? Thank you
Chad

There is good wildlife along the Platte River. There are some parks along I-80 where it parallels the Platte with lots of Blue Herons as I recall.

You asked a good question. Nebraska has a kind of subtle beauty. If you check out the Web site for Michael Forsberg (www.michaelforsberg.com), you can get a great feel for the potential. He is an expert at photographing the sand hill crane migrations near Kearney, Neb., about 2.5 hours west of Lincoln. Nine Mile Prairie is a swatch of virgin tallgrass prairie within a few minutes of Lincoln. An image of that by Forsberg was featured on a postage stamp a few years ago. Joel Sartore (www.JoelSartore.com), whose work often appears in National Geographic, tends to range far afield from Nebraska, but he lives near Lincoln as well and photographs Nebraska as well. Thomas Mangelsen (www.Mangelsen.com) also features images of Nebraska. If you can find a copy of <i>Along the Edge of Daylight</i>, by Georg Joutras, the book is worth the price, to see his Nebraska and Great Plains images.

I've found a lot to photograph when I slow down and look for the details that one tends to overlook when barreling along at 75 mph on the interstate. It's really amazing what one can find by driving the gravel roads near Lincoln.

Within 200 miles of Lincoln? Are you kidding me? How about within 5 miles? I used to cover all of that area on my sales job. I never scratched the surface even though I drove it for two years.


Kent in SD

Loess Hills on the western edge of Iowa, Sandhills in the middle of Nebraska--both amazing and chockfull of photo possibility. As Kent alluded to, beauty is in abundance in the state of Nebraska. Get out your nature and park guides and you will have a list that you may not ever get to the end of. Historic sites---everywhere!!!

I lived in Lincoln for quite a few years and there are great possibilities. However, what David said about Nebraska being subtle is right. If you are from Colorado it will be quite a change. Salt Creek right in your back yard - great for birds and creek scenes. Branched Oak Reservoir north of the city is a great migratory bird stop. Nine-mile Prairie is a native tall grass just north of town - great for prairie scenes, flowers and insects. Platte River State Park just northeast of town - nice for creek bed shots and trees. All of those places are within 30 miles, let alone 200. Going a little farther you have the Platte River in central Nebraska during the unbelievable spring crane migration. Indian Cave State park down south - home to unique hardwood forest river bluffs which are fairly uncommon state. There are also a number of prairies that dot the landscape, any one of these can yield great photo ops. Nebraska is a big state with a diverse geography. Continue doing your homework and you'll find plenty of place to photograph.