Okaton and Cottonwood: Visiting Two South Dakota 'Ghost Towns'

In this video, Teena and I visit two places in South Dakota known as "ghost towns," although both do still have a handful of residents. Join us as we shoot abandoned buildings on the high prairie at Okaton and Cottonwood, South Dakota.
#photography #abandonedplaces #ghosttown
Sources and Links:
Atlas Obscura. "Okaton Ghost Town."
www.atlasobscu...
Legends of America. "Okaton, South Dakota - A Prairie Ghost Town"
www.legendsofa...
Wikipedia. "Okaton, South Dakota."
en.wikipedia.o...
Help support this channel:
Make a one-time donation: ko-fi.com/keit...
Subscribe on Patreon: / keithdotson
Buy a fine art print: keithdotson.com
Buy a copy of my book: amzn.to/3jFnxqv
Follow my blog: icatchshadows....
My Gear:*
Sony A7RIV: amzn.to/3yd8t75
Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G Lens: amzn.to/3klmpqT
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens: amzn.to/3myOddU
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM: amzn.to/3kmqhrx
Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS: amzn.to/3gwGoBD
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro: amzn.to/3BdGdmT
Sigma Mount Converter MC-11 for Sigma Mounts to Sony E Cameras: amzn.to/3jcu2Aj
Fujifilm GFX 100S: amzn.to/4aGeZa3
Fujifilm Fujinon GF 35-70mm f/4.5-5.6 WR Autofocus Lens: amzn.to/3PLKCaj
Hasselblad X1D
Hasselblad XCD 4/45P lens
Think Tank First Light 46L+ amzn.to/4ciXuOK
Video:
DJI Osmo Pocket 3: amzn.to/3MMr9Vo
DJI Osmo Action Camera: amzn.to/3Dg4iuP
Sony ZV-E10: amzn.to/3EdhPpU
Panasonic Lumix GH5 Camera: amzn.to/3DsmPVD
Røde Video Micro: amzn.to/3zgRemO
Audio:
Shure SM7B: amzn.to/3Leqycx
Behringer U-Phoria UMC22: amzn.to/3BfWE3n
Mic Preamps: amzn.to/3GvctUH
*Contains Amazon Affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases

[@juanbotello1]

I wish I had a lot of money to travel to those places. Screw Disneyworld. Keith, another great video. I think I can speak for everyone else that loves this kind of stuff. Keep them coming and keep doing a great job.

[@Keithdotson]

Thank you! I’ll keep these coming as long as I can! I appreciate the great comments

[@chriscard6544]

5:47 awesome shot and 6:35 from Teena

[@mrtime1945]

It's a wonder that places that seem so desolate still have life

[@Keithdotson]

I love the great feedback for Teena! I’ll let her know and thank you

[@garbhanmyles]

I absolutely loved this, sir. I love the Irish landscape that I’ve grown up with (and passionately photograph) but I am seriously in love with the American landscapes that you take us to with your videos. I also just love the slow pace of your videos, and they are in such stark contrast to the typical KZbin content, which is often so loud and in your face. Your photos here too were just sublime too. A diamond in the rough.

[@Keithdotson]

How great to hear from a photographer in Ireland. Thank you for the kind words. I’m especially glad to hear that you enjoy the pacing of the videos. I want viewers to get a sense of the place but always fear I’m boring everyone!

[@garbhanmyles]

@@Keithdotson oh, I can assure you that you are most definitely not boring! You are the only photographer that I watch regularly who truly inspires me. Your proof that the all the fanfare really only gets in the way of getting a true sense of space. Much respect, sir. 🙏

[@SimonLeung-l2b]

Thanks!

[@Keithdotson]

Hey -- thank you for that Simon! Very kind of you!

[@charliejg]

Fabulous road trip!!! Love that blue International Scout. That wide shot of the grain elevator under the clouds is so cool. Thanks for taking us along....

[@Keithdotson]

Thanks For watching Charlie!

[@dougculver6017]

Always enjoy your work and commentary. Stay safe in your travels!

[@Keithdotson]

Thanks very much! You stay safe as well! Maybe I'll see you out there.

[@SallyShockley-n4n]

I found your video and photographs of 2 South Dakota ghost towns fascinating and poignant. Even more when I think about the original native populations that lived there. It is an area I have no means now to see but I love the big, wide outdoors without development so I truly enjoyed your efforts to share the view. I subscribed to your lovely channel and look forward to view more. Thank you so much. - A fan from Oregon. - p.s. The wind blowing was the most wonderful soundtrack for such vistas.

[@Keithdotson]

Thanks for the kind words! I’ll have videos from Oregon coming soon-one of my favorite places to visit!

[@georgecarpenter4126]

What a neat place to visit. It also appears that the sky cooperated with you as well. I love to find places like this. I bet the new updates to the Ps Remove Tool will make that fence go away. Stay safe !

[@Keithdotson]

Thanks George!

[@emmamorgan7171]

Love the wonderful statue (and it's name) at the begining of the video. You would appreciate the Angel of the North located in Gateshead, England and the two located in Scotland; The Kelpies statue in Grangemouth and the very moving Commando Memorial in Spean Bridge. I loved Teena's photo of the train tracks leading to...?! Very moving. I think once you have published a book of all these wonderful ghost towns, you two should come to Scotland especially where I live, on an island in the Outer Hebrides as you'd appreciate the big skies and history all around. Thanks for another great video. :)

[@Keithdotson]

Thank you Emma! I would LOVE to visit Scotland -- I hope I will get to come. A friend has been and was overwhelmed by it all -- still talks about it years later. Of course I have seen photos of the Kelpies statue and will look up the others -- thank you for the nice words! Teena will enjoy knowing you liked her photo! :-)

[@lorrik.7341]

Great pictures, you two. I like the picture that Teena took of the church doors. One opened one closed. It's kind of interesting that there is a street sign there in Cottonwood. How far west did you go on that trip?

[@Keithdotson]

Thank you for the nice comments! Teena said thank you! She is really enjoying photography. We went to Oregon and Northern California and back through Colorado and Kansas.

[@trinity7776]

Keith you were born over 50 years too late to have been among the Elliott Erwitts, Andreas Feiningers and Dennis Stocks as regular contributors to Life magazine, Look and all the other long gone photo mags. You are among the last of the great old B&W photographers and I really mean that as I gave up the darkroom nearly 50 years ago and am now a retired CPA. We call them images and not photos - a huge difference and I don't know of anyone else that still has a passion for what you do.

[@Keithdotson]

Thank you for those extremely kind remarks! I’m really glad you enjoyed the video and the photographs. It means a lot to me! ☀️

[@mrtime1945]

It's a wonder that places that are desolate still have life

[@Keithdotson]

What it must be like actually living out there!? Thanks for watching

[@toine1915]

Hi, Keith. I think that I have the solution way they not take my reactions. I have an Adblocker installed and now I put it out and my reaction stays in the row of reactions. Antoine.

[@Keithdotson]

Oh I'm glad you found a solution! Yeah KZbin doesn't want those ads blocked! Welcome back!

[@user-ev4ky6oj7j]

my father graduated from Okaton HS in 1941

[@Keithdotson]

Very cool! If you have any information about the town please share

[@user-ev4ky6oj7j]

@@Keithdotson Some old pictures that are not immediately available to me. The Okaton HS which is visible from I-90 has been remodeled into a private home. I believe 1941 was the last year the HS was open. My grandfather owned a ranch to the SE of Okaton. After HS, my father served in WWII and moved to Rapid City. After law school, he practiced briefly in Murdo (just to the east) before he and my mother moved back to Rapid City