Every year since the contest has existed the competition for Miss South Dakota, a step toward the Miss America pageant, has been held in Hot Springs, South Dakota. One of the final events in the local program is a parade through the streets of the town. Several times I have used it as an opportunity to practice my photography skills, shooting images of moving targets with a telephoto lens.
Yesterday, June 20, I again used it as training, and took pictures of all of the 16 contestants as they passed by in open-top convertibles. I did not attend the contest Saturday night, but found out Sunday morning a local lady, Autumn Simunek, became our Miss South Dakota.
Miss Simunek also won the preliminary talent award Thursday night, performing the classic pop vocal “Hallelujah.” The 22-year-old is a senior at the University of South Dakota.
It’s funny — the Miss South Dakota contestants totally understood the importance of smile-your-ass-off, but the youngsters in the “Little Sister” category did not get the memo.
The driver of Miss Simunek’s car stopped in front of me when she saw I was taking photos with what appeared to be high-end gear. So I shot a bunch of the contestant, then lowered the camera and gave them a thumbs up. Then they continued in the parade. That was the only car to stop for photos in my area.
Here are a couple of shots of Miss Simunek, and then a few other ladies, followed by a little fire truck porn.
