Three days earlier there were a dozen blooms on the hillside; yesterday there were hundreds! The morning had been rainy and windy, and I was hoping to catch the transition, but by the time Bob and I got out there it was almost too late. Sun was shining and the air was warming up. I made this shot with the 105mm macro and a 1.7x teleconverter, using a tripod. I used my hat to shade the flowers from direct sun. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.
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© James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Prairie Crocus Anemone patens wildflower flower Pasque Flower Wild Crocus mauve yellow wet droplets raindrops macro spring bloom wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada
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Tags: Scotch Broom flower wildflower yellow wet raindrop drop droplet nature beauty flora Metchosin Vancouver Island BC British Columbia
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A sure sign of spring's arrival on the northern prairie - on the same level as the meadowlark's song - is the Prairie Crocus bloom. Pale blue or mauve, occasionally white, these anemones are the first wildflowers to push up through the dried grasses of last summer.
I made this shot three years ago with a wide angle lens. Even though I've sawed off a good length of the centre pole of my tripod - because I shoot low more often than high - I still couldn't get low enough for the shot I wanted, so I hand held this one, bracing myself against the ground, holding my breath before squeezing off the shot. I'm lucky, in that I have very steady hands. No sign of a tremble.
The wind is another matter. Calm days are rare. There can be calm moments, but they might not come when you want them to. I know an FCP (Famous Canadian Photographer) who lives in Ontario and tells me the prairie drives him nuts, even though he loves the way it looks. He does a lot of very fine macro work, so I do understand. With its sudden shifts in weather, including extremes of hot and cold (it isn't unusual to run both the heat and A/C on the same day), there are big challenges to photographing prairie ecosystems. You have to be flexible, and accept whatever happens next. On that note, I'm heading out with my gear... to see what happens next.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2014 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Prairie Crocus Anemone patens wildflower flower mauve blue vertical close up wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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Tags: Miners Lettuce wildflower flower green leaves meadow nature Uplands Park Victoria Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada
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The surprising amount of rain we've had so far this year resulted in an exceptional wildflower bloom, so this shot will kick off a brief flower series. The Smooth Blue Beardtongue is among our showier species. I usually find them in May at higher elevations, but this beautiful cluster was growing right beside the main park drive, on the edge fo the Larson Dogtown.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Smooth Blue Beardtongue Penstemon nitidus plant flower wildflower beauty beautiful wild prairie roadside Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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