Couldn't resist the alliteration. It's just a sunrise, a very simple shot of the newly-risen sun through thin clouds. I like a round subject in the middle of a square frame, although note that there is slightly more space beneath than above. This gives it a stronger implied base.

Obviously, it's RED day, following YELLOW day. We might not get to all the primary colours, but more colour is on the way, guaranteed.

Note the sunspots in the lower third - we are in a period of increased solar activity, which includes coronal mass ejections that could lead to stunning, colourful auroras. Is that a hint?

Yes. It is.

Photographed from Earth, specifically 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:   sun red round clouds dawn sunrise sunspots solar activity our local star our source of everything light warmth life sky copyrighted James R. Page 2024 4tografie naturesquare

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Two evenings ago I was getting ready to run out for the moonrise, when I remembered... I don't have a tripod! I broke a leg on my 12-year old tripod recently, trying to leverage myself out of deep snow; a new one has shipped but it hasn't arrived yet.

I could boost the ISO and apply noise reduction - and live with the loss in quality. Or... I could get out the trusty old beanbag! I opted for the latter, laying it flat on the roof of the rolling red Toyota blind - engine off - and for this shoot I also resurrected the 200-500mm lens. It may not be quite as sharp as my 500 prime, but I love the versatility of that zoom range, and really the optics are fine. And the combination was fine, too, as I managed to salvage the evening.

Here the moon has risen above 70 Mile Butte, highest point in Grasslands Park. Those tiny knobby things you may see all along the ridge top are Mule Deer.

Photographed from Butte Road, looking into Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   moon landscape dusk moonrise full moon rising evening ridge butte Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus sublime beauty spring springtime early spring 70 Mile Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023

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I thought I'd fallen flat. Missed the boat. Screwed up. Failed to deliver. An evening drive had not yielded up anything spectacular in the wildlife category, although I'd looked in all the right places. I had walked into a field of cut hay, the round bales scattered irregularly, and watched the sky to the west fizzle, instead of exploding with colour.

I enjoyed being out there; it's a humbling and at times intense experience just to stand in the middle of so much vastness, feeling the distance stretch away in all directions. I did not understand the power of open spaces until I moved to the prairie. Translating that into images to which others can relate... well, that's another matter.

And so, nothing much happened. I got home, and didn't open the new folder for a few days. But when I started going through the photos, I was pleasantly surprised. Something of what I felt did, indeed, translate. At the very least, I had noticed the graphics and made some simple images using the lines and shapes and textures available. Three of those have landed on my desktop, and will be part of a short series of... wait for it... simple prairie graphic images, for lack of a better term.

Here is the first shot - actually the last, but I want them to appear in order in my stream. No red or golden rays lit up the landscape that evening, but the sun itself is always a marvel. Note the sunspots, just above and to the right of centre. If we have to spend our entire lives circling a star, we picked a good one. I've titled this photo after the old jazz standard, but I really should have called it "Lucky Old Us".

Photographed at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   sun star sunset red warm summer sky telephoto distance space vast vastness prairie Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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The morning looked promising. Coffee cup in hand, I looked up at the full moon, tack sharp and 3D in an inky sky, and knew it would be a good day to head out to our nearby national park. Half an hour later, with dawn glowing on the eastern horizon, I had just made the first turn on the road out of town when I saw this. Wow! Brake, brake, brake!!!

I shot 100 photos during the next five minutes, wanting to make sure I caught it. That luminous moon slowly sinking in the west, the three horses, morning mist rolling across the pasture, the pure sweet light... could I hope for anything better? I knew I wanted the moon directly above the horses (although I did shoot some alternatives). I like that the middle horse isn't evenly spaced between the others, though, and its stance is a little different. That created a touch of reality in a scene that otherwise looked magical to me.

"Desolate? Forbidding? There never was a country that in its good moments was more beautiful." - Wallace Stegner, Wolf Willow (1955)

Photographed at Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   landscape prairie dawn morning light full moon moon moonset horizon horses three 3 magic number grazing pasture mist morning mist beauty beautiful wow tranquil peaceful stillness Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page Explored

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Here's another shot of the April 5th moonrise over 70 Mile Butte. I switched lenses for this one to include some foreground, working fast as the last daylight slipped into full dusk and then night. Love that tree; I've used it in many, many images over the years. And of course that prairie light, so pristine...

Near the base of the butte is the bison fence that keep the Plains Bison herd within their 90-something square kilometre allocation, within which they have full roaming rights. You can barely make it out by viewing this photo at maximum size. 70 Mile Butte is an iconic landmark, historically a marker used by Indigenous people, traders, North West Mounted Police, and anyone else passing through the country. It must have assured many a traveller that he wasn't entirely lost. Today it is the highest point in Grasslands Park.

For some reason I've had an old CCR tune - circa 1968 or '69 - ripping through my skull while typing this, and it won't go away, even though I don't think there was anything "bad" about this moon. Not a Bad Moon at all. April's full moon is known as the Pink Moon, and it symbolizes life, rebirth, renewal, and awakening - all of the things we connect with spring. And it actually was pink during its first few minutes above the horizon, when I was viewing it from a flatter location. But it was very faint, diluted by some atmospheric haze. I decided to circle around and wait for it to rise above the butte, which turned out to be a good choice.

Photographed from Butte Road, looking toward Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   landscape square moon full moon Pink Moon April moon moonrise tree fields snow grass dusk nightfall spectacular Wow! beautiful prairie light clear pristine wild prairie 70 Mile Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023 4tografie naturesquare

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