New image set starting today: colour, colour, colour!!!
Okay, color to my American friends... I had an American girlfriend who asked why we put an extra letter in "colour", "harbour", etc. I asked why she put an extra syllable in "hat", ie. "hey-at". She said she didn't and it was my imagination. I said I didn't, and the "u" was all in her mind. Aren't regional differences fun?
But I digress.
Back to this photo. Plains Coreopsis, aka Tickseed, blooms here in late summer. This field was not fenced off, so I was able to walk right in, but before doing so, I made a few shots with a long lens to compress the already densely-packed flowers. No surprise that there were lots of butterflies and bees in there...
Photographed from the edge of a backroad in the unincorporated community of Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada), Pop. 16 (according to the most recent census). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Plains coreopsis Tickseed Coreopsis tinctoria plant wildflower en masse field millions yellow blooming flowering spectacular telephoto compression beautiful wild prairie Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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I had not been to the top of 70 Mile Butte for three and a half years - since I shot a video there for Tourism Canada with Madonna Hamel in 2020. She wrote the script, narrated, and acted in it; all I did was visualize a sequence of short clips to tell the story. Then, the demands of telling a story in 90 seconds forced us to dumb it down, repeatedly, until there was almost nothing left, LOL. That said, here it is - all 90 seconds of it, with editing and a couple of additional shots by George Tsougrianis:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekeBfDyjdtA
it was a sweltering evening; I thought I would die from heat stroke. Seriously. I had two white spots on my cheeks and felt weak and nauseous. Managed to recover and finish the shoot. But video is not my forte, and I like the views OF this landmark butte from slightly lower elevations, so I have avoided that trail - one I've hiked countless times - in recent years. Until this spring. The cool, wet weather lured me back to the top. I took things easy and had a great hike. And what did I find on top? Flowers galore!
The Tufted Milk-vetch, Astragalus spatulatus, was at its peak. There are at least 19 Astragulus species in Saskatchewan, and this one is considered rare. It flowers in May in low-growing cushions of rich magenta blooms, favouring well-drained, exposed rocky places. Like the top of 70 Mile Butte.
If you've watched the video, you can see instantly why I prefer stills. The detail. The detail!!! I enjoyed the collaborative project with my two friends, but the images go by so fast, just like real life. My entire career in photography has been about stopping the world so I can really see it.
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: Tufted Milk-vetch Astragalus spatulatus plant flower wildflower rare hilltop hillside arid rocky well-drained spring beauty beautiful magenta cushion matted low-growing nature wild prairie 70 Mile Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Half a Morning In the Life, # 4: a stand of Prairie Sunflowers just off Highway 18 en route to the park. It's 4.53 a.m. Six minutes have elapsed since the Whitetail buck. If you're riding shotgun for me, by now you know that I'll stop not only for wildlife, but for tractors, flowers, and the light itself. If you're in a hurry to get somewhere, you're riding with the wrong guy!
The sun wasn't up yet but the entire eastern sky was aglow, and there was not a hint of wind. No traffic either. I pulled off the road partway up a hill and this was the first shot I made, using the tripod. Almost all the flowers were pristine. The air was cool. It felt like nature was holding its breath, as if to preserve the moment forever.
Photographed along Hwy 18, east of Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Prairie Sunflower Helianthus petiolaris plant flower wildflower roadside dawn landscape green prairie Val Marie SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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A pano view of the field of wild sunflowers where I've had a couple of good photo sessions this summer. I shot this nearly a month ago; they're done, now. Life cycles here are brief (except for humans - for some reason there are more centenarians per capita in Saskatchewan than any other Canadian province - 31 per 100,000, nearly twice the national average of 17.4)).
I didn't plan this shot with the Rokinon 8mm fisheye. I had the lens in my bag and decided to see what I could do with it. Curiosity.
The access road is on the left. The lone tree on the horizon marks the summit of 2-Tree Hill, and yes, there used to be two trees: one fell over. Behind me, the road goes down a hill, ending at a picnic area and large grove of cottonwoods.
Photographed on the edge of 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: Prairie Sunflower Helianthus petiolaris flower wildflowers field of flowers yellow green pano panorama Rokinon 8mm fish eye summer beauty wild prairie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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A few weeks ago I posted an image of this species - Geum triflorum - in flower. It is also known as Three-flowered Avens, and in the flowering stage its nickname, Prairie Smoke, seems mysteriously inappropriate. Here's my attempt to show how, massed and in the seed head stage, it can look a little like smoke blowing across a hillside.
However, a friend tells me I have failed at conveying this (she wasn't quite so blunt), so I guess I'll have to try again. Maybe I need to do some long exposures while they're blowing in the wind. Successful or not, this shot appeals to me for its lush greens and complementary magentas. As with some of my recent close ups of grasses, I used the long lens here to compress distance and bunch the plants more tightly.
Photographed along the access road to 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: Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum Three-flowered Avens plant flower wildflower in seed seed heads green magenta lush grass grassy 700mm telephoto wild prairie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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