I thought of calling this image set "Horizons", because each shot contains a horizon placed differently in the frame. I made this minutes after the previous posting of the house (which is in the middle here, viewed from the opposite side).
Memory says I ran around the back purposefully, set up quickly to get the shot. My RAW folder for that day tells me I'm wrong. Eight minutes passed while I got distracted by some piles of barbwire and other junk. Then I turned around, saw the buildings - like three wise men, perfect for the occasion - but there wasn't a virgin in sight. No star, either. Still, the symbolism wasn't lost on me.
And then I scrambled, because the sun was now teetering on the horizon, about to disappear, and I thought a sun star coming through one of the lower window frames would look very cool. At that point I did run to get into position, and it was there for a few seconds - and then gone. Just like that. I missed it.
So why the low horizon? When the sky is filled with storm clouds a low horizon framing often works, may even be obvious, but why frame an empty sky this way? Because it's empty! That's the point. I think that to photograph the prairie well, we have to come to terms with the vastness, the space, the distances between things. I never think about the so-called "rules" of composition; I reject the idea of rules altogether. You have to feel it. You have to be connected. You have to develop a relationship with the land, one that runs deeper than just driving up to a viewpoint, thinking "thirds!" and snapping a photo based on that. Nope. Sorry. That way lies mediocrity. I can't even say I was thinking outside the box here; truthfully, I wasn't thinking at all. But I could feel it.
Of course, not everything I feel translates well; I have a lot of outtakes. Countless. The point being that great photos are seldom the result of an intellectual construct; something else occurs, something deeper. In this case, it manifested as a sun star through a tiny window, surrounded by immense space. And I missed it. All I can do is tell you about it. Too funny!
Photographed in 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: landscape dusk twilight three buildings nightfall silhouette sky space distance prairie homestead Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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Prairie Light, continued. I was driving up Butte Road before dawn and had to stop near my favourite tree. A crescent moon and Venus hung in the sky above; in the distance lay silhouetted 70 Mile Butte (behind the tree) and the small bump of the Sleeping Lion (to the right).
I had to get across an irrigation ditch in the dark. Dry in October, so no problem. The brittle grass was knee-high. There was no wind. I carried my tripod with a single lens, the 14-24mm, and walked along a dyke until it felt right. A robin watched me approach, and didn't fly away. The silence was exquisite, as if the world were holding its breath. And then the moment passed.
Shooting at dawn is so different from shooting at sunset: we watch the light grow, not fade away.
Photographed along Butte Road, in the Rural Municipality 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: landscape pre-dawn glow Venus the moon tree silhouette the buttes hush quiet silence stillness nature wild prairie Butte Road RM of Val Marie looking toward Grasslands national park SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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From an impromptu evening hike among the buttes with three friends, in October. When they decided to go up this hill, I stayed on the main trail, found a vantage point, and framed this shot.
In the background we can see the access road, with a vehicle and its trail of windblown dust. To return home, I just head back down that road and turn right - a six minute drive. It's the closest access point to the best hiking area in the park.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, 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 hills sunset sunset light silhouette hikers people three 3 evening warmth warm light trail hiking hike the buttes Butte Road dust dusty fall autumn wild prairie Eagle Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page Explored
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"Red sky at night, sailors' delight.
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning..." The old mariner's saying holds true for ranchers, too, generally in areas where the wind blows mostly from the west. On this particular morning, the adage held: after a spectacular start to the day, a low pressure system moved in and the light was dull, dull, dull.
I made this shot at an abandoned homestead off Highway 18, my usual route between the village of Val Marie, where I live, and the nearby national park, Grasslands. I've stopped many times here to shoot storms, a hawk or eagle sitting in one of those trees, or a coyote sauntering across a nearby field. This time, I wanted the old buildings silhouetted against that red sky, which continued to intensify as I walked across the field with my tripod. I wanted the buildings small and the vast sky to fill the frame. Sometimes - not often - things work out exactly as planned.
Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape red sky morning warning dawn sky wow red orange yellow intense glorious beautiful prairie silhouette buildings house barn ranch abandoned homestead Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page Explored
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I was close to the river, and morning fog was rolling off the water, when I saw this bull bison. Everything was blood red, neon red, looking into the sun. The fog is swirling around the bison, which is why his profile is sharper in some places than others.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Plains Bison Buffalo Bison bison wildlife animal mammal ungulate male bull morning mist fog red sunrise sky stunning wow wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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