November 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada, and elsewhere under similar names. From the Official War Diary of my grandfather's regiment, the Royal Canadian Black Watch:
"Mon., Nov 11, 1918
"By daybreak on the 11th the whole city of MONS had been mopped-up and we had established outposts on the high ground on the Eastern outskirts. Battalion Headquarters were established in the Hotel de Ville in the Grand Place. The Pipe Band played itself into the city about 0700 Hours and created tremendous enthusiasm. Thousands of civilians lined the streets and the Grand Place, and the Battalion was given such a welcome as it had never seen before. Men, women and children vied with one another in expressing their hospitality - hot coffee, cognac and wines were distributed with the utmost generosity. Soldiers were everywhere embraced and kissed. In a few moments the whole city was bedecked with flags, flying from every window.
"... At about 9 O'clock official word was received that the Armistice had been signed, and that hostilities would cease at 11.00 hours... The great square was filled with civilians and the troops got tremendous applause as they marched out... The Bands played the Belgian National Anthem which the people sang with great fervour."
A scene probably unfathomable to most of us a hundred years later.
This is from 99 years later,, the procession down Centre Street of my prairie village to the cenotaph led by an RCMP constable. The three flags, L to R: The provincial flag of Saskatchewan, the flag of Canada, and Canada's previous flag (pre-1965), known as the Red Ensign. This image ran as the lead photo in a magazine story Judith Wright wrote for Prairies North (in the current issue, Fall 2022); photos by Page. We collaborate often.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
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There's beauty everywhere. This past week I've struggled to find it, because the weather pattern has not met my expectations - another good life lesson. I have to admit that I'm eager for the stuff to melt, which is supposed to happen later this week. But I haven't been entirely blind to the photo potential around me.
I didn't place these leaves, by the way; I'm really not good at that. Every time I arrange nature to suit my purposes, it ends up looking, well, arranged. Since three is the magic number, I looked for a grouping of three cottonwood leaves. Using the tripod allowed me to stop the lens down for maximum depth of field and a tack sharp result.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: snow white yellow leaves cottonwood grass three delicate beauty cold winter prairie Val Marie SK Saskatchewan Canada beautiful magic number 3 fallen ground nature pattern random copyrighted James R. Page white background
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This biker dude was chatting up the RCMP constable in the previous shot. I told him I liked his shirt and asked if I could get a shot of him, and he was happy to comply. I was thinking "black and white conversion" all along, but eliminating the busy background was an afterthought, when I imported the RAW image into Photoshop for processing.
Photographed in Banff National Park, Alberta. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: portrait man biker vertical black and white monochrome b & w smile cool image spontaneous Banff National Park Alberta Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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Here I was trying to isolate a single branch, coated with hoarfrost, surrounded by winter snow. The trick was to get the entire branch in focus and not allow any background detail to intrude. It took several tries, but finally I found the right branch, the right background, the right angle, and the right combination of f-stop and shutter speed. Val Marie, Saskatchewan.
MUCH better on BLACK...
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved
Tags: crabapple tree branch fruit snow winter white cold prairie Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada
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Today, same species but a different individual. After the GHO (last 2 uploads) posed so nicely for me, I continued along the road to Climax (three communities - one of which is a ghost town - to the west of my home in Val Marie). And I remembered a grove of cottonwood trees that has nesting owls most years. So I stopped there.
This time I got out of the car and trudged across the crusty snow, as the nesting site is set back from the road. Sure enough, I spotted both owls, and sure enough, they each did a reconnaissance flight around me. I missed the first but nailed the second - not sure if this is the male or female, but it gave me a good look and my focus tracking didn't lose it.
That's it for owls, but I have a few more to come from this drive. Will I finally arrive at Climax? That is the burning question.
Photographed near the ghost town of Orkey, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus wildlife bird raptor owl flight flying reconnaissance white sky wings feather pattern feathers beautiful nature wild prairie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page s
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