It wasn't a dark and stormy night; rather, a mild winter day with light sublime. About an hour after photographing a bison herd in the Frenchman River Valley (see yesterday's post), we made it to the southernmost extent of drivable roads in the park. That was not guaranteed, as the remote roads often get clogged with snow in winter. But not yet. We were ecstatic.
Not solo this time, I was with my pal Madonna, the writer, and my buddy George, the videographer. We are all similarly attuned to prairie nuances and we all feel a deep connection to the land - so the company could not have been better. We wandered separately for a bit, and when I caught up with Madonna, she said, "You have to come and see the view over here." I had stood on this spot many times, but it's always different.
Evening was upon us. Last light of the day. We could see for miles in the clear air. This is the view south, across the border hills, toward Montana. The air temperature was hovering around the freezing mark - quite balmy for a winter day on the Canadian prairie. Being outside was not at all uncomfortable. A fantastic evening!
We drove home slowly in the dark, not wanting to hit an animal. Coyotes wailed, mule deer were everywhere, and there were occasional cottontails and hares, one badger, and a raccoon that ran ahead of my car for a while before finally deciding to head to the ditch for safety. Stars spangled the dark sky. A perfect close to a perfect day.
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: landscape winter hills snow snowy beautiful prairie light evening light sublime Wow! not cold wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
© All Rights Reserved
A female Grey Partridge struts across early winter prairie snow. More than a dozen of these rotund little game birds were foraging for seeds next to a clearing, and they allowed me to park the rolling red Toyota blind nearby and shoot from cover.
Shooting from the car is hit-and-miss in the winter months, mainly because when I roll my windows down the heat exchange as warm interior air rushes outside will degrade image sharpness. So... I often drive with the heat off, and that isn't much fun. Luckily, this covey - the collective descriptor for a partridge group - were not disturbed by my arrival and the extra time I had with them allowed air temperatures inside and outside to equalize.
"Female" - an educated guess. Males have a larger dark belly patch. It's not even visible in this individual, probably because her patch is smaller and she has turned slightly away from me.
I do love winter light. Even on days like this, when the sun doesn't shine, snow will reflect light back onto my subjects. And sunny days are pure magic... so stay tuned for examples of both over the next week or so.
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: Grey Partridge Perdix perdix Hungarian Partridge Hun Gray Partridge wildlife bird Galliformes game bird female snow snowy foraging winter wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
© All Rights Reserved
Winter's here! Officially, that is; it has been wintry on the prairie for a few weeks. Back in November, I got out of my car at this spot to check for bunnies - they are often at this location - and noticed my rear tires had tossed up a fine layer of snow obliterating my license plate. No doubt a cop would not be happy to see this, but I've never met a cop in the national park, and I had wiped my plate clean before setting out that morning. It's true! When you drive unplowed roads in winter, this happens.
Anyway, today is the Winter Solstice, and the days will get longer, beginning tomorrow. That is cause for optimism here, north of the 49th parallel, where winter is a huge factor in our daily lives. Truthfully, I enjoy the variety of weather conditions that roll over us in four distinct seasons, and cannot imagine wanting to live in a place where the weather is essentially the same year-round. Just as most who live in more southerly locations probably can't imagine wanting to deal with extremes like this (not that this is extreme by Canadian standards).
Maybe it's about familiarity. I grew up with winter as a simple fact of life. Visually it can be both exciting and incredibly beautiful. Ho, ho, ho.
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: car blind Toyota snow snowy winter road wild prairie Frenchman River Valley Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
© All Rights Reserved
Extreme Winter image set continues with a shot from yesterday morning. Great frost + great light = fabulous photo ops! A simple equation. I managed to get out early, and worked with my favourite tree along Butte Road for 15 minutes as dawn light swept across the scene. This Siberian Elm has seen better days, but even in its declining years it's a lovely thing - and kind of fascinating. Is it half dead or half alive? Both, I suppose.
Anyway, a magical morning. To be continued...
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 ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape tree frost hoarfrost winter beauty spectacular solitary cold not too cold wide angle Wow! wild prairie Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
© All Rights Reserved
Extreme Winter continues (after a day "off" - out pre-dawn yesterday shooting with my friend George the filmmaker, home late and too tired to even think about Flickr)...
I didn't think this would work. I was crouching in the shadow of the boulder, using it to hide my own shadow as I shot the scene opposite this one. When I finally turned around and saw the sun looking like a jewel atop the rock, I thought I'd try partially blocking it while shooting directly into the light. I learned a long time ago to just shoot when an idea comes out of the blue. In this case the blue was both figurative and literal. And the result was better than I expected.
Photographed on the Eagle Butte Trail 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: landscape blue winter snow snowy sun star rock boulder glacial erratic cold spectacular beauty wild prairie Eagle Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
© All Rights Reserved