The road, the sky, and the rolling red Toyota car blind, pre-dawn last week. I'm going to do it again tomorrow; I think the bird migration is still gathering momentum. Hope I get lucky and see some exotics (shorebirds that bypass Grasslands NP and Val Marie, where I live).

I made this shot just north of the village, where the highway crosses the Frenchman River - barely a river, more like a creek. All around me, deep silence. A Wilson's Snipe was calling from the darkness not far downstream. The pure light, the vastness of sky and horizon, these are things I've experienced in very few places. No traffic - I was up before the ranchers and farmers. Here and there a porch light would glow in the distance.

I always stick to the speed limit or below it in the dark, and even so, I almost hit a Mule Deer doe half an hour after stopping here. She exploded out of the ditch on my right and tried to beat me across the road; I hit the brakes and swerved, and she broke her charge off at the last second. Close call. Usually my headlights will pick up the glow from their eyes, but this one must have had her back to me. I've never hit a large animal and really don't want to.

Tomorrow's upload will be late, perhaps won't happen, depending on my exhaustion level. These early risings take more out of me than they used to. But I learned decades ago that to photograph nature well, it's necessary to break one's personal habits and routines, and be present for the good light. At my latitude (southwestern Saskatchewan) in early May, that means a 3-hour window at dawn and dusk. Sunrise currently is at 5:35 a.m. By 8:30 or so the light has flattened out. C'est la vie.

Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   landscape night sky road car headlights tail lights the dark pre-dawn glow dawn vastness silence horizon distance quiet searching for the light early start everybody's still sleeping prairie Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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Building a fence across a lake might not be the most efficient way of retaining water, or the smartest use of spare barbed wire and wood... I have to assume the lake wasn't there when the fence went up. Maybe the drainage pattern has changed; maybe there has been more snow and more rainfall in recent years than previously.

That said, I couldn't resist stopping on the way to the bird photo location (same morning as previous shot of road & car). I saw the fence; I braked. There was no traffic. Several ducks swam away. You can see them in this photo, tiny dots with v-shaped wake. Pre-dawn glow began to light up the eastern horizon. The air was cool. I felt unhurried and relaxed; I'm on prairie time now. It differs from regular time - in its timeless quality. I can't explain it any other way.

I've just gotten home and unpacked from another trip to the same location. This time I decided, more or less at the last moment, to take a motel room for the night. That put me within easy reach of my destination, and allowed both an evening and dawn shoot in the same trip. In addition, a grocery run and a slight back strain. Oh, well. We have to accept the consequences of our actions, good and not-so-good. This trip was mostly good. I will catch up with your latest uploads ASAP, but right now a painkiller/muscle relaxant and mid-afternoon nap are calling to me louder than anything else.

Photographed at an unnamed lake south of Cadillac, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   landscape pre-dawn glow horizon lake water stillness quiet fence why? beautiful peaceful wild prairie prairie time meandering Cadillac Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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From the top right, moving down toward the bottom left: Venus, Jupiter (bright), Mars (very faint, just to the left of big Jupiter), Mercury, and Earth.

Funny, I just geotagged it and the name "Coriander" came up. Never heard of that. But I Googled it and found it listed as a "populated locality", population 0.

Overcrowding is not one of our problems.

Re. the photo, I got up really early to capture this grouping of planets in the pre-dawn, eastern sky; had to drive about 15 minutes to this location, then hike across a field to set up. My main camera, the D800, was at Nikon getting repaired, so I had to use the backup D7100, which performed admirably.

Photographed near Val Marie (not "Coriander"), Saskatchewan. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   dawn sky pre-dawn glow landscape silhouette old shed hay bales prairie twilight five planets Venus Jupiter Mars Mercury Earth spectacular beautiful solar system near Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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In December we had several incredible hoarfrost mornings. I made it out early one day, and earlier the next. This is from the second morning, a few minutes before the sun appeared over the southeast horizon.

Compare this with yesterday's forest image from coastal BC: an interesting contrast. Two versions of winter. This one is much colder, of course, and the spaces between things are much larger. It's one of the things that has interested me most in the years since I "discovered" the prairie (in 1999 or so). How does one approach such a different landscape? In the BC forests, I am always trying to make sense of the tangled branches and trunks and leaves; here on the prairie, often the usable elements have been reduced to a few basic lines and shapes. Although I (obviously) found some trees to place in this image - in fact, one could argue that the trees are the subject here - I think the sense of space surrounding them is also very strong. It does not have that closed-in feel. I could see for miles and miles.

Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   landscape dawn frost hoarfrost trees pano crop panorama blue pink winter beauty beautiful wow cold frosty fog foggy prairie hills spectacular Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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You may have to look at this full size to see them. And I have a confession to make: I didn't see them when I made this shot. It was early morning, I was looking at a vast landscape with its bands of light and shadow and drifting fog. On my right, the sun was just above the horizon, and my eyes were tearing from the glare and the cold (excuses! excuses!). So... I missed these four coyotes as they came over that ridge and proceeded along its length, on the hunt, or perhaps returning to their den site after a late night/early morning hunt. That led to a happy surprise when I opened the RAW file for processing.

They were pretty far away, perhaps not aware of me, either. Regardless, they add an extra wild element to this photo, for which I am grateful. Now I can't imagine this image without them!

Photographed above Police Coulee in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   landscape light fog dawn Coyote Canis latrans wildlife animal mammal predator four 4 family group pack on the prowl on the hunt morning prairie light winter cold snow snowy freezing spectacular wow beauty beautiful wild prairie Police Coulee Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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