Last month, on a bitterly cold day, it started to snow. I liked the look of the falling flakes in the bright, soft light, so I grabbed my camera and trotted out there to see what I could see.
Well... I'm not as tough as I used to be... I only lasted 20 minutes before numb fingers and face sent me scurrying home. This was one of my last frames, and really the only one I liked. It's composed mostly of rectangles - a side view of some semi-commercial buildings from a little park at the end of Centre Street. But I wasn't thinking content; I was thinking graphic components: shapes, lines, textures. Years ago a teacher told me to shoot the graphics, and the content will be there.
Nothing in these old buildings is quite plumb, square, even, smooth; nothing quite lines up. It's part of their charm.
They're well-insulated, though, and warm in winter. Not slick but solidly built, going back nearly 100 years to the birth of this little prairie village in the middle of nowhere.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: buildings door windows rooftops snow snowing snowy cold winter prairie village Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2025
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A year ago there was no snow on Christmas Eve. No snow on New Year's Eve, either. I've experienced that very few times in my life. Once in Quebec, when I was a kid, our first snow came on Christmas Eve.
Even on the notoriously rainy west coast, both in Vancouver and later on Vancouver Island, most years we had a little snow. Or a lot.
So it was strange in 2023, hiking the wild prairie, brown grasses burnt brittle by a long-ago August heat wave. Fortunately, things are back to normal this winter. After photographing the main street scene (yesterday's post), I wandered some of the side streets - there aren't many - of this little prairie village, where I found the cozy scene you see here. Snow falling steadily. A parked pickup. The protective trees - a natural wind-shield. A welcome touch of colour from the Christmas lights. Can you sense the quiet?
Things look different at night.
One more to come from this night-time walkabout...
Photographed in 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: night snow snowing winter Christmas lights pickup truck parked trees snowfall square peaceful quiet prairie village Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024 4tografie
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