1803_0887 The Tree
I've been calling this willow "The Tree" for nearly twenty years. Back when I ran photo workshops in this area, I'd sometimes tell my students, "Okay, one hour to shoot on your own and then meet me at The Tree!" - and they all knew what I was talking about. That's how few trees we have here on the wild prairie. Lots of buffaloberry thickets, lots of sagebrush, but this willow is a miraculous anomaly. (For purposes of my argument I am discounting Aspen Coulee, in another corner of the park, where 10,000 trembling aspens pour down the length of a protected channel, away from the desiccating wind that stunts plant growth elsewhere.)
Converted to black and white because there was no colour that day anyway. There was hoarfrost on the branches, and some fog lifting from the valley and hills, it was lovely in a stark sort of way, but not a colourful scene. I was thinking monochrome when I set up the shot. That isn't always the case, but it was for this shot.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2018 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1803_0887 The Tree
I've been calling this willow "The Tree" for nearly twenty years. Back when I ran photo workshops in this area, I'd sometimes tell my students, "Okay, one hour to shoot on your own and then meet me at The Tree!" - and they all knew what I was talking about. That's how few trees we have here on the wild prairie. Lots of buffaloberry thickets, lots of sagebrush, but this willow is a miraculous anomaly. (For purposes of my argument I am discounting Aspen Coulee, in another corner of the park, where 10,000 trembling aspens pour down the length of a protected channel, away from the desiccating wind that stunts plant growth elsewhere.)
Converted to black and white because there was no colour that day anyway. There was hoarfrost on the branches, and some fog lifting from the valley and hills, it was lovely in a stark sort of way, but not a colourful scene. I was thinking monochrome when I set up the shot. That isn't always the case, but it was for this shot.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2018 James R. Page - all rights reserved.