Newsletter No. 5 – September, 2005
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Grasslands Flower-Power
Over the years I have experienced many of nature’s powers while exploring in the mountains. I have felt fear and I have been made to feel extremely humble. But in the grasslands there is peacefulness. Flowers and grasses sway in the breeze while bees and butterflies fly effortlessly amidst them. While enjoying this tranquility, I set out early this summer to capture some of the many flowers that decorate the grasslands. Here are a few.
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Lens: 28 to 70mm; Focal length: 70mm; Shutter speed: 1/50sec; Aperture: 11It was late in April this year when the very colourful purple-lavender "shooting star’ appeared in the open Cariboo-Chilcotin grasslands. Some First Nation peoples used the flowers as a charm to obtain wealth while others used them as an eyewash. With their protruding stamens and bent-back petals, they do indeed look like shooting stars.
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Lens: 100mm macro; Focal length: 100mm; Shutter speed: 1/1600 sec; Aperture: 2.8; Exposure compensation: +1/3; Exposure mode: AvIn early June, Yellow Salsify begins to appear everywhere in the Cariboo-Chilcotin grasslands. I’ll never forget the morning I spent photographing this beautiful flower only to look out in the afternoon to find they had suddenly all disappeared! After inquiring, I discovered that Salsify are sun seekers and apparently after getting enough sun in the morning, they close up in the early afternoon! Fittingly, "Salsify’ is from the French salsifis and Latin solsequium, derived in turn from sol (sun) and sequium (follower).
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Lens: 100mm macro; Focal length: 100mm; Shutter speed: 1/800 sec; Aperture: 4; Exposure compensation: +1/3; Exposure mode: AvFlower photography is both challenging and rewarding. I can easily photograph all morning on a single flower, take dozens of images and still not be satisfied with the results. Direct sunlight, wind, or cluttered backgrounds are but a few of the many possible frustrations. In this instance, the choices of what depth of field to use were numerous. The decision was how many of these beautifully soft and hairy stems should I make in focus? Just a few or all of them? After a great deal of experimenting and reviewing the results, I chose this image that I took at F4 as my favorite. This depth of focus created a few relatively sharp stems but most are soft and out of focus. The choice of backgrounds was also very important so as not to compete with the delicacy, texture and colour of the stems. This is Old Man’s Whiskers, otherwise known as Prairie Smoke or Purple Avens.
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Lens: 100mm macro; Focal length: 100mm; Shutter speed: 1/320 sec; Aperture: 18; Exposure mode: AvPrickly-Pear Cactus is found throughout the local grasslands and provides good reason to check the ground before sitting down for lunch. Usually considered a nuisance, it becomes extremely beautiful in June when in flower. I love the variety of colour, texture and shapes – the prickly spines and petal configurations.
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Lens: 28-70mm; Focal length: 43mm; Shutter speed: 1/50 sec; Aperture: 22; Exposure mode: AvI enjoy the process of observation. While walking about with my camera, carefully looking for perfect specimens of the most colourful flowers, I suddenly began to see between the flowers. There lay the old brittle remains of last year’s flowers – lifeless and colourless – yet so beautiful in design. I began to gather different specimens, carefully laying them out on a black piece of mat board I happened to have in my truck. The intricate designs were exquisite and an image began to unfold in my mind. I carefully created this design, waited for the sun to go behind a cloud and made this image called "Still Life"
These are a very few of the many flowers and the wonderful moments I spent with them. Their colours, shapes and textures are exquisite. If any of you have a macro lens, take it out into your garden and get down flat on the ground. Set the aperture to wide open (e.g. 2.8) and then start moving and looking. Just vary your focusing ring as you go and amazing never-before-seen landscapes will appear. Good luck and have fun!
New Prints at the Gallery
By Rita Giesbrecht
There have been a few new print editions opened this season. Some are new sizes of images that had only been large-size prints in the upstairs gallery, others are new and have never been seen.
© Chris Harris. All rights reserved.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II; Lens: 17-35 mm; Focal length: 25mm; ISO: 100; Shutter speed: 1/4 sec; Aperture: 16; Exposure mode: MMorning Mist at Junction Sheep Park is an evocative image of dawn light and mist in the trees of the grasslands. Alpine Stream is an exquisite little print of alpine flowers in full bloom set around water tumbling over slate. Boots and Shoes is the quintessential western still-life; cowboy boots and horse shoes tell their own stories. Aspen Tree at Sunset is a simple composition of bare aspen branches against the apricot and magenta of a Chilcotin grasslands sunset; serene and healing. And of course the Great Grey Owl with its profound gaze, that Chris was having regular encounters with earlier this spring.
Now in inventory in smaller sizes than previously available, both framed and unframed, are: Simple Beauty, Aspen Trees, Bluebunch Wheatgrass I & II, Burnt Sage, Forest Trail, and Moving Water.
The Studio Gallery page is presently being updated to show all of the above changes. Please stay in touch with the on-line gallery to see the new editions. If you live in the area, bring a friend over and enjoy some quiet time absorbing some of the beauty which so fortunately surrounds us.
Get notified when a new newsletter appears on this site
Search all the newsletters:
