Photographing Prairie Scenes
By: Author: J Bakken

Prairie scenes are very popular to photograph. The key to capturing their beauty is being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes catching the early morning fog casting a blanket over a field of blue flax just as the sun is shining on it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and one has to be quick to catch the perfect shot before the fog lifts and the shade of blue seems to change in the blink of an eye. Grain fields are a part of our prairie landscape and they are a part of our heritage so to capture their stories in a photograph is a treasure.
Prairie scene photography can include barns, fences, cows, horses, fields, gardens, flowers, farmers, machinery, and much more. The colours in prairie scene photography can range from the colours of a bright red barn at sunrise or sunset or the variety one can achieve by photographing prairie scenes in the different seasons. Capturing farmers harvesting in a field in the autumn can reap some brilliant gold and orange colours, while snapping photographs of birds on a fencepost in the winter can be a brilliant contrast of the colours of our feathered friends and the white snow. Whatever the season or the subject of the picture, they all hold their own beauty.
Prairie scene photographs that focus on the animals are popular among nature enthusiasts. Catching a horse bending down with its nose near a flower or capturing an owl in the window of an abandoned barn can be award winning photographs.
Prairie scene photography can include people and the relaxed lifestyle of living on the prairies. Photos can feature farmers or ranchers rounding up a herd of cattle or children stealing fresh peas out of the garden. Prairie scene photography can also feature ripe yellow fields of canola, sunflowers in a garden, or even man made structures such as old wagons and fences.
Prairie scene photography endeavours to capture a lifestyle and it is an enjoyable past-time that captures the beauty of nature and the joy of life at a slower pace and no two fields or flowers are exactly alike which adds to the uniqueness of each and every prairie scene photograph.

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