Canola Harvest, a photo from Saskatchewan, Prairies

Photographer's Note

I took this late evening shot of swathed Canola, an oilseed crop popular on the Canadian prairies. I liked the golden late day color on the undulating field. Location was just east of the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Canola has become a popular oilseed crop in Canada and the United States. Canola is a specific edible type of rapeseed, developed in the 1970s, which contains about 40 percent oil. The term "canola" is a registered name by the Western Canadian Oilseed Crushers Association. Canola varieties must have an erucic acid content of less than 2 percent and also have less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates per gram of seed. Canadian and U.S. farmers mostly grow low erucic acid and low glucosinolate varieties. High erucic acid oil rapeseed is grown and used for industrial lubricants. This type of rapeseed is mostly grown in Europe, although there is some production in Canada and the U.S.

In January 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted canola oil GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status for use in human foods. This has led to greatly increased sales and demand in the United States with only part of the demand being met by U.S. production. Canola oil has achieved worldwide commodity status and is extensively used in Japan, Canada and Europe.

gelor, dlevy23, papagolf21, Nelu_Goia, Photo65Net, kiwi_explorer, john_c, Angelillo, pboehringer, jean11-3, delkoo, jafadabret, banyanman, gunbud has marked this note useful

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ommishra (1160) 2007-08-24 10:13 [Comment]

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gelor (3229) 2007-08-24 10:17

Bonsoir Gérald,
Des couleurs presque irréelles mais chaudes à souhait! Une belle composition graphique et un bel angle de prise de vue, une grande profondeur et c'est une belle image.
Bon week-end,
Gérard

teacozie (1377) 2007-08-24 10:20

Yo Gérald,

Great symmetry in this photo, the lines say everything! Plus the colour, can't forget the colour and soft lighting!!

Great work

Ann75 (0) 2007-08-24 10:32

Hello Gerald,

What a great shot with the coloured fields in the late evening light. Excellent view with the tree line in the distance and the wonderful sky above. Great composition with amazing depth! Fantastic work, Gerald!

Greetings,
Ann

dlevy23 (2018) 2007-08-24 12:05

This is a great photo, nice composition and POV. good use of the diagonals. I have a workshop to post, but I'll do it tomorrow if you don't mind, I already posted 2 today.
Let me know.

Daniel

[workshop] [compare]

Nelu_Goia (3116) 2007-08-24 14:23

Hi Gerald,
I love your photo but I hate canola!:)...I always preferred the sun-flower.
It looks nice though in the field.
What I like about the photo is the nice, warm colors and the waiving shapes of the field.
Good job, Gerald.
Regards,
Nelu

Cormac (26545) 2007-08-24 17:54

Brilliant colours! Not only are the colours great, but the pattern of alternating stipes of red and yellow really jumps out at me, each colour helping the other by way of contrast. Well done!

papagolf21 (76603) 2007-08-25 0:55

Bonsoir, cher Gerald,
La Nature, trésor inépuisable des couleurs et des sons, des formes et des rythmes, modèle inégalé de développement total et de variation perpétuelle, la Nature est la suprême ressource !
[Olivier Messiaen]
La beauté est bien présente à travers cette prise de vue.
Un florilège de couleurs de toute beauté.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Photo65Net (43120) 2007-08-25 0:56

Gerald,
Wow, amazing colors in this one !
You too did outstanding compo job, placing the lines into the diagonal works perfectly here.
Beautiful, great job,
Regards,
JB.

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2007-08-25 1:35

Hi Gerald,
This is a superb capture ... the soft lines and mounds has a very pleasant wavy effect. Fantastic warm lighting and good low angle shot to create an expansive view. Well captured and composed. Excellent work! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

jonathan_hart (21268) 2007-08-25 2:34

hello
nice tones with that very interesting light
well composed
regards
jo

john_c (24662) 2007-08-25 9:26

Hi Gerald,
Despite the late evening hour, you achieved great tonal quality here, with the red and gold strips alternating nicely and taking the eye deep into the frame. There is good depth as well. Your note is most educational. Cheers.
John

Angelillo (9322) 2007-08-25 9:54

Hi Gerald,

Strong and beautiful colors, very well ordered in a great and depth perspective. The ground's curves are amazing, and the final result is a very good shot, full of emotion and movement! Thanks!

Have a nice sunday!
Angel.

PJE (20756) 2007-08-26 6:42

Gerald you captured the scene that I have never had the chance to see. When I opened up this photo I first thought of the undulations in the Tulip field in Agassiz this spring. I never knew that the canola turned into such a deep tone at harvest. You reminded me of the wonderful beauty in the Prairies where each season brings beauty on the land. Thanks for posting this one. Its nice to see this field like this. Excellent capture Gerald!!!

pboehringer (770) 2007-08-26 17:26

Gerald,
I simply love this shot! You nailed it ... the colors, the light , the composition with the diagonal lines penetrating into the image and the wave like formation of the hills. A totally underrated picture! I'm not necessarily convinced about the frame but now I'm starting to be to picky ;-)
Regards, Peter

jemaflor (69011) 2007-08-27 3:58

Hi Gerald,
Interesting result, nice effect with light for colours and lines and small hills, well seen.

baba_flies (8829) 2007-08-27 4:51

There is a touch of fall lingering in the air although I see it was taken in mid August. Another circle has been completed until they shine again in bright yellow. The color pattern on these rolling fields are pretty amazing. Not everybody has the chance to see the prairies and are very often left out. One day I want to "feel" them. I love your photo although I find it a notch too dark but this is all a matter of taste of course. Take care, Barbara.

jean11-3 (2799) 2007-08-28 11:49

Hello Gerald, lovely colours and patterns in this shot.
The trees on the horizon are a good line between the sky and the field.Well seen.The light adds to the effect producing some shadows which give depth.
TFS, regards Jean.

delkoo (68) 2007-08-30 1:58

hi gerald
nice landscape and beautiful warm colours, in spite of the under exposure it's a good shot.
i learnt about canola , i didn't know what it was.
regards
didier

umbrellaphotos (1901) 2007-09-05 22:28

Gerald,
You've captured some beautiful colors in this image. I love the alternating, rolling fields. Great composition and great light!

Thanks for sharing,

Brian

dkeus31 (27733) 2007-09-06 3:08

hello Gerald,
superb light and colors on this one; also well composed with the diagonals.
regards
didier

danielswalsh (13591) 2007-09-17 22:35

Gerald;

I can't believe I missed this shot. This I think is my favorite from your portfolio. I know your probably surprised I didn't pick one of your Rockies shots, but I think I've become kind of ammune to the Rockies with all Ann and Alvin's postings! Hahaha

This one I think is great. I love the lines as they roll over the hills, the dark shadows in this case have REALLY given the image depth to it- almost a 3D quality where as the rows seem to be embossed.

Superb work, this one's going in my fav's!
- Dan

jafadabret (56497) 2007-09-25 5:06

Gerald, j'aime beaucoup ce tableau fait à grands coups de surfaces rouges et jaunes qui suivent les ondulations du terrain.
Beau travail.
Jacques

CDez (1415) 2007-09-26 23:17

Bonjour Gerald,
le grand peintre a fait de l'excellent travail sur ce morceau de toile du Canada.
Excellente composition soignée.
Bravo.
Christian

banyanman (7772) 2007-10-01 8:39

The alternating colours of the swathes of canola, combined with the undulations (not sure if that is grammatically correct!) of the field make this a really eye-catching shot, Gerald. The light is good and you have composed it well. Maybe could have done with a litle more sharpening, but other than that is a great shot. Cheers . . . David

brevbrev14 (140) 2007-11-17 6:27

Hi Gerald, good one!
i like the game of colours here and your composition..
the nature is fantastic and the red lines eye-catching!
bravo!
ciao!
Valeria

fulvio52 (8314) 2007-11-17 6:30

Wonderful warm colors, great POV.
The meditative kind of shot I'm totally at home with.
Excellent job, Gerald.
Have a nice weekend.
Ciao,
Fulvio.

kiks (11387) 2008-04-21 6:58

Hi Gerald, the golden color is indeed wonderful, but also the geometrie of shapes are very beautiful: love the 'bumps' on it. Only a pitty imo that the rightside (fg) is unsharp. But still a beautiful photo.
Best regards
KIks

gunbud (34052) 2008-11-18 11:52

Hi Gerald,
Love the rich texture and blazing colors of this rolling landscape that contrast so powerfully with the mysterious silver blue sky.
Excellent note about this interesting crop.
Regards, Tom