Dakota Prairie Winter Photo

Photographer’s Note

Dakota Prairie Winter

A frosted winter morning outside of Mitchell, South Dakota.

As they neared retirement my parents purchased on old farm outside of town. Over the years my father has returned the "back 8" acres (3.24 hectares) ..into the natural prairie and a wild bird sanctuary ..

Even in the cold it is a wonderful place to come out in the early morning and sit .. to feel the quiet wind of the prairie .. how perhaps it would have felt before modern industrialized farming.

jwmunro, bracasha75, parbo, plimrn, stego, gunbud, evanrizo, jafadabret, paololg, JPlumb has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ben4321 (9807) 2008-02-03 7:40

A nicely-taken wintry shot John, and one that conveys the atmosphere of a frosty morning very well.
For me the frost-laden grasses are the stars of the show, and I'd have liked to have seen more of them at the bottom of the frame, maybe getting closer and lower down to have them larger in the foreground.
Good work, I like it.

Cheers,
Ben

izmirli (3287) 2008-02-03 8:05

merhaba my friend john
beautiful winter landscape.wonderful depth and snowy trees.well done.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

parbo (11034) 2008-02-03 13:17

Hello John,

Your crystallise series are continues wonderfully. This is almost in two color and makes your photo a unique one. Frozen grasses on your surround and again frozen tree branches are beautiful under closed, cloudy winter atmosphere. Congratulations,

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

plimrn (19740) 2008-02-03 14:25

Hi John,
The detail of the frozen grass really makes this scene come to life, while the tree provides a good focal point. The note is heart-warming as well. What a nice thing to do in one's retirement!!
HLJ, Pat

[2]

stego (22482) 2008-02-03 15:31

Hi John,
I am glad to see you back with this wonderful wintry view. One can feel the freeze by looking at it, but even so, that cold doesn't reach our heart, as it is so beautiful. I guess the almost total absence of colour is natural. I like the subtle difference between the sepia of the grass and the rest.
Regards, José.

claire526 (1261) 2008-02-03 21:08

Hi John,
Another one of your beautiful wintry morning scene. I like the details. It's when nature paints itself black and white.
Reagards,
Claire

fserajian (4583) 2008-02-03 22:15 [Comment]

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gunbud (28165) 2008-02-03 22:29

Hi John,
The tall prarie grass and trees are seen well decorated by the winter frost. Very somber winter scene with a ghost like sky.
Regards, Tom

[2]

UnTrained (0) 2008-02-04 0:34

Hi John,
nice to see again something from you. A frozen atmosphere everything covered with ice, a place for a walk in the sunrise though the hoar frost. I like the tree with its frozen branches.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

evanrizo (456) 2008-02-04 3:58

Hi John,
it is more difficult than the other-last one because of the background - sky but the tree is very good written and it is also very good to see it.
The angle you have chosen and the frame make it much better.
Best wishes.
Evangelos

danyy (69499) 2008-02-04 23:18

Bonjour John,
tout est vraiment blanc ici et c'est très séduisant, un hiver avec une ambiance hiver, c'est pas ce qu'on connait en Belgique.
Une composition simple mais attirante.
Regards.
Daniel.

rosaline (0) 2008-02-05 1:36

Frosty scene that captures the wintery conditions well. Nice work.

jafadabret (40369) 2008-02-05 4:22

John bonjour.

Il y a des coins qui reviennent à l'état naturel et qui sont un paradis pour les animaux et les poètes. J'aime cette photo en couleurs où seules les tiges des herbes sont colorées alors que tout le reste s'est vu privé de couleurs par le givre. et la brume.
Jacques

paololg (14261) 2008-02-05 15:03

Ciao John,
a stupendous winter image, almost a B&W. Good composition and good neatness. Beautiful job.
TFS
Paolo.

molla (6903) 2008-02-06 23:40

Hej John,
You have a fantastic series of hoarfrost images, crispy frosty as everything took a few seconds to change, like the world for a moment stood still,like the whole sky was full of christmas bells.
An amazing mood anyhow on this theme of midwestern winter landscape.
Cheers //Anders

jwmunro (6255) 2008-02-10 14:16

Hello John -

Bravo to your Dad for letting some of the land go back to the the Tall Grass and provide a habitat for the birds. The sky is a big hindrance to this image, IMO, but the frozen grass and the tree are working hard to overcome the lack of sky. I would love to see this scene on one of those frozen blue sky days.

Thank you for sharing.

John

cam (8880) 2008-02-12 16:48

Hi John
i like the construction of this image.
High grasses surrrounding the tree, everything covered by frost, in a vertical frame, giving a sense of height and depth.
Everytime I take photos of these kind of scenery, I wished for a good light, to get a scintillating image, knowing deep well that the frost will disappear under the sun,
What a frustration!
A peaceful image
Charles

JPlumb (3153) 2008-02-15 3:08

It's good John. The colours induced by the light of that early morning are subtle. The lone tree in that winter induced black and white gradually giving way to the warmer yet still frosted grass. This reminds me so much of a field behind a place we used to have in Ontario, a few miles from South Dakota, but it sure looks similar here.

Thanks, John