Prairies Archives - Sean Phillips Photography

Round Bale in Spring Color

Spring on the prairies in the Calgary region is a world of monotones. Monotonous browns and yellows that is. The fields are dull and boring and as a photographer it can be very discouraging at times. By this time of the season every year I am absolutely dying for a little splash of color in my world! While new signs of spring are appearing every day (there are lots of Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks in the fields, so the spring migration must be almost here), the bright colors of fresh new spring growth are still a long way off…

Fortunately there are still many interesting subjects to capture and I still find the agricultural objects littering the fields to be fun to shoot. There always seems to be lots of texture in the farms and the fields and there are many images within the images. And there are still lots of bales out in the fields that never got piled in the spring, and on partially cloudy days they practically glow while sitting in the fields.

Storage Bins in Winter

These bins dot the countryside on the prairies but rarely do so many congregate in one location, and rarely can you see them with such a beautiful open view of the Rocky Mountains behind them. I plan to revisit this spot several times to catch this collection in different light and from many other angles.

Golden Prairie Landscape at Sunrise

It continually amazes me how the sunrise on the prairies can be so beautiful, and yet still so different every day.

The golden glow of the early morning light set up a great silhouette of these Grain Elevators way back on the horizon. the light changes extremely quickly at sunrise and I had only a few moments to enjoy it before it disappeared.

Irrigation Pivots in Winter

It was amazingly cold out the other day and the ice fog hanging over the prairie landscape turned everything pure white. These irrigation pivots were beautiful as they loomed over the fields below. I’m always amazed by how the changing seasons completely transform the places around us. Something as simple as a little bit of snow on the ground can make the familiar things look completely foreign, and the mundane things beautiful. It’s worth it to pause every now and then and to take a good look at the things around you. You might be amazed by what you see, and by how little you really remember about what it normally looks like.

Fulton Farms (Since 1904)

I pass by this farm almost every day while driving out of Calgary to the prairies to the East. I have only very rarely stopped to see it, and never from very close. The farm is nestled into a stand of trees, and I always assumed that I wouldn’t be able to make any good images of it from the perspective I would have when I was close. When I drove by the other day I saw the beautiful morning glow developing behind the farm, and so I decided that it was time to try.

I’m so happy that I did because the farm has never been more beautiful than it was that day! I’m a sucker for the indigo and magenta sky that forms to the West just before the sun rises (in the East) on a clear sky day, and I can’t resist the urge to make some new images. It’s nice when I can be near something that I’ve never photographed before, and this was one of those magical mornings!