I found elk horns in an old barn.


Wawota Saskatchewan is a really small town.  There is a museum, their window display RULES.

actually got to see wild buffalo.  it took me a while to 100% believe it, and they were really far off, but yeah, buffalo.  it was a really cool feeling.  the badlands national park in south dakota is 10,000 acres plus of perfect habitat for these dudes.  imagining huge herds of these beasts stirring up dust across the horizon is pretty badass.  cowboy movie type shit.  if you look closely enough there is one bang center in the middle of the shot, and one more, maybe two more left of that. 

this park (bad lands national park) was awesome it was worth the twelve hour drive through the dakotas.  the land was settled by europeans who eventually made starvation claims and had to leave their homesteads for more promising lives.  again deadwood and all the real cowboy shit that kids dream of went down here.  being smack in the middle of the continent and as harsh a climate as it is, there was amazing amounts of plant and wildlife.
top) these guys were maybe my biggest surprise that i came across in the badlands.  wild turkeys.  typically i am used to brown turkeys with rounder bodies, and less color in the head.  these were turkeys, just a little leaner darker, and bright, bright red heads on the the males.  there was also a greasy shine to some of their feathers.  i was not expecting to walk over a hill and spot these.

not taken in a zoo

rushmore, crazy horse

elk. i had never seen elk in the wild before, real fat quadrupeds. these guys seemed super healthy and were feeding on the patches of grass at the side of the road that were exposed by the salt. this series of photos was taken near waskesiu, sk., in prince albert national park. the elk were pretty unfazed by humans; well protected within the borders of the national park they had no regard for the potential threat humans represent. the experience was so different from hunting, and being in a place where animals consider humans to be predators or threatening. it felt surreal to walk with them.

example:
when i first saw the elk i stopped my car about 200m from where they stood. i got out and crept towards them trying not to startle them and trying to get a decent shot or two off before they ran away. as i approached the elk a car caught my ear and started rolling up from the direction i had come. the car drove right up to me and past the elk. the elk didn't even move. i quickly realized it would be easier than i had anticipated to shoot these photos.

top) taken as the light was leaving us. this guy stood lonely in a section of forest that had been recently logged.

second from top) i really liked trying to get different legs and parts of the elk into one shot, showing how they move and hold themselves. their necks and posture was typical of a deer, moose or caribou, but it kinda reminded me of a camel with a slightly longer, more curved neck.

middle) no face, no problem. one other sense that you can't get from the pictures is the sound that this heard of elk made as it traveled through the bush. branches slowly breaking and cracking popped to my attention and continuously took my focus off of the elk i was trying to capture.

second from bottom) this gals name was magdalene. she didn't trust me.

bottom) magdalene.

top) random shots of trees taken in the bush while the sun is setting always have a great feel to them, but also never really satisfy me.

bottom) this was the only elk i saw that had antlers, and they weren't very big. i see busts and of elk with huge racks, it would have pumped me up to have seen an elk with a bigger set of antlers, but i still appreciate experience, very cool. this guys name was frederick, he told me so, dude trusted me.

top) i couldn't decide which picture i look tougher in.

second from top) i couldn't decide which picture i look tougher in.

middle) if you look closely, directly in the middle of this photo there is a deer jumping into the parking lot. first thing in the morning, on my way to the car. i was not ready, or expecting to see this. 30 seconds after i took this photo i realized my car battery was dead, my mood went from great to crap. things worked out.

second from bottom) things worked out, and we saw more deer.

bottom) more deer.

we had a basketball tournament in weyburn one weekend. it was a super warm day for feburary in sk. there was very little snow on the ground and with a heavy fog the night before there was thick frost on ground and trees. the day had a nice feel to it.

top) outside of st. michaels school, weyburn, sk.

second from top) white trees look like winter.

second from bottom) this guy is outside of the middle school where the tournament was being held. it looked like a mountain.

bottom) my team. we came second. it was really sunny and i had a hard time not squinting.

top) ethanol plant, weyburn, sk. this place smells.

second from top) mural art, duck lake, sk. this town was actually really cool. there was more murals than there was people, and was deeply influenced with metis and first nations culture. there was a bunch of references to louis riel and buffalo.

second from bottom) my favorite abandoned building in duck lake sk.. the empty/vacant buildings in rural saskatchewan are subtle reminders that the urban centers are expanding at rapid rates. with a huge wave of young people leaving their country homes and traditional ways of living behind, the future of saskatchewan will drastically shift. with this migration from small towns to cities modernization and loss of culture will continue. the timelessness of the empty prairies is speeding up. regina is the herpes captial of canada.

"u mad bro?" is spraypainted on the side of the building. awesome.

bottom) grain elevator, milestone, sk.. an aesthetic that i love out in the prairies is the 360 sunsets. with the flat horizon completely surrounding you the sun seems to set in every direction, north, south, east, and west. this photo was taken just before sunset and facing directly east. i also love the silver grain elevators.