BC Grasslands

High Risk Roads

Hi again everyone. Sorry I disappeared from sight recently, but I had major computer problems including the inevitable hard drive crash & burn! Fortunately I had just about everything backed-up. The good part of all this is that I went out to photograph in the grasslands more often! On my first trip out in February, there was little snow compared to the same time last year. From a driving perspective, however, the roads were treacherous. The mud out there turns to ‘gumbo’ which is worse than ice. When I saw the remains of a car below me on my left and a car passing me wearing chains on my right, I knew the risks were high! Even 4-WD was doing nothing for me. Eventually I had to stop and wait till freeze-up. I then traveled at night to the spot where I could photograph for the day. Visit the Landscape gallery for a different perspective of the back road I was traveling on.

Churn Creek (Part VI)

I thought Exploring Churn Creek –Part V was the last in the series but I visited Churn Creek yesterday and what a difference. The colours are gone!  It was a windy and dreary day and the whole countryside turned monochromatic. But I thought I would share this with you. One image is looking back upstream while the second shows where the creek enters the Fraser River. Just looking at them makes me think how much I’m going to appreciate sitting by the fire tonight!

Exploring Churn Creek (Part V)

Having survived the hoodoo collapse, lets hike back down Churn Creek toward the Fraser River. As you can see, I am surrounded with the rich colours of weathered rock. Variations in the chemical composition of volcanic and sedimentary rocks impart an array of colors including the reds and yellows of oxidized and reduced iron. Near the mouth of Churn Creek I discovered a beautiful array of colour which you can see in the Landscape Photo Album.

Exploring Churn Creek (Part IV)

While exploring up the canyon, this amazing wall of giant 200 ft. hoodoos was an amazing sight. The combination of little rainfall to erode the surface and sparse vegetation to bind the soil when it does rain, results in many spectacular landforms in dry grassland regions. These bold landforms distinguish dry grassland landscape from wetter areas where abundant running water and greater vegetation cover result in more rounded landforms.  While photographing here, I was constantly aware of the danger. Was I right in feeling that way? Go to the Photo Album –Landscapes and see for yourself!

Exploring Churn Creek (Part III)

Having looked into Churn Creek Canyon from above and having seen all the colours and formations, I couldn’t resist the challenge of hiking up the creek itself to view the canyon from below. I soon, however, discovered the dangers. The creek bed was like quicksand and I almost got completely stuck in mid-stream once. Most dangerous of all, were the rocks falling off the cliffs above. As you can see in this image, rocks and huge boulders were precariously lodged in very unstable soil. I would not recommend this trip for anyone and you will see why when you see my next blog entry. Meanwhile, I lucked out on this canyon expedition and the visual reward can be seen in the photo album-Landscape.

Exploring Churn Creek (Part II)

I’m back after an extended Christmas vacation! This is another dramatic vista of Churn Creek Canyon, this time from the south side of the creek. Looking at this image makes me feel I’m in another part of the world – but in fact, it’s only two hours away. It also makes me want to get back there to explore but at –35 degrees today, I think I’ll wait! Refer to the Photo Album-Landscapes for a closer look at the colours.

Exploring Churn Creek, (Part I)

After describing a journey up Churn Creek Canyon at a slide presentation last weekend, I thought I would take my blog visitors on a similar journey. This is the first of a five part visual journey.

Churn Creek is a Protected Area covering 36,100 hectares which includes some of British Columbia's rarest ecosystems - low, middle and high elevation bunchgrass grasslands. It also contains one of BC's most spectacular canyons. Just before Churn Creek empties into the Fraser River, it travels through a deep gorge consisting of layers of volcanic rock and ancient sediment left by retreating glaciers. This image is to give you an overall view of Churn Creek Canyon just before it reaches the Fraser River. It was made from the northern side of the creek looking downstream.

New Limited Edition Print – 2005

Each year at my Studio-Gallery a new fine art print is unveiled. Appropriately, this years print was taken in the grasslands, but ironically, the image is of a solitary tree-in the grasslands! The print is 32” x 39”, mounted on Ultra mount acid free gator board, printed with a laserjet printer on Kodak photographic paper with a luster laminate and framed with a moulding made of Douglas Fir and Cherry wood. This is a limited edition of 9 with the first edition of three priced at $995.00. Each print is numbered and signed on a certificate of authenticity on verso. To purchase this print, please visit the gallery on my website

For details about the creation of the print, visit the Photo Album – Grassland Plants. To see the print in person, visit the gallery at 105 Mile Ranch.

A New Freedom

  A few weeks ago I was out photographing in the golden autumn grass with my new digital camera when it suddenly dawned on me that film cost was no longer a factor. Digital film is free!! I had a 1gb flash card in my camera and more in my pocket. Rolls of fifteen dollar film were no longer clicking through my camera so I could now experiment as much as I wished…for nothing! What a new sense of creative freedom. The image seen here represents the documentary approach to the landscape in which I was photographing. If you now visit the Photo Album - Grassland Plants, you will see a more abstract rendition made from the grass in the immediate foreground.

Grassland Slide Shows

The Chris Harris Gallery will be opening for the Christmas holiday season with several special events happening. The Grand Opening will be on Dec.4th when the new Limited Edition Grasslands Fine Art Print for 2005 will be unveiled. This image was created on the grasslands to evoke the powerful sense of space, light and quietude that is the gift we receive in that landscape. You will see the image here on December 5th!

Also starting on Dec. 4th will be a number of slide shows to showcase what has been done on the grasslands book project to date. If you are in the vicinity, drop by and see the prints, chat about imagery and the grasslands project and watch a slide presentation.

Christmas Season Hours are Nov.15 to Jan.15, Thursday to Sunday, 1pm - 5pm (except holidays)

Slide Presentations are at 1pm and 4pm on Dec. 4, 11, 18, 23 and 30th,