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| Bison After the Storm - South Dakota |
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| Touch the Sky Eagle Cloud - Minnesota |
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| Touch the Sky Prairie - Minnesota |
Awe-inspiring landscapes, breath-taking vistas and iconic creatures of the American tallgrass prairie await visitors of the Flint Hills Discovery Center, Manhattan, Kansas, starting today with the opening of “Touch the Sky: Prairie Photographs by Jim Brandenburg.”
Brandenburg captures the panoramic majesty of herds of bison, raging wildfires and lightening storms, while still managing to endear his subject by noting small details, such as grasshoppers and dragonflies.
Brandenburg captures the panoramic majesty of herds of bison, raging wildfires and lightening storms, while still managing to endear his subject by noting small details, such as grasshoppers and dragonflies.
This magnificent collection of prairie photographs features 44 framed images by Brandenburg, and includes images from prairies in Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas, Oklahoma, Illinois and other states.
“Born on a small prairie farm to children and grandchildren of turn of the century emigrants, I first experienced a world without trees. My earliest memories are of a landscape with an incessant wind and a bright open-sky sun. At a quiet and more than shy fourteen I made a first attempt at a new language. The resultant image of a shy fox from my second hand three-dollar camera spoke back to me with a loud, profound and life-changing voice,” Brandenburg said.
“Nearly fifty years later that voice is still whispering in my ear. The dialect is the same, even though I have tried many versions along the way. I traveled and photographed grand landscapes of the world. Many were covered with alluring luxurious forests and jungles. I even fulfilled a boyhood fantasy to live in a romantic wilderness log cabin beneath towering pines. But the visual language dialect that still seems to translate with the deepest meaning in my work is that of the open sky prairie-like landscape,” he said.
“Nearly fifty years later that voice is still whispering in my ear. The dialect is the same, even though I have tried many versions along the way. I traveled and photographed grand landscapes of the world. Many were covered with alluring luxurious forests and jungles. I even fulfilled a boyhood fantasy to live in a romantic wilderness log cabin beneath towering pines. But the visual language dialect that still seems to translate with the deepest meaning in my work is that of the open sky prairie-like landscape,” he said.
The exhibit will be open through May 26, 2013.
Flint Hills Discovery Center
315 South 3rd Street
Manhattan, Kansas 66502
About the Tallgrass Prairie
A tremendous diversity of plant and animal life once thrived on America's tallgrass prairie. In an area the size of an acre, up to 300 different plant species and up to 3 million individual insects coexisted together.
Due to the deep, rich, fertile soil that supports this expanse of grass, the prairie was easily transformed into crop land as it was settled. The massive conversion of prairie to agriculture has led many species to become rare and endangered. A greater proportion of Minnesota's prairie species are endangered, threatened or of special concern than species found in forest biomes. From a historic range of about 25 million acres in Minnesota and Iowa alone, only about 300,000 acres of the original tallgrass prairie remains today.
A tremendous diversity of plant and animal life once thrived on America's tallgrass prairie. In an area the size of an acre, up to 300 different plant species and up to 3 million individual insects coexisted together.
Due to the deep, rich, fertile soil that supports this expanse of grass, the prairie was easily transformed into crop land as it was settled. The massive conversion of prairie to agriculture has led many species to become rare and endangered. A greater proportion of Minnesota's prairie species are endangered, threatened or of special concern than species found in forest biomes. From a historic range of about 25 million acres in Minnesota and Iowa alone, only about 300,000 acres of the original tallgrass prairie remains today.
The wonderful contrast in tone and texture, and the emphasis on space makes these such breathtaking images!
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