Last Saturday, on the 22nd, I went out ice-fishing with my family. It was me, my dad, my brother in-law and my little brother. We went to Echo lake right by the Qu’appelle Valley and the view was absolutely amazing. This is a post for my personal aesthetic practice Childhood Wonder. I have been exploring and trying to recapture the things, images and moments that really amazed me as a child. Being in this huge valley and having this amazing view of the skyline was such a moment, I’m sure the childhood me would have found this amazing because even now, in my adult life, it takes my breath away.
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At first glance, the two images above might seem kind of dull. Or at least thats what I thought when I first saw them on the camera after we left the valley and I was reviewing the photos I had taken. But after taking some time to re-examine these scenes, I fell into them and remembered why I took them. One reason was because of how deep the view was and how I thought these scenes gave an awesome sense of perspective. If you look closely at the second image (directly above) you can see tiny dark objects on the ice right before the tree line. These are other fishermen’s trucks and shacks way in the distance. The other reason I was attracted to these scenes, and wanted to capture them, was the faint hints of pink in the clouds. I thought, when you were able to see the dull pink, it made the pictures so much more beautiful.
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I especially love this last picture of the sunset. Its such a simple picture, and we see a beautiful sunset almost every here in Saskatchewan. The moments when these pictures were taken, I was truly content and happy to just look out in awe at the vast valley and see the sunset. Besides the bitter wind, I was really thankful for the opportunity I had to go ice fishing and experience the beauty of nature. Sometimes it makes me wonder how I ever got so lucky to be alive right now, and to be able to experience moments like these.
Benjamin Ironstand 