The Meadowlark and the Prairie Pond

The tallgrass prairie, once covering over 400,000 square miles, as a continuous ecosystem was virtually destroyed in a few short years. By 1900, over 95% of it was lost to agricultural development and urban sprawl. However, a few remnants still exist. One of my favorite locations to visit and photograph is Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, just north of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. It's almost 40,000 acres of original tallgrass prairie is the largest tract of protected and unbroken tallgrass prairie left out of the few scattered remnants of what once stretched from southern Canada through the central portion of America all the way to the Texas gulf coast. 

It is one of the few places where horizon to horizon vista's of tallgrass prairie, unmarred by man made structures can still be observed. I've made a good number of visits to this remarkable landscape over the years and have yet discovered all of what it has to offer. It's been a few years, Spring of 2019, since my last visit; circumstances has prevented my return, but I from time to time revisit this amazing landscape through memories and the thousands of photographs I've taken there.

Recently, I browsed through some of the images and spent some time examining a single photograph; The Meadowlark. It perhaps captures one of the most enduring elements of the prairie and that would be the myriad of wildlife that can be found there. Here is the story of how this image was captured.

On my last visit to the preserve a few years ago, my intent was to spend upwards to a week camping in a nearby campground, and spending the days driving through and hiking into and across this landscape. As luck would have it, I was greeted with thunderstorms, heavy rain, lightning, and tornado warnings which lasted for most of my time there. As a result I pulled out a day or so early having been thoroughly water logged. Although the rough weather curtailed a lot of my plans, it did not prevent me from exploring and photographing. 

One of the more productive locations I explored was a small prairie pond located just a few dozen yards or so from the gravel road that winds its way through the preserve. I suppose it was about mid-day on my second or third day, there was a lull in the rain and I decided to spend some time just sitting near that pond. With my tripod and 50-500mm lens I found a somewhat dry place to sit and just waited for whatever might appear.

Over the next few hours a good number of migratory birds including Long Billed Dowizers, one American Avocet, several kinds of Sandpipers, ordinary black birds including a Redwing Blackbird, and Killdeers which were fun to watch with their broken wing antics trying to lure me away from their nesting sight. There were a few Common Terns buzzing around performing aerial acrobatics, and a few Meadowlarks that spent most of their time riding the tops of the tallgrass stems that surrounded the pond.

One particular Meadowlark landed about twenty five yards or so from where I sat. He was just out of range really where I was unable to capture any kind of close up shots, but his striking yellow and black coloration stood out against the green of the prairie grasses. It just so happened that he perched on a stem that made him just about eye level with me. Slowly, I scooted across the damp ground lifting my tripod carefully forward. I closed the distance a few yards when the Meadowlark spooked and flittered a few yards further away, stopping again clinging to the tops of a tall stem of prairie grass.

I stopped moving, positioned my camera and zoomed out to 500mm and focused on the smallish figure of the bird. Between me and the bird and also behind the bird were thick layers of tall grasses which became blurred as a result of the exposure values. The overcast skies generated a soft filtered light across the landscape, and I snapped several images before the Meadowlark decided to move on.

I really did not know what I had until several days later when I returned home and began to rummage through the thousands of photos. This one stood out as it represented nature at its best and an environmental portrait of a beautiful prairie bird.

I'll never forget that trip. It was unique to say the least with the stormy weather. In hindsight, it was the stormy weather that helped to present another unique side to the Tallgrass Prairie; Nature in its raw form always creates the most demanding of changes, and change is what a photographer is compelled to capture.

The "Brick" - Argus C3

 My dad passed away a few years ago. He was one of those unsung guys who could be counted as among " The Greatest Generation", having fought during WWII on the Island of Leyte, Philippines as part of General MacArthur's return. He also fought in the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War on the Island of Okinawa. He was attached to the 96th Division, 321st Combat Engineers. It's an odd story really how he became assigned to an engineering outfit. You see he was not very mechanical; barely knew which end of a hammer to hold, but he did have a year of college behind him and while in college he took a photography course. Somehow or another, the Army in all of their infinite wisdom thought his photography skills might be useful in an engineering outfit, so that is where he ended up. He did take a lot of photographs during that time, not one was ever used by the combat engineers. His camera of choice was the venerable Argus C3, otherwise known as "The Brick".

Of the meager possessions he owned at the time of his passing, the only one I truly wanted was his Argus C3. It was not the actual camera he carried across the Pacific, but another one his good friend from his college and army days found and bought for him many years later. It is indeed a brick and earned that nickname because of its reliability and ruggedness, not to mention it is about the size and weight of a brick.

The C3 was manufactured by the International Research Corporation, Ann Arbor, Michigan starting in 1939. They changed their name to Argus in 1944, about the time my grandfather purchased it for him just before my dad shipped out. A little research revealed it cost about $70.00 which was a substantial sum back then for a camera. Being my grandfather probably did not earn more than about $150.00 per month at the time, it was a real sacrificial outlay of funds for him to buy it.

My dad during his WWII
Army days - circa 1944
Taken with his Argus C3

He took a good number of Kodachrome color slides, most of which have been lost over the years, and he also took a lot of black and white photographs of his time overseas. I have a precious few of them in my collection. Many of them were damaged while overseas by fungus and mildew because of the humid and often damp and hot conditions.

Not sure what ever happened to his original one, but the substitute camera his friend purchased for him was probably manufactured in 1955 according to the serial number.

A while back I loaded that old camera with a roll of 35mm black and white film and shot a roll through it. The focus, being a rangefinder, was a bit off, as the focusing knob was really hard to turn, but it was fun to give it a try.

Heavy Equipment Operations
Taken with the old Argus C3
circa 1944/1945

I suppose as I have grown older, nostalgic reflections have become more important to me. Possessing that old camera and the history surrounding that particular model as it relates to my dad, well, it's just hard to place a price on such a thing. I break it out ever so often just to feel it in my hands, and yes it does weigh almost as much as a real brick. We've all been spoiled today with the technology of digital cameras and computers. Back then, you really had to know what you were doing to obtain a decent photo. 

I don't know, maybe I will give it a try again someday, if I can find a place that will develop the film. Just holding on to it and gazing through the fuzzy viewfinder is almost like looking through a time machine. Sometimes I wish I could travel back in time in cognito and visit my dad during those war years and observe first hand just how important that old camera may have been. Even though the one I do have is not the same camera he carried, it's close enough and serves as a connection between two era's. Photography, it seems, has indeed connected me to my dad's legacy.

Me and Walter Mitty: A Great Deal In Common

 Have you ever met Walter Mitty? He's a friend of mine, well, not in any kind of real sense, but he and I share a great deal in common. Walter Mitty, if you are not familiar with him, is a fictional cartoon character, created many years ago by James Thurber around 1939. Walter was this guy who liked to daydream and in his daydreams became a swashbuckling, bigger than life heroic character. The reality of his life fell a great deal short of that, as he was actually quite timid and mundane. Yet, his alter ego transported him into a world of adventure far removed from the boring and simplistic world in which he lived. 

There are times I still feel like Walter Mitty. Growing up I lived so many daydreams I sort of got lost in them at times. Daydreams like becoming an astronaut, or a great athlete were common, but my favorite was dreaming about being a fighter pilot who ruled the skies zooming here and there challenging the bad guys in duels of bravery. Needless to say, none of those things ever came true. I suppose there were many reasons for that, but truth was, my dreams were bigger than my ability to turn them into reality, at least that is the excuse I fall back on when those melancholy thoughts about how, windows of opportunity have closed, begin to resurface. 

Recently, I re-read Chuck Yeager's biography called "Yeager". Chuck, of course, was the guy who first broke the Sound Barrier flying the research airplane the X-1 way back in 1947. He was just a country boy who grew up in the hills and hollers of West Virginia who became a war hero ace fighter pilot who turned test pilot. He went on to become one of the most celebrated pilots of all time. I guess what captivates me about Chuck is how he jumped on the opportunity when it presented itself. He said about himself, "I was at the right place at the right age in the right time of history..." And, so he was. He was not highly educated but had an uncanny understanding of mechanical things and a natural instinct when it came to flying. It was those instincts that pulled him out of some pretty hairy situations. He also said, "The secret to my success was that I always managed to live to fly another day..."

Chuck was no Walter Mitty, he was who Walter wanted to be but never was. I've read about a lot of bigger than life characters, but Chuck Yeager stands apart from all the rest, and I believe America needs more Chuck Yeager's now more than ever.

Yeager also wrote another book called 'Press On'. It's a follow up to his biography but concentrates more on his hunting, fishing and outdoor related adventures. Mixed in with all of those stories are tales of his flying exploits. It mostly takes place after he retired from the Air Force and what impressed me about it was how he just kept on going trading one kind of adventure for another. I would have expected nothing less from the guy.

By now you may be wondering where I'm going with this story. I guess it is to encourage anyone to keep on going in spite of your age or circumstance. It's okay to have dreams and its okay not to have all of them come true. Even though Walter Mitty an I have a lot in common, there are differences. You see even though I never fulfilled my wildest of daydream, I did manage to have some adventures along the way. Those four years I spent in the U.S. Coast Guard performing search and rescue work, for example, were without a doubt the closest I ever came to a swashbuckling adventure. I still claim those years were the defining moment of my young adult life and who I am today is still influenced by what I experienced way back then. I more than likely would never have pursued the outdoor adventures I've managed to live in recent times had I not served those few years so long ago. I have hiked and backpacked parts of the Rocky Mountains, hiked long stretches of rustic beaches, canoed crystal clear waters and spent time simply laying on the creek bank soaking in the moments. I met and fell in love with the love of my life, Kris, who has been my life partner for over 41 years now. I've learned about how to capture the natural beauty of the world through photography, and pursued and finished a thirty year career as an IT specialist. And now, I am retired.

Oh, I still daydream from time to time and wonder...what if...had I challenged myself when I was younger to follow through with those daydreams. Even so, as I've grown older, I realize just how important those daydreams were, for they helped to mold, encourage, and lift up a young boys imagination, and self awareness enough to where his reality and Walter Mitty's deviated away from each other ever so slightly to where he and I live different lives, and I would not change any of it.