Midwest Prairie Photography

Framed Prairie Chicken photo perched in some tall brown, tan, and slightly green grass. The chicken has a bright orange face and neck that is outlined with black. The chicken’s body has a striped pattern with brown and tan colors.

Jim Brandenburg is a photographer from Ely, Minnesota. He photographed images for National Geographic Magazine for over 20 years. The Jim Brandenburg prairie photography series compliments the prairie gardens that can be viewed from the windows of the Prairie Room in which the photography hangs. The series consists of four photos, including an image of a thunder cloud, wheat, lightning, and a prairie chicken.

Here are the student observers' descriptions:

Thunder Cloud - A large, ominous storm cloud with different shades of gray fills the sky. A small sliver of blue sky peeks through the clouds. Below sits a meadow of orange and yellow flowers. You can’t tell if the storm cloud is just arriving or leaving. 

Wheat - In this photo, the sun glows orange and yellow. It is the only source of light in the picture, so it was probably taken at sunrise or sundown. Silhouettes of tall grass and wheat wave back and forth and reach towards the sun.  

Lightning - A field of grass cowers under a huge, dark lightning cloud. The photo is snapped right as lighting strikes from multiple points of the cloud, all throughout the horizon. 

Prairie Chicken - A photo of a prairie chicken perched in some tall brown, tan, and slightly green grass. The chicken has a bright orange face and neck that is outlined with black. The chicken’s body has a striped pattern with brown and tan colors.