I have recently got back into a bit of my photography hobby. My favourite images are black and white, usually landscapes or objects. I need to spend some time getting my larger cameras up and going again, its been a bit, but I have been playing a little here and there. I just thought I would share some of my images with you today.
“Tiny Home”
“Years Gone By”
“Contemplation”
Those are a few of my pics and I am hoping to really get out and find my passion for it again. I am by no means a professional, (although I can brag that one photo I did years ago was purchased and used in a text book on mountain striations), I do enjoy finding pleasing images in every day life.
Over the weekend my kids and I decided to go on a little adventure and check out the ghost town of Neidpath in Saskatchewan. This town had it’s first post office established in 1909 and was left to crumble when the railway abandoned that rail route in 1981. Below you will see a few pictures of the two grain elevators still standing, sort of, out of the original 4.
I think my appreciation for sites of the past came about from my step-father. He loved everything about the past. He would take us camping for 2 weeks every summer at some ghost town site to explore. I would see him out there with his brimmed hat and metal detector in hand looking for lost little treasures. He also introduced me to visiting old graveyards. Nothing disrespectful, but to just read any headstones you could to get a sense of the history. I in turn have passed on this admiration to my kids. I grew up surrounded by antique items. Not the fancy and expensive furniture but the small everyday items that people used in their daily lives. Metal tins that once held kitchen spices and old bottles. An old barber chair he hoped to one day restore and the bubble photo of his grandfather in his military uniform on the wall.
I love when I can take a closer look at the once inhabited dwellings and try to imagine what life was like then and in that town. Open fields all around and the big never ending sky above. The day was warm but with a nice breeze blowing across the prairies. At one time people lived there. Worked, went to school, played, laughed. Now there are a few old buildings left to slowly deteriorate back to the earth.
This was once perhaps the home of a family. I looked in at the old single kitchen faucet and old stove trying to picture how this was once a cozy home. Its hard to picture it when you see the state in which it has become.
Not too far from this old house we found a church. The entrance section of the building had separated from the main portion and in the field adjacent was an abandoned car. Why would someone just leave their car? We will never know.
I love to go and explore places like this. I am out of the house getting fresh air and I am enjoying the moment. Not worrying about now, the next 5 years or even further. (Thanks anxiety!) I am just in the moment and the past.
I hope you enjoy the pics and maybe these will help inspire you to go out and explore. Until next time-stay sane.
So I have made, the oh so smart, decision of going on more outdoor adventures. For some dumb reason I thought going on a hike at a location known as Valley of 1000 Devils. The name should of been a hint right?
Trail Head Valley of 1000 Devils
10 KM round trip with a narrow foot path through grasslands and around mounds of clay. Sometimes there were strong winds and then suddenly it would be gone. Then you could feel the heat that was radiating off of the clay earth and the dryness of the air.
We made it a family affair. 3 of my kids, my visiting dad, and myself. I thought it shouldn’t be too difficult but it was more difficult than I thought. My poor body was not conditioned for such an undertaking. My feel screamed, my legs ached. Worse? My DAD was going along like it was nothing. Well shit, I have to get in better shape.
I do admit, the view was amazing and made it worth it.
Peak View
I will do something like this again. Just need to get hiking boots and really prepare myself.
I have decided I am super lucky. My demon spawn….ahem….lovely kids, still love the chance to road trip with mom. Now when I say kids I am talking about 15, 19, and 23. I have decided that I will continue to go on road trips with them for as long as they want. Why? Well, I am not an idiot. I know that at some point they will have busy lives and cruising down the highway with their old mom won’t be in the plans.
I try to make the trips fun. Stretch them out so we can make any stops we want. Take pics, explore, be goofy. Music blasting, windows down and loaded on drinks and snacks we hit the road to where ever that trip is taking us. I am planning trips up to Northern BC, The Yukon and still researching more.
When I was growing up my step dad took us camping for 2 weeks every summer. We usually stayed at remote locations as he loved old ghost towns. There were times I may have gotten a little bored but as I grew older I looked back at those trips and I never thought of the bored, just the fun and interesting things we did. I have chosen to make memories for my kids to look back on and say “Mom wasn’t just a raging mean old bitch!”. Ah, yes, the teen years are fun aren’t they?
In todays world people are consumed with things and obtaining “treasures”. Going on those crazy expensive trips around the world. Not that I don’t have places I would love to visit and still hope to do so, BUT, I want my kids to appreciate what we have around us. Memories are important, not things I buy them. I have seen in my kids that they have absorbed this outlook and I am so thankful that they are who they are.
I think we forget that sometimes there is beauty and exploration right in our own backyard and that is what I want to do with my family. Explore, admire, laugh, and make memories. So get the hell outdoors, research a cool out of the way place to check out. Sing loud, eat horribly and laugh together.
Off I go until another thought strikes me. Until then – stay sane.
WTF IS MY LIFE? 