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Beautiful decay

While Abandoned Alberta doesn't have photographs from everywhere in the province, it does capture a lot of the beauty of dilapidated buildings and old rusty run-down vehicles that can be found down dirt roads and throughout small towns in the province.

Abandoned Alberta

by Joe Chowaniec

136 pages

$29.95

MacIntyre Purcell Publishing (macintyrepurcell.com)

Available at Costco and Chapters

Have you ever driven down those old country roads and admired the quaint and forlorn beauty of some ancient farmhouse or an old truck that has given itself up to the ravages of time? I bet that you have, and I double bet that you've also thought about taking a photo of it, but didn't.

Joe Chowaniec understands. The local photographer published such an album of sorts earlier this year called Abandoned Alberta. It has not only struck a chord with photo fans but also received high praise from some unlikely sources.

"At first, like everybody, I'd drive by buildings and think the same thing probably everyone else thinks: why is that still standing? Why hasn't someone plowed it under, I don't understand. Then I picked up my camera one day, and just started snapping photos. Something caught my eye and it went from there," he began.

Chowaniec, now in his 50s, has been an avid amateur photographer for his whole life, though he still prefers not to call himself a professional. Four or five years ago, he started a Facebook page for his images and it really took off. Now closing in on 36,000 followers, the page precipitated the publication. He spent these last years traveling more than 10,000 km throughout most of the province to find and capture these images.

The popularity of his work has struck him a little unprepared. "I never thought it would get that way," he revealed, making careful note that he also included several images from other photographers to complement his own collection.

Sales have been booming, he added, and the hard cover title is practically a hotcake. Amazon has already declared it a bestseller, in fact.

Helping it along are positive comments from such people as Timothy Allen, BBC Photographer for the Planet Earth series The Human Planet, and Bill Weir, CNN climate correspondent and host of the TV's The Wonder List.

The photog with the keen eye for the derelict was sad to mention that he wasn't able to cover all areas of Alberta in his quest for rusty gold. While there aren't any images from the St. Albert/Sturgeon County area, he does still have the old Pacific Western airplane (found on Highway 633 at the Villeneuve Airport) on his radar. A follow-up book of more images might materialize, he said, if this kind of popularity doesn't abate.

"It's humbling and overwhelming. I truly mean that I did not expect this. It's been quite the ride, because when they phoned me about two weeks ago now and told me the first printing had sold out, I was over the moon. I just stopped at a place in Calgary. Can't keep it in stock."


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
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