A few weeks ago I went for a drive in the countryside with two thoughts in mind. One was to look for wildlife, in particular, to see if any of the sloughs or ponds had melted enough to start attracting waterfowl. No luck on this front – everything was still frozen over. The other thought was that I might come across some interesting old buildings to photograph. I had a little more luck on this front.

I love the site of old, abandoned houses and barns. I often wonder, who lived there? How long ago? What was their story? What was their life like?

I also like processing these old buildings in black and white as I think it simplifies the image and allows you to concentrate on the shape and textures of the subject. By removing color, surrounding objects often become less of a distraction.

This old house has resisted, to some extent, the ravages of time. That passage of time is illustrated by the weathered exterior along with the trees growing out of the window, doorway and roof. The snow is devoid of tracks other than what looks like rabbit tracks leading towards the house.

Similarly, old barns look great in black and white.

Common on the prairies is the sight of a church seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

The above church is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church St. John. A short distance further down the road (about a couple hundred meters) is the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Ascension, pictured below.

And, of course, every good farming community needs their community hall. Oh the weddings, dances, dinners, and parties that must have taken place here.