Red Deer County has seen it’s share of foggy mornings this fall and winter. I was surprised that on this particular morning the wind was howling and it wasn’t warm to say the least. Windchill kept me inside my car for the most part, but I was not about to give up on a great opportunity to capture the sombre mood of the enveloping fog.
[ Leica M3, Zeiss ZM 50mm Planar, Kodak Gold 200 ]
There was scant snow in the fields of Red Deer County in mid-December. It certainly isn’t like this now that we are really in the winter season. We have had a fair bit of snow and plenty of wind that has built some impressive drifts. The fog was almost finishing clearing off when I came across these fields of bales along the hills SE of Red Deer.
[ Leica M3, Zeiss ZM 50mm Planar, Kodak Gold 200 ]
While driving around Red Deer County the last few months I have noticed a large of amount of windrows being torn out. These windrows were made up of very large poplar trees and some Manitoba Maples as well as a few caragana hedges. The ones that bother me the most were some huge and healthy poplars pictured here. These windrows certainly don’t occupy much land and I can’t imagine it makes much of a difference to the farmer in regards to crop size. Not only is our countryside becoming far less beautiful to look at but so many small prairie birds won’t have the homes they had last year. I don’t know what the county regulations are regarding pulling down all these trees, but I find it disturbing and it bothers me that they don’t hold value to our farmers. I’ve made these images in b&w and rather grainy as it fits with my mood when I was out looking at this scene.
[ Leica M3, Zeiss ZM 50mm Planar, Kodak Gold 200 ]
Collin J Örthner - Photographer 