I just got back from Thunder Bay, and while I could have flown, I prefer the drive, especially once I get north of Sault Ste Marie and start following the shoreline of Lake Superior. You might think that the reason I like the drive has something to do with stunning scenery. I guess it would if it weren’t for the camera around my neck. Photographically speaking, stunning scenery doesn’t do it for me anymore. In the modern world of HDR images, landscapes have taken on a plastic quality. They’ve stopped being interesting. In my view, what redeems landscapes are the other points of interest happening within them. Landscapes are merely frames. Sometimes pretty frames. But frames just the same.
I enjoy photographing the ruins scattered throughout Northern Ontario. A fire breaks out and, afterwards, it seems to take years to deal with the wreckage. The owners simply walk away. The buildings persist, ghostlike, offering a dumb testimony of livelier times. They challenge our assumptions about the natural rugged landscapes of the north.
Just north of Sault Ste Marie, near the 1223 km marker on the TransCanada Highway, there used to be an establishment called Pruce’s Motor Inn. It included a restaurant. Now, the restaurant floor is covered in moss.
You can see clearly that a fire destroyed at least part of the motel. Vandalism has also played a role. But leave the motel alone long enough and what will ultimately claim it are the forces of nature. A few harsh winters, the relentless creep of the surrounding forest, and soon the motel will disappear forever.
I revisited a gas station in Agawa Bay near the 1106 km marker. I shared some images in a previous post but find the place compelling enough to revisit.
I found another abandoned gas station a little ways east of Nipigon near the 694 km marker.
I particularly like the office. There’s something poignant about the chair waiting empty on the damp floor.
