Sunday, July 12, 2009

Tessier, Saskatchewan


Tessier is a village of around 30 inhabitants, located west, southwest of Saskatoon. This elevator was still standing in 2001 when this photo was taken. It is a "typical" country grain elevator in that it stands very much alone in the wide open prairie. This elevator is right next to the main highway and so is easily spotted if you're driving along highway #7 on the way to Kindersley from Saskatoon. It's about 50 kilometers or 30 miles from Saskatoon. (Click on the title to find it on Google maps.)
I've chosen to "sketch" the photo to give it a more dated and archival look.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Advertising for herbicides


Farmers face a barrage of advertisements extolling the virtues of this or that herbicide, fertilizers and the equipment to apply them with. I took this photo on the side of the elevator in Birch Hills, Saskatchewan and turned it into a black and white to give the message more clout perhaps. The artwork intrigued me and reminded me of the Soviet style propaganda photos one sees extolling the virtues of the workers in the Motherland, etc.
Herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides are a big industry and farmers have little to say about prices of these products. In order to compete they have to apply these products even though many realize the potential harm to the soil and to people. Farmers can't raise their prices in order to cover the additional costs of applying herbicides, etc., and so are at the mercy of the suppliers.
Organic farmers are working hard to counter this trend and we should support them for it as far as I'm concerned.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Classic Kinley


I made a "sketch" of the photo I took of the Kinley elevator while a train was passing by. To me, it gives the scene a more "classic" feel adding to the memories of times passing.