Abandoned Saskatchewan | July 2015

In the spirit of Halloween, I am sharing some of my most recent images of some abandoned places in Saskatchewan. I have a growing fascination with decaying properties that have been left behind and the stories they tell.

It all started when I went out exploring the back roads for the first time with my friend and fellow photographer, Tracy from Copperblue Photography and Design. That was in 2012, and we had no idea where we were going but we found some pretty cool places, including a neat old farm and the famous ghost town Bents, where I ended up taking some photos for Tracy soon after. Since then, I have gone exploring a few more times and found so many gems near Rosetown. One of my favourites is this farm, where I love to go for sessions still.

This past July Tracy and I ventured out again, this time heading south on what was probably the hottest day of the year. And while we had a plan at first it soon turned into quite an adventure as we found unexpected places along the way. We found big old barns with peeling paint, a once quaint little house hidden behind the trees where we made a new friend. Then we discovered the ghost town of Glamis, with its monument and sign-in book, one old garage and a house straight from the 80s. There were still boxes in the kitchen as if the owners left before they were finished packing.

Then we came upon the coolest old farm with a huge cracked barn, light streaming through the rafters. And the tiny house on that same property that had the prettiest colour of paint on the walls.

We also found churches with boarded-up windows and towns that people still live in but more homes are abandoned than not.

It is unbelievable how many of these places still exist in Saskatchewan. As you drive down the grid roads you never know what you will come across. We saw houses we wouldn’t dare venture into, some we couldn’t get to (like a barn in the middle of a canola field), and others that we itched to find a way in but didn’t want to disturb. And the most interesting thing about it is thinking about what these places once were.

I had fun taking these photos and fun editing and reliving the experience too. As Halloween approaches, it is fun to think that maybe some of these places could be haunted by the ghosts of their past inhabitants. It is true that sometimes when you are there looking through the windows, you hear things. Maybe a rustle of a torn curtain or the creak of a floorboard. Out there in the middle of nowhere, your mind plays tricks on you. But that is part of what makes it such an adventure. I can’t wait to go again soon.