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Atikokan? Pretty?
Councillor Hoszowski had a great idea, simple, but at the same time, difficult -- take photos of places in Atikokan that are pretty. Sounds easy until you try to find them. Number one: It's the wrong time of year; all the pretty coloured leaves are on the ground and autumn colours make Atikokan look vibrant and lively. This time of fall, after the leaves are down is decidedly drab. And Number two: Atikokan isn't a place I think of as traditionally pretty, a place like Grand Marais for instance, or Peggy's Cove. Full of rugged, wild character (or is that characters?) yes, but traditionally pretty, no. But that is not to say that there aren't places that, in the right light, aren't absolutely beautiful. You just have to be persevering to find them. In my first year here, I took a lot of pictures, in every season and some of them show Atikokan to be, by turns, pretty, rugged, serene, softly covered by a blanket of white or sparkling in the summer sunshine. I am in my second year here now, and some of the novelty of living my life in Atikokan has worn off. I have to find new challenges, especially with winter coming on and, as I get older, it gets more difficult to keep spirits up through a rough northern Ontario winter. |
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So this challenge I am going to take on. I will be out in the early morning, when the frost has crystallized on the few remaining leaves in the those minutes before the sun is up high enough to melt them. And I'll be out at sundown looking for views that catch me, waiting for the slanting orange light to illuminate the scene.
You may see a woman in a green baseball cap with a camera in her hand lurking around, waiting for just the right lighting -- please don't call the police. I ‘m harmless enough, I'm just out on "pretty patrol". And I have request of the readers of The Progress, if you have a nice view from your house, let me know and I'll visit, take a picture and you'll be able to share the view. |