Edmonton, Alberta in 1979

I worked in Alberta in the summer of 1979–a summer job on the railway gang and a break from my studies at Acadia University. I managed to get into Edmonton a few weekends that summer and was eager to photograph in an urban environment as I had been living in the small town of Wolfville and hadn’t done much city photography.

I would stay at a dive hotel off Jasper Avenue in Edmonton called the Gateway Hotel (now long gone)–$15 a night, or $16 with a small black and white TV. It was the most basic of accommodation but such a feeling of freedom and independence. I was twenty years old and free to explore the city with my camera–my Jack Kerouac days. And being alone was a big part of it. Photography for me, has mostly been a solitary pursuit. I don’t prefer to be with others when I’m wandering with my camera.

I remember the city being really quiet on Sundays. Almost no stores were open, but you could see a movie, go to the library, or to a restaurant. I saw Woody Allen’s Manhattan that summer and heard Blondie’s Heart of Glass for the first time in a department store. Alberta seemed like the wild west in some ways–lots of red necks driving pick-up trucks. But Edmonton is quite a cultural center with a thriving arts scene. I really enjoyed my time there.

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