J. Whyte Photography

I recently did a quick trip to the almost ghost town of Travers, Alberta.  Like many small towns in Alberta, in Travers there is still life amongst the abandoned buildings and the wildly overgrown grasses and trees. The town strangely incorporates two worlds, one of the living and one of lost memories.   Travers wasn't always dying. Travers was once a boom town along the Canadian Pacific railway. Three grain elevators were built, including the first in 1914 by the Home Elevator Co. Later a UGG elevator and an Ogilvie elevator were added to the elevator row.  Sadly, the last of the grain elevators was demolished in 1989. As Travers grew, the intrepid newcomers built a bank, barber shop, butcher shop, harness shop, two hardware and lumber yards, blacksmiths, livery barns , restaurants and boarding houses, garages and machine dealers, three grocery stores, pool room, men's clothing store, hotel and real estate office.   Not much is left today. There are a few abandoned ...

There is good photography advice and there is bad photography advice. The difference between good and bad often depends on who is receiving the advice, because everyone is in a different situation.  What works for some won't work for others. And in many ways, I think the advice from professional photographers often translates poorly for enthusiasts who only go out when they can.  Pay for Photography Experiences and not New Camera Gear  It's pretty common to hear a photographer / influencer explaining to their audience why it's better to save up money to pay for photography experiences than spend those extra dollars on new gear.   Usually, we are being told this by an influencer who is standing on the deck of an Antarctic cruise ship right after returning from photographing penguins on a glacier.   And look, I get it. It makes a certain amount of sense. If you only have a limited amount to spend, then it makes sense to allocate as much as you can to getting o...