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Over an 18 month period; I have visited Montana and North Dakota in the USA three times; and we have now travelled to Saskatchewan, Canada. Travelling with my friend, Steve Carroll, our first visit was more of a recce, in search of abandoned buildings, homesteads, schools, churches and those wonderful American old cars. We had done a lot of research on line, but found that quite a few of these buildings no longer existed; and often we just came across an abandoned building as we travelled. And we travelled, we must have done about 16,500 miles! (28,500 miles including Saskatchewan, Canada.)
These abandonments are often in the middle of no where, in a field or hidden by an overgrowth of Cottonwood trees. Our first visit was in April/May but we really wanted to photograph these places in the winter, with snow. However, in November/December 2023 and February 2024 there was very little snow to be seen. It was then that we decided to travel north to Saskatchewan, Canada in February 2025 for what we hoped was guaranteed snow.
These buildings had been abandoned by families and businesses unable to sustain a living from the poor quality agricultural land in the mid 1900s. Now decades later, I wanted to capture the feelings of despair and futility of the abandonments overcome by time, weather and vegetation. Buildings standing proud, braving the extreme weather elements but still slowly succumbing to the decay. They all have a story to tell.
These abandonments are often in the middle of no where, in a field or hidden by an overgrowth of Cottonwood trees. Our first visit was in April/May but we really wanted to photograph these places in the winter, with snow. However, in November/December 2023 and February 2024 there was very little snow to be seen. It was then that we decided to travel north to Saskatchewan, Canada in February 2025 for what we hoped was guaranteed snow.
These buildings had been abandoned by families and businesses unable to sustain a living from the poor quality agricultural land in the mid 1900s. Now decades later, I wanted to capture the feelings of despair and futility of the abandonments overcome by time, weather and vegetation. Buildings standing proud, braving the extreme weather elements but still slowly succumbing to the decay. They all have a story to tell.
© Jan Ison Photography