...is a title borrowed from a study by the Canadian political economist Harold Adams Innis, who is one of Canada's most important thinkers and a father of communications studies. Published in 1936, this is a work densely filled with information and insight about the social and economic development of northern Ontario, including transportation. This collection is inspired by Innis' work..
Focus and Framing
Canadian or The site is divided into "frames" that focus on particular themes within the general topic, particularly in the ecological zone known as the Boreal Shield. The Shield has been the home of Indigenous peoples since before European colonization, and an important part of the setting for the creation of Canada as a country.
Frames include: Frame One: Modes of Transportation connecting Mid-Northern Ontario. Only a few are represented here, including buses, trains, and planes. Frame Two: "Abstracts," including blasting mats, and rock cuts on the highway. Frame Three: Sudbury scenes. Frame Four: The Muskoka Recreational Boat Industry. Frame Five: Man-made landscapes. Some landscapes may seem natural, but are also the fruits of development. Frame Six Michigan's UP, particularly Marquette.If there is a mid northern line of cities in Ontario extending from North Bay to Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie, then Michigan's Upper Peninsula is the extension of that line west into the United States. These photos focus on the harbour at Marquette.
Action and images.
A photograph can be a snapshot on a journey. We sit behind the bus driver on that trip, capturing images of the things that engage us to the left, right, and straight ahead, as the action goes from place to place personally, socially, and geographically. The stories that photographs tell are usually about people, communities, and societies; and their activities as “action” in a particular setting. Photography expresses time stopped for an instant.