PRAIRIE LANDSCAPES
- photo book captures compelling Prairie landscape & culture
Dion Manastyrski, a photographer who grew up on a small farm in Saskatchewan, set out to capture what was left of the history of the Prairies as he knew it as a youngster. He started photographing the Prairies in 2003 and 10 years later, Manastyrski authored “Prairie Sunset: A Story of Change.”
The book captures compelling images and stories of the Prairies, spanning 150 years and how it has changed culturally and otherwise. Manastyrski says he was inspired to start this project because of his experience growing up on a farm. “This book was inspired by my own experience growing up on a family farm and knowing what a great way of life that is. After my siblings and I had all completed high school, my mother sold the farm to another family who lived on it. Some years later it was sold to a bigger farmer, and the house I grew up in became abandoned. I would come back and visit the area often, and I was alarmed by how quickly things were changing.”
As a result, he set out to travel across the Prairie provinces to capture some of the history that was remaining. “I had been a photographer for several years and in 2003 I started work on a book to capture some of the history that was vanishing so quickly and the story of complex and rapid change in the rural Prairies over the past century or so. I began to travel through the Prairies for a few weeks almost every year to explore and photograph these old places. “In total I made eight trips across the three Prairie provinces from 2003 to 2014 and about halfway through I decided to start interviewing people, mostly retired rural people, farmers, one-room-school teachers, railway workers, etc. The first print run was published in 2015 and this second printing is for a larger distribution all across the Prairies to shine a spotlight on Prairie history for Canada’s 150th anniversary.”
He says the most dominant thing he has realized doing this project is the “cultural boom” of the Prairies. “During my 18 years on the farm, I came to understand the trusting and helpful nature of people of the rural Prairies. I also heard much about the old way of life on the farms and in small towns. But while working on this project and having spoken with so many farmers and other rural people, these things became even more evident. Beginning with the homesteaders, a cultural boom happened over the past 150 years or so, and this came out in the words of the people I talked to.” He says so far, people are loving the book and the images. “Over the years working on this project, and the past few years distributing the book, I’ve met thousands of people. The response from people all across the prairies has been unanimously positive and enthusiastic.” In the epilogue of the book, Manastyrski described the emotional process while creating this book. “Photographing the old places was quiet, contemplative, often eerie, and completely immersive. Sometimes I would spend two hours photographing an old farmyard that captivated me. As dark fell after sunset, the bird songs would end, but the noises would creep out of the house: hinges creaking in the wind, animals sneaking out of the woodwork, and occasionally sounds that I couldn’t explain. It was delightfully spooky.”— Prairie Sunset: A Story of Change.
“Photographing these old places for this book, and interviewing over 70 rural people, was an enlightening, emotional, and intimate experience,” he added. ManastyrskiIn has been a photographer for over 20 years. This is his first book but he hopes to delve further into authoring more projects. He says he hopes readers will find the project compelling. “I wanted to capture the photos and history in a compelling way to spread interest about rural prairie history. I wanted this book to capture the essence of the way of life, which began with those who settled the land and built the agriculture of the prairies. This part of our history is vanishing quickly and it’s an important part of Canada’s history.”
The book is available in about 170 stores across the Prairie Provinces. There is a map and a list provided on Manastyrski’s website here: http://prairiesunset. ca/stores/ In and around Moose Jaw, the book is available at: Yvette Moore’s Gallery, Post Horizon Booksellers, Western Development Museum, Peavey Mart. In, Gravelbourg’s Styles for Home, Lafleche Pharmacy. In Limerick, Home General Store and Limerick Coop and in Assiniboia’s Harvey’s Home Centre.