Snapshots of the Border City and area adorn a picture journal of 2021 life on the prairies.
Otis Rusling over 365 days has been focussing his lens on life in the midwest region to capture scenery and events against the backdrop of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 world.
Rusling has taken pictures all his life and with the isolation and lockdown he needed an outlet.
“When you take on a project like this which I thought would be quite easy in Lloydminster as I’ve been living here for so long and then found out, ‘no it’s not that easy.’ But when you take a picture everyday you can’t be a perfect photographer with everything perfect. You get what you get and you see what you see.”
He explains if you came back 20 minutes later or the next day you would see a different image.
He shares that the difficulty arose especially when he came to edit as he took over 3000 pictures and for the book he had to choose just one for each day. The book showcases life in Lloydminster and area from the scenery to hockey, cars and music pictures from the theatre as well as fireworks and the summer parade.
He says he does not take pictures of people very well, but there is one picture which he singles out as the human delight of capturing those outdoor days in the fall.
“There’s one picture of Messum Lake; there’s a [picture] of a grandmother I think and a daughter that I took from the street in a fall setting with the beautiful trees at Messum lake and they are enjoying one of the last days that would be pleasant to be sitting out at the water.”
All the pictures hold special stories as seen through the eyes of the photographer, like the one of the pond at Bud Miller Park that Rusling says he took with the sun glistening off the clear ice before the snow returns.
Rusling who has lived and worked in other parts of the world has remained a Lloydminster resident for over 40 years.
“I like it here; farming. I want to be near agriculture and this was my best opportunity while working in the oil patch to mix the two together.”
The book “Snapshot Lloydminster 2021” is available by contacting Rusling via Twitter.