Canso: Incognito

Whitman House Museum, Canso

I am going to be candid: I do not like photographing in towns. I like being by myself checking out isolated locations. I can feel attuned to the surroundings if there are no distractions (ie cars, people, curious dogs). I can ‘see’ most clearly. But stick me in a town with my camera and I become disoriented. It’s really odd. The visual information is overwhelming and foreign.

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Canso

Also, I do not like being conspicuous. In a small town or village a person walking around with a tripod might as well dress up like a chicken. I can’t help but feel like an interloper. I would much prefer to be invisible. In the summer there are enough strangers coming and going that I wouldn’t stick out but at this time of year I have no opportunity to blend. My personal preferences have nothing to do with people being unfriendly. In fact, the opposite is true, people are very friendly and often, with only the slightest gesture of acknowledgement I find myself drawn into lengthy conversations. I take this in stride if a person is curious enough about me to ask me questions though it pulls me out of and away from my usual concentration.

Canso

The county has four population centers (Canso, Guysborough, Sherbrooke and Mulgrave). Each has appeared in the blog but I have not made an effort to profile them. Mainly I assume they are easily found and easily ‘explored’ by anyone who wants to do it. Parking is easy, the streets are signed and none is large enough to become lost in.

The Tickle, Canso

I decided to go to Canso just to wander around. I don’t practice doing this enough. Wandering around in a populated area is far more challenging for me than wandering around in the woods or on a beach. The challenge, when there is so much to look at, is finding focus, figuring out what matters. Sometimes it just seems impossible to deal with all the wires and the lack of apparent order.

Canso Harbour

Canso is filled with interesting structures; there are many older traditionally styled buildings that show age, sometimes neglect, sometimes even oddity of one sort or another. I also liked the proximity much of the town has to the harbour and the passage between it and Durrell’s Island. Once I got my mind adjusted I was able to experiment a bit by incorporating some complexity into certain images rather than always seeking to eliminate it.

Houses on Durrell's Island across the Tickle

In the end I only visited a small section of the town. The short winter days are deceptive and caught me off guard, again. I thought I would have the entire afternoon but because it was cloudy it actually became quite dark by 3 pm. Next time I will aim to arrive in the morning. The light will be more pleasing, and I’ll roam some of the streets I missed on this visit.

Wharf, Canso

Ice plant, Canso

Rotting hull – style of 50 or 60 years ago

Fisherman’s yard, Canso

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Houses on Durrell’s Island across the Tickle

Seaman’s Memorial, Canso

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The Tickle, Canso

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Canso Harbour

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Old shed on Durrell’s Island

Wharf, Canso

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House on Durrell’s Island shot from Canso

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Whitman House Museum, Canso

Beacon, Canso

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