The stunning images found in Forgotten Nova Scotia offer a window into our past, showing life as it was then, and stirring in us the emotions of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived.
Nova Scotia is in Ingrid Bulmer and Ted Pritchard’s blood, and you might say Forgotten Nova Scotia is their love letter to the province. Where others may see only decay and rot in these long-forgotten locations, Bulmer and Pritchard see exquisite beauty. This is the book they were meant to do.
Although searching and shooting abandoned places has similarities to photojournalism, the experience differs in many ways; the idea of chasing a subject that requires research and travel feels like working on a photojournalism assignment, but the location work takes on a more fictional tone as you struggle to fill in the gaps to what has occurred at each place. Imaginations can run wild in such circumstances, which adds greatly to the work, and allows you to explore outside the boundaries of sticking only to the facts as journalism dictates. Keeping this in mind we kept to journalism ethics, and staged or touched nothing at each location. Staging seemed to be a frequent occurrence at many locations visited by previous explorers.
Neither Ingrid nor I have any past experience shooting abandoned places. The offer to create this book did appeal to us immediately though; a challenging long-term subject to explore and learn about, presenting many creative challenges as photographers.
Two ways: Good old fashion detective work, and exploration, coupled with the generous assistance of other photographers who know the subject extremely well.
Most shots generally occur quickly while we initially explored each location independently. Long exposures take more preparation and time but were usually executed as a team.
Absolutely. Islands of Nova Scotia!
Ted Pritchard and Ingrid Bulmer were photojournalists for The Chronicle Herald for more than 20 years. Their photos regularly appeared in The Canadian Press and Reuters news agency stories. Their work has appeared in Maclean’s Magazine, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and The National Post. Today, Ingrid and Ted own and operate Rattlebox Multimedia Inc