This land stretches 54,826 square miles, an area larger than England. Structures such as the toxic tailing lakes are some of the largest human-made structures in the world – so large that they can be seen from space. The land has been rearranged, altered and manipulated by human activity to the point that it is barely recognizable but so visually appealing – so ugly but strangely beautiful.
Kasia and I have thought about photographing the Canadian Oil Sands for a long time. Even though we approached the subject from a purely visual perspective, what we encountered made a huge impact on us.
Over the course of the next few weeks we would like to take you on a visual journey to this unusual place, telling the story of this fabricated landscape and its people. Here is a small teaser of what’s to come.
The entire project was shot with the Fuji X-Pro2 paired with the XF 50-140mm or XF 14mm F2.8 and Fuji X100S.
2016 © Kasia & Olaf Sztaba Photography. All rights reserved.
Very interesting and descriptive pictures. I find some of them really beautiful, despite the ugliness and unhealthiness of the landscape. You take some of them from helicopter ?
Thanks for sharing Olaf! Picture 1,2 7 and 8 are especially appealing to me.
Quick question! With the X-Pro2, do you still experience Iridient Developer are giving you the same kind of difference in detail compared to C1 and LR (as you did with the older Fuji models)?
This is the post I’m referring to:
https://olafphotoblog.com/2013/09/13/dont-sweat-the-details-but-a-non-scientific-review-of-iridient-developer/
Cheers!
Surreal and disturbing, but I agree for a design/visual standpoint the images are very interesting.
John,
You described it very well. Not every photograph has to be ‘beautiful’ in a traditional way.
Thank you for your comment.
Olaf
Great images as always. Are you saying there is a photo book coming? 🙂 Looking forward to more.
Mac,
Thank you for your kind note. Regarding a book: YES!
By the way, Kasia’s cake was delicious!!!
Olaf
Holding ponds don’t look to be lined. Ground water being contaminated. I usually enjoy your photos, but these are simply UGLY.
Jerry,
Yes, this is a very ugly place but visually striking. We appreciate your feedback.
Olaf