Alberta Legislature Interior: Part 1

Following my exploration of the Alberta Legislature Building exterior and grounds, I returned the next day to take the guided tour of the interior before leaving Edmonton. Naturally, I was reminded of my tour of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina. There are a lot of similarities between the two, not surprising since Alberta and Saskatchewan both became provinces on September 1, 1905.

First Oil Well in Western Canada

Located in Waterton Lakes National Park is this small monument, a National Historic Site of Canada, marking the very first oil well in Western Canada. It was a brief stop off on my scenic drive out to Cameron Lake, and it's exactly the kind of random roadside attraction that I love to find when I'm road tripping.

Drilling on the site began in 1901, and they struck oil in 1902 at a depth of 311 metres. The well never reached its expected potential of 300 barrels per day, but the brief success did kick of Alberta's speculative oil boom. The rest, as they say, is history.

Madhatter Coffee Roastery

In June I was contracted to shoot images of Madhatter Coffee Roastery in downtown Medicine Hat for the fall issue of Westworld Magazine. This local coffee shop, co-owned by Myra Bitz-Marsh and her brother Murray Bitz, is full of character and that certainly made my job easier. From the beautiful roaster to the wonderful smells of all the various coffee beans, Madhatter is a chill environment and a joy for the senses. 

In the end, Westworld used one of my images of Myra, despite loving the whole collection, there just wasn't enough room to include more. Now that the issue is public though, I can share the full set that I shot at Madhatter that afternoon. This place is a great hangout and is certainly worth a visit the next time you're downtown. 

Westworld Magazine - Fall 2014