Waskesiu (elk) 82 The Builder

WASKESIU (ELK)

1x1 Architecture, Waskesiu Beach House, Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan

Lisa Stinner-Kun

“With this image, I feel like I’m watching a live work of art. The setting is magnificent. It creates a sense of harmony between the building and the nature in which it is embedded. Without really seeing the building, it seems obvious that the integration is successful.” – Félix Michaud, juror

This image comes from a series of photographs I took for 1x1 Architecture, a firm based in Winnipeg, Canada. They commissioned me to photograph a new beach house in Waskesiu, Saskatchewan, a quaint vacation town located in Prince Albert National Park. The building beautifully complements its wild, subdued surroundings.

Before the elk came into view, I was initially struck by the subtle way the architecture was framing the landscape. Standing there in-person felt like being in a gallery, looking at a moving landscape painting. After taking my first shots without the elk, I packed up and walked away to set up for another photograph. While under my dark cloth, I heard beachgoers getting excited about something. I looked up to find the elk sauntering through the water, and I immediately knew I had to rush back to the earlier location to catch them in the frame of the previous composition. Luckily, I had enough time to set up and wait for the elk to perfectly position themselves. Now, with the elk in the image, the architecture transforms into a kind of cinema, where we can appreciate not just the beautiful scene unfolding on the movie screen, but the experience of the theatre—the architecture—as well.

THE BUILDER

Ted Geddert, Holz Constructors

Jacqueline Young, Stationpoint Photographic

“Without entering the building, this shadow play allows us to discover part of the interior of this small construction while revealing the exterior beautifully. The quality of light is superb. A simple and effective photo, precisely like a tiny house, after all.” – Félix Michaud, juror

I met Ted at an outdoor neighbourhood gathering a few months before taking this photo, when a connection was made through a mutual appreciation of architecture. He and his wife Carolyn had recently completed the construction of their home. I was invited over to see—and potentially make images of—their beautifully designed but yet unfinished outdoor hut, nestled on the riverbank and surrounded by trees.

While exploring the site, I looked up from my camera and noticed Ted fastening electrical cable to the wall with a hammer. Backlit by the golden-hour sun reflecting off the river, I framed this unplanned activity; an image of the builder and his muse.