Prairie Landscape Photographer/Artist

BIOGRAPHY of CHRIS STACKHOUSE

From an early age, growing up on the east coast of England, Chris was attracted to the essence of structural design, whether industrial or architectural. The use of a camera to record both the lines and shadows of buildings fascinated him.

"Later, after relocating to Canada, Chris wandered the prairie landscape from northern Alberta to Montana capturing, with photography, the interaction of big skies, endless fields and dramatic man-made structures. He found himself repeatedly being drawn back to record the changing western farm life."

Chris built up an impressive repertoire of prairie photography including many stately grain elevators. His first most riveting moment as a photographer was viewing a long row of elevators at High River, Alberta in 1981.

In 1998 whilst listening to a radio program about the radical changes to the prairie landscape, he realized that his passion for these buildings was more than just important to him. Here was a story of the rapid demise of those ghost-like sentinels, the wooden grain elevators; the very living soul of human presence on the prairies. And, as the tall grasses and buffalo a 100 years before were disappearing for ever, so were they.

Inspired by the elevators strong artistic lines and the ever-changing light, Chris began to see that he was also chronicling a detailed history of the elevators passing. This gave him a new incentive to explore each winding road and farm community, from the depths of frigid prairie winters to sweltering summers capturing through photography a collection of informative and artistic representations of these unique structures.

Some of his work can be seen in a book by author Elizabeth McLachlan entitled "Gone But Not Forgotten" Tales of the Disappearing Grain Elevators; marking the passing of the classic prairie grain elevator. His images have been published in many magazines and papers with showings in Beall Park Art Center in Bozeman, Montana, Artspring Art Center and Galleons Lap Photo Gallery on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.

Even though Chris has visited perhaps 80% of the towns and hamlets in Alberta and Saskatchewan he continues to revisit and expand his photographic portfolio in Canada as well as to neighbouring Montana, Washington and North Dakota to name a few.