Changing Horizons is a collection of photographs representing grain elevators of Alberta as seen by a teenager growing up in urban Calgary, surrounded by the prairies. While the traditional wooden elevator once stood proudly along railway lines stretching all across the province, today?s prairie is dotted with only a few examples of yesterday's prairie skyscrapers. Although a number of elevators in this book have met their demise, they will still always be remembered by those who they affected in photographs and memories.

About the Author - Joshua Soles and Changing Horizons

He was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1985, and lived in Calgary his entire life. His interest in grain elevators began early on as a result of family trips throughout Alberta, where He enjoyed trying to spot the next town by the row of grain elevators that lined the railway tracks through town. He has been interested in trains for as long as he can remember, and began taking photographs as early as 1992 on a very simple film camera.

As he grew older and began to travel farther photographing railways across western Canada, he began to notice that the wooden grain elevator as he knew it was becoming a dying breed. The rapid loss of so many elevators around Alberta prompted him to take action and begin pointing his camera towards the grain elevators that were still remaining before the fateful demolition crews destroyed the memories forever.

He began working on Changing Horizons in 2002 while searching the backroads of the prairies for remaining elevators, with the intention of preserving an icon of Alberta's past, present, and future. Changing Horizons does just that: vibrant photographs of grain elevators are portrayed along with detailed captions and short essays outlining my experiences traveling throughout Alberta.

This book will appeal to any person who has in some way had a connection to these prairie icons, whether they grew up in the shadow of an elevator or visited family farms on the Alberta prairie.

In April 2006 Josh graduated from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He worked on the book in his spare time while attending university as a form of creative relaxation from the day-to-day pressures of school. The book has been a long process, but very rewarding in that he fees as though he has been able to capture a part of Alberta's history that is reminiscent to all of us, but is fading fast.


Written by Joshua Soles


Format: 11" x 8.5", Hardcover, full colour
Pages: 176
Publishing Date: December 2006
Suggested Retail Price: $60.00
ISBN: 0-9781682-0-8