Gallery 3 — David Olken Photography

Castalia/Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick

Creignish/Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

West Mabou/Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

North Bay-Ingonish/Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

North Sydney/Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Glace Bay/Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Cheticamp/Cape Breton island, Nova Scotia

Grande Entree/ Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec

Upper Woods Harbor/Barrington, Nova Scotia

Waycobah First Nation -Whycocomagh/Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

As a child growing up in suburban Boston, I always longed to be a Yankee. I envied those around me who could trace their roots back many generations and visit the places where their personal narratives were formed. Over the years, I traveled through Downeast Maine and the Maritime Provinces using photography as both a means to record and a reason to explore further down the coast. I came across the first ball field in this series on Grand Manan and was mesmerized by the symmetry of backstop and bases, and the endless view past the outfield to the ocean. Over the next five years I visited over 50 ball fields in Atlantic Canada.

Each ball field has a unique location and surrounding landscape but they share many common elements in these highly ritualized spaces. Compared to other sporting arenas, baseball fields, with their backstops, bases, dugouts, lines, circles and diamonds are much more complex and visually stimulating. The locations of the fields also share some common characteristics. Given the local geography, many are located close by or in direct view of the ocean. Those in areas originally colonized by the French are often next to churches. In many of the fields in the rural places there is minimal surrounding development, a reflection of the lack of industrialization and relative impoverishment of the areas.

These ball fields are not part of the history-tourism industry which is found in other sites in Atlantic Canada. They are used and well maintained by the people who live and work in these areas. Their unique but unchanging characteristics make them an important touchstone in our ever changing world.

Wedgeport, Nova Scotia/Petit-de -Grat, Nova Scotia