This week’s Photo Essay is with a guest photographer, Finn O’Hara and his photo series, County Fairs.

County Fairs have held a rich and long tradition in the rural pockets across Canada. Some are older than Canada itself, and the competitions and traditions that are held can be traced back through the families that still attend these exhibitions.

Many competitions are held over the weekends alongside more traditional activities like horse pulling, livestock competitions, and tractor pulls. But make no mistake, the Demolition Derby is now the main event.

The proceedings generally start with a ‘fashion’ show, which involves the competing cars parading through the competition derby area to show off the custom paint jobs and other customization that the drivers have put into their cars.

After a lot of flying mud, twisted metal and smoking engines, the last driver whose vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory.

With the greening and rapid modernizing of western society, the days of the Demolition Derby and County Fair are surely numbered. After all, who would go watch a few dozen Hybrids and Electric cars bounce into one another? These photos depict a whole counter-culture which may well be on the brink of extinction.

Bio

I was born in London, England and raised in Inglewood, Ontario, a small rural town north of Toronto. I was introduced to the world of photography at young age by my father, a former employee at Kodak.

After studying English Literature at Bishop’s University in Quebec, I moved to Toronto where I eventually made the transition back to photography. At that time, I assisted many international and local photographers, and they contributed greatly to my understanding of the photographic process.

Currently, my clients include Forbes, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, New Scientist, Wallpaper, The Walrus and Wired. I am now working on a personal project based on reconstructing life changing events, and capturing the decisions made just before they happen.

www.finnohara.com
www.finnohara.com/blog

The Siwa Oasis, a tiny jewel of green engulfed by the vast sands of the Sahara desert, sits approximately 800km west of Cairo, Egypt, on the edge of the Great Sand Sea near the Libyan border.

Egypt’s most remote oasis is also considered to be the most alluring, with bubbling natural freshwater springs, lush gardens of date palms and olive groves, traditional mud-brick buildings, and ancient historical sites that include tombs scattered with human remains, and the Oracle of Amun; the temple where Alexander the Great was declared a god, the son of Zeus in 331 BC.

With the exception of a few motorcycles and the odd 4X4 vehicle, Siwa hasn’t changed much in the past few centuries. Donkey carts are the predominant form of transportation, and the community of 23,000 residents has managed to keep its distinctive Berber culture and language, unique to northern Africa and its Egyptian neighbours.

The Siwa Oasis, inhabited for over 10,000 years, only recently emerged from centuries of isolation when the Egyptian government in 1980 built a paved road, connecting the oasis to the Mediterranean coast, to encourage commerce and trade. Since the road was built, the Egyptian government has pushed the oasis as its next big tourist destination.

First came the road. Now there’s talk of constructing a commercial airport in the oasis. Instead of a few dozen tourists making the 10-hour drive from Cairo to Siwa each week, an airport would bring in a weekly influx of hundreds of people.

Many Siwans enjoy the income that tourism brings, and say that an airport is the key to Siwa’s future. Others, however, say that an airport would be the death of their oasis; their culture and survival would be at risk.

An airport might benefit business, but at the expense of their most valuable natural resource – water.

Deddeda Stemler is a professional freelance photographer based in Victoria, BC, Canada. Her photographs have been published in major magazines and newspapers worldwide. You can view her website at, www.deddeda.com