#keith biggins

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Rachel Fraser. Server at Jackpot Asian Fusion Restaurant. Grande Prairie, AB

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Sister and brother Amanda & Tim Desjarlais in their front yard. Horse Lake, AB

I spent last weekend exploring the Horse Lake Native Reserve, which is just under an hour outside of Grande Prairie, right on the B.C. border. By "exploring" I probably mean awkwardly lurking around like a total outsider while trying to find a foot in the door to photograph some of the locals. This moment finally came when I was parked outside the baseball diamond, standing around texting or something else to try to look busy and a foul ball came flying over the fence landing at my feet. I threw the ball back and was then told to "Grab a glove" and come play, by the pitcher at the time, a guy named "Oggie".  I was immediately sent to bat and am thankfully a gifted baseball player so managed to not make a complete ass of myself. 

Afterwards we hung out and had a few beers and while everybody was very friendly it was obvious that they were wondering "where the hell did this random ass kooky white dude come from?!" I started to explain how I was hoping to take pictures of people yadayada and one of the guys, Tim, invited me over to photograph him with his new Mossberg MMR automatic rifle which he was extremely proud of. The photo-shooting in Tim's front yard attracted a lot of attention from the neighbours and I was soon off to shoot the Horseman family up the road, then some kids, then a car, then a baby, then a puppy. 

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Back to Alberta and back to work last night after three weeks off in a distant land of sunshine, white sandy beaches and coral reefs. Neither a flake of snow nor a redneck in sight. It's great to see my hillbilly brother Terrence again though, he sure is blossoming into a fine young man. 

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Sunrise this morning in Two Lakes, Alberta