Superstacks

Fill the air with...
Milton, ON
November 2012
For more Thematic industrial disease, click here.

Sometimes on my way to work, I jump off the highway a few exits early to avoid the inevitable traffic that seems to worsen the closer you get to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). They call it "volume", the inevitable combination of too many cars and not enough road capacity to handle them all.

I feel more than a little guilty that I'm now part of the problem, but life doesn't always have perfectly carved borders, and if commuting means being able to provide more for the folks back home, then that's a tradeoff I'm willing to make. And based on the traffic most mornings, I'm not alone. .

On this particular grey November morning, I could see the smoke plumes long before I approached the plant that produced them. And as soon as they appeared, the little voice inside my head went "ping", and I knew I needed some kind of picture. I always build in lots of buffer time into the drive, so I wasn't rushed when the plant loomed in the windshield and I pulled over.

I shot quickly, silently thanked the road planners who ensured this particular stretch of Steeles had an especially wide and flat shoulder (maybe they were photographers, too) and then just as quickly jumped back in the car and finished the journey.

I wonder what other photo surprises await me the next time I head to work. Any guesses? Any suggestions what I should look for along the way?