If you only have a bit of time to taste the Alberta tar sands, start here: 12 simple pictures.
In July 2008 I rented a room in Fort McMurray and roamed around with no specific plan. I visited the area for 12 days, talking with people, smelling the burning bitumen up north on highway 63, seeing firsthand what had intrigued me - yet without informing me - in the media reports from the area.
In downtown Fort McMurray I did not spend much time photographing the crack junkies and prostitutes. Nor did I have access to the mine sites up north on highway 63.
At the end of the river I discovered one of the most beautiful places, fragile and surrounded by what indigenous people call a giant killing creature.
