Charles Hoppner, a third-year film student, found this “shoe tree” on the banks of the Madawasca river near Springtown, Ontario, while on a road trip with a friend. “It was our first exposure to that tradition, and it felt bizarre and otherworldly, especially in such a sparsely populated area,” he says. Hoppner estimates that there are only about 200 residents left in the Springtown area, most of them scattered along the river.

Hoppner became interested in photography thinking it would improve his filmmaking. While he most enjoys taking pictures of people, he is not a fan of straightforward portraits. “If you have a person in a shot, suddenly there’s a narrative, and I think the more organic and natural the shot, the less familiar the narrative,” he says.

Visit Charles’ Flickr Page