11 million YouTube views and counting for ‘ghost town’ photographer

Shaynee Modien,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Across North America, “ghost towns” and abandoned places lie hidden, waiting to reveal their secrets. Chris Attrell, a renowned photographer, has taken on a new creative venture: a YouTube channel that explores these forgotten locations. His exceptional eye for capturing the essence of these places has earned him a massive following.

From his base in Shaunavon, Attrell’s travels have taken him to remote areas most people have never heard of, or only know through myth.

His YouTube channel has become a sensation, with over 11 million views, as he shares his adventures through the lens of his camera. The channel has already climbed to 60,000 members.

“During the Covid shut down, I decided I would start doing YouTube videos since I liked to teach and doing my normal photography classes were cancelled,” explained Attrell. “I have been totally surprised at how quickly the channel has taken off in the last year, it came very sudden and is still growing.”

In fact, Attrell’s venture has been so successful that YouTube recently assigned an account manager to help him grow the channel even more.

Attrell’s next adventure will take him on a 12-day odyssey through southern California, Nevada, and the Mojave Desert. This solo journey will also take him along one of the loneliest roads in the country – the highway from Reno to Utah.

It all started with an idea to travel through the southwest corridor of Saskatchewan during the pandemic. Those initial adventures led him to discover hidden gems like the Great Sandhills and the wide open spaces of Grasslands National Park. These prairie stop areas became the starting point for his YouTube content, which now reaches beyond the border into Montana.

While travelling solo can be lonely, Attrell cherishes the freedom to organize each day as an exciting pursuit. He enjoys taking his camera to ghost towns and abandoned places, capturing the solitude and eerie beauty of these forgotten locations.

Attrell mentioned that his brother from Columbus, Ohio, might join him on a future adventure, but for now, he travels alone. When asked if he has ever stayed overnight solo in any of these spooky places, he said the closest he has come is filming an overnight area, leaving just as the sun came up, with a sense of calmness and serenity in the air.

Attrell has seen many places, both large and small, from the massive ghost town of St. Marie, Montana, with over 500 buildings still standing, to the tiny town of Canuck, Saskatchewan, with only a few buildings remaining.

It turns out that country life makes for good viewership. Most of his views come from urban settings around the world, with people fascinated by the prairie landscapes they’ve never seen or would like to visit.

However, capturing these stories on camera comes with its challenges. Chris not only has to travel and film but also take the time to edit each program to perfection. He estimates that one day of filming requires at least one day of editing when he returns home.

Food on the road can also be a challenge. Unlike the average beef jerky and pretzels, Chris’s travel snacks are coffee and hard-boiled eggs.

“Truck stops have them, and the eggs fill me up without putting on weight,” he laughed.

While it might seem that the hardest part of his trip would be the solo ride, editing, or filming, Chris revealed that it’s actually being away from his loved ones, particularly his wife, for an extended period. He tries to limit his trips to 12 days maximum.

You can follow Chris’s journey on his YouTube channel, where he shares his remarkable adventures and captures the essence of these forgotten places.

Shaynee Modien,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Shaunavon Standard