Far From Home

When I set out to photograph college students in my hometown of Sarnia, I found a small city transformed by thousands of international arrivals—and a community facing an uncertain future

- By Olivia Steinman

GROWING UP IN SARNIA, Ontario, in the 1990s was a kid's dream. I spent my childhood playing basketball in the park, taking music lessons, and sharing bridge fries-thick-cut wedges drenched in vinegar, a Sarnia staple-with friends under the "Blue Water Bridge, which stretched across the St. Clair River into Port Huron, Michigan. Back then, Sarnia was a small city of 70,000, and I knew very few immigrants. I desperately wanted to travel and meet people from across the world.

At 20, I moved to Scotland on a two-year visa, spending my time working, travelling and documenting everything with my camera. I was particularly enamoured with the otherworldly beauty of the Isle of Skye, where green, rugged cliffs met the Atlantic Ocean and medieval castles stood frozen in time. That was when photography became more than a hobby for me.

After my visa expired in 2007, I moved back to Canada and enrolled at OCAD University in Toronto, where I specialized in portraits. I love how they create a fleeting yet intimate exchange, a moment when someone allows themselves to be truly seen. It's a way to learn about people beyond words.

Living in Toronto, I spent years photographing strangers, posting requests on Craigslist for anyone willing to sit for a shoot. I met all kinds of people-avid knitters proudly wrapped in their handmade creations, people who wanted to be photographed nude and even someone who confronted their fear by letting me take their picture underwater.

In 2013, I returned to Sarnia to start a family. I had three kids in the span of six years, and photography took a back seat. It wasn't until my youngest child turned four that I had time to focus on it again. I wanted to take portraits, but most of the people I knew-other parents, old school friends were busy with their own lives. I figured younger people might have more time so, in 2023, I put up a flyer seeking subjects at Lambton College, which was only a 10-minute drive from my home.