Stone Circle

This is another shot from that Monochrome Guild trip down to Drumheller.  And unlike the previous shot, this one was taken on Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, rated at 400 and given N+1 development in PMK.  I ran this batch on November 19th and development was for 16:40 minutes at 20C.  Sadly I messed up mixing the developer for the second batch that day, and lost ten sheets of film.  Fortunately I almost always shoot duplicates of everything, so I should have other versions of everything I lost.  

Near the Timber Bridge in East Coulee there is a site that has become somewhat of a shrine.  A local guy named Steve, that lives in East Coulee, owns the land and set this up.  It started out as a memorial to his parents when they passed on.  For a number of years since then he has continued adding to it.  There are logs and driftwood that he finds in the river, stones from the hills, and all sorts of little trinkets and odds and ends.  

Many people mistakenly claim that it is a native burial ground or ceremonial site.  But that couldn't be further from the truth.  The site where it is situated was ground zero in the middle of a couple of coal mines.  There were roadways and rail lines and all sorts of activity here for decades.  Now that the mines have been closed for half a century or more, the land is beginning to revert back.

I thought this spot looked like a miniature version of Stonehenge.  The object in the middle is a small ceramic scuplture of two figures, arm in arm.  It all looks pretty cool in the low and direct fall light.

I shot this on October 16th at about 3:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was F25.0 and a shutter speed of 1/60 second.

Timber Bridge

Here's another shot from the Monochrome Guild fall trip to Drumheller.  This is the old Timber Bridge in East Coulee.  It once carried both vehicles and the train across the river from the Atlas, Murray and Western Monarch mines, to the town of East Coulee.  It is now a designated heritage site, but badly deteriorated.  If some restoration does not start soon, there will be nothing left to save.

I shot this 4"x5" sheet of Ilford FP4 and rated it at 100 iso.  Development was normal, in Perceptol 1:1 for 11:15 minutes at 24C.  I processed this batch on my new Jobo CPP3 Processor, on November 15th.

I took this shot on October 16th at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and an ultra wide Schneider Super Angulon XL 47mm.  I fitted the lens with both a #25 Red Filter, and the IIIb Center Filter recommended for this lens.  This filter has a neutral density spot in the center that fades to clear at the edges.  It reverses the effect of light fall off in the corners of the image as a result of the extreme wide angle view.  Through trial and error... mostly error... I've learned that I have to raise both the front and rear standard of the camera to prevent the bed of the camera from being in the field of view in the foreground.  The exposure for this one was F22.0 and 1 second.

Valiant

This is one of the most photographed cars in Alberta.  This old Valiant sits abandoned beside the old service station in the ghost town of Dorothy.  Lots of tourists and photographers stop by to visit the old churches and the grain elevator in town.  It has been a favorite place of ours for many years as we always used to camp here with our trailer, when the girls were young.

This time around I stopped by while I was out with Fred, Court and Steve from the Monochrome Guild.  We were on our annual fall trip back in October.

This shot was taken on a 4"x5" sheet of Ilford FP4 rated at 100 iso and developed in Perceptol 1:1.  I run Perceptol Developer on my Jobo Processor as the continuous agitation does a better job than hand development at washing out the anti-halation dye from the film.  I ran the batch on November 15th and the development time was 11:15 minutes at 24C.

The shot was taken back on October 16th right around noon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a longish 210mm Nikkor lens.  The exposure was F22.0 for 1/8 second.

Three Thousand

This blogpost marks a milestone...  3000 posts.  My first post was way back on July 29th 2010.  Here we are almost 14-1/2 years later, and I'm posting number 3000.  I never dreamed that I would still be doing this...!  Its nice to get comments from friends, family and sometimes even strangers, that they've seen something on my blog.  Its a great way for me to keep everyone up to date on all the crazy stuff I keep myself occupied with.  Thanks to everyone that keeps coming around to read my mindless nonsense.

Service Station

This is the last scan, for a while, that is from the recent batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320,processed in PMK, and from the second trip to Saskatchewan.  This now unused service station was in a small town in Southern Saskatchewan, in the Rural Municipality of Mankota No. 45.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a long 250mm lens.  A #8 yellow filter added some contrast and created separation in the sky.  I noticed that there were a number of Art Deco style buildings scattered throughout the parts of Southern Saskatchewan that Margarit and I explored.  This one was taken on September 18th at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

Railway and Main

This one is from the first trip to Saskatchewan, last June.  Chris and I were scouting around looking for locations for the Beer Parlour Project.  This hotel was not operating, but it appeared that someone was living upstairs.  There was a restaurant and bar in the annex on the right, but it was closed at the time of our visit.

This is a 4"x5" sheet of Ilford FP4.  I processed it on my Jobo in Perceptol Developer 1:1.  I rated the film at 100 iso and took this shot on June 17th 2024, at about 7:45 in the evening.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide 110mm lens.

Pram

Here is another image from the September trip to Saskatchewan.  We found this old pram in an abandoned house and just had to photograph it.  This is yet another sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 developed on my Jobo CPP3 Processor.  I ran this batch a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still posting scans from it.  The 4" x 5" sheet film was rated at 320 iso and given Normal Development in PMK Developer.  There were quite a number of great images from this trip, and in that batch.

I shot this one on September 19th at around 5:00PM  I used my Ebony view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  This abandoned house was in a ghost town in the Rural Municipality of Coulee No. 136.

Swings

Another view of the same school that I posted a couple of days back.  This is the one that is privately owned, and was undergoing some sort of restoration.....

This shot is from the recently processed batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5", in PMK Developer.  I shot this on September 19th, just after noon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a longish 210mm lens.  This longer focal length yielded a little compression and as a result the background school looks larger in comparison to the foreground swings.

Potty Chair

Back in September, when Margarit and I were exploring down in southern Saskatchewan, we came across this old potty training chair, sitting overgrown in an abandoned farm yard.  I just had to attempt to photograph it, though I'm not sure I couldn't have done a little better.

This one is part of the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" that I recently processed in PMK Developer.  I shot this on September 21st at about 2:30 in afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter lightened the value of the grass, and provided some separation in the sky.

Roadside Store

This is another negative from the recently processed batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, that was given Normal Development in PMK.  This shot was taken near the end of our trip to Saskatchewan last fall, on September 21st, just after 11:00AM.  It was a rather cool and blustery day, as I recall.

I have no idea what sort of business once operated out of this old building, in this dying town.  There was no signage, or nothing left laying around to provide any clues.  Most likely a store of some kind.  This is located in the Rural Municipality of Wood River No. 74, in south central Saskatchewan.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  I added a #8 yellow filter in the hope that it would pump up the contrast just a little.

Cottonwood Trail

This is the Black and White version of a color shot that I posted a few days back.  This one was taken during the recent Fall Photo trip by Monochrome Guild members Fred, Court, Steve and myself.  This one was taken on Ilford FP4+ 4" x 5" sheet film, and given Normal development in Perceptol 1:1.  The film was rated at 100iso, and I developed it with my new Jobo CPP3 Processor.

This shot was taken in Dinosaur Provincial Park, on the walking trail down near the Red Deer River.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter deepened the value of the sky and made the clouds stand out.  It also lightened the value of the fall foliage.

Beaver Lumber

This is another sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 sheet film, developed in PMK Developer.  I ran a batch of 4" x 5" film on my Jobo Processor, back on Remembrance Day.  This shot was taken while Margarit and I were out exploring in Saskatchewan.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera on September 16th, at about 3:45 in the afternoon.  A wide 90mm lens allowed the sweeping view that included the moody sky.  I used a #25 Red Filter to increase contrast and create some separation in the sky.  This old store is privately owned, and sits in a small town in the Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51, in southwestern Saskatchewan.

Facade

This old school in the Rural Municipality of Auvergne No. 76, in southern Saskatchewan, is over a century old.  It is now privately owned, and in the process of being restored.  I believe the owners are intending to turn it into a residence, though the project seems to have stalled in recent years.

Margarit and I were visiting on September 19th of this past year and it was a very windy day when I took this photograph at around 1:00 in the afternoon.  I shot this image on Kodak Tri-X Pan film rated at 320 iso and processed normally in PMK Developer.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm Lens.  A #25 Red Filter deepened the sky, and lightened the brick.  The shutter speed of 1/8 second did not stop the motion in the grass that was being buffeted around by the gusting winds.  This was intentional.

BP 13.1 - Sandy and Doug

This one is also from the recent batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 developed in PMK.  This is Sandy and Doug, the owners of the Limerick Hotel, in Limerick, Saskatchewan.  They were the most gracious of hosts and warmly welcomed the Beer Parlour Project to their establishment.

I first visited with my colleague Chris in June of this past year.  This was outing number BP 13.0.  I seem to have been jinxed by unlucky number 13, as I messed up all of the shots that I took of Sandy and Doug on that outing.  Some of the other shots that I took during that outing, of the hotel and other patrons turned out OK.  But all four portraits of the owners, didn't work.  I think partly I messed up the focus, and perhaps I didn't tighten down the standards on my view camera.  Its almost as if the camera moved a little when I inserted the film holder, and things were a little out of focus.  Of maybe I just didn't pay enough attention to focusing the camera in low light.  It could also have been a little movement on the part of subjects, due to the long exposure.

In September, when Margarit and I were touring southern Saskatchewan, I returned for outing number BP 13.1.  At  that time Margarit and I enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner in the tavern, and I attempted to re-shoot the portrait.  I exposed six sheets of film, and f*cked up five of them.  I have no explanation, but it was a series of errors... shutter left open, exposure set wrong, mostly just getting flustered and not paying attention.  Number thirteen really seems to be throwing me for a loop.  One of the six turned out a little better.  Not perfect, but acceptable.....  here it is....

The Limerick Hotel was once known as the Delaney.  Rumour has it that back in the day there was a brothel upstairs on the third floor.  Doug took Chris and I for a tour of the hotel during our first visit in June.  The first and second floors are currently used but the third floor has been shut down and abandoned.  In the background of the portrait, somewhat out of focus, you can see the old Delaney Hotel sign.  It's hard to read here, but the room prices are listed.  Apparently the price of the room escalated depending upon the qualifications of the hostess.

Cloverly Avenue

Here is another scan from the recently processed batch of 4" x 5" sheet film.  This was Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, rated at 320 iso, and developed normally in PMK.  This is a shot from the fall trip to Saskatchewan.  I shot this on September 16th at about 11:00 in the morning, while Margarit and I were exploring southwestern Saskatchewan.  This old service shop is in the Rural Municipality No. 79 Arlington.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a 125mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter deepened the sky, nicely separating the clouds.  It also pumped up the contrast somewhat.

Art Deco

This fascinating abandoned building is located in a small town in south central Saskatchewan, in the Rural Municipality of Mankota #45.  I peeked in through a back window, and it looks as those it was last used as some sort of wood working shop.  I assume that it was probably a store of some kind originally, as it is located right on Main Street.

This is a scan of a 4" x 5" sheet film negative.  This was Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, rated at 320 iso and given Normal development in PMK Developer.  I shot this image on September 18th at about 4:30 in the afternoon, when Margarit and I were touring around southern Saskatchewan.  I used my Ebony view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  A #8 yellow filter deepened the value of the sky a little, and picked up the contrast slightly.

Making Lasagna

About once a year I set aside an entire afternoon and make a big batch of lasagna.  This year that day was yesterday... November 12th.  I went to the grocery store the day prior and bought about 225 dollars worth of ingredients.  This was going to be enough to make five large pans, and one extra large pan of lasagna.  

I bought four boxes of lasagna noodles, two big bags of spinach leaves, eight cans of various types of tomato, tomato paste and tomato sauce, six pounds of ground beef, and about fifteen pounds of cheese... mozzarella, swiss, cheddar, cottage and parmesan.

I made a huge pot of meat sauce and set it aside.  Then I boiled all the lasagna noodles in batches.  I set about assembling the five pans.  I figure they must weigh about five pounds each, and certainly can feed a family, hopefully with a few leftovers for the next day.  They are certainly more substantial and taste better than any pre-made frozen lasagna you can buy in the grocery store.  But they cost a lot more too, so I guess you get what you pay for....! 

I froze the five large pans that can be seen in the snapshot below, and we'll use these over the coming months.  The sixth one was even bigger, and we baked that one for dinner.  The girls had been pestering me to do this for some time, so I finally got around to it.

Hoodoos

This is another 4" x 5" color negative, from the recent batch of film that I just processed...  This one was also take at Dinosaur Provincial Park, on the Hoodoo Trail.  Court, Steve, Fred and I were out for the annual Monochrome Guild Fall trip.  

I shot this sheet of Kodak Ektar 100 on October 17th just after noon.  The light at this time in the fall in our northern latitude, is just gorgeous all day long.  I used my Ebony view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  Once again I used the Blue/Yellow color polarizing filter to enhance and saturate the colors.  I never really get tired of this look though some find it kind of excessive.

Cottonwood Trail

This is a scan of a sheet of Kodak Ektar 100 4" x 5", that I just ran in C-41 chemistry on my new Jobo Processor.  This shot is from the Monochrome Guild Fall Trip down to Dinosaur Provincial Park.  I shot this on October 17th at about 3:45 in the afternoon.  This was taken along the Cottonwood Trail, a walking trail down along the Red Deer River.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  A Blue/Yellow Color Polarizing Filter gave the highly saturated colors and really brought out the blue sky and the yellow leaves.  I know it is a little gimmicky, but I have always liked the look of this filter.

Jobo CPP3 - Test Drive

I returned home to the city on November 6th, after spending five days out in Nordegg.  I came down with a bad cold shortly after I arrived at the cottage, and didn't really accomplish a lot.  Mostly I just lounged around with Hank, enjoyed the solitude, and tried to get better.  After I got back, and beginnig to get over the cold, I got to work in my darkroom.  I finished up mounting and matting some prints that I had been working on before I left, and made some space for my next project.

Then on November 9th I set up my Jobo Processor.  I have had two old Jobo CPP2 Processors for many years.  Both of them died this past year, and I had to retire them.  I still intend to try to get around to parting them out and hopefully making a little money on the remains.  Earlier this year I bought a new Jobo CPP3 Processor.  This version is supposed to be improved, and includes a stronger motor that can properly rotate the large Expert drums, without burning out.  This was the problem with my old units.  Although I've had the new unit for some time, I haven't got around to using it yet... until now.

I mixed up a batch of C-41 Chemistry and set to work processing a bunch of color negative film.  This included five rolls of 35mm.  Some of that film was actually not color.  This was Ilford XP2 and the now discontinued Kodak BW400CN.  These are both monochrome films that use the color process.  The advantage to this is that the color process converts the metallic silver image to dye, and there is very little grain.  This can be helpful when the smaller 35mm format is used, particularly when the film is pushed under low light.  With the excess chemistry, left over after the roll films were done, I also processed ten sheets of 4x5 color negative film.

Many of the shots on the 35mm film were from various Beer Parlour Project outings over the past year.  I am trying to get caught up on processing this stuff so that the photo galleries on the Beer Parlour Project website can be updated.  Look for that in the coming weeks, and I will also share some of the images here.

The instructions that came with the processor were somewhat lacking.  The unit was originally designed and manufactured in what was then East Germany.  The translated instructions are somewhat abrupt and abbreviated.  But the unit is pretty intuitive in its operation, so I mostly figured it out.  Not bad for a technologically inept old geezer I figured...!

BP 20.0 - Peers Hotel

This is a photo of my Beer Parlour Project collaborator, Chris Doering, interviewing Steve, at the Peers Hotel, during our first visit on October 6th.  Obviously Steve is very animated.  Our number one fan and manager of the establishment, Lori, had rounded up a bunch of neighbors for us to interview and photograph during this first visit.  We arrived right around noon on a Sunday, immediately after Lori opened the place for the day.  There was no one but Lori in the tavern upon our arrival.  Steve had obviously been celebrating for some time before he was pulled over for a visit.  He was quite excited, and had a lot to say and continually forgot to hold still for the long exposures necessary with my view camera.

This one is from a recently processed batch of Kodak T-Max 400.  I rated the film at 1250 iso and gave extended development in T-Max Developer 1:4.  The results were reasonably good, and I was fortunate that there was quite a bit of natural light spilling in two open doors.

BP 18.0 - Silver Spur Saloon

This is Cathy and Gladys, a mother/daughter team that work at the Silver Spur Saloon in the Wildwood Hotel.  They were very welcoming and accommodating when the Beer Parlour Project visited back on October 4th. Cathy has worked in the Saloon for about twenty years.  Her mother, Gladys, is 85 years old and has worked there for FIFTY years.  We were impressed with how happy they were, and all the patrons in general were the same.  Must be something in the water...?

Gladys is the sister of the guy that you used to own the hotel.  He passed away some time ago and now his son Dan and daughter-in-law Michelle operate the establishment.  

November Image - David Thompson Country Calendar

This is the image that I selected for the November page of my 2024 David Thompson Country Calendar.  This old store was located down the hill, just a little below the original Nordegg townsite.  In the name of progress, the store was demolished to make way for an extension to the residentail subdivision.  That was about a year ago... or thereabouts....

I'll have to double check the date that this photograph was taken.  I believe this one was taken with my 8x10 view camera.  I'm glad I managed to capture the old store before it disappeared.  

Tough Guy

Hank seems to be having a lot of fun out at the cottage with me.  He is very demanding of attention, and there is no where to go to escape from him, so he's been hanging out with me the entire time I've been out here.  The fresh snow was something new to him.... this season... and he had a lot of fun ripping around outside. 

At one point he started barking a lot and I noticed that his attention was turned towards the Red Fox.  We have had foxes around our property since day one.  I'm not sure if this is the same one that always hangs around, or if there is more than one.  The fox was about the same height as Hank.  But Hank, with his stumpy little legs and beefy body, probably outweighed it two to one.  At one point he boldly advanced to within 25 feet or so of the fox.  The fox didn't really care, and was occupied eating all the seeds that had been spilled from the bird feeder.

It's Here

Winter has officially arrived.  It snowed overnight on November 4th and I awoke to a couple inches of white stuff.  I've been out at the cottage since last Saturday... just me and Hank.  Originally I planned to head back to the city today, so that I could play hockey this evening.  But I've just come down with a bad cold, and really shouldn't play.  I think I'll stay out for an extra day, so that hopefully I'm a little less contagious when I return home.  I really don't want to make Margarit sick, right before she leaves on her holiday

I feel rather shitty so I'm mostly just laying around, not doing much of anything.  I brought some new inventory out to the Beehive Artisan Market the other day, and I've been puttering around on a couple of things around the cottage.  I meant to split a little firewood, but just haven't felt up to it.  So it has mostly just been me and Hank, hanging around and being lazy.

Big Leaf Maple

This is a shot that I took last fall, late October to be precise, out on Vancouver Island.  The fall there lasts later than it does here in Alberta.  I'm out at the cottage in Nordegg today and the leaves are all long gone, and there is a skiff of snow on the ground from a few days ago.  It was clear last night, with a new moon and a billion stars visible.  Today it is once again heavily overcast and very gloomy.  My favorite time of year is early fall, when the leaves are in full color, and the days are still mild.  Much like the conditions in this photograph.  Once the season turns and fall begins the transition into winter, it is not as nice.

Somber Days

This past week my brothers and I had to make the difficult decision to move my Mother into long term care.  Up until now she has still been living at home on her acreage, but with home care staff coming in every day.  In recent months her dementia has progressed to the point that she could be a danger to herself.  Earlier this summer we put her on the waiting list for some government funded seniors residences.  When we checked recently, we found that she was still months away from a placement.  So we pulled the trigger and elected to move her into private care.  We had to tell her some white lies about the need to move out for a while, so that an exterminator could come in and deal with a mouse infestation in her home.  That was partly true, as there has been a mouse problem, and in fact we caught one in a trap on the morning of her exit, which kind of sealed the deal.  I don't feel very good about having to lie to her, but she was very accepting, and in hindsight maybe that was the best option...?

I spent the past few days working with my brothers to plan the move, lay out the lie, and actually execute the whole plan.  With that now behind us, I bailed out and headed out to Nordegg for a few days.

After all the emotions of the past week, Saturday dawned with a very somber mood.  The skies were grey and leaden, and there was a skiff of fresh snow when I woke up.  As I made my way out of the city and southwest towards the cottage the mood was very overbearing.  The skies were very heavy and gloomy.  The clouds were scraping the ground.  It was more than a little overwhelming.

This time around it was a solo trip to Nordegg, although I did take Hank along.  Margarit and the girls elected to stay behind.  Hank does not travel well in a vehicle, and the vet gave us some sedatives to try and make the trip a little easier for him.  I suppose that helped a little, but he spent most of the three hour trip sitting in my lap and panting.  He did a little better after a break in Rocky Mountain House when I stopped for half an hour to grab some groceries.  After we arrived at the cottage he seemed to chill out a little, though he was probably still a little stoned.  It was gloriously quiet, with virtually no neighbors around, and we just got a fire going and settled down for the night.

November Calendar Image

This is the image that I selected for the November page of my 2024 Fine Art Monochrome Calendar.  I shot this ice formation along side the Trans Canada Highway, in Rogers Pass.  Chris and Arturo and I were on our way home from Vancouver Island, around the end of October, last year.

I have already put together my David Thompson Country Calendar for 2025 and they are now available to purchase at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.  I am currently working on my 2025 Fine Art Monochrome Calendar and hope to get that printed soon....