Shower Building

This is the last of my color transparency scans for the next little while.  I have to get around to editing some more before I can add them.  My main desktop computer just got retired, so I have been working from my old laptop while a new desktop is being set up for me.  As with everything that involves technology, it is taking longer than expected.  Soon I will have to replace my laptop as well.  I can't remember exactly how old it is, but I recall having it with me on a work trip to Estevan, Saskatchewan back in 2012, and it wasn't new then.  It's still running (sort of) Windows 7, and nothing really works as it should.  But that is an issue for another day, after I get the new desktop up and running properly.

This is a scan of a 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak Ektachrome E100G,  This one hit its best before date in December of 2006.  I loaded it in a film holder three years ago, in June of 2023.  It was exposed last spring, and I developed it on May 16th when I ran a batch of E-6 chemistry on my Jobo Processor.

I took this photograph in the wash building at the Nordegg Mine Site.  I'm not sure what this broken fixture once was... probably a hand sink, but perhaps a drinking fountain.  I took this photograph on April 18th 2025, at about 3:40 in the afternoon, during one of my many tours of the historic site.  

The photograph was taken with my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a Fujinon 180mm lens.  The exposure was for 30 seconds at F18.0.

Shoreline Trees

Here is another scan of a large format color transparency.  This one is a 4"x5" sheet of Fujichrome Velvia 100.  This time around the film was not quite as out of date as some of the stuff I have been shotting.  This one expired in January of 2019, was loaded into the holder in September of 2023, exposed in April of 2025 and developed on May 16th of this year.  This was the batch of E-6 chemistry that I mixed up and ran on my Jobo.

This is Abraham Lake out by our place in Nordegg.  In the early spring the reservoir is at it's lowest level.  The dam captures the mountain runoff and by fall the lake is completely full.  Then the cycle repeats and the water is slowly released to generate power over the fall and winter.

I took this shot on April 20th of 2025 at about 1:30 in the afternoon.

I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a Fujinon 150mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F32.0.

Saskatchewan Yard

Back on May 16th I mixed up a batch of E-6 chemistry and set up the Jobo Processor to run a bunch of color transparency film.  I previously posted a couple of 8x10 scans from that batch.  

This one is a scan of a 4"x5" sheet of Fujichrome Velvia 50.  Like most of my color film stock, this one was quite out of date.  The best before date was October of 2012, and it sat around loaded in a film holder since January of 2023.

I took this shot while Chris and I were visiting Saskatchewan for some Beer Parlour Project outings.  This shot was taken on May 11th of 2025, at about 12:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  I added a Blue-Orange color polarizing filter.  This increased the satruation of the blue sky, and warmed the overall tone of the image somewhat.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F20.0.

Dinosaur Provincial Park

This one is also from the batch of Tri-X that I processed on May 17th.  A 4"x5" Sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 developed in PMK.  As with the others, rated at box speed and given normal development on my Jobo.  

This one is from the Monochrome Guild fall trip to Dinosaur Provincial Park back in 2024.  That landscape is so spectacular, particularly in the low and clear light of fall.  I'm anxious to get back there again sometime soon... after the summer tourist season.

I shot this with my Ebony SV45TE and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  I actually have two of these lenses and keep one with my TE, and the second one in my kit out at Nordegg, with the Ebony SV45Ti.

I shot this on October 17th at about 12:30 in the afternoon.  I added a #25 Red Filter to increase contrast and create separation between the clouds an the sky.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F25.0.

Iron Palladium Printing

Iron Palladium prints are an alternative to more costly Platinum printing, and are also know as Ziatype prints.  The process was created by Pizzighelli and refined by Richard Sullivan of Bostick and Sullivan, in Sante Fe, New Mexico.  Bostick and Sullivan is a supplier of alternative process chemistry and materials.

An emulsion is prepared by mixing together several chemicals.  Mostly this is Ferric Ammonium Oxalate, and Lithium Palladium.  Additives such as Ammonium Dichromate, Sodium Tungstate or Gold Chloride may be added to control contrast and image color.  Just a few drops of each... about 40 in total... are whisked together to create enough emulsion to coat a piece of paper suitable for one 8"x10" print.  In the dry climate of Alberta a page of fine art paper must first be steamed to impart enough humidity.  Then the emulsion is coated on...  I used a brush, but some use a glass coating rod.

Once the emulsion has dried, a negative is placed in contact with the paper, and the two are sandwiched into a split back contact printing frame.  This is then exposed to a UV light source.  Sometimes the sun is used, but I used some compact fluorescent black light bulbs in a mirror lined box that I fabricated.

This is a printing out process and no developer is needed.  The emulsion slowly darkens with exposure to the UV light.  The split back frame allows me to partially open up the printing frame, without shifting the alignment, and inspect the print as it darkens.  Once it is as dark as I want it to be, I wash it in water, give it a clearing bath in a mix of EDTA and Sodium Bisulfite, followed by a final water wash.  Then it is hung to dry.  Exposure varied from about 10 minutes to over 40, depending on the mix of the various chemicals, and the density of the negative I was printing.

I used 8"x10" negatives that I had taken with my big view camera over the past few years.  Some people work with digital inter-negatives created from smaller format images.  I am a purist and prefer not to include digital technology in my work.

I've done some of this printing in the past, but it has been a while.  I had to purchase some fresh chemistry recently in order to take another stab at it.  It worked out well, though I did have a couple of minor coating issues.  I will be attempting further printing work in the coming weeks and months.

Mostly this has demonstrated to me that I need to do more shooting with the big 8x10 view camera!

School's Out

This old abandoned school is in East Central Alberta.  I visited it twice, when I was in the area with Chris, exploring some old hotels for the Beer Parlour Project.  This shot was taken during my first visit to the area in the spring of last year.  The intention was to consider this one for the Apparitions project and I may in fact print it and see if it is worthy of inclusion.

This is a scan of a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, from the batch processed on May 17th.  I rated the film at box speed of 320 iso and developed on my Jobo Processor in PMK.  It was developed for normal contrast for 9:35 minutes at 20C.

I shot this with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter was added to bump the contrast up slightly.  I shot this on May 10th of 2025 at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F25.0.

Blue Whale

For the past couple of years the crew at Dinosaur Valley Studios has been working on the skeleton of a Blue Whale.  Unlike many of the projects that are worked on in the shop, this one is not a prehistoric beast.  Rather this is a modern Blue Whale, the largest animal to have ever lived on earth (by weight).  It is believed to have perished as a result of a ship impact some years ago.  The carcass was left for the flesh to decay off of the bones, and the skeleton was eventually recovered.  

Dinosaur Valley Studios was contracted to prepare the skeleton for exhibit.  The skull was badly damaged as a result of the ship impact, so a new one was recreated from steel and foam with a urethane skin.  The rest of the bones are pretty much all natural, save a few that were repaired or partly reconstructed.

Once all the bones were prepared a steel armature was fabricated to support everything in a realistic pose.  Recently my friend and business partner Frank traveled down to Newport Oregon to install the finished mount.  It is on display outdoors at the Hadfield Marine Center, which is part of Oregon State University.  

Frank sent me these two photos that were taken shortly after the installation was completed.  It is nice to have this project done, and a lot more shop space back in East Coulee, now that all these bones are out.

Lockers and Wheelbarrow

I shot this one over a year ago, up at the Nordegg Historic Site.  This was on one of my many tours of the Mine.  This is a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, from the batch that I processed back on May 17th.  The film was rated at box speed, 320 iso, and developed for normal contrast in PMK.  I ran this batch on my Jobo Processor and development was for 9:35 minutes at 20C.

I shot this on March 31st of 2025, at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  The lower angle of the spring sun probably helped, and provided the highlights in the center of the image.  I shot this with my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a wide 90mm Super Angulon lens.  No filter was used.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F20.0.

Originally I thought that there was no connection between the old wheelbarrow and the miner's lockers.  But I'm reconsidering that initial opinion and may attempt to print this one for the Apparitions project.  It seems that although the project is supposed to be complete, I still keep coming up with new work that fits the theme.

David Thompson Country Calendar 2026 - June Image

This is the image I selected for the June page of my 2026 David Thompson Country calendar.   These backlit trees are at the historic Alexo Cemetery.  Alexo was once a coal mining community east of Nordegg.  It is along the rail line and there was once a big tipple, an operating mine, and a small town.  Today nothing remains but parts of the tipple foundation, and the cemetery.

Corb Lund at the Starlight Room

On Friday May 31st Margarit and I went to the Starlight Room in downtown Edmonton to see Corb Lund.  This was the first of three shows he was playing, and at each show he played two of his albums, in their entirety, in order.  The night we went it was Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier, and Cabin Fever.

I remember the Horse Soldier album particularly well as I used to play it all the time for the girls when I drove them to their riding lessons.  It also features a song called Hard on Equipment, which was kind of the anthem to the guys in my shop, back in the day when I was in business.

The lead guitarist had quite a collection of guitars and played two telecasters, a jazzmaster, some custom electric that I didn't recognize, an old beat up resonator blues guitar, and a steel guitar.  He was really good.

The building that currently houses the Starlight Room has quite a bit of history.  It was once a Citadel for the Salvation Army and even to this day the interior layout is rather church like, with the floor sloping up towards the altar/stage.  Lady it went on to become the home of Edmonton's theatre company.  They later moved to a new building on Churchill Square, now called the Citadel Theatre.

Later it became a night club... first the Bronx, later the Rev and now the Starlight Room.  Some bands that later went on to become famous have played here.  There is no seating so you have to stand for the entire show, and its far too crowded to dance.  We managed to get within about 20 feet of the stage so had a good view of the stage, and quite enjoyed it... at least I did...

Another Version

I posted another version of this same shot a number of months ago.  If I'm not mistaken that one was on Rollei RPX25 film.  This time around the shot was taken on 4"x5" Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  This is part of the batch that I recently processed, back on May 17th.  The film was rated at 320 iso and given normal development in PMK.  I ran the batch on my Jobo Processor and development was for 9:35 minutes at 20C.

This shot was taken on the Monochrome Guild fall trip back in 2024.  These rills are at Dinosaur Provincial Park in southern Alberta.

I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a longish Nikkor 210mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter pumped up the contrast and created some separation between clouds and sky.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F19.0.

All Wrong

There's lots of flaws in this image, but I still kinda like it.  This old abandoned grain elevator sits out near the Saskatchewan border in east central Alberta, along the CN mainline.  

There is a lot of distortion in this image due to the fact that I used an extreme wide angle lens, and pointed it up.  The movements resulted in some vignetting in the upper corners due to some inadeqaute coverage by this lens.  And, there is some lens flare behind the elevator due to the sun being just outside the frame in the upper left.  Somehow it's all sort of interesting visually.... at least to me.

This is a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  The film was exposed at 320 iso and given normal development, on my Jobo Processor, in PMK.  Development was for 9:35 at 20C.

I shot this on May 10th 2025 at about 12:40 in the afternoon.  Chris and I were in the area visiting some old hotels for the Beer Parlour Project and took a break to explore this old elevator.

I shot the image with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Schneider 47mm lens.  A Centre filter was used to balance the light, and a #22 Orange filter pumped up contrast.  I used a relatively quick shutter speed to stop the motion of the approaching train.  1/60 second at F10.0.

Politician's Namesake

This is a negative from an outing a couple of years ago.  It was taken during the first of two fall trips to the Drumheller area, by the Monochrome Guild.  This trip was in 2024, and we returned to the same area a year later, in 2025.

This is a recently developed 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  The film was rated at 320 iso and developed in PMK, on my Jobo Processor.  Development was normal... so for normal contrast range... for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  Processing was on May 17th of this year.

I shot this image on October 16th of 2024 at about 12:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a 125mm lens, with no filter.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F20.0.

This old manure spreader is in the ghost town of Dorothy, a popular stop for photographers.  At the time of this photo, the old grain elevator had not yet been restored.  The roof was ripped off during a violent wind storm some years ago.  After this photo was taken, the elevator had a new roof installed, and it was repainted.  I'm really impressed with the locals in this area as not only have they looked after this, but they have also restored both of the old churches in town, and maintain the community hall.

Pontiac

I took this photograph a year ago, when I was out on a day trip with my brother in law Shawn.  Shawn is currently recovering in hospital from heart surgery.  He has severe heart disease and just had an artificial heart, an LVAD, surgically implanted.  So far he is doing well, but he has a long road to recovery, and will not be returning home for a while yet.  It will be a significant lifestyle change for him, but it beats the alternative.

This is a 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film, rated at 320 iso.  I took this photograph on May 25th 2025, at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera, one of three Ebony cameras that I use, with a Schneider 110mm lens.  This is a somewhat wide angle lens, similar to a 35mm lens on a full frame digital camera, or with 35mm film.

I developed the film normally in PMK developer.  This is a staining pyro developer that imparts a proportional stain in the film, increasing density and contrast.  Development was on my Jobo Processor, in an Expert Drum, for 9:35 minutes at 20C.

No filter was used on camera, and the exposure was for 1/60 second at F16.0.

June Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the June page of my 2026 Fine Art Monochrome calendar.  I print about three dozen of these calendars every year, and hand them all out to friends and family.  It getting to about the time that I have to start thinking about which images I will use next year.

This shot was taken in the upper part of the Kootenay Plains.  This area was burned by the Spreading Creek Wildfire in July of 2014.  The fire was started by lightning, near the Banff Park Boundary, and burned almost all the way to Whirlpool Point.  It amazing how much regrowth has occurred in a little over a decade.

This area is important to the local First Nations and this sweatlodge site, along with all the prayer flags, is in an area that has seen signficant rebirth and new growth.  This is on public land, near one of the hiking trails in the area.

Wagon

This scan is the last of the recently processed 8"x10" negatives.  I shot this one when the gang from the Monochrome Guild were out on our fall trip last October.  This old wagon and these barns are located in the ghost town of Rowley.  It still has a few residents, was once a movie set, and not all the buildings are original.  But it is a cool place to visit.

This is a sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  It was exposed at 320iso and given Normal development in PMK Developer.  9:35 minutes at 20C.  I ran a batch of five sheets of this stuff on my Jobo Processor back on May 17th.  Like most of my other film, this sheet hit its best before date a long time ago... in this case back in December of 2013.

I shot this on October 20th of 2025 with my Chamonix 810V view damera and a Fujinon-C 450mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter was added to increase contrast and create some separation in the sky.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F25.0.

Nordegg Number Two

This is an 8"x10" negative that I shot up at the Nordegg Historic Site last fall.  The reference to Nordegg No,2 is to the number of the coal seam that was being mined, not the number of the entrance.  There is no Number One.

This was yet another sheet of outdated film, with a best before date of December 2013.  I loaded into a film holder a year ago, in May of 2025.  It was exposed last October, and finally developed on May 17th.

This is a sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, rated at 320 iso.  The film was given Normal development in PMK, for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  I ran this batch on my Jobo Processor, together with a bunch of 4" x 5" stuff

I shot thi on October 5th 2025, at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Chamonix 810V view camera and a somewhat wide Nikkor 240mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at R32.0.

Monday Day Trip

Margarit and the others got home from Austria on Saturday May 23rd.  I was getting really tired of being in the city so on Monday I decided to head out for a drive in the country.  I had no particular destination in mind and basically just went out sightseeing.  Of course my view camera came along...

I ended up northeast of the city.  I saw several flocks of White Faced Ibis'.  At one time, a couple of decades back, these birds were only known at one or two locations in the deep south of the province.  Now they have expanded their range up into central Alberta, and perhaps beyond.  I also saw numerous other shorebirds and waterfowl including ducks, geese, coots, and several American Avocets.

Late in the afternoon I ended up over in Andrew.  I did a shot of the exterior of the Andrew Hotel.  When we visited there last summer for the Beer Parlour Project and outing number BP34.0, I never got an exterior shot.  It was raining much of the day, and on top of that we were really busy as the news reporter from CTV Edmonton, Connor Hogg, was out doing a feature on our project.

After the stop in Andrew I slowly made my way back home and scouted around a little, taking the long scenic route back to the city.  I didn't find anything spectacular, but it was really nice to get out of the city for a while, and do some shooting with my camera.

Here we go again

On Thursday May 21st I set out from home to play hockey.  It was a morning game with my Vintage League.  Things quickly went to hell in a hand basket.  I arrived at the rink early, and listened to the radio in my truck for a bit.  Then I grabbed my gear and went to go in to the dressing room, only to realize that I'd forgotten to put on my contact lenses, and was still wearing my glasses.  I rushed home to put on my contacts, and then rushed back to the rink.  I made it into the dressing room shortly before game time, but the dressing room was pretty full by this point.

I rushed to put on all my gear, and then snapped a lace on my skate.  Fortunately I had some spare laces in my hockey bag, but re-threading it took up even more time, and I was barely ready when the game started.  Then I forgot my water bottle in the dressing room, and had to wait for a break in play to go and get it.  

The distribution of guys onto two teams wasn't very good and it was quite the mismatch.  The group that I ended up playing with seemed to have all the older guys, and none of the forewards back checked.  So we lost all three games that we squeezed in to that 90 minute ice slot.  To add insult to injury I got clipped by another wrist shot, this time on my other thigh.  Once again this turned into a big ugly bruise.

What a shit show...!  Hopefully next time around things go better.  There are only five games left in the Vintage summer season and I hope to make it out to most of them.

Prayer Flags

This is a scan of an 8x10 color negative that I processed back in late March.  At that time I mixed up a batch of C-41 chemistry and developed all of the exposed color negative film that I had accumulated.  That was mostly 4"x5" stuff, but there was a little 35mm and a few sheets of 8"x10"... including this one.  This chemistry was run on my Jobo processor as, like the E-6 process, C-41 requires a high process temperature.

These prayer flags, and the sweat lodge in the background center, were in the burned area of the Kootenay Plains, on public land.  The Spreading Creek Burn roared through the area over a decade ago and the regrowth has been amazing.  The area is sacred to first nations people.

This is a sheet of Kodak Portra 160VC.  I shot this on July 1st of 2025 at about 5:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Chamonix 810V view camera and a Nikkor 240mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F36.0.  

Like most of my color film, this sheet was outdated too... though the color held up as pretty realistic.  The best before date was December of 2009.  I loaded the film in June of 2011, and it sat around in my darkroom until I exposed it in 2025.  About three months after I exposed it I unloaded the film and stored it in the fridge until I processed it on March 23rd of this year.

Notre Dame du Savoie

This is an 8" x 10" color transparency that I shot a number of years ago, and just developed.  This is a sheet of Fujichrome Velvia 50, which had an expiry date of June 2007.  I loaded it into a film holder in December of 2008, and it laid around in my darkroom until I shot it in 2021.  A couple of weeks after I took the shot I unloaded the film holder and kept the exposed film stored in the fridge until I ran the big batch of E-6 chemistry on May 16th.

This is the long abandoned Notre Dame du Savoie church.  It is in central Alberta near the Battle River Coal mine and power plant.  That plant has now been switched over to gas, so the mine, which at one point got relatively close to this church, is no longer active.  The steeple fell off a number of years prior to this photograph being taken.  I understand that the building still stands... barely.

I shot this on May 5th of 2021 at about 5:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Chamonix 810V view camera and a Nikkor 240mm lens, with no filter.  I rated the film at 40iso and the exposure was for 1/8 second at F29.0.

Company Store

This is a scan of an 8"x10" negative that I processed on May 17th.  While I had my Jobo Processor set up to run all my color film, I also ran a couple of batches of Black and White.  I like to use the Jobo to develop my Tri-X Pan film in PMK Developer.  PMK is a staining pyro developer that requires constant agitation during development... exactly what the Jobo provides.

I rated the film at box speed, 320iso.  Development was Normal, in PMK developer, for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  The film was somewhat outdated, as most of my stock is, with a best before date of December 2013.  

This is the company store, the oldest building remaining up at the Nordegg Historic Site.  I was on one of my many tours of the site, with staff permission.  I took this photograph on May 20th of 2025, at about 12:30 in the afternoon.  

I used my Chamonix 810V view camera and a Rodenstock 300mm lens with no filter.  The exposure was for 1 second at F16.0.

Warner

The Beer Parlour Project has been invited to the Warner Hotel and Tavern, in Warner, Alberta.  I understand it is a celebration of two years of ownership by the current owners.  We have made arrangements to visit the area and will be spending the afternoon and evening there on June 27th.  Please stop in if you are in the area or have any stories to tell about the hotel or the town.

Another Sheet of Astia

This is the other image that I spoke of in my previous post.  This is also a sheet of Fujichrome Astia 8x10.  This one is from the same batch as the previous one, which expired in January of 1999.  Unlike the previous image this sheet was not loaded into a film holder and left to lay around for a dozen or more years.  This sheet was loaded in June of 2021, exposed in October of 2025, and developed in May of 2026.  Although I had issues with my scanner, and some reflections at the edge of the sheet, this one has not been color corrected.  I only adjusted brightness and contrast.

I took this photograph near the end of the Monochrome Guild Fall Trip last year.  This is a memorial shrine at East Coulee near the mine sites.  This is NOT an native burial ground as some claim, but rather a memorial to some now deceased local residents.

I shot this with my Chamonix 810V view camera and a Nikkor 240mm lens.  The film was rated at 50iso and the exposure was for 1/15 second at F29.0.  The image was taken on October 22nd of 2025 at about 11:45 in the morning.

Retired, Expired but still Fired

This is another shot from the Monochrome Guild trip last fall.  This shot was taken at Dinosaur Provincial Park, at the same place and time as my previously posted image of a hoodoo.

I bought my first 8x10 view camera back in late 2006 or early 2007... I can't remember exactly.  It was a very heavy and bulky Sinar P.  The main problem with it, aside from the weight, is that it did not have a fresnel on the ground glass.  This made it impossible to see the entire viewing screen at once, making proper composition almost impossible.  I soon learned that with these big negatives, that I can only contact print at this time, you have to be very careful about composition.  There is no opportunity to crop when contact printing so what you get on the negative, is in the print.

Shortly after purchasing the camera I bought a box of Fujichrome Astia film from a seller on Ebay.  He was actually a local guy, and I don't recall his name.  I picked up the film in person, and put it away in my freezer.  The seller claimed that it had been properly stored, and perhaps it was.

Astia was a film that Fuji came out with and it was geared towards portraits and fashion photography. It was claimed to have realistic skin tones.

I ended up largely abandoning that Sinar 8x10 as I just wasn't getting any good results, and the process of taking it out shooting was such an ordeal.  Then, about the time I retired, I bought a much smaller and lighter Chamonix 8x10 field camera.  This is much lighter and more compact, though it does not have the precision and range of movements that the Sinar did.  It also has a much brighter ground glass viewing screen with a fresnel lens.  In recent years I have begun to shoot a lot more 8x10 film again.

Recently I set up my Jobo processor and ran a batch of color transparency film.  Mostly this was a bunch of stuff shot on 4x5, but it also included a few sheets of 8x10.  

This sheet of film has still not completely flattened out since processing and I'm having some difficulty getting it to stay flat in my scanner.  There is a bit of curl and reflection on the surface that I just can't seem to deal with.  The first scan is a straight scan of the film.  The color is obviously way out to lunch.  The chemistry was reasonably fresh, but the film was very old.  This particular sheet of film had a best before date of January 1999.  I loaded it into a film holder in January of 2012, and then it laid around in my darkroom, at room temperature, for over a dozen years until I exposed it on October 21st of 2025.  Six months later I unloaded the exposed film and put it into my fridge.  Then this past week I finally got around to processing it.  

The second scan is the same image.  I'm not very good at Photoshop or image adjusting software, and I'm somewhat color blind [which is why I mostly shoot Black and White], but I attempted to adjust the colors to something a little more realistic.

Interestingly, I shot another sheet of film from the same batch on that trip, and recently processed it as well.  The color in that one was much more realistic.  That sheet of film stayed in my freezer until I loaded it in a holder June of 2021.  So it only laid around at room temperature for 4 years, rather than over a dozen.  I will share that image in a future post.

Kodak Tri-X Pan 8x10 in PMK

This is a shot that I took in the fall of 2025 when the Monochrome Guild was out on our annual fall outing.  That was the trip that my daughter Helena came along on.  Her decision to join the group was somewhat surprising as she was 17 at the time, and the four of us old guys from the Guild that were on the trip, were all in our 60's.  But she had a great time, and we all enjoyed her company.

I took this photograph on October 21st 2025 at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Chamonix810V view camera and a wide Nikkor W 240mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter lowered the value of the sky, and the shadows, and bumped up the contrast a bit.  This was taken in Dinosaur Provincial Park in southern Alberta, on a beautiful fall day.

This is an 8"x10" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film.  When I had my Jobo processor set up in my darkroom recently, a ran a few batches of this film in PMK developer.  Mostly this was some 4x5 stuff, but I did include one batch of 8x10, that included this image.  I gave normal development, as the scene was already rather contrasty.  This was 9:35 minutes at 20C.

Running the Jobo

Back in March I set up my Jobo processor in the darkroom.  At that time I ran a couple of batches of C-41 chemistry.  That is the process for developing color negative film.  There are also some chromogenic black and white films that require the same process.

When I returned from Nordegg in early May I mixed up a batch of E-6 chemistry.  This is the chemistry for developing color transparency film.  It includes a first developer, color developer, and bleach/fix, with numerous water rinses in between.  I ran a big batch of 30 sheets of 4"x5", 5 sheets of 8"x10", and three rolls of 35mm.

Once that was completed, I also ran some Black and White film.  This was two batches of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 in PMK, some 4"x5" and some 8"x10".  This is a staining pyro developer that requires continuous agitation.  The Jobo works very well for this.

The Jobo processor has a water bath with a circulating pump.  There is a heat element and a cooling solenoid in the water bath and this maintains perfect process temperature.  For Black and White work this is not really a big deal as process temperatures are typically 20 to 24 degrees C.  And the process is not overly affected by a minor fluctuation.  But color developing requires a much higher process temperature, usually around 37 to 40 degrees C, so the Jobo is a must for this.

Once the last of this processing is completed I will dry everything out and put the Jobo away until the next time that I build up some batches of film that require it.  This will allow me to move on to some hand processing of some other black and white films, and some printing.  I particularly want to get after some of the recent images from Beer Parlour Project outings.

Line Wash - BP14.0 Cadillac Hotel

I stayed out in Nordegg until May 10th, and returned to the city that evening.  Since then things have been super busy.  On the 13th I took Margarit, Ryan and Braeden to the airport and they flew to Austria.  It was a somewhat roundabout trip as they flew west to Vancouver, then east to Montreal, and then over the top to Vienna.  They are staying at Margarit's cousin Martina's place, and met up there with Hailey, who arrived shortly after they arrived.

Since then I have been super busy at home.  Helena stayed behind with me as she is in the final weeks of Grade 12 and preparing to write final exams, and then graduate.  I have been taking her to and from school every day, as well as catching up on some chores around the house.

I finished putting together all the files for my holding company.  This is a years worth of stuff, for the fiscal year end that occurred on April 30th.  I will be taking everything over to my accountant in the coming days so that he can prepare year end financials.

I also set up my film processor and ran a big batch of color transparency film.  This included mostly some 4"x5" stuff, but also a little bit of 8"x10" and a few rolls of 35mm.  I will also be using the processor to run some film in PMK Pyro developer.  Once that is out of the way I can move on to some other work in the darkroom.

I also caught up on a bunch of chores that fell by the wayside while I was out at Nordegg for almost three weeks.  I had some bills to pay and some other paperwork to deal with.  With Margarit and the kids gone I also have to look after grocery shopping, cooking, dishes, laundry, housekeeping and the houseplants and pets.  In fairness Helena is doing most of the stuff for the pets.

Before I left Nordegg I was finally able to work on this line wash of the Cadillac Hotel over in Saskatchewan.  Chris and I visited for our Beer Parlour Project outing number BP14.0 back in the spring of 2024.  By the time Margarit and I returned to the area later that summer, it had already closed.  Although it was for sale, I understand that it still sits vacant.

The watercolor part of this piece is now complete.  The next time I head out to Nordegg I will get started on the Ink and Graphite parts of detailing in this piece.  Once it is done, I will scan it and post it to the Beer Parlour Project website.

Apparitions

I haven't mentioned much about the Apparitions project in recent weeks.  Apparitions is a collection of images that allude to a human presence, without including any people.  My friend Arturo and I have been shooting for this project for several years.  

In 2024 we received a grant from the Edmonton Arts Council to fund the printing and framing of the project.  Since then we have been submitting to galleries all over western Canada to get the project exhibited.  There are several submissions out before juries at the moment, and I expect we will be getting responses over the next few months.

Some time ago we got word that we had been accepted at a local gallery.  I didn't want to make a formal announcement about it until we had a contract in hand and all the details had been confirmed.  We are now at that stage, as the contract has been signed.

Apparitions will be exhibited at Harcourt House Gallery here in Edmonton from January 15th 2027 until February 27th 2027.  Arturo and I will be attending the opening on January 15th.  Once we get around to getting promotional material prepared and have an invitation to share, I will post again.

Hopefully this is the first of several exhibitions as we would like to see the project tour around western Canada for the next few years in advance of a book that we hope to publish.

These are a couple of the images that we expect to be included in our exhibition.... the first by Arturo and the second is one of mine.

Saturday

Saturday May 9th was my last full day at the cottage....  I have been here something like 17 days, with a brief interruption to blast over to East Coulee.  On this day I managed to wrap up a bunch of stuff before my return to the city.

I booked a tee time at the golf course at 11:30 and played another round.  This time around I lost two golf balls, and broke a bunch of tees, but I still found nine balls.  And my score improved considerably from the day before.  On Friday when I was out with my neighbor Rob I shot a somewhat disgraceful 51.  Today I brought that down by nine strokes to a more respectable 42.

After that I spent a bunch of time catching up on some lingering chores.  I checked the porch light that wasn't working over at the guest cottage only to find that the breaker had been tripped... an easy fix.

Then I did the best I could to clean the Rockola Jukebox.  It turned out pretty well and I went through all the records that are in it.  It holds something like eighty 45rpm singles, and there were nearly 30 in it.  A couple were cracked and others are just songs that I really don't care for.  But there are probably about 18 or so that I would like to keep.  But they need a really thorough cleaning.  I will clean these and add to them the ones that I have back at home from my days of buying singles... back in the late 1970's.  I don't know exactly how many I have.... probably 40 or so.... but I don't think I want to include them all.  So I will need to hit antique shops and record stores to try to gather a few more.  The coin mechanism doesn't seem to always work, but there is a free play button that allows me to bypass it.  This may be one of those situations that was common back in the day, to those of us who are old and remember it.  Canadian coins just don't work in some vending machines, and American coins were necessary.  I suppose I will have to gather a few of the Yankee ones and see if they work better.

I also dug out my air compressor and pumped up the tires on both side-by-sides.  They seem to have lost a little pressure over the winter.... so now they are good to go whenever anyone wants to go for a ride.  I pulled the table saw out of the garage and cut a slab of puckboard to size, to put on the floor under the jukebox.  I could easily find stuff to keep me busy for days or even weeks, and didn't cut and split nearly as much wood as I would have liked to.  But all the same it was a great stay, and I look forward to returning very soon.

Just before heading home on Sunday I made a run to the dump to get rid of some garbage and recycling.  Once again I saw the herd of wild horses.  They were hanging around by the Trunk Road, mostly around the old Forestry Staff Houses that are no longer used.

I'll be stuck at home for ten days or so while most of the family is over in Austria.  But then as soon as they get home Hailey will be coming back out to return to her summer job.  I'm hoping that I can make it back out around the same time and pick up where I left off with my chores.  It really doesn't seem like work when I'm out here.... enjoying nature and the peace and quiet.

Alsfeld

My mother was born and raised in a small town in north central Germany called Alsfeld.  Her father ran a sawmill there.  Some relatives, I'm not sure on which side of the family, also ran a bakery and a cartwright shop.  Alsfeld is a medieval town that dates back at least several hundred years.  Part of the old wall that once protected the town, still remains.

Mom is still alive and doing well physically, but suffers from Alzheimers.  Although she is in generally good health, her short term memory is able to comprehend a time spell of less than five minutes.  This makes conversation difficult, and many things impossible.

My oldest daughter Hailey traveled to Europe earlier this week.  There are no great connecting flights to the part of Austria that she will be visiting.  So she had to fly from Edmonton to Toronto, then on to Montreal and then on to Vienna.  From there she took a train to St. Valentin in central Austria, where Margarit's cousin Martina lives.  After a night there to rest and recuperate she caught a train to Germany.  I understand that this was for about seven hours, and included at least three transfers.  But eventually she made it to Alsfeld and is spending two nights and a couple of days exploring the area.

I have a million relatives on my Dad's side of the family, but on my Mom's side I only have one cousin, plus a bunch of distant relatives.  The timing wasn't great, and things were a little short on notice, but my cousin Roswitha, who is only a few months older than me, was able to connect with Hailey briefly in Alsfeld.  Sadly her two daughters, Melanie and Vivien, who are similar in age to Hailey, were not able to make it.

The site of the old sawmill is no longer owned by family, but many of the buildings still stand.  I understand that Hailey and Roswitha were able to visit the site and walk around a little.  I only visited this part of Germany twice.... once as an infant, and then again when I was in Grade 1.  I can barely remember that second visit, and have not been back since.  It was nice that Hailey was able to experience the background of her grandmother.  Last year she did the same with respect to the birthplace of her grandmother on Margarit's side.

After she wraps up this visit to Alsfeld, Hailey is catching a train back to Salzburg.  She will spend a couple of days there experiencing the history and exploring.  Once that is wrapped up she will return to St. Valentin.  Margarit, Annelise and Breaden will join her there and they will all be present for the wedding celebration of Martina's son David and his wife Elke.

Just listening to Hailey describe the perils of her travels is enough to convince me that I don't ever want to do it.  I've said this for years, and every time I hear of someone else's travels I'm convinced that I don't want to do it.  I'm happy to stay close to home, and don't feel any sense of loss at missing out on stuff further away.  My philosophy is... if I can't drive, I ain't going.  But all the same, I'm really impressed that Hailey had the courage to do this on her own, and I'm thrilled that she seems to be enjoying herself.  This is a phone snapshot that she sent back earlier this morning....

I'm not sure exactly what the left building is.  The central one is the church.  And the one on the right is the rathaus.  Every town in Europe has one, and this is essentially city hall.  We westerners laugh at the name and think of it as a house full of rats.  Not too far from the truth......

Another News Feature

The Beer Parlour Project was just featured in a news article over in Saskatchewan.  This one outlines our April visit to Marengo, Czar and Luseland.  The guy that wrote the article was in attendance last year when we visited the Coleville Hotel for BP26.0.  

https://westcentralonline.com/articles/marengo-luseland-and-czar-joining-beer-parlour-project-catalogue

This link is from an older article last year, in advance of that BP26.0 outing...

https://www.westcentralonline.com/articles/beer-parlour-project-rolls-into-coleville-to-capture-disappearing-tavern-culture

And this one, released in advance of our recent trip.  These guys really seem to like our project so hopefully we continue to get all this publicity.

https://www.westcentralonline.com/articles/beer-parlour-project-visiting-marengo-thursday-luseland-saturday