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.