Beer Parlour Project - BP40.0 - Rockyview Hotel

On the morning of February 27th I loaded up a bunch of gear and hit the road for Calgary.  This was a solo trip as Margarit decided not to join me.  She has a new found freedom now that her shoulder has healed and she is cleared to drive.  That clearance came just a couple of days ago so she decided to stay home and catch up on some stuff. 

The weather was less than ideal and the temperature hovered between -15 and -20C all day.  As I got south to around Red Deer, it was snowing and blowing and visibility was poor in places.  The wind polished the highway and there were icy sections as well.  As I got closer to Calgary conditions improved a little, but the snow got a little heavier and continued all evening.

I rented the basement suite of my colleagues Chris and Connie's kids, located in Cochrane.  This was really convenient as this was also our destination for the day.  I stopped in at the suite and dropped off some gear and then continued into the downtown.  The old Rockyview Hotel in the old downtown of Cochrane dates back to the turn of the last century, and is among the oldest hotels we have visited so far.  The tavern is called the Texas Gate Bar.

I met up with Chris and guest photographer Byron Robb at the hotel around 3:00 in the afternoon.  Connie was unable to join us this time as she is in the midst of some cancer treatments.  She is doing really well, but is supposed to avoid crowds of strangers due to her reduced immunity.

This was our first outing of 2026 and in fact I haven't shot any film with my view camera since our last outings, almost three months ago, back in early December.  It was also a milestone outing as this was number 40.  Our goal is to visit 100 old hotels, so we still have 60 to go.

Despite the weather the place was really well attended and we got some great photos and interviews.  I ended up shooting 14 sheets of film, plus a bunch of stuff with my 35mm cameras.  One of the guys that stopped in for a visit and to say hello was Trevor.  We had previously met and photographed him at the Edgerton Oasis Hotel last summer.  We joked that he is our first repeat offender.... to be photographed twice with the view camera at different hotels.

We wrapped things up a little after 9:00 and I headed over to the suite and settled down for the night.  We plan to visit the Carstairs Hotel on Saturday for outing number 41.

Open Door - D23 Two Bath Development

This is my final scan from the batch of Tri-X Pan given N-1 Development.  I am really pleased with how the twelve negatives in this batch turned out.  In years past I had very little success reducing development time to control highlight values.  The images always turned out really muddy and dull with no mid tone contrast.  This was not just with one film... I attempted minus development with several different film/developer combinations and none were successful.  This two bath development seems to really nail it.

This is the last scan from the batch that I processed on January 25th.  Two bath development was in D23 Developer, undiluted, for 6:00 minutes, followed by a second bath in Borax for 4:00 minutes.  Agitation was normal in the first bath and minimal in the second, all at 24C.  The film was slightly overexposed, achieved by rating it at 250 iso, rather than the 320 iso box speed.

This shot was taken at a historical site that included a number of relocated and preserved buildings.  The site no longer functions as a museum and the buildings are all being relocated again.  This is the interior of the funeral home.  I was drawn to the textures of the peeling paint, the light spilling in the open door, and the leaves scattered on the floor.

I shot this on June 1st 2025 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a wide 80mm lens, with no filter.  The exposure for this 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan was for 1 second at F18.0.

I like this one a lot and the next time that I do some printing I will attempt to print this negative.  If it turns out as well as I hope, then I may consider adding it to the Apparitions project.

Carbon House - D23 Two Bath Development

This is my second last scan from the batch of film I developed on January 25th.  I was experimenting with a medium sized batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  All the scenes were images that showed a relatively high subject brightness range.  I experimented with giving N-1 development in D23 Two Bath.  The N-1 part simply means that development time is reduced to prevent the highlights from getting blown out and rendering them difficult to print.  The minus one part refers to a contraction of one stop.  Normally reducing development also reduces the overall contrast of the image, and the mid tones can suffer.  This two bath method helps to prevent that.  Without getting in a long technical description, the second bath increases mid tone and low value development to retain contrast, while restraining the highlights.  I think it worked very well, and I will continue to use this method going into 2026.

This is an old ranch house near the town of Carbon.  It sits on private property, right beside a road.  The property is posted, so I took this shot from the road.  Even while I was there shooting, which took me 15 minutes or so, the owner drove up to see what I was doing.  She was fine with me taking the photograph from beside the fence but did not want me to enter the property, so I respected that.  I came away with a pretty good image.

I rated the 4" x 5" Tri-X pan film at 250 iso.  Development was for 6:00 minutes in D23 followed by 4:00 minutes in the second bath.  I took this photograph on June 15th 2025, at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  We were in the area at the time, having just photographed a couple of Beer Parlour Project outings.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a Schneider 135mm lens.  A #25 Red filter created some separation in the sky, and added a little contrast.  The exposure was fo 1/8 second at F22.0.

School Desks

I have three more scans of my experimental D23 two bath development and this is one of them.  The development is N-1, so a contraction of one stop in subject brightness range.  This is achieved by developing first in Kodak D23 developer, undiluted, for 6:00 minutes.  Then the film is transferred to a second bath of a borax solution, for 4:00 minutes.  Both solutions were at 24C.  This provides good mid tone separation while restraining highlights.  This was my first attempt at this, and I ran a batch of a dozen sheets of Kodak Tri-X Pan that I shot last summer.  Some examples from this batch were posted here several days ago, and now I will present three more.

This one was taken in the abandoned Quiet Nook School.  I thought is was a good test opportunity as the interior was in low light, and the exterior, visible through the windows was quite bright.  The film was slightly over exposed, achieved by rating it at 250 iso, rather than the box speed of 320 iso.

I shot this on June 1st 2025 at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a Schneider 135mm lens.  The exposure was for 1 second at F14.0.  The exterior, visible through the windows, was spot metered and had an exposure value of around 10.  The darkest areas around the desks were a full seven stops lower, with an exposure value around 3.  The upper walls and the brighter areas of the desks were metered at an exposure value around 6.  The exposure used rendered these values as middle grey.  The contracted development held the windows down 1 stop, so that they fell 3 stops above middle grey [Zone 8] rather than 4 stops above [Zone 9].

Lots of Hockey

There has been a lot of hockey going on the last little while.  Of course the Winter Olympics just wrapped up and I watched a lot of games that team Canada played in, both on the men's side and the women's.  Sadly we came up short in both, and came away with silver medals.  On the men's side, our NHL squad was goalie'd by a really hot American goaltender.  Otherwise I thought team Canada dictated the play.  I questioned a couple of the roster choices, but mostly it was a solid squad.  The officials missed a number of penalty calls that mostly would have gone in team Canada's favor, but we came up short when the puck hit the ice.

I play hockey every Tuesday when I am in the city with the Edmonton Vintage League.  This is a group of guys that are all 55 years old and older.  It is a bit refreshing for me as when I play with this group, I am one of the better players.  Sadly I missed the game last week, as I was out in Nordegg, and will miss it again today, as I have to take Margarit to an appointment.  She is getting a follow up checkup for her recent shoulder joint replacement surgery.

Whenever I am out at Nordegg I try to play drop in hockey at the ODR.  The Out Door Rink...!!!  There is nothing like skating outside, under the stars, with the mountains around you.  At those games it is just drop in shinny.  We usually have two goalies and anywhere from 4 to 20 players.  But there is no equipment and the rink is only about 60% of the official size.  Games are played twice a week, and in between I always help out with shovelling and flooding the ice.

For something like 22 years now I have been playing hockey with my team the Renegades.  For the past several years we have been playing in the Alberta Men's League.  The name is old school, but there are a few women that play in the league, including one on our team.  I started the team over twenty years ago and I'm the last holdout from the original roster.  Most of the players in this league are between 20 and 35 years old, so at 62 I have trouble keeping up.  I won't be playing here much longer, hence the transition to the Vintage league.  

This year the Renegades started in Division 8, but got moved down to Division 9 for the last part of the season.  We had two back to back games on the weekend and I played both.  On Saturday evening we defeated the Legacy Heating team by a score of 11-4.  Then on Sunday afternoon we played a rather rough and undisciplined team called the Ticklers, and beat them 10-6.  We will finish the season in 5th place.  There is one regular season game left in early March, and then the playoffs start.

As for Vintage Hockey, it is more of a recreational game, and we don't keep score beyond in the moment, there are not stats, and no standings.  The winter season ends at the beginning of March.  Then starting in April I will play on Thursdays in the summer season that runs until the end of June.  I'm hoping that the Renegades can also ice a team for the summer league.

Below is a snapshot of my #87 Sidney Crosby jersey from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  I wore this while I was cheering on team Canada this year...!

Nordegg in February

Someone from our family has been out at Nordegg for most of the month.  This helps to cut down on the power bill as we heat with wood when we are there, and have to run our forced air electric furnace when we are not.  We only keep the furnace turned on very low when we are not around, but it still adds up to a sizeable bill when it gets really cold.  And in winter, with snow cover at times and short days, our solar panels don't generate very much power.

Hailey was out for a week or so in early February.  A day or two after she got back to the city Margarit and I went out.  We arrived on the 11th of February and stayed until the 19th.  It had been really mild at the end of January and into the first part of February.  At one point the daytime high reached +15C.  There was virtually no snow left when we got there, and there is great concern about the upcoming fire season.

During the first couple of days that I was there I helped some of the neighbors to restore the ODR... the Out Door Rink.  The mild weather had almost destroyed it.  The hard work of neighbors Darrell and Shauna saved it, and when I got there I helped them to flood it four more times.  Other than that it was was mostly a time to relax and rest.  Margarit is still recovering from her shoulder surgery and being out there keeps her away from all the chores she thinks she needs to do.  I did bring out a shelf unit that she bought and she set it up in the master bedroom of the guest cottage.  I puttered around a little more on the old jukebox... painting and installing the coin door.

Over the family day long weekend Ryan and Braeden came out and brought Hank, our dog.  Braedon and I played against each other at the weekly community hockey game on Saturday night.  The ice took a beating with all the people skating over the holiday, and further work is in order.  Towards the end of our stay it got really cold, with night time lows dropping down to -33C, and a dump of about four inches of fresh snow.  Braeden and Ryan went back to the city just before the snow fall, which I understand was more substantial in the city.

Shortly after Margarit and I got home, Ryan and Breaden went back out, and they are out there now.  Braeden got to skate on the ODR again.  It seems colder weather will prevail for the next little while so perhaps we will get to skate on the outside ice a few more times this seaon.

Fractures and Bubbles

Here is another shot of the ice bubbles up at Abraham Lake.  This was taken early in the season, and the level of the reservoir has dropped significantly since then.  We have also had some really mild weather that resulted in a lot of melting.  The lake was open in places back in late January and early February.  Since then it has been colder, and we've seen a little snow.  I have not been back recently, so I'm not certain what current conditions might be like.

This is another 4" x 5" sheet of Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  The film was rated at 80iso and given N+1/2 development in Rodinal 1:50.  I used the Adox APH-09 version of Rodinal, and developed for 11:00 minutes at 24C.

I took this shot on December 4th 2025 at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter lowered the value of the sky and the ice, and increased contrast.  Fortunately it was a relatively mild day with little wind, generally not the case at this location, and I was able to use a rather long shutter speed.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F25.0.

Fan Motor

This is what's left of the motor the once powered the ventilation fan up at the Nordegg Mine Site.  There are two fan houses remaining, and this one is from Nordegg No. Three mine.  Of course the site has been looted and copper thieves have damaged a bunch of equipment to steal copper wire.  

This was taken on a 4" x 5" sheet of Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  I rated the film at 80iso and gave it N+1/2 development in Rodinal [APH-09] developer, 1:50, for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  This is one of a batch of 20 sheets that I developed on February 1st.  In hindsight that plus development was probably not a great choice.  I was hoping it would support contrast in the midtones.  It did, but it kinda blew out the highlights in the opening behind the motor, and in the clear corrugated panel on the left side.  I had to burn these down in the scan, and would have to do the same in the darkroom if I print this negative.

I shot this photograph on July 29th 2025, at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a 90mm Schneider Super Angulon lens.  The exposure was for 16 seconds at F20.0.

On The Road Again

The Beer Parlour Project team will be heading out on the road at the end of the month.  This will be our first road trip and first outings of 2026.  

On Friday February 27th we will visit the Texas Gate Bar and Grill at the Cochrane Hotel, in Cochrane, Alberta.  We will arrive around 4:00PM and stay through the evening.

Then on Saturday February 28th we will head north to Barley's Pub in the Dominion Hotel in Carstairs, Alberta.  Once again, we will arrive around 4:00 and stay through the evening.

Anyone interested in our project, and in the area on those dates, is welcome and encouraged to stop by and visit, and to say hello.

I haven't taken a single photograph with my view camera yet in 2026.  Needless to say I am going to be somewhat out of practice.  If the weather warms up a little I may go out for an afternoon just to get re-accustomed to the camera.  I don't want to waste a bunch of film and ruin some opportunities when we head out next weekend.  These will be Beer Parlour Project outings BP40.0 and BP41.0.

Badlands Butte

This image was taken on the fall trip by the Monochrome Guild.  We had a wonderful day last fall at Dinosaur Provincial Park.  I shot this on a 4" x 5" sheet of Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  When I saw this scene I composed it with the intention of cropping it to panoramic, as I did here.

I rated the film at 80 iso and gave N+1/2 development in Rodinal 1:50.  Development was for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  This was part of the batch that I developed on February 1st.

I took this photograph on October 21st 2025 at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Rodenstock 90mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter lowered the value of the sky and the shadows, increasing contrast.

The exposure was for 1/4 second at F20.0.

Grader

Here is yet another scan of one of the photos I took up at the Nordegg Historic site.  I'm not sure how long this old grader has been "resting" up there, but it probably dates back to around the time the mine closed, in 1955.

This is a negative from the batch of Fuji Neopan Acros 100 that I developed on February 1.  Those 20 sheets of 4x5 film were given N+1/2 development in Rodinal [Adox APH-09] 1:50 for 11:00 minutes at 24C.

I shot this on June 25th 2025 at around 3:00PM, during one of my many tours of the site.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a Fujinon 180mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter lightened the value of the yellow grader.  The filter increased contrast even further than the half stop that the extended development provided.  The exposure was for 1 second at F16.0.

Mine Cars

This is another shot testing the possibilities of N-1 developement in D23 two bath developer.  This scan is one of the 12 sheets of 4" x 5" film that I developed on January 25th.  The film is Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, rated at 250iso.  The N-1 development is intended to contract the highlights by one stop, so they aren't blown out.  It seems to have worked as there is printable detail in the brightest highlights, while the mid tones still retain a good range of values.  Development was for 6:00 minutes in Kodak D23 stock, followed by 4:00 minutes in Borax, both at 24C.

This shot is from one of my many visits up to the Nordegg Historic Site.  These mine cars actually originated at one of the mines in the Canmore area and were relocated to Nordegg as display artifacts.  I shot this in the middle of a bright summer day, and the light was very high and very harsh.  It seemed like a good subject to use to test this development.

I shot this image on July 29th of 2025 at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera.  The lens was a very old Fujinon 150mm that I've had for many years.  It is somewhat worn out and I have to look the shutter open on the Bulb setting to compose.  But the shutter speeds seem reasonably accurate, and the glass is still good.  The exposure for this one was 1/30 second at F20.0.  As with most of my images a small aperture was needed to hold depth of field from near to far.

Nordegg No3

This is another photograph from the Nordegg Historic Site.  I shot this on one of my many visits to the mine.  This is a scan of one of the 4" x 5" sheets of Fuji Neopan Acros 100 that I developed on February 1st.  I rated the film at 80iso and developed in Rodinal 1:50, for 11:00 minutes, at 24C.  This is N+1/2 development, which provides a half stop boost in contrast.  I used the Adox APH-09 version of Rodinal this time.

I took this photograph on July 29th 2025 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a wide Schneider Super Angulon 90mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F18.0.

This was the mine entrance to coal seam number three.  The mine was in operation until 1955.

Ice Bubbles

I recently processed a batch of Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  Sadly this film has been discontined in sheet formats.  I still have a few sheets left in 4x5, and even a handful in 8x10, so I'm slowly using it up, but saving it for good opportunities.  It exhibits really smooth and sometimes glowing midtones.  Great for female portraits.  I developed a batch of 20 sheets on February 1st in Rodinal 1:50 for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  I used the Adox APH-09 version of Rodinal and rated the film at 80iso.  I find that this development time gives a moderate increase in contrast, by about half a stop... thus N+1/2.

I took this shot of the ice bubbles in Abraham Lake back on December 4th, at around 1:00 in the afternoon.  We actually just drove up to the lake earlier today.  The lake level is way down, and the ice is somewhat frosted over and partly snow covered.  As a result of the recent mild weather, the lake is now partly open, around Windy Point.

I shot this photograph with my Ebony SV45Ti and a Fujinon 180mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter increased the contrast between the bubbles and the darker ice.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F20.

Game Camera Photos - November 2025 to January 2026

When I was out in Nordegg in late January, I pulled the memory card from my game camera.  I have the camera on a tree behind the cottage, about 50 feet from the window.  The camera had been taking photos since early November.  

I finally got around to going through the 2500 images recorded during that time and selected and edited a handful of them here.  Mostly there was just shots of the deer.  It has been a very mild winter so far with many days well above freezing.  Most of the images in this selection show snow but in fact for much of the time there was little to none..  In November we had very little snow.  Then in December there was some accumulation.  That melted away completely in January, and was followed by a couple more light dumps of snow.  As I write this now, I am back at the cottage, looking out the window, and watching it snow.  Yesterday everything was completely bare, and there were only a few little patches of snow in the shady spots.  It started snowing early this morning, and we've had about an inch so far.

We had a lot of apples on our tree in the city and I brought all the bruised ones out to the cottage.  Over the fall months I was feeding them to the deer.  There were still a few left back in early November and I fed the last of these then.