Rosebud Valley

Margarit and Helena and I headed down to East Coulee on the afternoon of Friday September 11th.  Helena is really passionate about rock collecting, geology, and fossils and has been bugging us to return to the badlands ever since our last visit in June.

On Friday evening we just picked up a few supplies and then headed over to East Coulee.  We would stay in our trailer, and hang around at the shop, when we weren't out exploring.  The next day, Saturday morning, we headed out. The weather was not great, and it was cool and overcast most of the time.  At times there was a cold wind, and it even rained a little.  We made the best of it and spent three days out exploring.

Our first stop was in the valley of the Rosebud River.  This smaller tributary of the Red Deer River joins the main valley at Rosedale, after passing through Wayne.  A rail line that once serviced the coal mines ran through the valley.  The road bed and most of the bridges remain, but the tracks are long gone.  The spot that we stopped at once had a siding with a grain elevator, but there is nothing left but the ruins of some small buildings, and a few abandoned cars.

Down in the valley the shrubs were just loaded with choke cherries.  In places they were hanging off the branches like grapes.  You could see where wildlife, most likely mule deer, had been gorging on them, and left big poop piles full of cherry pits.

We stumbled across a huge spider on a web in the sage.  I think it was some sort of a tiger spider.  The abdomen of this beast was about the size of a small grape.  It was probably about 2 inches or more in diameter, including the legs.  I checked with my entomologist brother and he says it is Agiope Trifsciata.

I got the view camera out and rattled off a few sheets of film.  Mostly just some shots of the old abandoned cars, and one of the bridge. 

 

 

BP42.0 - Czar Hotel - Ted

This is a scan of another negative from our Beer Parlour Project outing to the Czar Hotel.  This is one of the sheets of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 that I developed on August 27th.  The film was significantly underexposed, achieved by rating it at 1600iso, rather than the box speed of 320.  To compensate for that underexposure, the film was over developed in highly dilute developer.  I used Kodak HC-110 diluted 1:100, and developed for 2-1/2 hours.  Agitation was minimal at only once every thirty minutes.  By comparison, normal development is usually something in the range of 7 to 10 minutes, with dilution at around 1:30, and much more regular agitation.

This is a portrait of Ted, one of the locals at Bella's Bar in the Czar Hotel.  He was there, like everyone else, to enjoy Steak Night.  This portrait is cropped a little from the full frame shot.  I took this photograph on April 10th of 2026 at about 8:00 in the evening.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F7.0.

 

 

 

Shunda Falls

Later on September 5th, after our stop at the old pumphouse, Margarit and Hank and I continued on our ride in the Side-By-Side.  We ended up at Shunda Creek, at an area with a number of small cascades.  I have always called this Shunda Falls, but I don't think that is the proper name, or if it even has one.  I've heard people call it Fairy Falls, and at one time someone had left a bunch of gnome figurines in the woods nearby.

Despite the cool overcast weather it was a great place to spend a couple of hours, and we really enjoyed the sound of rushing water and the solitude.  We didn't see a soul the entire time we were there.  

Hank loved the place and was running back and forth and crossing over the creek on some logs.  We managed to get most of the mud from our previous stop, washed out of his fur.

I took a couple of shots here with my view camera before we eventually packed up and returned to the cottage.  It was getting late in the afternoon by the time we got back, and had been cool and drizzly all day long.  We were pretty tired and chilled by the time we returned and ended up just making dinner and having a fire in the woodstove. 

Old Pumphouse

On Saturday September 5th Margarit and I were out at Nordegg, and went for a ride in the Side-By-Side.  We ended up on the Rail Trail, and found ourselves down by the old pumphouse.  When we first discovered this place a number of years ago, it was in much better shape.  Now the old building is on its last legs and is slowly losing the war with gravity. 

This creek and spring was once the winter water supply for the Nordegg town site.  The water here has a high mineral content, likely sulfur based on the smell, and does not freeze in the winter.  I'm told that back in the day the locals thought the water had health benefits.  I'm not sure if it was ever tested to confirm anything, but considering the size of the nearby coal mining operations, the sulfur was likely coming off the coal seams.  

The creek downstream from the pumphouse recently was dammed by beavers and a large number of trees were flooded and drowned.  The beaver dam has since been breached and the water level has receded, leaving all of these standing dead trees.  I find this visually interesting and struggled to find some photographic compositions in the chaos of the area.  I ended up taking a couple of shots with my view camera before we continued on our way.

We had Hank along with us for the day and of course he found the biggest mudhole that he could and more or less jumped right into it.  He was indeed a filthy beast but we managed to clean him up a little before we ended up back at the cottage. 

Back to the Darkroom

On September 9th I spent the entire day in the darkroom printing.  I had a number of things that I needed to print, and it took me all day.  I think I made something like 23 prints, of various sizes, from six different negatives.  There were two, that were from Beer Parlour Project outings and were requested by subjects.  One was a shot of a couple that visited the Edgerton Hotel while we were there.  A second was from the same hotel outing, from a guy that actually lives in Calgary.  His name is Trevor, and he later visited us during our Beer Parlour Project outing in Cochrane.

A lady called me the other day and saw one of my prints at the Beehive Market in Nordegg.  She wants to buy it for her husband as a gift, but couldn't purchase it there because he was present.  The three others were large 16x20 prints that I wanted to see printed for consideration in Apparitions.  Ultimately I only elected to include one of the three.

Through September 10th the prints were all in the wash.  On the morning of the 11th I pulled all of them and left them to dry as we hit the road yet again.  This time around Margarit and I are taking Helena down to East Coulee for a couple of days.

Flooded Birch

I took this photograph back in July when Margarit and I were returning to the city from a day trip.  I was fascinated at the contrast of the dead birch trunks that had been drowned in this beaver pond.  This was taken in Elk Island National Park.

I added this sheet to a batch of film that I was processing, the day after taking the shot.  This is a scan of a 4" x 5" sheet of Ilford FP4+ film, rated at 160 iso and given N+1 Development in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  This development expands contrast by one stop.  The sky was rather blank due to smoky conditions from forest fires in British Columbia.  But I hoped that the extra development would make the birch trunks stand out against the darker background.  I also added a #25 Red Filter to further pump up the contrast.

I took this photograph on July 24th of 2026 at about 5:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 250mm lnes.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F29.0.

 

 

BP42.0 - Czar Hotel - Glenn

This is another portrait from the Beer Parlour Project visit to the Czar Hotel.  This one is cropped a little from the full frame Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4"x5" negative.  This is Glenn, one of a group of locals that was out enjoying Steak Night in Bella's Bar.

This was our BP42.0 outing on April 10th of 2026.  I took this portrait at about 8:30 in the evening.  I shot it with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  The film was rated at 1600 iso and given extended development in highly dilute HC-110 developer.  The stock solution was diluted 1:100, and development was for 2-1/2 hours.  Only minimal agitation was given, every 30 minutes.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F8.0.

 

Hat and Bed

This is a recent photograph.  I shot this back in July when Margarit and I were out on a quick day trip.  I knew of this old residence in a small town east of Edmonton.  Somehow I neglected to shoot the hat the last time I visited.  To my delight the hat was still there...!  This is a tiny little two room residence that probably never had running water.  Pretty much just a stove, a bed and a small sitting area.

This is a scan of a 4"x5" sheet of Ilford FP4+ 125.  I rated the film at 160 iso and gave expanded development to increase contrast by one stop.  This N+1 development was in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  I added this sheet to a batch of older stuff that I was running, the day after our day trip.

I took this photograph on July 24th of this year, at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F20.0.

 

 

 

BP42.0 - Czar Hotel - Val

This is a scan of a recently processed 4"x5" negative.  On August 27th I ran a batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  I rated the film at 1600 iso, and gave extended development in highly dilute developer.  This was Kodak HC-110 developer, diluted 1:100.  The film was developed for 2-1/2 hours, with brief agitation every 30 minutes.  This technique supports the lower values, without blowing out the highlights.

This portrait is of Val, the owner of Bella's Bar in the Czar Hotel, in Czar, Alberta.  The Beer Parlour Project team visited this establishment last spring.  There was a write up in the Wainwright newspaper about our visit, and that article can be found on our Beer Parlour Project website.  Val hosted her steak night on the evening of our visit, and the place was packed.  We all had the steak that night, and it was very good.

I took this photograph on April 10th 2026 at about 8:40 in the evening.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  The exposure was for 1 second at F8.0.

 

 

Condor Corner

On Friday September 4th I had to travel from Nordegg to Red Deer to attend the opening reception of the Coal in Alberta show.  Five members of the Monochrome Guild put together this exhibition a number of years ago, and this is the third gallery on it's ongoing tour.  The prints will be on display until Thanksgiving.  Arturo, Court, Nigel, Fred and myself are involved in this one.

I brought my view camera along with me on the drive as I wanted to stop and photograph this old abandoned store.  This is on highway 11, at the turnoff to the hamlet of Condor.  I'm not sure exactly what it was... probably a country store, maybe with a service station.  Although, there is a newer service station next door to it, now empty and for sale.  I'm betting that this one won't be standing much longer so I took advantage of the opportunity and shot it with both my view camera... and my phone...

 

It's a rather somber day as I prepare this post.  Today is September 11th, and the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  It seems like just a couple of years ago... but my kids weren't even born then, and Margarit and I were newlyweds.  A lot of things have changed, but sadly a lot of things in world politics are still the same... 

September Image - 2026 David Thompson Country Calendar

This is the image that I selected for the September page of my 2026 David Thompson Country calendar.  I also used this one on the August page of my Fine Art Monochrome calendar, so it appeared here on my blog about a month ago.  The remains of this old car are up at the Nordegg Historic Site and I photographed it when I was there on one of my many guided tours.

It's getting to be the time of year that I have to start working on my 2027 calendar.  I need to have it printed and in the Beehive Artisan Market by November. 

Nails

I'm intrigued by these nails, and have photographed them a number of times.  They are in the company store at the Brazeau Historic Site.  There is a number written above each nail.

It was suggested to me that these could have been for miner's tags...?  Each miner was issued a tag with a unique number, and they were used to keep track of who was down underground at any given time.  But, it doesn't make sense for this to be in the store.  The tags were usually monitored in the lamp house, when each miner was assigned a lamp and battery before their shift.  Perhaps some day I will be able to figure out what this was for.  More research is definitely in order.

I took this photograph on a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  I rated the film at 400iso and gave extended development to increase contrast by one stop.  This N+1 development was in PMK developer, on my Jobo Processor, for 16:40 minutes at 20C.  I ran this batch on May 19th of this year.

The photograph was taken on March 31st 2025 during one of my many tours of the mine site.  I shot this at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a Fujinon 180mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F22.0.

 

 

BP40.0 - Rockyview Hotel - Cochrane - Shawn

This portrait was taken during our first Beer Parlour Project outing of 2026.  It was a visit to the Rockyview Hotel in Cochrane, Alberta, back in the winter.  It was the 40th hotel on our growing list and therefore referred to as BP40.0 in our numbering system.

This is a sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film in 4"x5" format.  I rated the film at 1600 iso and gave extended development in highly diluted Kodak HC-110 Developer.  This developer is normally very vigorous and fast acting.  In this instance I diluted it at a ratio of 1:100, where something in the 1:31 range is much more typical.  Development was for 2-1/2 hours, with minimal agitation... only briefly every 30 minutes or so.  This is intended to support shadow values, without blowing out the highlights, and I've found that it seems to work reasonably well.  I ran this batch of film, just a few days ago, back on August 27th.

This portrait is Shawn, the manager at the Tavern in the Rockyview.  He was dressed all in black, much like Johnny Cash, so the image lacks some detail in the lower values.  I shot this on February 27th of 2026, at about 8:00 in the evening.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F8.0.

 

 

Door Handles

These chrome handles are on the inside of the door of an old car up at the Brazeau Collieries Historic Site.  I photographed them some time ago when I was on one of my many tours of the site.  I have posted another version of this image previously, but that one had some lens flare visible, while this one is much better.

This is a scan of a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film.  I rated the film at 400iso and gave it N+1  extended development, an expansion of one stop in contrast.  I ran a batch of this film on my Jobo Processor back on May 19th.  This batch of N+1 was developed in PMK for 16:40 minutes at 20C.

I took this photograph on April 18th of 2025 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera, one of three Ebony cameras that I own, and a Nikkor 120mm Macro lens.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F32.0.  This included extra exposure of 1/3 stop to compensate for the long bellows draw [about 160mm] required to focus this closely on the subject.

 

 

Lasagna Day

About once a year I set up and make a huge batch of lasagna.  This year I did it at the end of August.  My youngest daughter Helena gave me a hand this time.

I cooked up a big batch of meat sauce.  We hit the grocery store and bought all the other ingredients.  Five boxes of lasagna noodles, fresh spinach, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese and fresh basil.  Once the meat sauce was ready we cooked up the noodles in batches and built the trays.  We filled seven large trays and two small ones.

Margarit and Hailey were out at Nordegg while this all happened.  When everything was completed, the rest of us at home in the city baked one tray for dinner that evening.  The remaining pans were all wrapped up and frozen for later.  I took some with me when I went out to Nordegg a couple days later, including one of the small trays for Hailey.  This batch turned out really well, if I do say so myself.