Mine Buildings

I processed a mixed batch of Infrared film back on March 20th.  This included three different types of film, all in the same developer.  Back in the early 2000's I purchase a couple of boxes of a new, at the time, infrared film.  This was Maco IR820C Aura.  I believe that Maco was affiliated with, or was a brand name of Efke.  Shortly after that the plant used by both companies suffered a fatal equipment breakdown on their sheet film manufacturing line.  All of the sheet film products were immediately discontinued.  I shot some of the film that I had purchased, and then for a decade or more a partial box of 4" x 5" laid around in my freezer.  Last year I decided that I'd better load this stuff and use it up.

So this batch of film had a best before date of April 2007.  I loaded this sheet into a film holder in February of 2025, and got around to exposing it a couple of months later.  I unloaded the exposed film and stored it in my fridge until this past March, when I finally developed it.  

The film was developed in Kodak T-Max Developer, 1:4, for 7:00 minutes at 24C.  I messed up a little as I intended to give 8:30 minutes of development, so the negative was a little thin.

This is a shot of the coal tipple and wash building at the Nordegg Historic site.  I shot this on April 18th 2025, at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a wide Schneider Super Angulon 90mm lens.  A #25 Red filter blocked a good part of the visible spectrum allowing the film to be exposed more by infrared wavelengths.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F22.0.

Nordegg Visits

In late March and early April I made a couple of trips out to Nordegg.  Mostly the weather was pretty miserable.  March went out like a lion and we had quite a bit of snow remaining on the ground, even though it had been totally bare a couple of weeks prior.  It was not particularly warm, and we kept getting more dumps of snow.

From March 28th to 30th I went out to the cottage with my daughter Helena and three of her friends.  They were all on Spring Break from High School.  Evan, Kai and Max joined Helena... and me... for the weekend.  I stayed in the main cottage for the most part, and left the kids over the in the guest cottage.  It seemed they had fun, despite the crappy weather.  I was fighting a bad cold and mostly just laid low, and didn't do much other than ride herd on the kids.  I took them for a drive up to Abraham Lake, and also into town to get pie at the Miner's Cafe.

Then from April 3rd to 6th Margarit and I went back out.  It was mild at first, but then got colder and we were faced with yet more snow.  This was the Easter weekend, and Easter Sunday fell on Margarit's birthday this year.  We had a couple of nice dinners together, got caught up on a few chores, and mostly just relaxed.

I set up a sump pump in our exterior sump, so that we can deal with all the meltwater when it finally warms up.  When we get periods of heavy rain or a quick spring thaw we sometimes get a little water in our crawlspace and the sump pump helps us to avoid that.

I also mounted a TV on the wall in the guest cottage, and attempted to service one of our furnaces that has been problematic.  I couldn't solve the problem and will have to get my mechanical contractor out at some point.  Its not a huge issue as we have other heat sources and mostly heat with wood when we are out there.

I washed all the bedding from the weekend prior when Helena and her friends were out, and made up all the beds again.  Then I turned my attention to a couple of trees out in the yard.  There has been a lot of strong winds this spring and we had about five standing dead trees come down.  None did any damage at they weren't close to any buildings.  But a couple of them became hung up in adjacent trees so I cut these down.  Later when it warms up I will have to finish the job and cut these all to stove length and split them.

While I was out in the yard I noticed some Elk tracks in the fresh snow.  It turns out the Elk and the Deer have been coming around to gnaw the bark off of these recently downed trees.  We see the deer all the time but the elk are rare visitors.  Later I checked the footage on my security camera and it confirmed that it was indeed an elk.

Shortly after Margarit and I returned to the city there was even more snow in Nordegg.  It seems the sump pump won't need to run for a little longer.

Manager's Shower

This is a scan of a 4"x5" color negative.  This was part of the first batch of C-41 chemistry that I ran on March 22nd.  This is a sheet of Kodak Portra 160VC, which had a best before date of January 2008.  I keep the film frozen all these years, but loaded it into a film holder in November of 2023.  It sat around until I exposed it in the fall of 2024.  Then I returned the exposed film to the fridge, and it stayed there until I recently developed it.

This is the Manager's shower at the Nordegg Historic Site.  Management staff had a separate shower from the main one used by all the miners.  The old concrete walls, and whatever coating has been applied to them, have a beautiful patina.  Usually I photograph here at the historic site with Black and White film, but I thought this one deserved a color shot.

I took this photograph on September 9th of 2024, at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a wide 75mm lens.  The exposure was for 16 seconds at F32.0.

BP14.0 Cadillac Hotel

This is yet another scan of a 4" x 5" color negative.  I developed this one in my first batch of C-41 that I ran back in March.  This was a sheet of Kodak Portra 160VC.  The film expired in March of 2012, was loaded into the holder in June of 2024, exposed that same month, and then processed now in 2026.  It stood up reasonably well, though there is some color shift.

I shot this image on June 18th of 2024 at about 10:00 in the morning.  Chris and I were visiting southern Saskatchewan for the Beer Parlour Project.  We stayed in a rental property just up the street from this old hotel.  Sadly, a couple of months after our visit the hotel closed and was put up for sale.  To the best of my knowledge it has not re-opened.

I shot this with my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a long 300mm lens.  I added a Blue/Orange color polarizing filter to saturate the colors a little.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F18.0.

Backside

This one is from the second batch of C-41 Color Negative film that I developed on March 23rd.  I used one of the Jobo press kits that I bought several years ago.  It is a dry chemistry kit that is mixed up immediately before use.

This was a batch of 4"x 5" sheet film that I ran, along with some other stuff, including... some sheets of 8"x10" and some rolls of 35mm.  With this second batch now done, I will probably wait a year or so to accumulate more color negatives.  Once I get enough exposed film saved up, I will mix up another batch of the chemistry.

This particular shot was taken on a sheet of Kodak Ektar 100.  This was a relatively fresh batch of film, unlike much of the other stuff I have recently been using.  This batch had an expiry date of July 2024.  I loaded the film into a film holder in April of 2024, and exposed it a year later.

Margarit and I were down in Stettler Alberta in the spring of last year.  We were visiting and staying at the old Stettler Hotel.  Chris was there with us and we were exploring for another episode of the Beer Parlor Project... Number BP23.0.

This was the backside of the hotel, facing the alley, taken the morning after our visit.  I took this photograph on April 26th 2025, at about 12:30 in the afternoon.  I shot this with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  This is an slightly long focal length for this format, and what one might refer to as a portrait lens.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F29.0.

Old Store?

I think this building was once a store or business of some kind.  It appears there is a ghost sign visible on the false front, though I can't make out what it says.

This is a 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak Portra 160VC.  Chris and I were in west central Saskatchewan in the spring of 2025, visiting some old hotels for the Beer Parlour Project.  Our evenings were spent in hotel taverns, but our days were spent out exploring and photographing.  This building was in a small town called Eavesham.

This batch of film had an expiry date of March 2012.  I loaded this sheet into a film holder in May of 2024, and shot it a year later.  This was my second batch of C-41 chemistry that I back in late March.

I took this photograph on May 8th of 2025 at about 10:00AM.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camear and a wide, 90mm Rodenstock Lens.  I added to Blue/Orange Color polarizing filter for this one, to saturate the colors.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F18.0.

Cottonwood

I processed a batch of Fuji Neopan Acros 100 a couple of months ago and this is a scan of one of those sheets.  I shot this image when the Monochrome Guild visited Dinosaur Provincial Park in 2024.  This was the year before the trip that my daughter Helena came along on.

I rate my 4"x5" Acros film at 80iso and give a half stop of extra development.  Development was in Rodinal 1:50 for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  I used the Adox APH-09 version of Rodinal.

I took this shot on October 17th of 2024 at about 3:40 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter separated the clouds a little and brought up the value of the fall foliage.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F22.0.

Ice Bells

This is a scan of a recently processed sheet of Efke PL25M film.  This film was discontinued a number of years ago, but I still have several fifty sheet boxes of 4" x 5" in my freezer, and will continue to shoot it for some time.  I rate the film at 10iso, so it allows long shutter speeds, even in broad daylight. 

I threw a few sheets of it into the mixed batch that I developed on March 12th, just to fill up the tanks to 20 sheets.  Development was in Rodinal 1:50, for 7:00 minutes, at 24C.  I used the Adox APH-09 version of Rodinal.

I shot this last fall when Margarit and I were out for a walk.  These ice bells formed along Dry Haven Creek, west of our place in Nordegg.  I shot this on November 6th at about 1:20 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a long Fujinon 300mm lens.  The exposure was for 16 seconds at F25.0.

David Thompson Country Calendar 2026 - April Image

This is the image that I selected for the April page of my 2026 David Thompson Country Calendar.  The calendar is in a larger square format, 12" x 12", which allows me to include images in both portrait and landscape orientation.  I believe there are still a couple of copies left for sale at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.

These parts bins are in the Company Store up at the Nordegg Historic site.  I was visiting with permission, on a tour, when I took this photograph.  I've printed this one in the darkroom and I'm also considering it for the Apparitions project.

Fence Post and House

This is another scan of a 4" x 5" color negative from the recently processed batch.  On March 23rd I mixed up a second batch of C-41 chemistry and ran my Jobo Processor again.  I finished up the last of my 4x5 film in that batch, and also ran a little 8x10 and 35mm stuff.

This one is also from the trip down to southern Saskatchewan in 2024.  This house was out on the open prairie, north of Grasslands National Park.  Chris and I were exploring in the area on June 15th of 2024, and I took this photography at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a somewhat wide 110mm lens.  A Blue/Orange color polarizing filter increased saturation.  This sheet of film, like some of the previous ones, was outdated, having expired in August of 2013.  It was a sheet of Kodak Ektar 100.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F25.0.

Which House

One more from the recent batch of color negatives that I developed on March 22nd.  This is a scan of a 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak Ektar 100.  The film reached it's best before date in August of 2013.  I loaded it into a film holder in October of 2023, exposed it in 2024, and developed it in 2026.  Despite this, it turned out alright.

I really like this composition and I have printed the Black and White version of it in the darkroom.  I am considering the print for exhibition in the Apparitions project.  I have a lot of prints to select from and have to somehow narrow things down to the final 16.  The issue is that in addition to the 30 plus prints that I already have done, I keep taking new ones that should be considered.

This old house sits all alone down in southern Saskatchewan.  It is well known among photographers as the Witch House.  I like to refer to it as Which House.  There have been a number of Halloween shots taken here over the years, and it is often used a foreground for astrophotography.  My approach is more straightforward and traditional.

I shot this on June 16th of 2024 at about 6:00 in the evening.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a 135mm lens.  A Blue/Orange color polarizing filter increased saturation.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F16.0.

See Saw

Another scan of a 4" x 5" color negative from the batch that I processed on March 22nd.  This time around the film was not really outdated... at least not when it was exposed.  This is a sheet of Kodak Ektar 100, which had an expiry date of July 2024.

I shot this one on June 14th of 2024 at about 11:00 in the morning.  Chris and I were out exploring while on our trip in southern Saskatchewan.  This old school has been purchased and is in the process of being restored and converted to a private residence.

I shot this with my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a wide 80mm lens.  The Blue/Orange Color polarizer was used to saturate the colors.  The exposure was for 1/15th second at F25.0.

Land of Living Skies

This is another scan of a 4" x 5" color negative, from the batch that I processed on March 22nd.  This is another sheet of Kodak Portra 160VC, also with an expiry date of January 2008.  The shot of this old house was taken in the same general area as the previous post of the old truck.

I took this shot on June 13th of 2024, at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a Schneider 135mm lens.  A Blue/Orange Color polarizing filter was used to make the colors a little more saturated and unreal.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F22.0.

Old Truck

This is a scan of one of the 4" x 5" color negatives that I developed on March 22nd.  I set up my Jobo CPP-3 Processor, and mixed up a batch of C-41 chemistry.  This was a sheet of Kodak Portra 160VC.  The film expired in 2008, I loaded into a film holder in 2023, I exposed in in 2024, and I processed it in 2026.  The colors shifted a little, and I played around with the scan in Photoshop a little bit.  But considering its age, it turned out pretty well.

I shot this with my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a 135mm lens.  The photo was taken on June 13th of 2024, at about 2:15 in the afternoon.  The exposure was for 1/60 second at F25.0.

Chris and I were exploring in southwestern Saskatchewan in the spring of 2024.  I was looking for subject matter for my "Apparitions" project and we were both visiting old hotels for the "Beer Parlour Project".  We found this old truck in one of the towns that we visited, and just had to photograph it.  It says J Kluzak Canuck on the door.  Canuck was a town in the same general area, that no longer exists.  Gord Kluzak was a professional hockey player in the NHL who grew up in the area.  This truck probably belonged to a relative of his.  Gord was drafted first overall by the Boston Bruins in 1982, and is about a year younger than me.  He was forced to retire from playing at the age of 27, after only 299 games, as a result of numerous knee injuries.

April Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the April page of my 2026 Fine Art Monochrome calendar.  This is the personal calendar that I make every year, and give away to friends and family.

This shot was taken last year up at Beaverdam Lake.  This is essentially just a widening of Shunda Creek, not far from my cottage.

This shot was taken with my big 8" x 10" view camera.  This is a scan of a sheet of Ilford HP5+ 400 rated at 320iso and developed in 510 Pyro.  I took the shot with my Chamonix 810V view camera and a slightly wide Nikkor 240mm lens.  A #25 Red filter lowered the value of the sky, the water and the shadowed trees.  I took this photograph on April 22nd of 2025, at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F32.0.