Monochrome Guild - Coal in Alberta

Nearly ten years ago the Monochrome Guild got involved in some projects for small groups.  We agreed that the interests of the group were diverse, and that we should invest some time pursuing projects that were geared towards individual challenges.  I spearheaded a group that elected to pursue an historical theme.  There were two other groups, street photography and portraits as I recall, that never really saw anything through to fruition.

The Historical project decided to explore the theme of Coal Mining in Alberta.  At the time there was a lot of attention being paid to the coal exploration leases being sold by the provincial government in the eastern slopes of the Rockies.  That attention subsided with a cancellation of those leases, but has recently come back to life as the government has changed direction and is again promoting mountain mining.  Five group members became involved in the project, including Court, Arturo, Nigel, Fred and myself.  We put together a selection of prints and applied to various galleries around the province.  We exhibited at the Crowsnest Pass Art Gallery shortly after the pandemic, and then a year or so later at the Leighton Art Center near Calgary.  Two or three years ago we were accepted to exhibit at the Kiwanis Gallery of the Red Deer Arts Council.  Our exhibition dates have just now become available.

On the morning of August 17th, Margarit and I drove down to Red Deer with some of the prints.  Court's wife Sandra met us there with the rest of the prints.  I off loaded them all, and stayed at the gallery for a couple of hours to help with the installation.  The Kiwanis Gallery is located on the lower level of the downtown branch of the Red Deer Public Library.  The gallery space is now open to the public, and there will be an event with some of us artists in attendance in early September.  Details to follow....

Before and After

My parents moved to their acreage 45 years ago.  At that time it was an established property, nearly 20 years old, out in the country beyond the city limits.  The trees were much smaller then, though still of a reasonable size.  They have since grown up to become large, mature trees and I would estimate that some of the spruce are 70 to 80 feet tall.

The property has now been absorbed by the city, and what was once farmer's fields, are now new houses.  The country lifestyle that I once knew is long gone.

At some point my father topped a bunch of the spruce trees in the hope that they would branch out and fill in more.  They did, but now that the trees are mature, they are too large and heavy for these weakened areas.  Several times we have had the tops of the trees break off, and recently this happened once again.  Fortunately this time, the top fell away from the power lines.  

I estimate that this tree, one of the largest ones, is about 75 feet tall.  The piece that broke off was at least 20 to 30 feet.  It was about 16 inches in diameter at the point where it broke, and the base of the tree is probably 30 inches.

On August 16th I set about cutting it up.  Margarit came out and gave me a hand, and Hank was along for a little exploring.  I got all the branches limbed and made a brush pile at the edge of the property.  I got most of the trunk cut up too.  It was hot, and I was getting tired, and the mosquitos were relentless.  I had to leave the last of the trunk as my chain saw was just getting too dull to finish the job.  I need to get it sharpened, or get a new chain, and then I can return and finish up.  For now, at least most of it is out of the way, and the lawn can be properly cut.

I noticed a little mushroom at the edge of the woods and just had to take a snapshot of it as well...

Beer Parlour Project BP47.0 - Warburg Hotel

On August 15th Margarit and I headed out to Warburg for another episode of the Beer Parlour Project.  This would be number 47 towards our ultimate goal of 100.  This time around we brought along our friend Brenda, as she grew up on a farm near Warburg, and went to school there.  

There was a high school reunion from the class of 1996 taking place at the hotel.  Of the 30 or so students that were in the graduating class, thirteen were able to attend.  The Beer Parlour in this hotel is very small and intimate, so it was pretty full all night long.

Brenda graduated a little before the class of 1996, but she knew many of the family names.  Her old school vice principal was there, and he remembered her and her siblings, despite being quite advanced in age.

Of course Chris and Connie were also there, and Arturo and Sharon were able to join us a little later.  So, everything turned out really well and this event was definitely better attended than the one the night prior in Evansburg.  I managed to expose fourteen sheets of 4x5 film and I think that I came away with at least a couple of good images for the project.  I also shot a bit with my 35mm film cameras.

This was the last of three outings in a row, so we will take a bit of a break before we head back out on the road again.  We are hoping to visit some hotels in the southern part of the province later this summer

.

Beer Parlour Project BP46.0 - Evansburg Inn

On Friday August 14th the Beer Parlour Project team visited the Evansburg Inn, in Evansburg, Alberta.  We had prearranged with the owners for our visit.  The establishment is owned by a family group and they have operated the hotel and tavern for over 20 years.  Chris and I were out for this one.  Margarit and my youngest daughter Helena came along.  Helena turned 18 just a few weeks ago so this was her first time coming along on a Beer Parlour Project outing in a real bar.  Later in the evening Arturo and Sharon drove out and joined us.

It was moderately busy when we first arrived and Chris and I were able to talk to the owners as well as a number of locals.  I took some photographs with my big view camera.  There was a reporter out from the weekly newspaper in Drayton Valley and she interviewed Chris and I about the project, and also spoke to others.

Sadly it got quiet later in the evening and by the time that Arturo and Connie arrived, there were not a lot of people left.  They didn't really get much of an opportunity to join in.

Every year the town elects a town grouch.  Sadly this year's grouch was unable to join us at the Beer Parlour.

Beer Parlour Project BP45.0 - Colinton Hotel

On Thursday August 13th, Margarit, Arturo and I travelled up north of Edmonton to the town of Colinton.  There we met up with Chris.  We were in town for Steak Night at the Colinton Hotel, as well as another episode of the Beer Parlour Project.  This would be Hotel number BP45.0 on our growing list towards one hundred.

The weather was rather unsettled and it rained off and on during our drive there, and over the course of the evening.  It got rather cold by the end of the evening and there was some heavy fog as we made our way back home to the city around midnight.

After our arrival, and before setting up in the hotel, we wandered around town a little.  The hotel had a cool bus that they used for steak night, though it didn't see any action this time around.  There was also a large general store across the street that we understand had been closed for some time.  There were notices taped on the door regarding a search warrant for illicit drugs, as well as a closure notice by the board of health.  These documents were very old and it appeared nothing had gone on there for quite some time.

Steak night was heavily attended and owner Crystal, along with her staff, were kept hopping serving everyone.  There must have been 50 or 60 people that showed up.  We were busy chatting with everyone after dinner and taking a few photographs.  A couple people showed off their wheels and parked in front of the hotel for us.  This included a Bentley and a 1927 Ford Hot Rod.  Most of the attendees were locals, and this included a large number of younger farm kids from the nearby area.

It was a fun evening and although I was a little clumsy and bashful to start, it was great to get back in the saddle and work on the Beer Parlour Project once again.  With the flooding in our basement this summer I have been stuck at home and missed the last outing to Warner in southern Alberta.  Prior to this I had not been on any outings since May.

On the Road Again....

After being stuck in the city for two months, and forced to miss out on our 25th Anniversary trip to Waterton, and then BP44.0 in Warner, I'm finally able to hit the road again.

Chris and I have organized the next three outings for the Beer Parlour Project.  On Thursday August 13th we will be at the Colinton Hotel in Colinton, Alberta.  It's Steak Night that night, so we are looking forward to a good turnout.  Then the next night, Friday August 14th, we are visiting the hotel in Evansburg, Alberta.  And finally, on Saturday August 15th we will be at the Warburg Hotel in Warburg, Alberta.  I understand that there will be a high school reunion going on that night as well.

If any of our followers are out in any of these areas over the next few days, please feel welcome and stop by and say hello.

Gumweed

This is the last of the images from the recent batch of 4"x5" Ilford FP4+ 125 that I gave N+1 development.  A slight underexposure (160iso) combined with extended development (14:20 minutes in Kodak HC-110 Dilution B at 20C) yeilded an expansion in contrast of one stop.

This is a recent shot, taken just a few weeks ago when Margarit and I were down in East Coulee.  It was a hot day, and we went for a short walk in the badlands.  I was intrigued by this little gumweed plant struggling to survive in the hot, dry soil.

I shot this on June 13th of 2026, just a few days before all the rain started back home in Edmonton.  This was taken at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a long 240mm Fujinon lens.  A #47B Blue filter opened up the shadows a little.  The bellows had to be drawn out a lot to focus this closely and this required a one third stop exposure compensation.  The exposure was for 4 seconds at F41.0.  Fortunately this was in a sheltered wash and the light breeze did not cause any movement with the longish exposure.

The Latest Line Wash

I used to call these colorized sketches, but I think "Line Wash" is a little more accurate description.  I did a bunch of these when I was first learning how work with watercolors.  But in the past year or two I've been focused on images from various Beer Parlour Project outings.  We have an exhibition coming up at the Art Gallery of Alberta in early 2028, so perhaps I will include a couple of these along with all my photos.

I start by sketching out an image, based on one of my photographs.  Then I use watercolors to put in a wash of color.  After that I continue working with both graphite and ink, to detail things in, and shade everything properly.  I can't really claim to be an artist, but I think these are turning out OK, for a color blind old duffer like me.

This one is from BP14.0 when Chris and I visited the Cadillac Hotel, in Cadillac Saskatchewan.  Sadly, shortly after our visit in June of 2024, the hotel abruptly closed.  The townsfolk were devastated at losing their watering hole and restaurant, and there was no advance warning.  To the best of my knowledge it was for sale for some time, but has not yet re-opened.

Life has been so busy and I haven't found much time to work on this stuff.  I first started laying this one out back in April of 2026.  Here we are four months later and I've finally finished it off.  Hopefully the next ones that I attempt will come to life a little faster.

Company Store

This is another photograph from the Nordegg Historic Site.  Like my earlier post, this one is also from a previous visit.  I always book a tour of the site and do my photography work that way.  The site is not open to public access and is only operated under guided tours, twice a day during the season.  The tour is well worth taking, as not only do you get to see the extent of the site, but you also get the backstory about what everything is, and how it operated.

This is another one of the twenty one 4"x5" sheets of Ilford FP4+125 that I developed back on July 25th.  The batch was designated for N+1 development, and an expansion in contrast of one stop.  I used Kodak HC-110 Developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  The film was exposed at 160iso, resulting in slight underexposure.  This combination of extended development and slight underexposure resulted in the desired contrast increase.

I shot this on March 31st of 2025 at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  The site was not open to the public that early in the season, but I made special arrangements for a private tour.  These storage bins are located in the Company Store, the oldest building on the site.  The mining company provided all the necessary equipment and supplies to the miners, but they had to buy it, with the cost deducted from their paycheques.  

I shot this with my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and an ultra wide Nikkor 65mm lens.  The exposure was for 60 seconds at F41.0.  It is quite dark inside the building, hence the lengthy exposure.  Fortunately nothing was moving in this interior shot, and this did not create any issues.  The small amount of light spilling in some of the windows gave nice soft highlights and I think the image worked out well.

Before and After

The basement plumbing debacle has now been dealt with.  Nothing that five days of miserable shitty work and $10k couldn't fix.  These are before and after shots.  First, digging out all the clay to expose the old cast iron fittings, after the concrete floor got jack hammered out.  Braeden ended up getting a job with the plumbing company and that's him doing some of the digging.

There are also some shots of the old fittings, and the journeyman plumber Caleb, working to cut off the old fittings.  He's 6'8" tall, so a challenge for him to get down into the excavation.

The last two photos are the after shots, showing all the new drain and vent lines above the repoured floor, and our new sump pit.

Spilled Bolts

This photograph is from one of my many visits to the Nordegg Historic Site.  I regularly schedule a tour of the site for the purpose of documenting it with photographs.  I just did that a couple of days ago, though this shot is from a previous visit.  Although the place sits much as it did 70 years ago, when the mine closed, there are still small changes happening from year to year.  Things get cleaned up and moved around....  Sometimes some idiot breaks into the site and vandalizes something, or steals copper.  The place is very historically important and people really need to appreciate it for what it is.  Come and visit, take the guided tours with a site interpreters and learn the history of the place... its fascinating.

This shot is from a recently processed batch of 4"x5" Ilford FP4+ 125.  I saved up a batch of film that required N+1 development and back on July 25th I finally got around to developing 21 sheets.  I still have more left to go, but the oldest ones, dating back as far as the end of 2023, are now all done.  I ran the film in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  This, in combination with slight underexposure of the film (160iso) expanded contrast by one stop.

This stuff is in the blacksmith shop.  The box must be some sort of form... I think...?  The nuts and bolts are random, and were dumped on the floor.  Since I took this photograph the stuff has been partly cleaned up and some guard rails installed to keep visitors from getting hurt on the old forges and ventilation pipes.

I took this photograph on August 20th of 2024, about about 1:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera, and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  It's pretty dark in the shop so this required an exposure of 30 seconds at F20.0.

Back to the Historic Site

With all the rain back in Edmonton, I ended up stuck at home for an extended period of time.  For pretty much two months I was at home dealing with our insurance claim and the plumbing repairs.  Although the plumbing repairs are done, there is no resolution in sight to our insurance claim.  I'm hoping we can sort things out and move forward with our repairs as soon as possible.

I ventured out to the cottage, after a two month absence, to deal with a few things and get caught up on some chores.  I cut up a couple of trees that had come down, plus got the string trimmer out and cut some weeds.  Some of the more stubborn ones were also sprayed with Killex.

Our propane supplier came out and topped up our tank.  I always try to do this in the summer when the rates are the lowest of the season.  This year we needed 856 liters, at $0.519/L to get things topped up.

My plumber friend Leonard also came out and replaced the gas valve on our hot water heater that had been damaged by a recent power surge.  I later learned that this power issue occurred at the same time as the tornado was hitting Rocky Mountain House... July 18th.

I got over to the golf course and played golf a number of times.  And I also booked a tour of the Nordegg Historic Site so I could do some more documentary photography.  Here are the phone snapshots of some of the images I considered today.  I think I shot a total of about 16 sheets of film today and it was nice to get back to a little photography.