June Calendar Image

This is the image I chose for the month of June for my 2020 calendar.  Its an old REO Speedwagon pickup, owned by a collector in Blairmore.  Thanks to my friends Chris and Connie, we had permission to explore his scrap yard.  He has a bunch of old REO's, plus some Diamond T's, and a few Fargo Power Wagons.  He even took us to his shop and showed us a couple of the ones he has completed restoring.

Saunders Large Format

Back in the fall I wrote a blog post about an afternoon that I spent out at Saunders.  That post is back on October 7th 2019, for anyone that cares to scroll back and check it out.  While I wandered around and took those snapshots with my digital camera, I also did some shooting with my large format view camera.  Recently I processed a batch of Bergger Panchro 400 film that included a couple of shots from that day.  Here are the scans of those two images....    The first is a shot of "The Gap".  This is where the North Saskatchewan River breaches the Brazeau Range and spills out into the foothills.  Perhaps a little more impressive in color as those aspens were all ablaze.  But I like the tonality of this black and white image as well.  The second is a shot of the Saunders Baby Cemetery.  Rather an odd place as it is not only babies that are buried there.  And, there is a rather large plot fenced off, but only a handful of graves.  Seems as though they were expecting more residents...?

Deep Freeze

Its probably a good thing I didn't attempt to go to Nordegg last weekend.  On Monday evening after work, my truck died.  I had to boost it with one of the shop trucks to get it started.  I let it run for over an hour to allow the alternator to charge the battery up again.  It turned bitterly cold on Monday and since then we have been in a deep freeze.  Daytime high tempertures have been in the range of about -35C, and at night it has dropped down to near -40C.  On Tuesday morning my truck again wouldn't start, despite the block heater being plugged in all night. 
A couple of the guys from the shop didn't have much to do so they volunteered to go and boost my truck and bring it back to the shop.  So they did, but the truck would not go into gear.  The transmission seemed to be frozen.  Eventually after running it for a while the guys were able to start the truck in gear, with the clutch depressed.  This allowed it to be driven to the shop... in third gear all the way.  It stayed inside the shop all day.  The guys installed two new batteries for me as the ones that had been giving me problems were the original ones in this 2012 model year.  By the end of the day, despite being thawed out, it still would not go into gear.  I've made an appointment to take it in to the shop for service so this can be resolved.  I had to miss a guitar lesson Monday and a hockey game Tuesday due to these vehicle issues.

Out in Nordegg it has been even colder still.... -40C and lower.  Propane gels at -42C and will not vaporize.  I wonder how many residents are having issues with their furnaces going out...?  My decision to use forced air electric heat as our main heat source is looking like a really good idea.  If the power goes out we're all hooped, even the propane users, but at least electricity doesn't gel.  I've been monitoring the internet thermostat at the cottage and the inside temperature is being maintained at +13C.  I'm sure the power bill will be a big one this month, but at least we won't have any issues with frozen plumbing and the like.  As soon as this cold snap comes to an end, and my vehicle issues are resolved, I'll head out there and check on things.  The forecast is calling for the frigid temperatures to remain for at least a couple more days. 

These are just air temperatures and do not take into account the effects of wind chill.  Fortunately there has been very little wind these past few days.  But even the light breeze we've had makes it feel like -45C and colder.
By Thursday morning it felt like a heat wave as it was only -28C.  I managed to drive the truck over to the service center yesterday.  The clutch is damaged as it does not disengage the engine from the transmission.  I had to make sure no one was behind me when I started the truck as it lurches into motion when the starter turns the engine over.  I managed to limp it over to the service shop without too much issue and they are now in the process of replacing the clutch.
This image was taken out the front window of my office on Wednesday evening.  The temperature was about -36C at the time and I was waiting for Margarit to pick me up and give me a ride home.  Had to miss my Bluegrass Club meeting that night as it was just too difficult to get to without a functional vehicle.

 

Fan House

This negative was exposed last June when I was down in Crowsnest Pass with some friend from the Monochrome Guild.  We were working on a project documenting the remains of the coal mining industry in our province.  We hiked up to this location with my friends Chris and Connie.  It is the remains of an old fan house.  The large fan inside this structure provided ventilation to a long abandoned coal mine deep within the moutain beneath us.  

This shot was taken on Bergger Panchro 400 large format film.  I used my Ebony view camera and a  Rodenstock 90mm lens.  I just recently processed this one in Perceptol developer.  This is one of my stronger images from this trip and it might make the final cut to be included in our documentary project.

May Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the month of May on my 2020 calendar.  These markers out on in a tiny little forgotten cemetery, out in the middle of a farmers field in Lamont County.  I'm guessing that it might have been a family plot of some sort...?  The headstones were badly deteriorated and overgrown, but there is still the fence and some trees around the little plot and the land on all sides is actively farmed. 

1979 Yamaha Enticer 300

Back in early January of 2014... almost six years ago to the day.... I dug my old Yamaha snowmobile out of storage.  I posted on my blog at that time about how I was planning to restore the old snow machine, and actually got a start on it.  The project fell by the wayside for quite some time, and then took a turn for the worst.  Back in 2014 I got the seat reupholstered and everything kind of cleaned up and then put the sled back into storage in my shop.  Some time later I bought a New Ski-Doo Tundra and ended up taking that out to Nordegg.

Last year I again dug the old Yamaha out of storage.  This time it wouldn't start.  So, I took the carburetor off and took it in to a dealership to be rebuilt.  When I got it put back on and tried to start it, the machine started.  But it must have been set way to rich because it promptly burnt out one piston and then only ran on one cylinder.  So, eventually I got around to hauling it in to another dealer to have the motor rebuilt.  There was a hole burnt in one of the pistons....  To make matters worse there were no longer any parts available through Yamaha for these old machines.  I eventually found some rings and pistons from new old stock on Ebay and ordered them in out of the United States.  I took these in to the local dealearship and they were able to rebuild the motor for me.  

Once this was all done I fixed up the last few remaining odds and ends.  I put on the new skis that I had from years ago.  I also found some new carbides to bolt to the skis.  And I ended up rreplacing the kill switch with a new one.  Finally everything was good to go.

Last year I looked into registering the machine for a license plate.  Turns out that the province will not register it for me as the old machine does not have the required 17 digit VIN number [vehicle identification number].  I can pay to have an inspector come out and check the machine and assign a new VIN number to replace the original manufacturer's serial number.  But that inspection process costs around $500... probably more than the machine is worth.  So for now, I have my old 1982 license plate on the sled, and I have the original registration from back then.  I've put proper liability insurance in place on the machine.  That is going to have to be adequate for the little bit of trail riding that we are going to do.

Now that we are into the winter of 2020, and there is actually enough snow to ride around on, I have the old sled loaded up onto my trailer and it is ready to haul out to Nordegg.  Not sure exactly when I'll head out there next as the forecast is for some bitter cold temperatures the next little while.  But whenever I do manage to get out there next, I'll take the old snow machine with me and finally get it out for a spin...!

Postage Costs...?

I packed up a bunch of my calendars and mailed them off to friends and family.  I printed a number of calendars this year and mostly will pass these along to people that I see in person.  But there are a few that I will not be able to connect with for a while, so these hit the mail.

I was somewhat taken aback by the postage costs.  Not so much the cost, but the difference in price to send to various destinations.  I sent a calendar to my friend Rob in Vernon, British Columbia.  That one actually cost a dollar more than the one that I sent to my cousin Roswitha in Germany.  No doubt the one going to Vernon will arrive a lot sooner, but the cost was a bit of a surprise.  Even packages that I sent to other parts of Alberta, cost about the same as the international one..... go figure...!

Freeze Up

Another from the recent batch of T-Max 100 that I mistakenly developed at 1:200 dilution, instead of 1:100.  This one was from the Fall Photo Weekend this past November.  It is a shot of Portal Creek in Jasper National Park.

Holiday Schedule

As expected, my holiday time over the Christmas break was very limited.  The shop shut down and the staff went home for Christmas on December 20th.  I worked the weekend of December 21 and 22, as well as December 23 and Christmas Eve.  I took Christmas Day off, but returned to work on Boxing Day as well as December 27 and 28. 

The girls and I headed out to Nordegg from December 29 to January 2.  Anna and Hailey came home with me on January 2 but Margarit and Helena stayed out at the cottage a little longer.  They actually ended up staying out there until January 4th.  I returned to work on January 3 and will continue to work every day until at least January 10.  I am in the process of wrapping up all the financial information needed for the sale of the company to take place on January 6.  Then I will start in my new role as an employee of the new ownership group.

The 4-1/2 days out at the cottage were fantastic, but it just didn't feel like much of a break. And before and after that I worked weekdays and weekends and kind of lost track of time.  All worth it to see my ownership come to an end, and my retirement now on a fixed schedule.  A year from now once I have fulfilled my employment commitments to the new ownership group, it will fell a lot more like a holiday.

New Year's Day

We all slept in a bit on New Year's Day and then I put together a late breakfast of Bacon, Pancakes, and Sourdough Bread Toast.  We lazed around together for a while and then by early afternoon Margarit and I decided to head out for a drive.  The three girls stayed behind at the cottage.

We headed west on the David Thompson Highway.  Mostly we wanted to check and see if Abraham Lake had frozen over, and if there were any ice bubbles present.  The morning started out overcast with light snow but by early afternoon the sun broke out, and there was no wind, so we were hopeful for good conditions.  The east end of Abraham Lake was frozen over, but snow covered.  Near Mt. Michener and Windy Point, the breeze picked up, but it was not the usual gale force wind... just a stiff breeze.  The lake was frozen but the ice was very broken up and uneven.  To the west, around the elbow of the lake there was still open water.  At the upper reaches of the lake, it was again frozen, but snow covered.  We stopped along the highway in a couple of places and took some photos with the 4" x 5" view camera.  The first stop up near Ex Coelis Mountain was pleasant, but in shade.  The next stop near Windy Point, despite a higher temperature on the thermometer, was bitter and cold due to the ever present wind.  We made it back to the cottage by late afternoon.

Once we got back we tidied up a bit and then got supper on the go.  This time is would be BBQ with tenderloin steak for Margarit and I, cheese filled mushroom caps for the two younger vegetarians... and by choice, burgers for Hailey.  This was complemented by roasted potatoes and mixed vegetables.  The best steak I've had in a long time... and the mushrooms were pretty good too.

We settled down for the evening after that.  I worked on hanging a picture and putting up some shelves and the girls watched another DVD.

April Calendar Image

This is the image I chose for the April page of my 2020 calendar.  It is a shot of the sand dunes out by Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park.  Roche Miette is visible in the background.  This one was taken in the fall of 2016 when the gang from the Monochrome Guild headed out for our annual Fall Photo Weekend.  This one was taken with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon-W 125mm lens.  I actually have two Ebony SV45 view cameras.... One is the TE version that I purchased new in 2012.  The other is a used TU version that I purchased in 2016.  When I learned that the owner of Ebony in Japan was retiring and shutting down, I attempted to order a new Ebony TU camera.  The difference between the two is that the TU has Asymmetrical rear movements.  This doesn't mean much to the layman, but for those that understand large format camera movements... this is a little more convenient in practice.  But... by the time I got around to trying to order one, it was too late as the company was no longer accepting orders.  I did manage to find a used one in reasonable condition on Ebay, and purchased it.  But, I paid more than the new price to get it... which was the norm once the closure of the company had been announced.  Very happy with the camera but wishful that I had been able to order a new one before it was too late....

Hoodoo Mountain

Just processed this one, and made a beginners mistake...!!  It's actually and old shot, from April of 2017, but I just got around to processing it.  I made the mistake of not paying attention and mixing my developer incorrectly.  This was Kodak T-Max 100, developed in 510 Pyro developer.  I intended to mix the developer 1:100, but mistakenly mixed it 1:200.  I put 10ml of concentrate into 2L of water, when this was the amount for 1L.  The resulting negative is a little thin, but printable.  This was taken at Hoodoo Mountain near Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, in April of 2017, using my Ebony SV45TU view camera and a Nikkor T-ED 500mm lens.

Happy New Year

The girls and I spent 4-1/2 Days out at the cottage in Nordegg.  It was fantastic...!!  We headed out from the city on the afternoon of the 29th of December and got unpacked and set up at the cottage.  I spent most of the 30th... with Margarit's help... putting together the bunkbed that I built for the girls.  Then on New Year's Eve... once again with the help of Margarit, and the girls, we put the last section of kitchen cupboard into place.  I thought I had the right plumbing fittings, but I did not, so I was unable to hook up the drain to the kitchen sink.  We continue to use a bucket for the time being.

In the late afternoon we headed into town.  The bonfire in town was lit at about 2:00 in the afternoon and then the shinny game got started on the rink at about 4:00.  I showed up at around 4:30 and joined in the hockey game, while the girls went tobogganing on the nearby hill.  At about 5:30 we joined the potluck dinner, and then hung around for the big fireworks show at 7:00.

Later we headed back up to the cottage and watched a DVD for a while.  At midnight we popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and welcomed the new year and the new decade.

To all my friends and family, and those that follow my blog...  all the best in 2020.  May the upcoming year and the next decade find everyone healthy and happy.  I look forward to the transition into retirement and a lot more time for myself.