February Calendar Image

This is the image that I selected for the February Image of my annual calendar.  I still have a couple of people that I have not connected with, that I need to get calendars to.  I suppose they will miss out on displaying the January image.  But at least they will see this one... and the rest.

FP4 and TXP

Last time I went on an extended road trip it was in October of 2019.  I travelled out to Vancouver Island with my friends Rob and Brad.  We had rented a house at Courtenay, and spent a week exploring in the area.  When I go on a trip such as this, I try to limit myself to just two or three film types.  This allows me to bring along enough film holders to be productive.  But also affords me the opportunity to unload exposed film and reload fresh material as needed.  I bring empty film boxes along, and a changing bag, so that I can pull the exposed film out of the film holders and sort it into various boxes for later processing.  I use that same changing bag to load fresh film into those film holders.  By limiting myself to just two types, I don't have to drag along too much stuff.  I can still allocate film for plus and normal development without things becoming too cumbersome.  I usually still shoot a little infrared and color materiel along with the mix.

For this trip I took along a slower film, Ilford FP4, and a faster one, Kodak Tri-X Pan.  I processed all of the FP4 film in the couple of months after returning home.  I am just now getting around to processing all of the Tri-X Pan material.  Retirement is allowing me to catch up on my backlog of over 600 sheets of film that require processing.

Here are a couple of examples that illustrate the subtle differences between films.  I always shoot two sheets of every set up.  This way, if I make some sort of fatal error along the way... either during exposure, or in loading/unloading, or in processing of the film, it is highly unlikely that I will lose both.  It is not all that uncommon to make such an error, or sometimes the film gets damaged or scratched in handling.  These two images both worked out.

This is a shot of some eroded boulders on the shore of Hornby Island, at a place called Ford Cove.  Both images were taken about 30 seconds apart.  I used my Ebony SV45TU 4" x 5" view camera and a Fujinon-A 180mm lens.  This focal length is approx. equal to a 60mm lens in 135 film or full frame digital formats.  The subject brightness range was 5 stops, from the deepest shadows to the highlights on the boulders.

The shot on the left was taken on Ilford FP4 film, with a #8 yellow filter.  It was developed in Ilford Perceptol developer, diluted 1:1, for 11:45 minutes at 24C.

The shot on the right was taken on Kodak Tri-X Pan film, with a #22 orange filter.  It was developed in PMK developer [a staining pyro developer] for 9:35 minutes at 20C.

The characteristics of the film/developer combinations are a little different.  The orange filter used with the Tri-X increased the contrast somewhat.  The grain structure of the two emulsions is a little different and this would become a little more visible with a higher degree of enlargement.  I could manipulate these images somewhat in printing and adjust the contrast so that both were fairly close to the same.  But there would still be subtle differences.

There is no right or wrong choice, but after decades of working with these materials I have come to learn which materials are best suited to certain subject matter and certain lighting conditions.  This is the "Fine Art" part of the process.

Is No More

Since I got back home from Nordegg in early January, I've been spending most of my days in my darkroom.  We are forced to isolate right now due to Covid.  So other than the occasional road trip, mostly I've been working on organizing my negatives and processing my backlog of undeveloped film.  As I was going through a bunch of older 8x10 negatives I came across this one.  
There is a site up in Smoky Lake County that was once a Russian Monastery.  There is pretty much nothing left there any more.  The site was abandoned over fifty years ago.  The few buildings that remained have mostly fallen down now.  At one point, about seven or eight years ago, someone left a piano out in the woods... an offering of some sort, I suppose.  I shot this image with my big 8x10 camera back in the fall of 2014.  It was taken on the now discontinued Fuji Neopan Acros 100 sheet film.  I used a Rodenstock 360mm lens.  This lens is approximately equivalent to a 60mm lens in 135 or full frame digital format.  Development was in Rodinal 1:50 for 11:00 minutes.

Some of my Monochrome Guild friends recently visited this site and even the piano has now succumbed to the elements.  I understand that it has fallen apart and is now laying on the ground in pieces.  Just like everything else... ashes to ashes and dust to dust...

It was a rather blustery day....

On January 18th I headed out on a day trip with my friends Arturo and Fred. As has become the norm in these Covid times, we headed out in separate vehicles.  Temperatures for the day were forecast to be mild at just above the freezing mark.  The sun was out and the light was very nice.  But is was very windy and there was a stiff breeze all day long, that made things very uncomfortable.

Our first stop was at the Railway Trestle Bridge over the Paddle River, near the town of Rochfort Bridge.  The wind was relentless and large format photography was virtually impossible.  We all agreed that it was a subject worth a return visit on a better day.  It was looking as though the day was going to be a bust.  We pushed on up the road to the town of Mayerthorpe, thinking there might be something to shoot at the Fallen Four Memorial.  It turns out that it is just a parking lot with a sign and a playground... not very visually appealing.  This site recognizes the fact that four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were ambushed and shot at a nearby farm, some years ago.

We struck off across country.  At one spot on a winding gravel road, sheltered by heavy trees, we stopped and took somewhat of a conciliatory shot of some birch trunks.  It seemed as though we would't accomplish much on this day, and this way we at least took a photograph of something...!  Then we pushed on yet again, winding around on some backroads.  Eventually we came upon a stunning old house.  The light had been spectacular all day long and by this point in the middle of the afternoon the wind had eased up a little.  We shot in and around this house, and also at a nearby abandoned car out in the field, for over an hour.  By this time in the afternoon, and being mid-January, the sun was getting low and we were beginning to run out of good light.  I don't know exactly where we were, but I have the GPS coordinates recorded.  It was somewhere well west of the town of Barrhead.

The day was by no means a bust, despite the way it started out.  Though next time I plan a day trip I think I'll pay a lot more attention to how much wind is in the forecast...!

Switchgear

This image is of an abandoned electrical panel at the site of a former coal mine.  Some friends and I were out exploring in the late summer of 2019.  Several members of the Monochrome Guild are involved in this historical documentary project exploring the remains of the coal industry in Alberta.  This project has been somewhat delayed due to the Covid pandemic.  We've been out several times, to numerous locations and have amassed a sizeable body of work.  There are a few more locations that we intend to visit together.  Then, once the shooting is complete, the selection process will begin.  We will cull the selection down to 20 to 30 of the best images, and then print them for exhibition.  We may also self publish a book.  

This image was taken near East Coulee, Alberta.  I used a 90mm wide angle lens on my 4x5 view camera, and shot on Kodak Tri-X Pan film.  Development was in PMK, a staining pyro developer.  That wonderful Tri-X grain structure is visible in this image, particularly in the sky.

Another 8" x 10" Negative

I've been spending some time trying to catch up on my 8" x 10" film.  With my recent purchase of the Chamonix 8" x 10" view camera, I've been trying to get all of my old negatives in order.  I've written up and filed all the notes that go along with the negatives.  And, I've scanned most of them, so that I have a digital archive.  This particular image was taken way back in August of 2009.  I used my old Sinar P monorail view camera and a Nikon 300mm lens.  This is an old railway coach in the town of Big Valley, Alberta.  I have two versions of this image.  This one, was shot on Tri-X Pan 320 and processed in PMK developer.  This was actually processed shortly after it was taken, in January of 2010.  I have another version, virtually identical, that was taken on Ilford Delta 100.  That one I just processed a few days ago, on January 13th, in 510 Pyro developer. 

Another Shot from Tangle Falls

A very productive day back in June at Tangle Falls in Jasper National Park.  Seems some of my best images of the year were taken on this day.  For this one, I hiked the short distance up to the base of the falls.  I had to shelter myself a little bit, behind the rocks to my right, to prevent spray from the falls from getting on my lens.

This one was taken with a 58mm ultra wide angle lens [20mm equivalent] on Efke PL25M film.  Of course this was with my 4x5 view camera.  I used a red filter to deepen the sky and pump up the highlights.  The exposure was 16 seconds.  There are tens of thousands of pictures taken of this waterfall every day during tourist season.  The vast majority of those are taken from down on the road.  Very few bother to hike the short distance up to the falls for view such as this.

Pyro Stain

Here is an example of what a Pyro negative looks like.  This is a shot of the Kopernick Community Hall, south of Holden, Alberta.  It was taken in June of 2017, with my Ebony SV45TU 4x5 view camera and a Rodenstock 90mm lens.  No contrast filters were used.  This lens gives a wide perspective, equivalent to that of a 28mm lens in 135 film format or full frame digital.  

The first image is an iPhone snap shot of two negatives on my light box.  The upper negative was taken on Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film, developed in Rodinal 1:50, for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  The lower negative was taken on Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film developed in PMK, for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  Both negatives were given equivalent exposure, and they were taken just a couple of minutes apart.

The PMK developer is a formula that was invented by California based photographer Gordon Hutchings.  This developer includes Pyrogallol as one of the active developing agents.  As you can clearly see, this developer stains the negative brown.  That pyro stain is proportional to the amount of silver present in the emulsion, and adds density to the image.  It also masks grain. I find that the stain and its resulting density increase retains highlight detail quite nicely, while still maintaining contrast. 

In the second image I took that same iPhone photograph and inversed it in Photoshop.  This essentially made the negatives become positive.  In the Pyro negative you can see that there is better definition in the sky, and the highlights are not as blown out.  The contrast in the siding on the wall of the building is good and if anything is perhaps slightly more contrasty than the Acros negative.  If I actually took the time to make proper darkroom prints, I think this would be even more evident.

1700 Posts

Another milestone is reached.  A short time ago the counter on my blog hit 150,000 page views.  For the record I have this set so that it does not count my own visits.  The blog post yesterday about my day trip to the Tawatinaw Valley was my 1700th post.  Now that I am fully retired I expect to be even more active!

Tuesday Drive up the Tawatinaw Valley

On January 12th I went out for a day trip with my friends Arturo and Fred.  We drove in separate vehicles as the Covid pandemic is still raging.  For the first time in many years I decided to explore north of the city.  This time we took a drive up the Tawatinaw River Valley.  It basically runs from the town of Clyde, up to Athabasca.  We followed the winding road as far as Colinton, and then turned around and retraced our steps.

For January it was quite mild, but the temperature was around -13C when we started out in the morning.  It peaked at right around freezing in the afternoon, but felt colder than that because there was a breeze and very little sun.  We managed to take a few photographs, but probably didn't get anything spectacular.  I brought along both my 4x5 and 8x10 view camera and managed to expose about a dozen sheets of film.  Pretty much just some old buildings shot from the side of the road.  At some point I may post scans of those images but it will probably be some time before I get around to processing any of the film.  For now here are a couple of snapshots taken with my phone.

HC-110 Developer for plus development - Example Three

Here is a third example of a negative given extended development in order to increase contrast.  This particular shot was a dead fir tree, scorched by a prescribed burn, in the Sawback area of Banff National Park.  It was taken in June of 2005, at about 5:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Sinar F1 4" x 5" monorail view camera, and a Nikkor 500mm telephoto lens.  This focal length is roughly equivalent to a 165mm lens in 35mm film or full frame digital format.  
The film was Ilford FP4+.  I underexposed it slightly by rating the film speed at 160iso, rather than the "box" speed of 125.  Development was in Kodak HC-110 Developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20 degrees C [68F].  This extended development was intended to raise the contrast by approximately one stop.  I metered the scene with a Pentax Digital Spot Meter.  The grass in the foreground had a reading of EV 14-1/3.  The bare trunk and the branches metered at EV 14-2/3.  The burnt bark was two stops darker at EV 12-2/3.  The background forest was in the range of EV 11-1/3 to 13-2/3.  The total subject brightness range of the scene was slightly over three stops.

I used a #8 yellow filter at the time of exposure and compensated with the applicable filter factor.  I thought this might brighten up the grass a little, but it probably had minimal effect.  All in all I'm fairly pleased with this image as I think the choice of film/developer really sparked up this rather dull and flat scene.

I know this probably does not make a whole lot of sense for those that are not familiar with film and the darkroom, but I hope the image is enjoyed nonetheless.  And, for those that understand analog photography, I hope that this information is found helpful.

8 x 10 Landscape - Aspen Trunks

In late 2020 I bought myself a large format 8"x 10" view camera.  This is a lightweight Chamonix folding wood camera, with limited movements.  I already have an 8x10 camera, and I've owned it for over a dozen years.  But it is a large and bulky Sinar P monorail camera.  It is quite heavy, and difficult to carry in the field.  I have a large storage case for the camera itself.  The case actually has wheels, which works OK on a floor or a sidewalk, but are pretty much useless out in the field.  The camera is quite heavy, and requires a large tripod of considerable weight.  I have a couple more cases that contain the rest of the gear required to operate the camera.  This includes one case with a selection of about six or seven lenses.  A second case with all the odds and ends; meter, filters, cable release, extension rails, notepad, etc.  And then a third case, and sometimes a fourth, with film holders.  Whenever I've been out shooting with this camera it would take three or four trips from wherever I parked the truck, out to where I was shooting.  Once all the gear was unpacked and set up, there was the challenge of composing the image.  The Sinar does not have a very bright ground glass and it is difficult to view the entire screen, even with a good dark cloth.  I often found that I had stuff intruding into the edges, or sometimes I accidentally cropped stuff off.  Then, when the shooting was done, it required three or four trips to the truck to haul everything back.  After the excitement of the first couple of shooting seasons, beginning in 2007, the novelty quickly wore off.  Now this camera sits mostly in storage and I do most of my field shooting with the smaller 4" x 5" format.  The big camera only was brought out occasionally, mostly for studio work.

With the recent purchase of the Chamonix, I hope to be a lot more active in 8x10.  These large negatives are so crisp and sharp when they are focused and exposed properly.  I have considered my previous struggles and my advancing age, and put together a much lighter field package.  The Chamonix does not require nearly as heavy a tripod.  I have a backpack set up that contains the camera, four lenses, darkcloth, meter, cable release, a few filters, and two film holders.  It is actually very light and weighs a little less than the extensive 4x5 outfit that I usually carry.  The only drawback is that I can only fit two film holders in the backpack.  These are double sided so that means four shots.  If I intend to shoot more I either have to return to my truck to exchange film holders, or pack a separate case with some extra ones.  Either way I think it should be manageable.

After returning home from my trip to East Coulee I set about organizing my archive of 8" x 10" negatives.  I have almost three hundred black and white ones, plus a handful of color negatives and transparencies.  I got these all properly filed away into binders, with the appropriate notes filed with them.  Then I set about scanning all of the good ones, so that I have a quick reference for all of these large images.  I have been quite behind in this process and still have some undeveloped film to process. In going through all this I came across the image I've included below.

This is probably the first "good" landscape image that I took with the big Sinar P.  This is a grouping of Aspen Trunks out at Elk Island National Park.  It was taken in May of 2007, shortly after I got the camera.  I used a 360mm Rodenstock lens with an enormous Copal 3 shutter.  I think that lens alone weighs more than the new Chamonix camera...!  Its about the size of a grapefruit and the front glass element is about 4 inches across.  This focal length is approximately equivalent to a 60mm lens in 35mm film format, or full frame digital.  I shot the image on Ilford FP4+ film, and gave it plus development to increase contrast.  This is the same approach that I have recently outlined in some blog posts.  Once again, I used Kodak HC-110 developer to achieve this expanded contrast.

I look forward to a new sense of freedom with the new field camera and hope to create some great images with it this year.  I have already done some shooting up around Nordegg and down at East Coulee and already have about a dozen sheets of film exposed.

Winter Visit to East Coulee

On January 6th I took a drive down to East Coulee.  I had a small load of hardwood and hardwood plywood cuttings that had been riding around in the back of my truck for some time.  This was material that I had to clean out of the Mac Plastics shop when I retired.  I plan on using much of this material when we construct our guest cottage out at Nordegg.  For now, I stored it, along with some equipment, down in my shop in East Coulee.  

I took both my 4x5 and my 8x10 view cameras along with me for the drive.  I find that snow in the badlands has a very abstract sort of appearance and I was anxious to try and photograph it.  On January 6th the sky was heavily overcast and the light was very flat.  But it was quite warm and peaked at +5C, with no wind.  I stopped on a side road not far from East Coulee and photographed some of the badlands formations. It was dead silent, with not a soul around and not even a puff of breeze.

That afternoon I stopped at the shop and unloaded all of the stuff out of my truck and put it away in the building.  Frank and I hung out at the shop that evening.  Due to the current Covid restrictions we were very careful.  We had a good visit, but stayed well distanced from each other.  We had a few beers that evening and talked politics and business.  I crashed in my trailer for the night.  The next morning I got up and organized my gear.  Frank and I visited a little more on the morning of the 7th before I eventually hit the road for home.  Thursday was sunny with clear blue skies and the light was fantastic.  Unfortunately it was a little colder... around -4C, and there was a bit of a breeze.  

I stopped near Willow Creek and photographed a badlands formation in the beautiful winter light.  I used both the smaller 4x5 and the larger 8x10 camera on this trip.  It's looking like I am going to be a lot more active photographically in 2021, than I have been in recent years.  The excitement of the new camera helps, but also the freedom of being retired makes a huge difference.   

Petrified Tree

Back in October Margarit and I went for a hike into the hills near East Coulee.  There is an area that was once mined for coal.  There are some petrified trees in the area, that would have been preserved together with the coal.  It was a strenuous hike with a heavy backpack, containing my large format camera.  Eventually we got to this spot and I took this photograph.

This images was taken on Kodak T-Max 100 film in 4x5 format.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide 75mm lens.  The film was processed in 510 Pyro, a developer that I make from scratch with raw chemicals.  The formula was invented by Seattle based photographer Jay DeFehr.

General Store

Back in November, the Monochrome Guild organized two day trips.  Typically we go on an extended weekend trip, every fall, as a group... usually to the mountains.  This tradition has been ongoing for over 20 years now.  This year, due to Covid, we were unable to organize our annual Fall Photo Weekend.  Instead we went out on two day trips.  To meet the virus protocol we had to drive in separate vehicles, and stay distanced when we were out shooting.  This photograph was taken on the second of those two trips, back in November.  This old boarded up store is in a small town in east central Alberta.  I just recently processed this sheet of film.  It was taken with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a 90mm lens.  This lens provides a wide perspective, similar to a 30mm lens in 35mm film or full frame digital format.  I shot this on a 4" x 5" sheet of Kodak T-Max 100 and developed in 510 Pyro.    

Shunda Creek

I took this image in July of 2018.  It was taken not far from my cottage.  My friend Rob and I were out there at the time, working on the electrical installation.  We took a break and rode the ATV's over to nearby Shunda Creek.  Rob borrowed one of my Ebony cameras and I used the other.  I just recently processed a batch of film that included this one.  The image was taken with a Schneider Super Symmar XL 110mm lens... which has a slightly wide perspective.  It was shot on Ilford Delta 100, and was developed in 510 Pyro developer.

 

150,000 Page Views

At some point around January 6th my blog received its 150,000th page view.  My first post was in late July of 2010.  Here we are 10-1/2 years later, and this milestone is reached.  It is encouraging to see that so many people stop by to visit me blog and read the nonsense I ramble on about.  I realize that many people check in on a regular basis, so this does not represent that many individuals.  But still, it is somewhat flattering to remain at least a little valid.  Thanks to everyone that visits...!

I also have an account on Flickr.  It is specifically a photography platform and there are many exceptional photographers that include their work there.  With Flickr people visit and just browse images from all over the world.  With my blog, viewers are specifically looking for me, or some subject that I have written about.  For anyone interested I have included a link to my Flickr account.  Most of the images there have been included on my blog at one time or another.  I have 467 images posted on Flickr, dating back to January of 2015 and to date I have had over 1,375,600 views.  Certainly a much wider audience, but a little more impersonal.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130527519@N08/

Trunk Road

On January 3rd I set out after breakfast for a little drive.  First I loaded up all the garbage that had accumulated at the cottage of the past little while.  There has been at least one person, and most the time the entire family, at the cottage for the better part of three weeks.  We had all the aftermath and fallout from our Christmas dinner and gift openings.  The girls had a the little and waste from their pet cages.  I think there were a couple of bags left over from previously.  There were 15 bags that I hauled to the dump.

It dawned clear and sunny and quite a bit cooler.  It was around -2 when I started loading up all the stuff for the dump.  By mid afternoon it peaked at around +1.  Overnight there was a light dusting of about 3/4 of an inch of snow, which really freshened things up.  At the cottage it seemed as though it was not all that windy.  Certainly not nearly like the gale force winds we had yesterday.  But they picked up in the afternoon, and out in the open, it was pretty brisk.  I was still able to set up and take a couple of photographs with my view cameras.  But any windier and it would not have been possible.  I suspect that the wind may have caused some camera movement and spoiled one of my 8x10 shots that had a fairly long exposure time of about 1 second.

I headed north from the dump and got about as far as Chungo Creek Road.  The wind was pretty brisk up here and it was blowing the fresh snow around quite a bit.  I managed one set up with my 4x5 in a sheltered spot and did a composition of the forest edge.  Later I went south on the Trunk Road, near the Industrial Park, where I had taken some photos a couple of days prior.  This time there was some interesting clouds and blowing snow coming off the Bighorn Range to the west.  I attempted a couple of shots with both the 4x5 and the 8x10.  I was thoroughly chilled by the wind and my fingers were numb so after that I headed back to the cottage.  
I'm not sure if the wind died down, or if it was just more sheltered there.  But I dug out my chop saw and table saw and cut up a little bit of wood.  This will allow me to finish doing some trim around our basement door, and to complete the frame for the door itself.  By the time that was finished, the sun was settling down towards the mountains in the west and the day was coming to an end.  But it was most certainly a good one....

Whiskeyjacks

We have a pair of Whiskeyjacks that hang around our cottage.  At one time there were three, but now we are down to just two.  These birds are year round residents and are also known as Gray Jays or Canada Jays.  Camp Robber Jay is another name that many know them by.  They are quite bold and known to hang around people. 

I did a little reading and I understand that they mate for life.  It is apparently common that they keep their offspring with them for at least a year into adulthood.  I believe that the two we have now are the mated pair, and the third one that was around earlier in the fall was probably their offspring.  I suspect that he or she has probably now moved on in search of a mate.

They aren't around our property all the time, but I see them almost every day.  When I do, I try to go out with some food for them.  If I see them flitting about in the trees I'll grab a handful of nuts and go stand out in the yard.  If I whistle a sort of "yoo-hoo" they will come silently gliding in out of the forest.  One of the two has become quite accustomed to me and will land on my hand and eat the nuts.  The second one is still a little skittish.  I think it may be the female as she is slightly smaller.  She will come to me, and eat the nuts from the ground at my feet, but is a little too shy to land on my hand.

Over the past few weeks all three of the girls have also been able to hand feed at least the one.  They are pretty well feed and I hope they stay around.  

The deer are getting really tame as well.  Particularly now that hunting season is over.  All four of the bucks that hang around our place are still around, even this little guy with the tiny spikes.  There are three or for does, as well as their yearling fawns.  I have seen as many as ten deer in our yard at the same time.

HC-110 Developer for Plus Development - Example Two

Here is another example of Kodak HC-110 Developer, used with increased development time [plus development] to increase contrast.  This image was taken on a gloomy spring day in 2005.  I was out on a day trip, with a couple of friends as I recall.  This one was shot on Ilford Delta 100 film, and given a two stop expansion with significantly increased development.  The film was underexposed by 1-1/3 stops, rating it at ISO 250.  I shot this with my Sinar F1 monorail view camera and a 300mm lens.  The sky was heavily overcast and the light was extremely flat.  I metered with a digital spotmeter and every aspect of the scene fell within a range of 1-2/3 stops.... from EV 11-2/3 to EV 13-1/3.  Only the sky had a higher value at EV 14-2/3 to 15.  With a relatively straight horizon I knew it would be quite straightforward to burn in the sky in printing.  I used a #8 yellow filter to try and lighten the new foliage just a little, and gave the required 1 stop extra exposure in compensation.  I exposed at EV 13-2/3, in an attempt to keep the sky a little more printable.  The exposure was 1/60 second at F16.0.  Development was for 22:00 minutes in HC-110 Dilution B, at 20 degrees C.

I know this probably does not make a whole lot of sense for those that are not familiar with film and the darkroom, but I hope the image is enjoyed nonetheless.  And, for those that understand analog photography, I hope that this information is found helpful.

DC-3

I shot this image back in August of 2002 with my Sinar F1 4x5 view camera and a 75mm wide angle lens.  This old abandoned DC-3 aircraft used to sit in the town of Chipman, Alberta.  It was there for a number of years, and then one day it was gone.  The markings on the aircraft indicate that it originally belonged to Ken Borek Airlines.  The wings were not there... only the fuselage... and I assume it had been bought for the scrap aluminum value.  It made an interesting subject and I shot it a number of times while it was still there.  This is another of my "found negatives" that I came across while looking for something else.  I suppose I should spend a little more time reviewing all the negatives in my file.  I think there are close to 8000 black and white ones in 4" x 5" format, and yet more in roll film and 8" x 10" format.

 

Happy New Year

New Years Eve found me back out at the cottage.  I headed back to Edmonton on December 29th.  I had a bunch of errands to look after on December 30th... some banking, some groceries, some plumbing supplies, and some prescriptions.  On December 31st I headed back out to the cottage.  Hailey stayed home in the city as she had to work on both December 31 and January 2.  Margarit and the other two girls had remained out at the cottage.

Normally  New Years Eve out at Nordegg is a lot of fun.  The local Community Association puts on a big fireworks display and has a bunch of events including tobogganing, an outside hockey game, a bonfire, and a potluck dinner.  This year everything was cancelled, thanks once again to Covid.  The fireworks display went ahead, but that was a drive-in event with people only allowed to watch from the road in their cars.  The girls and I were all in bed asleep before the clock struck midnight.

On my drive out on New Years Eve there was fresh snow through most of the boreal foothills and front ranges, pretty much all the way to Coliseum Mountain.  The roads were mostly clear and dry but there was three or four inches of fresh snow.  Once I passed the shoulder of Coliseum Mountain, near Nordegg, the snow ended and there was only the old snow from before Christmas.  There was still a bare spot on our driveway where my truck had been previously parked.

On New Years Day, after sleeping in late, I took a drive up to Abraham Lake.  The temperature was very mild, and peaked at around +7C, but like usual, it was very windy.  I watched a small car pull over and stop along the side of the road near Windy Point.  When the driver opened the door, it was nearly ripped out of her hands.  A bunch of papers and stuff were sucked out of the car, and the wind took them down the highway, probably to Saskatchewan by now...!  But, sometime in the past few days the lake froze over.  It was still open when I last took a drive on Christmas Eve.  And Margarit was up this way a few days ago and said the water was still open then too.  But now there is a thin layer of snow free ice entirely covering the lake.  So, photography of the ice bubbles will be possible going forward, at least when the wind  cooperates.

There were a lot of people out in the mountains on New Year's Day.  The David Thompson Highway carried a steady stream of cars.  Any stopping spot that was sheltered from the wind was packed with parked cars, in some places as many as two dozen.  It seems everyone is a little cooped up and looking to get some space and fresh air.

Photography with a large format camera was impossible.  So I headed back east hoping to find a sheltered area with less wind.  I headed south on the Trunk Road and took a shot of the burned area near the Industrial Park.  I shot it with both my 4x5 and my 8x10 view cameras.  First day of the year and I already have my first shots in both formats under my belt...!