Astoria River

This is the last image from the recently processed batch of T-Max 100 sheet film.  This was processed in 510 Pyro developer, diluted 1:100, for 7:45 minutes at 24C.  This staining developer restrains highlights, which is evident in the high values of the river.  

I liked the way that the backlighting was illuminating the foreground aspens in fall color.  I used a #8 Yellow filter to pump this up a little.  I don't think the scan really does this justice and perhaps I'll take a shot at printing this one next time I hit the darkroom for a print session.

This was taken on the Monochrome Guild Fall Photo Weekend in Jasper National Park, last October.  This is the Astoria River, on Highway 93A.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.

Jasper Lake

In October of 2022 I was out with my friends from the Monochrome Guild on the annual Fall Photo Weekend to Jasper National Park.  The twenty year tradition was resurrected after a short interruption for the Covid pandemic.  One of our first stops was on the shore of Jasper Lake.  I set up the view camera three times at this stop, and I'm happy with all three images.  But I was rather surprised to learn that the one that I had the least optimism for, is actually the one that I like best.

This shot was part of the recent batch of T-Max 100 processed in 510 Pyro developer.  The sky was smoky due to the fires that had been burning for some weeks in an area just north of this location.  Normally the background mountains would be more prominent in this shot.  They are there, but somewhat obscured by the smoke of those fires.  

I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.  I used to #25 Red Filter to increase contrast, and to help cut through the haze of the smoke.

Shrouded

Another image from the recent batch of T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro.  This one was taken on the Monochrome Guild's Fall Photo Weekend in Jasper last October.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a long 400mm Fujinon Lens.  A #25 Red Filter was used in an attempt to cut through the haze.  It helped a little, but it was quite smoky in the area from the large forest fire that had been burning for several weeks, just northeast of the townsite.  These are morning clouds shrouding the peak, but the general haze is from the fire.  I cropped this one a little from the 4" x 5" negative as the foreground was not important.

Family Day Trip

On Thursday May 25th the whole Tribe headed out for a day trip.  We started out by parking at the Nordegg Ranger Station, and then walking down to Shunda Creek.  I call this spot Shunda Falls, but some people refer to it as the Fairy Pools.  We relaxed here and took a bunch of photos before heading on to Bearverdam Lake.  This is just slightly downstream from our first stop.  We wandered around here and explored along the shore of the lake, and down by some of the old beaver ponds further downstream.  Everybody seemed to really enjoy the day.  Margarit left her phone behind at one point and there was a bit of excitement when she had to head back out and look for it.  She quickly remembered that she had set it down in the outhouse at Beaverdam, and it was still there when she returned.  Later that evening Shawn's half-sister Becky and her husband Gerald drove out from Rocky Mountain House for a visit.  It was great to get to know them a little better and spend a few hours visiting.  Unfortunately the fire ban and off highway vehicle ban remained in place the entire time that everyone was visiting.  Of course it was lifted the morning that everyone had to head back home.

Tim Horton's Drumheller

In addition to the prints that I provided for the Tim Horton's in Drumheller, there was some additional work.  Dinosaur Valley Studios provided a Hockey Playing Dinosaur in the penalty box.  This has been ready for some time, and just awaiting some final changes by Tim Horton's.  It was the location of the penalty box, and the background that was undecided for a time.  Once those decisions were reached, the guys at the shop were able to install my prints, and then install the Dinosaur.  Margarit and Martina were there when the installation started, but weren't around long enough to see things completed.  Frank sent me these photos of the completed installation.

Windy Point

Late in the fall the reservoir that is Abraham Lake becomes full.  Last fall it got to a level that was higher than I can ever recall.  The water was right up into the trees, and up near the highway in places.  This is a shot of Windy Point, taken from along the highway.  That little island is not an island for most of the year.

This image is from the recent batch of T-Max 100 that I processed in 510 Pyro developer.  The shot was taken in October of 2022.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a long 300mm lens.  A #25 Filter was intended to help cut through the haze, which was mostly from a forest fire burning in Jasper.

Greenhill Hotel

This was one of the locations that I visited last year with Margarit and my friends Chris and Connie, for the Beer Parlor project.  We are kick starting the project for the year in a couple of weeks, and will head out to explore some old small town hotels in early June.

This shot is part of my recent batch of Kodak T-Max 100 processed in 510 Pyro developer.  The Greenhill Hotel is in the Crowsnest Pass in Blairmore.  I shot this in September of 2022 with my Ebony view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens, with no filter.

May 24th

May 24th is my father's birthday.  He would have been 94 today if he was still with us, but we lost him ten years ago.  Raymond was a triplet, the last of the three to arrive.  His brother Richard passed as a young boy in 1941.  His sister Ellen lived the longest, and was with us until a couple years before Covid.  Even ten years later I still think about Dad all the time, and all the things I learned from him.  He really does still live on.

Return to Nordegg

I headed back out to Nordegg on Sunday May 21st.  It was actually the Victoria Day Long Weekend, but I don't really pay attention to that any more.  Now that I'm retired I don't really take note of holidays, or even the day of the week.  I really prefer to come out to Nordegg during the week, when there aren't as many people around.

On Saturday May 20th my brother-in-law Shawn and his girlfriend Lisa had a house warming party.  They just moved into a new rental home... an upgrade over the one they had before.  Margarit's cousin Martina, and her sister Natalia, both attended with us.

The smoke from all the forest fires burning in Alberta has been really bad in recent days.  Last time I checked there were around 90 fires burning, mostly in the north and northwest.  Winds have been really erratic in recent days, so the smoke conditions were really dependent on the wind direction.  When I initially arrived in Nordegg in the early afternoon, there was no smoke.  Later in the day the wind direction changed, and soon we were enveloped with heavy smoke.

I spent Sunday afternoon and all of holiday Monday working in the guest cottage.  I installed the valve and head in the shower.  Then I proceeded to caulk all the seams.  By my own admittance I am absolutely and positively the worst caulking applicator in the world.  I make nothing but a mess every time I attempt it.  It won't leak... but it doesn't look very pretty.  This time around I used a translucent caulking inside the shower so at least that won't be quite so conspicuous.

I also worked on the counter top for the bathroom vanity.  I got the opening cut for the sink, and then glued on the plastic laminate.  I also put together the faucet and the drain.  The vanity is pretty much done now... just have to seal down the sink and connect the water supply and drain.  I didn't bring the parts along for that, so won't do that plumbing this time around.  I had to build a jig to cut a slot in the edge of the counter top.  This is necessary to install the chrome edge trim.  I actually bought a slot cutter bit to attempt this, but is didn't fit my router properly, so I had to use a circular saw instead.  Not sure how well it will work and I guess I'll find out when I cut the chrome to size and try to install it....

In the morning, I dug out my tablesaw and cut up most of the plywood for the pantry that I have yet to build.  The forecast was calling for rain in the afternoon, and I wanted to get this done before it got wet.

I was up at first light, at about 5:00AM.  I had a leisurely breakfast and coffee and was at work before 9:00AM.  I packed things in around 5:00.  I never left the property, but when I checked my phone I learned that I had walked over two miles.  I was pretty tired, and it was nice to just shut down and relax for the evening.

In the late afternoon the rain finally rolled in.  A steady rain got going by late afternoon and just kept going.  This will hopefully help to wash some of that smoke out of the sky.  I hope that the rain also hits some of the areas in the north, and helps to get the fires under control.

Coal Cars

This is another image from the recent batch of Kodak T-Max 100, developed in 510 Pyro.  The pyro stain of this developer restrains highlight detail nicely.  This is evident in the windows, as there is clearly detail visible outside, despite the significant difference in illumination levels between interior and exterior.  These coal cars were in a maintenance shop at an old mine.

I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera with a wide 90mm lens and no filter.

Boulders at Medicine Lake

It was a really busy week...   Margarit's only cousin, Martina, arrived on Friday May 12 from Austria.  She is staying with us for a couple of weeks, and then carrying on to Vancouver, before flying home from there at the beginning of June.

Margarit and Martina took a road trip for a couple of days and went down to East Coulee.  They managed to catch the installation of my prints at the Tim Horton's location in Drumheller.  Unfortunately it has been really smoky all across the province in recent days.  The forest fire that was burning near our place in Nordegg is under control, and relatively small.  But there are around 90 fires burning in the province, most in the foothills and in the north.  Many of them are enormous, and over 20 are out of control.  When the wind is out of the west or the northwest it carries all the smoke into the city and points further south.  It was very smoky in East Coulee when the girls visited and Edmonton has been really bad in recent days.

I did a bunch of chores around home, mostly this involved some paperwork that I needed to catch up on for my holding company.  Also cut the grass and tidied up a few things around the yard.

In between all of that I managed to process a batch of film.  This time around it was Kodak T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro developer.  This is one of my favorite combinations and I use it extensively.  The pyro is a staining developer and I quite like the way it restrains highlights and creates edge definition.

This particular shot was taken in October of 2022 during the Monochrome Guild's Fall Photo Weekend.  This is the boulders on the shore of Medicine Lake, in Jasper National Park.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter increased contrast a little and created some separation in the sky.  I rate the film at 80 iso, slightly under the box speed, as I find this supports shadows a little better.   Development was in 510 Pyro, diluted 1:100, for 7:45 minutes at 24C.

Crib and Bed

This is the last scan from my recent batch of Agfapan 25 sheet film.  Development was in Rodinal (actually the Adox replacement for Rodinal, APH-09), diluted 1:50, for 13:00 minutes.

The ceiling of this old farmhouse was badly collapsed, and what was left was on the verge of coming down.  I did not risk entering the space so I shot this image from the doorway.

I shot this on June 4th 202 at about 3:45 in the afternoon.  I took the shot with my Ebony view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.  I used a #8 Yellow filter but in hindsight I see no reason why this was considered...?

Finally Installed

My prints were finally installed at the Tim Horton's location in Drumheller on May 17th... a full two months after I finished and delivered them...!  There were a bunch of changes made to the contract and we had to wait until everything was approved.  With the bureaucracy of a large corporation, it took quite a while before we got everything in writing.  That came about a week ago, so now Frank and the team at Dinosaur Valley Studios was finally able to complete the project.  The Dinosaur Hockey Player and the penalty box will be installed shortly, and the prints finally went up on the wall.  Frank sent me this snapshot and I think it all looks really good.  I hope to get down there and see it first hand at some point in the near future.

Living Room

This is another image from the recently processed batch of Agfapan 25 sheet film.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I am using up the last sheets that I have left of this film.  This is very old stock and it expired over 30 years ago.  I developed this in Adox APH-09 developer, diluted 1:50, for 13:00 minutes.

This old farm house its abandoned, with much of the furnishings left behind.  The roofs leaks really badly, and the floor is so rotten that I didn't dare step in side.  Rather this shot was taken through the open doorway.  I shot this on September 5th 2021 at about 5:00PM.  It was taken with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.

Lakeshore Aspens

This is another shot on Agfapan 25, from a recently processed batch of 4x5 sheet film.  This was developed in Adox APH-09 at 1:50 for 13:00 minutes.  I took this shot on January 2nd of this year, at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  It was taken with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Rodenstock 90mm wide angle lens.  A #8 Yellow filter was used to increase contrast a little.

These aspens are on the shore of Abraham Lake.  That is the shoulder of Mount Michener visible on the right side, and Wapta Kista visible in the distance through the trees.  In the late summer, when the reservoir has filled, these trees are often standing in a couple of feet of water.

Blackmud Rapids

This image was taken on one of my few remaining sheets of Agfapan 25 film.  The film expired in 1990, so it is over 30 years past it's best before date.  It continues to yield some spectacular images, so it will be a sad day when I use up the very last of my stock.

I processed this in Adox APH-09 developer [the original Rodinal formulation] at 1:50 for 13:00 minutes.  The shot was taken down in Blackmud Creek Ravine, a short distance from my house in the city.  I shot this on May 15th 2022, a year ago to the day, at about 3:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens.  A six stop neutral density filter allowed a very long exposure of 60 seconds, which created the dreamy look in the moving water.  It's kind of a gimmicky technique that a lot of photographers play around with and I never seem to grow tired of it.

Sundance Lodge

I believe this is a Sundance Lodge.  I came upon it when I was out hiking with my camera.  I shot this image back on March 29th of this year, at about 1:30 in the afternoon.  It was taken on Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film, developed in Adox APH-09 developer.  Development was at 1:50 for 11:00 minutes, which yields a slight increase in contrast.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a wide angle Nikkor 75mm lens.  I used a #22 Orange filter to lighten the value of the foreground grass, and slightly deepen the sky.

Nordegg

I arrived out at the cottage in the afternoon of May 7th, after a brief visit to East Coulee.  There was no smoke, no smell and no flames, despite all the wildfire warning in the media.  I think I must have received a half dozen emergency alert notices on the cell phone over the past couple of days.  The fire near Nordegg was burning along the south shore of the North Saskatchewan River, about halfway between The Gap in the Brazeau Range, and the Forestry Trunk Road.  I watched for any sign of smoke or flames as I came over Saunders Ridge on Highway 11, and had a clear view of The Gap, but couldn't see anything.  It was announced that the fire was contained and the evacuation alert lifted, early on Sunday evening.

On Monday I was up at first light at 6:00AM and after morning coffee and breakfast, I went to work.  I got the last two breakers installed into the electrical panel.  I thought I might put the counter receptacles in, and finish up the junction boxes for the tank alarms, but I didn't have all the materials I needed.  But the electrical is pretty much done now, and next time I come out I'll bring supplies and finish up the last odds and ends.

I used the baltic birch plywood that I picked up from the shop in East Coulee and built the last two drawers for the cabinets.  I also dug out the table saw and cut the last of the drawer fronts and cabinet doors from the stock of 1/2"in MDF that I had set aside.  I even cut the doors for the pantry that I have yet to build.  Then I primed and painted everything.  This included three finish coats on all the exposed surfaces, including the vanity that I finished last time I was out.

I had a load of water delivered so now the cistern is full.  I'll be ready to prime the pump and test the water system the next time that Leondard can come up to finish up the last few mechanical details.

I visited with my contractor Scott on Tuesday evening and picked up a couple electronics from him.  This included the internet antenna, and the communicator for the solar system.  Then I foolishly decided to stay up until 1:30 in the morning listening to music and strumming my guitar.

On Wednesday morning I woke up with a few cobwebs, but got back to work at a pretty early hour.  It was raining in the morning, and we got about 3mm, after a couple of days of just drizzle.  After the showers ended I installed the internet antenna and got the internet set up and working.  It was pretty much just plug and play, so I really didn't do anything.  In the afternoon I took some garbage to the dump and then finished up the bathroom vanity.  I got the doors and the drawer installed and then set the unit into place in the bathroom.  Things are coming along.....

Forgotten Cars

I took this shot last summer, when Margarit and I traveled to Saskatchewan with Arturo and Sharon.  The purpose of the trip was to take some photographs for the Apparitions project.  I think we succeeded as we both got a handful of strong images.  This is one of the last sheets of film that I had remaining to be processed.

This was shot on Agfapan 25.  I really like this film, but it was discontinued several decades ago.  As they say in photography circles...  expired but still fired.   I only have a handful of sheets of this film left and I expect to run out sometime this year.  The expiry date on the box was 1990.

I processed this film in Adox APH-09, one of the Rodinal formulations.  The developer was diluted to 1:50 and development was for 13:00 minutes.  

I took this shot on July 14 2022 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a long Nikkor 300mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter was used to increase separation in the sky.  I cropped the image a little from it's original 4" x 5" proportions.

East Coulee

On Friday May 5th I left the city and headed down to East Coulee.  There were a number of things that I needed to do.  I had some documents to drop off for Frank at the shop.  He was away on a road trip with a few of his buddies.  There were riding their motorcycles down to Idaho.

I also needed to pick up some of the plywood that I had stored at the shop.  This was some 1/2" baltic birch, left over from the cabinets of the main cottage at Nordegg.  I needed this to finish building the last couple of drawers for the guest cottage.

I also planned to take in the Springfest... but that part never really happened.  Margarit and the girls were all busy getting the house set up for a visit from Martina, so none of them wanted to come down.  Frank was away on his road trip.  And, my brother Wes was originally intending to blast out from Calgary to take in the music festival, but he never made it.  I didn't really feel up to attending by myself, so I never bothered to buy a ticket.  Mostly I just hung around town and visited with a few of my friends and neighbors.  Jason had his Birdland food trailer up and running and was making steak sandwiches and cappuccino all weekend.  Mostly I hung around there and just visited.

When I drove down on Friday, it was very warm and dry and there was a strong wind blowing out of the east.  The fire danger was extreme, and there were 72 wildfires burning around the province.  Most of these were in the west central and northern parts of the province, though I did drive through some smoke near Big Valley on my way down.  By Saturday morning the number of wildfires had increased to over 100.  Many of them were out of control and threatening numerous developed areas including some native communities in the north, as well as Evansburg, Edson, Drayton Valley and several other small settlements.  One of the most southerly fires was not far from Nordegg.  Seventeen kilometers to the southeast, on the opposite side of the North Saskatchewan River there was an out of control wildfire.  For a while the town of Nordegg was on evacuation alert.  I was more than a little nervous keeping an eye on this.

I packed up and left East Coulee on Sunday morning and headed across county to Nordegg.  By this point it had cooled off significantly, and become overcast.  I drove through several areas of showers on my way west.  By the time I arrived at the cottage in the late afternoon it was raining, and we got about 10mm of precipitation by Monday.  This certainly helped to alleviate the fire risk and by Sunday evening the evacuation alert had been lifted.  If it were not for the media reports you would never know there was an out of control forest fire nearby.  There was no smoke and no smell and no fire visible.... but the reality was that the fire was not all that far away, and the risk was real.

While I was at the shop in East Coulee I had a look at some of the stuff that the crew from Dinosaur Valley Studios had on the go.  The Mosasaur cast that I saw the last time I was down was nearing completion.  It has now been coated with urethane and is ready for the final clear coat and some detailing.  This one will soon be delivered and installed out to the Carolside Reservoir to the east.

There were also several sculpts that were in progress.  I really marvel at the skill and artistic ability of the staff at the level of detail and realism that they are able to portray.  As Frank was not around I was not able to talk to him and find out where these will end up.  There were some small casts of some dinosaur hatchlings in various stages of completion.  I understand that these will be offered for sale at the gift shop.

I was a little disappointed in myself for not making it over to the Springfest.  It was reasonably well attended and there were quite a few people around town.  Next year I will make a point of getting back to see all the bands.

Crystal Springs

This old boat has been rotting away in the bush, on private property, for many years.  I've known about it for a long time, and have photographed it numerous times in the past.  It has certainly deteriorated a lot further in recent years.   There is not much opportunity to photograph marine related subject here on the prairies, so when something like this is found, it tends to be exploited.

This is from a recent batch of Fuji Neopan Acros 100 processed in Rodinal 1:50.  I used the Adox APH-09 version this time around, and processed for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  I find this yields about half a zone of expansion, increasing contrast just a little.

I shot this on July 11th 2022 at about 11:30 in the morning.  I rated the film at 80 iso and shot with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a slightly wide Schneider 110mm lens.  No filter was used.

Picket Fence on CatLabs 80

This negative is from the mixed batch of film that I recently processed in Kodak HC-110 developer.  The stuff that was shot on Ilford HP5 and Bergger Pancro 400 turned out just fine.  The handful of sheets that were shot on CatLabs 80 film, mostly exhibited the same mottling problem that I had in the past.  

This one is not too bad.  The mottling may still be there... can't tell for sure from the scan.  But the background is such that the mottling would blend in and not be so obvious.  I actually don't mind the tonality of this image and may go back to the supplier and see if they are willing to send me some replacement film.

This image was shot with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens with no filter.  It was taken on August 10th 2021 at about 1:30 in the afternoon.  I rated the film at iso 64 [rather than the box speed of 80 iso] to provide slightly improved shadow values.  Development was in Kodak HC-110, Diultion B, for 9:15 minutes at 20 degrees C.

Summer Hockey Season is Underway

As the NHL moves into the second round of the playoffs, my beer league, the Alberta Mens Hockey League, has started our summer season.  We play a shorter [than winter] season of 16 regular season games.  The games are all Monday to Thursday evenings, with no ice times later than about 10:00PM, and no weekend games.  The weekends don't really matter to me any more, now that I'm retired, but it sure is nice to have summer weekends free for the working guys.

Our first two games were back to back on May 3 and May 4.  It seems that most of the guys are not available for the start of the season and we played both games with a really short bench.  The first game was against a team called Woody's.  We only had seven skaters and a goalie, while they had over a dozen skaters.  We still kept it really close and only lost by a score of 3-2.  Then in the second game we played a team called the Chiefs.  We only had six skaters and a goalie to start this one, though a seventh skater arrived about half way through the game.  Once again, our opponent had over a dozen skaters.  We kept this one really close too.  We were down 7-6 late in the game and pulled our goalie in an attempt to tie it.  They got a rush on the empty net, and I managed to block the puck a couple of times, but they ultimately scored and won by a margin of 8-6.

Hank

Hank likes to perch himself in a chair in our living room, and watch the goings on outside the window.  He looks rather regal with his elbow up on the armrest of the chair.  I like to call it "two minutes for elbowing"...    And, with that hockey reference in mind, Hailey sent this recent snapshot to Margarit and I while we were down in Banff for my hockey tournament.