Pilings

This is another of the Kodak T-Max 100 negatives from the recently processed batch.  This was 4" x 5" sheet film, processed in 510 Pyro Developer, 1:100.

This is a shot from the trip to Vancouver Island last October.  We spent some time at Union Bay.  There was once a coal loading dock here, and coal from the inland Cumberland Mine was loaded onto ships for transport.  It is said to be the most polluted site on Vancouver Island.  Though the pollution consists of spilled coal, which does not support organic life.  In my mind this seems a lot less polluting then harsh manmade chemicals, or some other such contaminant.

There is a residential development here that seems in limbo.  Roadways and sidewalks have been constructed, lots are surveyed, and services have been installed.  Yet there is no housing underway.  I'm not sure if that is somehow tied to the coal pollution.  Nearby there is a ship breaking yard that we hoped to photograph.  But it has been the site of some protests and the entire matter seems very controversial, and secretive.  Our requests to access the ship breaking yard for photography were denied.

Instead we spent a bunch of time down by the old wharf.  These pilings once supported the dock that ran out into the water to the ships that were being loaded.  There are some old historical photographs and films online that show steam locomotives on the dock.  Now this is all that is left.

I took two shots of these pilings, one with a faster shutter speed, and this one.  I thought the extended exposure would blur the moving water and yield a more interesting image.  I think I was right.

I shot this on October 23rd 2023 at around 1:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a longish 200mm lens.  A six stop neutral density filter was used.  This in combination with a small aperture of F45.0 resulted in a shutter speed of 1 minute.