Quiet Nook School - Ilford Delta 100 in PMK

The old saying certainly did not hold true this year.  March came in like a lion and went out like a lion, not like a lamb as it was supposed to.  There were a few REALLY mild days in between, but most of the month was pretty crappy.  It was cloudy and overcast most of the time, with a bunch of snow off and on.  Except for a couple of days where we hit record high temperatures, most of the month was below average.  

I have been anxious to get outside with my camera and do some shooting, but with the poor weather, and ugly spring like conditions, I didn't bother.  Old dirty snow and brown, drab conditions are not very photogenic.  Instead, I spent most of the last month developing my backlog of exposed film.  Since back in February I have been running everything that I could, on my Jobo processor.

This included the batch that I ran on the day of the Leap Year, February 29th.  This was a batch of 18 sheets of 4" x 5" Ilford Delta 100, given  normal development in PMK.  

This is a shot of an old one room school house, that was called the Quiet Nook School.   It is part of a now closed historic museum that included a collection of old buildings.  We had permission to enter the property and photograph what remained.  Since our visit many of the buildings have been cleaned out, and some moved away to other museums.

I took this shot on August 16th 2022 at about 11:15 in the morning.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  No filter was used as any possible option would have made little difference.  The exposure was F20.0 and a shutter speed of 4 seconds.

Raven Tracks

On February 29th, the day of the Leap Year, I set up my Jobo Processor and ran a batch of Ilford Delta 100 4" x 5" Sheet Film.  This batch received Normal Development, 11:45 minutes at 20C, in PMK Developer.

This batch of 18 sheets included images taken in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

This particular shot was taken in the fall of 2022 when I was out in Jasper National Park with the gang from the Monochrome Guild.  This was our annual Fall Photo Weekend trip, and our first such outing since prior to the Pandemic.  These were Raven Tracks, in a sandbar along the Athabasca River, just above Athabasca Falls.  The mountain visible in the background is Mount Kerkeslin.

I took this photograph on October 22nd 2022 at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a long 250mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter increased the contrast a little, and created some separation in the clouds.  The exposure was F36.0 and a shutter speed of 1 second.

Color verses Monochrome - Horseshoe Lake

While I had my Jobo Processor set up, and after running all of my Black and White film, I also ran a couple of batches of color film.  The processor is ideal for color processing as the temperature controlled water bath nicely and accurately maintains the high process temperature [37 to 40C].  

First I ran a batch of E-6 chemistry.  This is the process used to develop color transparency film.  I don't shoot a lot of color film any more, mostly because of the cost.  4" x 5" sheets of color transparency film run about $10 each.  The larger 8" x 10" size runs about $30 per sheet.  The chemistry isn't inexpensive either, and a 1L kit, enough to run 30 sheets of 4x5 or 15 sheets of 8x10, runs about a hundred bucks.

The reason that I started out with Black and White film is that I'm somewhat color blind.  I struggle to recognize the difference between drab shades of grey, green and brown.  This made color printing in the darkroom virtually impossible for me.  It even makes toning of black and white prints a challenge.  But sometimes the subject is the color, and black and white just doesn't do the image justice.  For this reason I usually carry a sheet or two of color film with me when I am out shooting.  If I come across something that screams color, I will take a shot.  Usually this amounts to about two dozen sheets per year, a mix of transparency and negative film, in 4x5, and occasionally a couple of larger 8x10 shots.  I still have a bunch of old stock of various color films in my freezer.  I bought most of this stuff years ago, when the price was much lower, so I figure I might as well use it up.  In all likelihood I will continue to buy some new stock from time to time, just to take advantage of opportunities like this one.

I took this shot of Horseshoe Lake in Jasper because I liked the way that the color in the sky was being reflected in the lake.  I enhanced it a little with a color filter.  This shot was taken during the Fall Photo Weekend of 2022 attended by several members of the Monochrome Guild.

I shot this on October 22nd 2022 at about 2:45 in the afternoon.  In the mountains in late October, that is starting to get pretty close to sunset.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide 125mm lens.  A blue/yellow color polarizing filter enhanced the yellow reflection and added some blue to the sky.  I shot this on the now discontinued Fujichrome Velvia 50.  Despite the fact that the film expired ten years ago, in October of 2012, it still yielded pretty respectable results.  The exposure was F18.0 with a shutter speed of 1 second.

For comparison, here is the Black and White version of the same shot.  This one was taken moments before the color version.  The camera and lens were the same, and the tripod position did not change.  This one was taken on Ilford HP5 sheet film, developed in 510 Pyro.  Although it is a nice shot, it just doesn't have the pop that the color brings to the other version.  Most of the time I prefer the monochrome version, and the control that the negative affords me in printing.  But occasionally the color makes the image.  As there was no filter used for this shot, and the film was somewhat faster, the exposure time was less.  This image was given an exposure of F29.0 and a shutter speed of 1/15 second.

Prairie Cemetery

This is the last scan from the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" sheet film.  This batch was run on February 26th on my Jobo Processor.  Development was N+1 in PMK, for 16:40 minutes at 20C.

This shot is from a trip to southern Alberta.  Margarit and I travelled for four days with our friends Sharon and Arturo.  We visited the Turner Valley Gas Plant, and then continued south to the Lethbridge area.  We found this old cemetery out on the prairie, not far from the Sweetgrass Hills.  Those hills are mostly over the border in Montana.

I took this photograph on June 21st 2023 at about 5:00 in the afternoon.  The moody sky makes the shot, in my opinion, and adds to the feel of the image.  I shot this with my Ebony view camera and a 135mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter increased separation in the sky, and bumped up the contrast a little.  The plus development further increased the contrast.

Name Plate

Thos is the second last post from the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 developed on February 26th.  Once again, this is part of the batch that I ran on my Jobo and gave plus development.  This was 16:40 minutes at 20C in PMK Developer.  

This is the name plate on an old 1920's car that I found abandoned in central Alberta.  Obviously it is a General Motors product as the Fisher company is part of that corporation.  Some old car buff out there might be able to figure out the make, model and year, but I have no idea what it is.

I shot this on August 30th 2023 at about 12:30 in the afternoon.  I used my newly acquired Ebony SV45Ti camera and a long 300mm lens.  As the subject brightness range was only three stops I elected to give plus development in order to pick up the contrast a little.  The exposure was F36.0 and a shutter speed of 1/2 second.  This included an extension factor of 2/3 stop for the long bellows draw required as a result of the close focus.

Lubricators

This detail shot was taken during our private tour of the Turner Valley Gas Plant Historic site, last summer.  Arturo and I booked a private tour there, hoping to take some photographs that would prove suitable for our Apparitions project.

This one is also part of the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" sheet film, processed on my Jobo, in PMK Developer.  This was the batch that was processed on February 26th and given plus development.

I shot this image of these lubricators in the Compressor Building at the Turner Valley Gas Plant.  It was taken on June 19th 2023, at about 11:30 in the morning.  I used my Ebony view camera and a normal 150mm lens.  No filters were used.  The plus development brought up the contrast a little and I really like the way this negative turned out.

Another One

Same batch of film... same trip.  Another Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" negative, from the batch of N+1 PMK run on my Jobo on February 26th.

This church was on some native land, beside the Trans Canada Highway, southwest of Kamloops.  Chris and Arturo and I stopped briefly on our way home from Vancouver Island.  I wanted to show some respect for the first nations land and not just go wandering around.  But this was right beside the highway, so it felt like it was OK to take a shot.

I shot this on Halloween... October 31st 2023, at around 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly long 200mm lens.  I remember that it was rather cold and blustery on this day, and not all that comfortable being outside.  The light was really flat too....  I chose not to bother using any sort of contrast filter, but did designate plus development in an attempt to pump up contrast a little.

Sanitorium

Yet another scan from the most recent batch.  This is Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" sheet film, run on my Jobo Processor, in PMK Developer.  This one is from the batch on that I ran on February 26th and gave N+1 Development.... thats 16:40 minutes of development at 20C.

I selected plus development for this image as the light was rather flat and dull.  Although I think the increase in contrast improved the image, the dull and gloomy mood that is imparted here, is very fitting of the subject.  This is an abandoned sanatorium near Kamloops, British Columbia.  I stopped to photograph here with my friends Chris and Arturo, when we were on our way home from Vancouver Island.  The site is privately owned and access is not permitted.  There was security staff present when we were there, and they were OK with us taking a few photographs from the road, but we were not allowed to enter the property.  I understand that the site is slated for demolition and is scheduled to become a residential development.

I shot this one on November 1st at about 9:45 in the morning.  I used a longer 200mm lens to get in a little tighter on the building.  No filter was considered or used as there was very little color in the subject under these flat lighting conditions.

Making Lasagna

Two or three times a year I get the inclination to make a big batch of lasagna.  I don't want to pump my own tires, but it usually turns out pretty good, and I get compliments, and requests for more.  This time around I spent 185 bucks to buy all the foil pans and ingredients and make several tubs full.  In the afternoon of March 18th I made one big pan for us to have right away, and three more for us to freeze for future use.  I also made two small pans for Hailey to take with her this summer when she moves down to East Coulee to work.  

I used four boxes of lasagna noodles, four pounds of lean ground beef, two large cans of diced tomatoes, two cans of tomato paste, three jars of pasta sauce, fresh basil, fresh spinach, two tubs of dry cottage cheese, and about eight pounds of shredded cheese, a mix of mozza, cheddar and parm.

By the time I finished making the sauce, cooking the noodles and building everything, it was too late in the evening to bake one for dinner.  And, the next day, Helena came down with the flu, so we ended up holding off a little longer on the first one.  The rest all hit the freezer for future use.

Before stowing them all in the freezer I weighed one of the big pans, and it came in at 6-1/2 pounds.  Should be good for a big feed for the whole family, plus some leftovers.  I can't wait...!

Aspen and Dark Forest

On February 26th I set up my Jobo Processor once again, and ran another batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  This was a batch of twenty 4 x 5 sheets.  This batch was given N+1 Development in PMK Developer.  The extended development time of 16:40 minutes increased contrast in this batch of images, all shot under low contrast lighting conditions.  I will share this and a handful of other scans from that batch, in the coming days.

About this time last year I was driving along the David Thompson Highway, west of my cottage, near the Bighorn First Nation.  This tree beside the highway caught my eye.   It was catching a little bit of afternoon light and really stood out against the dark evergreen trees behind it.  I also really liked the shape of the tree as I thought the sweeping shape showed much more character than the typical sticklike aspens and pines that mostly grown in this area.  I stopped on the side of the highway and set up my view camera.

I took this shot on March 9th 2023, at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide 125mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter made the shaded background fall off, while the extended development raised the values of the aspen.

300,000 Page Views

Today a milestone was reached.  My blog has now received 300,000 pageviews.  This counter has been running since the very beginning, so these are all time views.  Some statistics are logged by the program and it seems my audience is global.  I have been getting views from countries all over the world.  Many thanks to those that take time out of their day to stop by and see what I have been up to.  When I started this, over a dozen years ago, I never dreamed that it would keep going for this long, or be seen by so many people.  I know that many of my friends and family tune in on a regular basis as I am continually receiving feedback about something someone has seen on my blog.  So I guess it is serving it's purpose.  I enjoy posting content to it, particularly now since I have retired.  I will continue with the madness and look forward to the next milestone.

Rain Forest

This is the last scan from that batch of Kdoak Tri-X pan 320 that I processed on February 25th.  Like all the previous images I've posted in recent days, this one was given N+1 Development, in PMK Developer, using my Jobo Processor.

This shot was taken in Cathedral Grove, which is part of MacMillan Provincial Park.  It is out on Vancouver Island, inland, along the highway to Port Alberni.

I shot this on October 26th 2023 at about 12:30 in the afternoon.  It was rather damp and cool and the boardwalk through the grove was slippery with frost.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a longish 200mm lens.  The exposure was F32.0 and a shutter speed of 4 seconds.  The entire scene, with the exception of the fallen leaves, was green, so a filter would have been of little benefit.

 

Hemlocks

Another negative from the recently processed batch.  Once again, this is Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" sheet film, given N+1 Development in PMK.  I ran the film for 16:40 minutes at 20C on my Jobo Processor.

This shot is from the Vancouver Island trip last fall.  It was a rainy day and Chris and I ventured out and got wet, while Arturo stayed behind in the rental house and did some online work.  In the afternoon we found ourselves in the forest at Englishman River Falls Provincial Park.  This was a conscious attempt on our part to stay out of the open and hopefully not get too wet.  It didn't really work as by the end of the day the camera gear was all soaked and so were we.

I shot this on October 24th 2023 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide Fujinon 125mm lens.  A number 8 yellow filter raised the value of the maple leaves.  I think this worked quite well and I may take a stab at printing it someday.  It could possibly be considered for the Apparitions project given the fact that there is a fence visible in the background?

Ford Cove Rocks - Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 in PMK

This is another negative from the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" processed on my Jobo in PMK Developer.  This is the batch that I ran on February 25th, that was given one stop expanded [N+1] development. 

These eroded rocks are on Hornby Island.  This particular spot is right beside the marina at Ford Cove where I shot the previous images of the Tug Boat and La Fille.  I took this photograph on October 22nd 2023 at about 10:30 in the morning.  I used a long 250mm lens to get in tight on the eroded formation and create some compression between the foreground and background rocks.  A #25 Red Filter bumped up the contrast even more than was already expected from the extended developed.  A small aperture of F41.0 was needed to hold focus from the foreground to the background.  Fortunately the rocks weren't moving and the resulting long exposure of 1/2 second was not an issue.

Old Tug - Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 in PMK

This is another scan from the batch of Tri-X, given plus development in PMK.  I developed this batch of 20 sheets on my Jobo processor back on February 25th.

This shot is of an old Tug moored at Ford Cove on Hornby Island.  I shot this one when I visited Vancouver Island last October with my friends Chris and Arturo.  This was taken on October 22nd 2023, at about 11:30 in the morning.  I used a rather wide 75mm lens on my Ebony view camera.  The exposure was F32.0 for 1/30 second.

Washed Ashore

Through the latter part of February, and into March, I've continued running my Jobo film processor.  I usually set up this apparatus about once a year, and then run all the film that I have accumulated since the last go around.  In between running batches of film I have been puttering around on various other chores.  Some stuff for the Beer Parlour Project, Monochrome Guild and Apparitions, all photography related projects that require significant attention.  I've been busy with trying to fill the roster for my Renegades hockey team, and getting registered for the summer season.  On top of all that I just returned from a quick trip down to East Coulee.  My oldest daughter Hailey will be moving there for the summer to work and we are in the early stages of getting her set up.

On February 25th I ran a batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" sheet film on my Jobo Processor.  The film was given N+1 development.  This is extended development to increase contrast by one stop, and is generally reserved for images that were shot in flatter light.  The development time was increased from the normal 9:35 minutes to 16:40 minutes, at 20 degrees C.  All twenty of the sheets in this batch were exposed during the trip to Vancouver Island last fall.

This particular shot is of the hull of an old boat that washed ashore near Union Bay on Vancouver Island.  I thought that this image might work for the Apparitions project.  That project is a collection of photographs that depict a human presence, without people included in the image.  I shot this on October 23rd at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide 125mm lens.  A red filter was used in an attempt to increase contrast, and the plus development pushed  that even further.  It had become overcast and the light was rather flat on this afternoon.  The exposure was at F20.0, to hold depth of field, resulting in a shutter speed of 1/8 second.

Garry Oak and Rail Fence

This is the last scan from the batch of negatives that I processed on February 20th.  These were Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, 4" x 5" sheet negatives, developed in PMK on my Jobo Processor.

This last one is also from the Vancouver Island trip.  There is a species of Oak Tree there called Garry Oaks, and they are locally common.  This was shot out on Hornby Island, and is not far from Ford Cove where we photographed some wildly eroded rocks, and some boats at the marina.

I took this shot with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and  wide 90mm lens.  A #8 Yellow Filter brightened the fall foliage and the grasses, and lowered the value of the sky a little.  I shot this on October 22nd 2023, at about 12:45 in the afternoon.

La Fille

Back to that batch of Tri-X Pan that I processed on February 20th on my Jobo.  I gave Normal Development in PMK for 9:35 minutes at 20 C.

This shot was taken on the trip out to Vancouver Island last October with my friends Chris and Arturo.  We wandered around for a while in the Ford Cove Marina on Hornby Island and photographed some of the boats.  There was really no one around, so we were free to point our cameras at anything we wanted.

I shot this on October 22nd just before noon.  It was taken with my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm Rodenstock lens.  No filter was used.  The exposure was F20.0 for 1/15 second.

Father of the Year

In an attempt to secure my position for the Father of the Year award, I took another of my daughters out drinking with me to a small town hotel tavern.  This time around it was my oldest daughter Hailey, age 21, that came along with me.

We left the city on the morning of March 8th and headed out to Lamont.  I had to stop at the newspaper office there and pick up a couple of copies of the Lamont Leader from February 14th.  This is the one that included the article about the Beer Parlour Project and our visit to the Victoria Hotel in Bruderheim.

After that we just drove around for a while, looking for things to point the cameras at.  We did find a couple of old school houses, as well as a pile of old vehicles, and managed to take a few photographs.  I don't think I captured anything spectacular, but will probably return later in the spring once the snow is gone.

We made a stop at a small town hotel tavern and had lunch and a couple of beers.  Last time I did this with my other daughter Anna, my colleague Chris nominated me for the father of the year award.  This time around I thought I'd try again.  I was scouting this location for the Beer Parlour Project.  I made some introductions to the owners and we are going to try and arrange for a formal visit the next time we are in the area.  Stay tuned for the announcement on where and when that will be.

Lamont Leader

When the Beer Parlour Project was in Bruderheim in early February, for a return visit to the Victoria Hotel, there was a newspaper reporter, named John Mather there from the Lamont Leader.   He interviewed Chris and me and wrote an article for the weekly newspaper.  He proved to be very helpful and later called me with additional information about the hotel, and some contacts for us to reach out to for further historical information.  The article about us was published in the Valentines Day edition of the paper.  I saw a copy of it online, and managed to reach out to the paper, with John's help, and secure a couple of hard copies.  While I was out an a scouting trip on March 8th, with Hailey, I managed to stop in at the office in Lamont and pick them up.

Denman Rocks

Another morning shot, and another negative from the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan that I recently developed in PMK.  These 4" x 5" sheets were developed on my Jobo Processor for 9:35 minutes at 20C.

I shot this image out on Denman Island.  We had already taken the ferry from Buckley Bay on Vancouver Island, across to Denman Island.  Then we drove across Denman Island and had to wait about an hour for the ferry from there, and I believe the terminal is called Gravely Bay, to catch the ferry over to Shingle Spit on Hornby Island.  While we were waiting I wandered around down on the shore and took this shot with my Ebony view camera.  This images was taken on October 22nd 2023 at about 8:30 in the morning.  I used a slightly wide 125mm lens.  The exposure was F20.0 for 1/8 second.

Royston Sunrise

This scan is of another one of the Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 negatives that I developed on February 20th.  This batch of 4" x 5" sheet film was processed in PMK Developer on my Jobo processor.  Normal Development was for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  I thought the staining effect of this pyro based developer would nicely hold the highlight detail in the rising sun.

This was the first set up that I did with my Ebony view camera on the Vancouver Island trip last fall.  I headed out to the Island with my friends Arturo and Chris.  Mostly we were trying to shoot subject matter for our Apparitions project, but is was generally just a trip to photograph any subject matter we could find.  I suppose this shot of the old log dump in Royston, with that section of old rail fence, could qualify for the Apparitions project.

I shot with with a wide 90mm lens and no filter.  It was taken on October 21st 2023 at about 9:00 in the morning.  The exposure was F25.0 and 1/8 second.

The Casket

This shot is another from the batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, given normal development in PMK, and processed on my Jobo.  I processed this batch of 4" x 5" sheet film on February 20th and development was for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  This shot was taken in the undertakers building at the same museum as the previous shot of the old church.  The museum is now closed and sits on private property.  We had permission from the landowner to photograph the remaining structures and artifacts.  That was some time ago, and much of what was there at the time has now been removed.

I shot this image on August 16th 2022 at about 1:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide 75mm lens.  A filter would not have made any appreciable difference, so none were used.  I had to use a small lens aperture to provide adequate depth of field.  I wanted the photographs on the corner of the foreground table as well as the background door to all be in focus.  The exposure was F32.0 for 50 seconds.  Fortunately the subject was completely stationary and the long exposure was not an issue.  The staining pyro developer nicely retained some detail in the highlights around the door as the subject brightness range was quite long.

BP 4.0 - Big Valley Train Station

Here's one from the recent batch of Tri-X Pan 320 in PMK Developer.  This is a shot from the Beer Parlour Project, taken last year in Big Valley.  This was the outing that we call BP4.0 and it was last spring, when Steam Engine No. 41 made it's first visit of the year to Big Valley.  The Big Valley Inn, and our destination for the Beer Parlour Project, was right across the street.

This shot was taken on June 3rd 2023 at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a longish 240mm lens.  As the light was rather flat and overcast a filter was of no benefit.

Museum Church for Apparitions.

In early February I set up my Jobo processor and commenced running numerous batches of film.  The Jobo that I have been using for nearly 20 years finally gave up on me.  But I had a backup unit that I bought on Ebay some years ago, and got that running earlier this winter.  I've now run about eight batches of film with it, and it has been working fine.  I think I have another batch or two of 4x5 black and white film left to run, and then I will switch over to some color stuff and some 8x10.

I like to use this processor with PMK Pyro Developer and with Perceptol Developer as both require vigorous agitation.  The processor is also ideal for color as it maintains all the chemistry at the required high processing temperature, with a water bath.

On February 20th I ran twenty sheets of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4" x 5" in PMK Pyro Developer.  The processing time for normal development was 9:35 minutes at 20C.  This was a mixed batch that included some images from the trip last fall to Vancouver Island, as well as some older stuff from closer to home.

This shot of an old abandoned church was taken at a now closed historic village north of Edmonton.  We had permission from the landowner to go in and photograph, and I thought that some of the images might work nicely for the Apparitions project that I'm involved in with my friend Arturo.  Apparitions is a selection of images that depict a human presence, without any people included in the images.

I took this shot on August 16th of 2022 at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I shot it with one of my Ebony view cameras and a wide 125mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter was used to increase contrast.  In hindsight I obviously did not pay enough attention to the camera movements.  The significant rise that I imparted on the front standard resulted in the upper corners falling slightly outside of the image circle projected by the lens.  The result was the obvious vignetting that is visible.  In this case it gives a bit of an old fashioned look to the image, though in printing I would probably dodge those corners down a little to soften the effect.

March Image - David Thompson Country Calendar

This is the image that I selected for the March page of my David Thompson Country calendar.  I took this shot on March 12th of 2023 at about 1:45 in the afternoon.  This is Abraham Lake, not far from Nordegg.  The ice on the lake both last year and this year has not been as good for viewing bubbles as it has been in the past.  I took this shot with my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  A #22 Orange filter was used to increase contrast a little.  Copies of my calendar are available to purchase at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.

Another IR Shot

Here is a scan of another Infrard negative.  Once again this is Kodak High Speed Infrared 4 x 5" sheet film developed in T-Max 1:6.  I don't have a scan of the panchromatic version of this one handy to use as a comparison.  This is an old blacksmith shop that is part of a now shut down rural museum.  

I shot this on September 11th of 2022 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly long 200mm lens.  That focal length yielded this tight composition.  A #25 Red Filter was used, with no filter factor.  

This is one of the negatives that worked reasonably well... that is, without too much fogging or uneven development.  The film was loaded in the holder on August 15th and not exposed until almost a month later.  It was unloaded three days after being exposed, but not processed until just recently, on January 14th of this year.

 

March Calendar Image

This is the image that I selected for the March page of my fine art calendar.  It is a shot of an aspen grove, up on the Kootenay Plains.  This is about 75km southwest of my cottage in Nordegg.  I shot this one on March 29th of last year, at about 12:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a long 250mm lens, that allowed a little tighter perspective on the trunks.  It was taken on 4" x 5" Fuji Neopan Acros film, developed in Rodinal.

Infrared compared to Panchromatic Film - Example Three

One more example comparing Infrared to Panchromatic film.  This time there are two examples of the panchromatic films.

I took these shots of high water at Abraham Lake in the fall of 2022.  The lake is actually a reservoir created on the North Saskatchewan River by the Bighorn Dam.  This is the same lake that experiences all the ice bubbles in winter.  The dam is closed and the reservoir is allowed to fill during the summer months, then the water is slowly released over the winter.  In the past couple of years the reservoir has been filled to capacity, right up into the trees and very close to the David Thompson Highway in places.

The upper image is the one that I shot on Kodak High Speed Infrared.  The film was loaded into the film holder on September 15th 2022, and the image was taken on October 6th 2022.  The exposed film was pulled from the holder on October 10th 2022, and stored in the fridge until I developed the film on January 14th 2024.  The film reached its expiry date in August of 2001.

I shot this on October 6th 2022 at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I used my one of my Ebony view cameras and a Fujinon-W 250mm lens.  A number 25 red filter was used, with no filter factor.  The film was rated at 100 iso and exposed at F29.0 for 1/4 second.  Development was in Kodak T-Max Developer, diluted 1:6, for 6:45 minutes at 22C [71F].  This one turned out pretty well, and even though it sat in the fridge for  over a year before being developed, it was exposed shortly after being loaded.  In my experience, prompt exposure and then a return to cold storage seems to yield reasonable results.

The second shot was actually taken moments prior to the infrared version.  It was taken on Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film, rated at 80 iso and given N+1/2 development in Rodinal developer, diluted 1:50.  Exposure was with the same camera and lens, and a number 25 red filter with a three stop filter factor was used.  Exposure was at F45.0 for 8 seconds.  Development was with hangers in open tanks for 11:00 minutes at 24C [75F].  The long exposure rendered the water with a really soft, silky look, with the value deepened considerably by the red filter.

The third shot was actually taken right after the second, and just before the Infrared.  It was taken on Fuji Ilford HP5+ 400 film, rated at 320 iso and given Normal development in 510 Pyro developer, diluted 1:100.  Exposure was with the same camera and lens, and a number 25 red filter with a three stop filter factor was used.  Exposure was at F22.0 for 1/4 second.  Development was with hangers in open tanks for 7:25 minutes at 24C [75F].

The images certainly look fairly similar, though there are some obvious differences.  All show motion in the leaves due to the breezy conditions and the long shutter speed.   The extremely long exposure of the middle shot gave a totally different look to the water.  The infrared film shows more of a glow on the tree trunks and in the leaves.