To Nordegg Again

On Saturday September 7th, the day after my middle daughter Annelise's 19th birthday, I headed back out to Nordegg.  Anna has decided that she wants to legally change her name.  She will retain Annelise as a middle name, but her new first name will become Ryan.  I try to remember, and call her that as much as I can.  It has become increasingly significant to her, as her boyfriend Braeden, who is now living with us in Edmonton, only knows her as Ryan.

I didn't get out to the cottage until late in the day on Saturday.  Mostly I just unloaded all the supplies that I brought out, and then finished up the repairs to the outside water tap.  I was missing one fitting the last time I was out, so this was a quick and easy fix.  I also checked all the breakers.  The power company had shut off the electricity a couple of times while we were away.  When they turned it back on, a couple of breakers in each cottage had popped.  Fortunately the ones that our fridges were plugged into were not affected.  But I did lose power to the thermostats, the security cameras, and the weather station.  I got everything back up and running, reset all the clocks, and turned in early.  On Sunday morning I was up at first light, and after coffee and breakfast I set to work.  I got the composite decking all cut and fitted and installed on the landing that I previously constructed at the guest cottage.  I also got the stairs built and installed.  I continued with installation of the railings, up until about 3:30 in the afternoon.  Then I took a break and went and played a round of golf.  The course was not particularly busy, as most of the weekend people were gone, or in the process of heading back to the city.  I shot a score of 40... my second best of the season.

Genessee Viewpoint

While I was out on that afternoon drive on September 1st, exploring a couple of old service stations, I also made a stop at the Genessee Power Plant.  There was a viewpoint overlooking the plant and I stopped in there to check things out.  They had a huge Komatsu dump truck parked there that once hauled coal from the nearby mine, to the generating plant.  

The coal mines are still operating, and it seems that this power plant is one of the last ones in the province to be switched over from coal to natural gas. 

I question the logic of that decision.  It seems that our coal burning plants here in Alberta were among the cleanest in the world.  Interpretive panels at the viewpoint spoke of fabric filters that captured 98% of the particulate matter in the emissions.  Natural gas is of course cleaner, but not all that much.  And this decision has dramatically increased the cost of natural gas for consumers, for whom there are no other viable options for home heating.  It also dramatically increased the cost of electricity.

On top of all that, coal is still being mined in many parts of Canada.  Now it is mostly being shipped to China, where it is burnt with virtually no emissions standards.  I guess its OK to pee in the pool, as long as it's at the other end.  I'm not anti-environmental, and am not a climate change denier.... but it seems to me these decisions could have been made with a little more common sense.

Stripping Shovel - Foma Retropan 320 Soft

I had one old negative from 2022 that was shot on Foma Retropan 320 Soft.  I really wanted to process that film as it was my last unprocessed image from 2022.  So I made a point of shooting a little more of this film, so that I could fill up the batch and run it.  Sadly that old shot from 2022 didn't turn out very well so I have not included it here with any of these scans of recently processed negatives.  I processed the film in Ilford Microphen Developer, 1:1, for 15:00 minutes at 24C.  This more recent shot was taken during our second visit to the Reynolds Alberta Museum.  This gigantic stripping shovel was part of an outdoor display and is essentially unrestored.  I'm not thrilled with the way that this film and developer combination rendered the subject that was under harsh summer sun.  I don't like the way the steel of the boom merges right into the sky in that ugly primer-grey tone.  I can think of numerous other film/developer combinations that would have looked much better.  

This photograph was taken on July 5th of 2024 at about 1:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.  The exposure was F16.0 and a shutter speed of 1/60 second.

Champion - Foma Retropan 320 Soft

This is another shot from our visit to the Reynolds Alberta Museum.  It was taken not long after my previously posted image of the Chevy Nomad.  I've always been fascinated about the workings of these old threshing machines.  I've shot them in an abandoned state many times, but this restored one in the musuem, with the belts in place, looks just a little better.  Sadly I didn't pay enough attention and there is part of an interpretive panel visible in the bottom left corner.

This photograph was taken on June 9th 2024 at about 2:00 in the afternoon, with my Ebony view camera and a  Fujinon 125mm lens.  This shot was part of the batch of Foma Retropan 320 Soft that I recently developed in Ilford Microphen developer.  The exposure was F14.0 and the shutter speed was 16 seconds.  Like the previous shot of the Nomad, the long exposure was not an issue with a stationary subject.

Nomad - Foma Retropan 320 Soft

Back to another scan from the recent batch of Foma Retropan 320 Soft.   In June Arturo and I paid a visit to the Reynolds Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin.  We were hoping to find some subject matter that might be suited to our Apparitions project.  There was lots of stuff there, and we spent the entire day taking pictures.  The shots of restored vehicles and machinery, such as this shot of a 1955 Chevy Nomad Station Wagon, were difficult to take.  We had to get in tight for detail shots so that we did not show interpretive panels and background displays in the image.  I took this photograph on June 9th 2024 at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  This one turned out pretty well and the grain and softness of this film, developed in Microphen 1:1 for 15:00 minutes at 24C, has a rather unique mood.  I used my Ebony view camera and a long Fujinon 250mm lens.  The exposure was F13.0 and a shutter speed of 16 seconds.  Good thing the car didn't move during that long exposure...!

Out of Service

On September 1st I headed out for an afternoon drive.  I had driven by the old service station at the Alsike Corner recently and saw that it was closed.  I thought I'd better get some photographs of it before it got vandalized and/or demolished.  Also, a friend of mine had told me about another nearby service station that was abandoned.  Sadly that one was heavily vandalized and in generally poor condition.  It was for sale, or at least it once was, as there is a realtors sign on the building.  It seems doubtful that anyone would consider buying something in such poor condition.

Piano - Foma Retropan 320 Soft

Yet one more older image from that batch of recently processed Foma Retropan 320 Soft.  This is an old piano. left behind at the site of a Russian Monastery in east central Alberta.  The monks left back in the 1960's and abandoned the site.  Much more recently... in the last decade or so... someone left behind this piano.  It would have been quite a chore to tote in from the road to its final resting place in the forest.  I have images of it from a decade or so ago, and at that time it was standing upright and relatively intact.  It's surprising what a decade of harsh Canadian winters can do to something like a piano.  I shot this on December 6th of 2023 at about 12:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was F22.0 and a shutter speed of 1/4 second.

Trees and Boulders - Foma Retropan 320 Soft

Another scan from that batch of Foma Retropan 320 Soft.  This one was taken on the Monochrome Guild Fall Photo Weekend back on November 12th of 2023, at about 11:00 in the morning.  These trees were on the shore of Medicine Lake.  Although there was a large forest fire here a few years back, I understand that this area escaped the recent fires in Jasper National Park.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide Schneider Super Symmar 110mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter deepened the blue sky and created separation from the light clouds.  The exposure was F25.0 and a shutter speed of 1/15 second.

Old Store - Foma Retropan 320 Soft

A little while back I processed a batch of 4" x 5" sheet film.  It was Foma Retropan 320 Soft, and I developed it in Ilford Microphen Developer, 1:1, for 15:00 minutes at 24C.  I know from experience that this combination yields very pronounced grain.  I suppose I should try the film in a different developer and see if I like the results any better.  I don't do a lot of shooting with this film and am just learning where it might be suitable.

This shot is an old abandoned store in a small town in central Alberta.  I shot this way back on July 23rd of 2023, at about 4:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a Schneider 135mm lens.  A #25 Red filter lowered the value of the sky and added some separation from the clouds.  The filter also deepened the shadows a little which in turn added a little contrast.  The soft, grainy look of this film is OK with a subject such as this.....

The exposure was F22.0 and a shutter speed of 1/2 second.

Printing for Apparitions... Finally...!

At the end of August I finally got around to starting to make some of the exhibition prints for the Apparitions project.  Arturo and I received grant funding from the Edmonton Arts Council which will finanace the production and framing of 32 exhibition prints, as well as prepare shipping/storage crates for the finished prints.  We received the funding a couple of months ago, and have ordered paper and chemistry to produce the prints.  We have also ordered frame stock, matboard and glass for presentation.  I was now finally started on making some of the actual prints.

On August 31st I went into the darkroom and made unsharp masks from seven of the negatives that I am considering for exhibition.  An unsharp mask is a positive image of the negative, made slightly out of focus.  It is sandwiched with the actual negative when printing.  It is really difficult to explain, and to understand, but it creates the illusion of added sharpness by outlining black areas in the image with white, and white areas with black.

Then on September 2nd I started first thing in the morning and printed four of negatives.  One didn't work out due to a focus issue when the photo was originally taken.  The other three turned out pretty well.  I saved the remaining unsharp masks for my next print session.  At this stage the prints were developed in Dektol developer and then given a stop bath in acetic acid.  They were given a first fix in Rapid Fixer.  Once the first fixing bath has been completed, the remaining work can be undertaken in room light.  Up to the fixing point all work must be done under amber or red safe light.

After printing, I left the partially completed prints soaking overnight in a tray of water.  Then, the next morning, September 3rd, I finished them.  This involved a second fix in fresh fixer, a bath in hypo clearing agent, toning in rapid selenium, and then a little selective bleaching to a few highlights with potassium ferricyanide.  Then the prints hit the print washer for 24 hours.  To conserve water I don't run the washer, rather I just drain and refill the water about ten times over 24 hours.  The following day I pulled them from the washer and laid them out on screens to dry.

I plan on making more unsharp masks, and repeating this entire process at some point in the next week or so.  I've included some phone snapshots below that show the prints in trays during the finishing work that I did on the 3rd.

Obviously an old motorboat, and old transit bus, and an abandoned Case dealership.  I don't know if all three will make the final exhibition, but I wanted to see them as large 16" x 20" prints to finalize my selection.  I suspect that I will likely print about 25 negatives, from which I will select the 16 that will become my portion of the exhibition.

David Thompson Calendar - September Image

This is the image I selected for the September page of my David Thompson Country calendar.  This is Mt. Abraham, beside Abraham Lake.  It is a favorite spot of mine, and I return to it again and again.  In the fall, when the light is a little lower, the textrue in the jagged rock face really stands out.

Two from BP 2.1

Whenever I come across a large format film that is new, or at least new to me, I usually purchase a couple of boxes and give it a try.  Some become favorites, and I continue to shoot with them.  Others not so much so.  All films are OK... I just like the look of some a lot better than others.

I few years back I bought several boxes of 4" x 5" Foma Retropan 320 Soft.  It is a film that is supposed to have the softer look of some of the older films from decades ago.  I have experimented with developing it in Ilford Microphen developer.  I have been using it at 1:1 dilution, and developing for 15:00 minutes at 24C.  It yields a somewhat soft negative, with very obvious grain.  Usually I am not a fan of grain, and prefer my images to be smooth and crisp.  But once and a while grain is desirable, and I have been experimenting with this combination for that reason.

I don't shoot a lot of this film, and it has taken me about three years to accumulate a batch of 20 sheets.  That finally happened, so on August 12th I mixed up the developer, and processed the batch.  The oldest image in the batch dated back to the fall of 2021.

The two photographs included here were both taken on September 16th of 2023.  This was during our visit to the Greenhill Hotel in Blairmore, for the Beer Parlour Project.  This was our second visit to the establishment, and hence was BP 2.1.

The first image is a shot of Margarit, walking down the hallway of the old hotel, with a beer in her hand.  For this image I rated the film at 320 iso and shot with a normal 135mm lens on my Ebony view camera.  The shot was taken around 8:00 in the evening and with the low light I had to use an exposure of F10.0 and 1/2 second.  Needless to say Margarit had to hold still and pose for this one.

The second image is a shot of the fire escape on the exterior of the hotel, in evening light.  It was taken about an hour before the first one.  For this one the film was also rated at 320 iso.  I used a wider 110mm lens, fitted with a #25 Red Filter.  That filter lowered the value of the blue sky to a very dark gray and made the white building really stand out.  The exposure was F32.0 and 1/4 second.

Back to the Coal Mine

A few days after my private tour of the Nordegg Historic Site I was graciously given return access to the mine.  I only had about half a day this time, and only made it as far as the Blacksmith shop and the warehouse, before I ran out of film.  But I shot a whole bunch of detail stuff, and I think I came away with some strong images.  

One of the things that I noticed, was in the Blacksmith shop.  This was a timber, cemented into the floor, with a steel form on top of it.  This was obviously used to forge bumpers for the mine cars.  There were some discarded bumpers on the floor beside the form.  And not far away was a mine car, fitted with some bumpers, and this made the story quite obvious.  I've included a couple of snapshots below that illustrate this.

I can't stress strongly enough that this Historic Site is being protected for the enjoyment of all.  Access to the site is by guided tour only.  I was permitted access to photograph the site, on two occasions now, but there were staff and tour guides with me, or in close proximity., both times.

After I wrapped things up at the Historic site, I went over to the golf course and played a round.  I ended up shooting a 39 on the par 32 course... my best score ever.

After that I headed across the road to the lounge at the Nordegg Lodge and had a burger and a couple of beers.  

After that I had to stop with all the play activities and get to work.  I went back to the cottage and did the dishes and started cleaning up.  The next morning, August 27th, I had to return to the city after spending almost two weeks in Nordegg.

Alberta Views Magazine

I was approached by the Art Director of "Alberta Views" magazine.  She saw my photo on Flickr, and asked permission to use it in their publication.

Alberta Views is a monthly general interest magazine covering the arts, culture and politics of Alberta.  It is a print magazine, now in the 26th year of continuous publication.  They have a print run of around 10,000 copies.

They have an article coming up in the November issue about water and drought and want to use my photograph.  I took this shot back in August of 2017, down in the badlands of the Red Deer River Valley.  This is not far from East Coulee.  I shot it with my Ebony view camera and a wide Nikkor 65mm lens.  The film was the now discontinued Fuji Neopan Acros 100, rated at 80 iso, and developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 11:00 minutes, at 24C.

I provided the use of my photo at no charge, but requested a photo credit and a copy of the magazine.

SCA 56th Juried Exhibition

A couple of months back I entered three of my photographs into the Society of Canadian Artists 56th Annual juried Exhibition.  It was my understanding that only elected members of the Society were permitted to submit their work.  Though now, I'm not certain if that was the case and it may have been an open submission.  In any event, I have been an elected member for several years, so  I entered the competition.  Two of the three photographs that I submitted were accepted.

This time around it is an online exhibition, so there was no need for me to frame prints and ship them anywhere.  In the past I exhibited actual prints at exhibitions in Ontario and Quebec.

The two photographs that were accepted are attached below.  The first is a shot of a nearly century old car that was abandoned and forgotten in west central Alberta.  The second was a shot of some piles in Union Bay, British Columbia that once supported a coal loading dock.  I have included a link to the online exhibition.

https://societyofcanadianartists.com/56th-sca-juried-online-exhibition/?doing_wp_cron=1725153633.9996299743652343750000

September Calendar Image

This is the image that I selected for the September page of my Fine Art Photography calendar.  This is a shot of Wilcox Pass, in Jasper National Park.  Margarit and I went out for a day trip, about this time of year, in 2023.  I dragged my big 4x5 view camera up into the pass.  It was a long, draining day even though the hike was only about 5 or 6 miles round trip.  There was about 1000 feet of elevation gain, and it was a lot of work to pack the big camera that far.  I think this shot made it worthwhile.