Freeze Up

Here is a scan of another recent negative.  This one was taken on the Fall Photo Weekend up in Jasper with the Monochrome Guild in early November.  It was -19C when we were shooting here at Portal Creek on that Saturday morning.  There was more ice on the creek on this occasion, than any other time I have been here in the past.  Layers of ice were forming in the creek bed, with only a small central channel left open.  The ice was building up so thickly that the spot I was standing on to take this shot, on the gravel shore of the creek, was actually over a foot below the level of the freezing creek surface in front of me.  This particular image was shot on Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Nikkor 300mm lens.  The film was processed for normal contrast in PMK developer for 9:35 minutes.  I had to tilt the rear standard of the camera, and stop the lens down to F115 in order to hold the depth of field and render the foreground frosty branch and the background rocks in sharp focus.  This resulted in a shutter speed of 8 seconds, even though the image was taken in fairly bright, clear light, around 12:00 noon.

Progress in Nordegg

I haven't been able to get out to our place in Nordegg for about a month now.  It is a challenge at this time of year as the daylight hours are so short.  It takes six hours of driving to get there an back and that doesn't leave time to do much.  We don't have anyplace to stay at this time of year, so a day trip is the only option.  Our trailer has been winterized and put away for the season.  Although the cottage is now closed in, there is no power inside, no heat, no insulation, and no furnishings.  Not really a place to consider spending the night... at least not yet... and at least not at this time of year.

Our contractor recently completed the installation of the metal roof system.  And, all the doors and windows were delivered a couple weeks ago.  They have now been installed, and the building is closed in.  The only things that remain to finish up the exterior are siding, trim, soffit, fascia and eavestrough.  Here are a few pictures that were taken by our contractor right after the windows and doors were put in.

Winter Hockey Update

My Renegades Hockey Team seems to have turned things around.  We had a bit of a struggle getting a full time goaltender lined up at the beginning of the year.  The guy we eventually settled on lost the first five games.   That was more of an issue with the way the team played in front of him, though admittedly he was a little rusty.  He has won the last two games for us and the team in general is playing a lot better.  Goalie Steve broke his toe a few weeks ago and was out of the line up for a couple of games but since he returned he has been really solid.  Our team has won four of our last five games.  Most recently, since Steve returned, we played last Monday against the "Shootin' Blanks" at Tipton Arena.  The score went back and forth for the entire game and ended up tied 6-6 at the end of regulation.  We managed to win in a shootout.  Then this morning we played the Trojans at KofC Arena.  We jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and then hung on to win 6-2.  It got a little rough and chippy at the end and there were a lot of penalties handed out as things got a bit out of hand.  But it was a fun game to play.  Through the two victories I ended up with 5 assists, which on a personal level sees the old guy climbing up the stats chart.  The team is now in fourth place in our division with about a dozen games left in regular season.

Astoria River

Here's a relatively new one.  This image was taken during the recent Fall Photo Weekend back at the beginning of November with the gang from the Monochrome Guild.  We wandered down from the old highway to the edge of the Astoria River.  This is the spot where we found relatively fresh cougar or lynx tracks in the snow.  It was a cold morning, starting out at around -19C and then gradually warming up a little.  At the time of our visit ice was quickly forming on the rivers and streams.  It was apparent that things would be frozen solid in short order.  As it turned out, it warmed up a short time after our trip, and has remained mild into December.  The water is probably still open...

This image was taken on Ilford FP4+ film with my trusty old Ebony SV45TU view camera and a Schneider G-Claron 210mm lens.  The light down in the canyon was in shade and quite flat so I elected to process for plus development in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  I quite like the way this one turned out and included it on my annual calendar.

December Day Trip

The weekend weather forecast was good so my friend Court and I headed out for a day trip.  We left the city about 8:30AM, and stayed out until the sun set around 4:00PM.  The days are pretty short around here in the winter months.  Another three weeks and we will experience the winter solstice, the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year.  The "mostly sunny skies" that were in the forecast really didn't materialise.  We chased some blue skies all day, and tried to catch a little light, but mostly conditions remained overcast and dull.  We spent the day exploring up northeast of the city, mostly in Lamont County.

Our first stop was at an old abandoned schoolhouse and this was one of the few times that the sun broke out a little.  This was shortly after 11:00AM, and it was still pretty cold.  The thermometer on the truck read -10C, but it felt colder than that, and my fingers were soon numbed from handling the metal camera.  

We explored for a while in the town of Hairy Hill.  I had photographed here many times before, but it was new to Court.  I didn't take any snapshots here but did set up the 4x5 a couple of times for some images of the old buildings.  I've included a scan of a large format negative that I shot here about a year ago.

Later in the day we just scouted around and drove grid roads for many miles in all directions.  We found a number of places that looked like they were worth returning to under better conditions.  Mostly it was the light that put a damper on things as the temperature rose a little, and wasn't all that bad.  There really wasn't any wind so that made things quite pleasant.  We eventually found a majestic old mansion but by this time the light was fading and there wasn't much opportunity to shoot anything more than a few snapshots.  But this, as well as a couple other locations, are definitely worth returning to.

I find that at this time of year, when we are lucky enough to get a mild day with clear skies, I need to have a set agenda in place.  With the short daylight hours there just isn't time to do much exploring.  You need to have a destination planned and head there and shoot it.  Although the low winter light can be spectacular, it just doesn't last all that long.

Quiet Weekend

Just wrapped up a very laid back weekend and unfortunately find myself back at work...

I slept in both days on the weekend, and seem to have finally recovered from the cold that I picked up back in early November.  Saturday was warm and sunny so I headed out for a drive in the afternoon.  No one was interested in coming along so it ended up being a solo trip.  I headed out east of the city and my first stop was an abandoned church in Minburn County.  I'd photographed here before, but this time the low fall light and clear skies were especially good.  With my late start  and the short days at this time of year, there wasn't a lot of time left.  I found an abandoned community hall on my way back towards the city and spent the last hour of daylight photographing it.  I had been at this one before as well, but the light was pretty spectacular this time around.  It felt really good to get out and get some fresh air, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, even if it was only for a couple of hours.

On Saturday evening I made a big batch of Enchiladas and some Mexican Rice.  On Sunday, after sleeping in again, I just puttered around at home.  I spent a few hours in the morning unloading all of the exposed film that I had accumulated over the past couple of months.  I didn't count them but there must have been around 80 sheets.  Then in the afternoon I was a couch potato and watched the Oilers hockey game, followed by the Grey Cup game.  It was nice to see the Calgary Stampeders choke again...!!

Sweep

I've been posting a bunch of newly developed negatives to my Flickr account in recent weeks.  Most of these have not yet made it to my blog.  This one is a favorite of mine and I call it "Sweep".  I like the way that the log siding on this old barn sweeps up to the sky, much like a modern skyscraper.  I shot two versions of this shot... this one on Kodak T-Max 100, exposed at 80 iso and processed in 510 Pyro developer, diluted 1:100.  It was shot with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Schnieder Super Symmar XL 110mm lens.  I used a #25 Red filter to pump up the contrast, and deepen the value of the sky.  The other version of this shot was taken on Bergger Panchro 400 but I screwed up that negative in processing, accidentally exposing it when I was loading it into the processing tank.  So... this is the only version of this image that remains... good thing it turned out.

This shot was taken in June of 2016 when I made my second trip to Crowsnest Pass.  This was to pick up my prints that had been on display at the Lebel Mansion Gallery in Pincher Creek.  The Procession West duo show that I put together with my friend Rob Michel had been showing there for a couple of months and I made the trip down to pick up those prints at the end of the show.  While I was down there I spent a couple of days shooting in the area, and this image was one of the keepers from that trip....

Roofing Underway

I got these photographs today from our contractor out in Nordegg.  The installation of metal roofing to our garage is complete.  The crew is currently working on the installation of the roofing to our cottage.  A very pleasant day out there today as I understand it with the temperature forecast to peak at around +13C this afternoon.  Quite a change from what we have here in the city where it is currently -6C, and only forecast to reach -3C this afternoon.

100K

My blog just hit 100,000 pageviews this evening.  This is thanks to a recent flurry of interest from Poland.  I have not been tracking my own views, so this is just others tuning in to check on my meaningless ramblings, hockey scores, travelogues and photographs.  Thanks to everyone for taking an interest.  Hopefully there is continued interest so that I will feel obliged to carry on.  I'm pleased to have reached this milestone, and hope to continue.

The Streak Ends

The losing streak finally came to an end on Saturday afternoon.  The Renegades faced off against Pentastar.  They only had 10 players while we had 14.  It was a close game, tied 3-3 at the end of the second.  We managed to outplay them in the third period, and hung on for a hard fought 6-4 victory.  The official shot count was 27-21 for us but it seemed like there were a lot more shots than that.  Nice to finally put our losing skid to and end and hopefully start a winning streak.  Maybe all the superstition payed off so I can't change anything moving forward.  Our next game is at the old Northlands Coliseum.  The Oilers played here for many years but with the opening of the new Rogers Place Arena in downtown Edmonton last year, this rink now sits largely unused.  Our beer league has been playing a bunch of games there but the City has now decided to close it at then end of 2017, and is considering demolition.  This will be our last game here....

Another Trip to Nordegg

Last weekend Hailey and I took a drive out to Nordegg.  We met with our mechanical contractor to go over some of the work that he will be doing for us.  We also wanted to see what had taken place with respect to cottage construction over the past couple of weeks.  Unfortunately, almost nothing has changed.  The cottage is pretty much the way it was a month ago.  The overhead door has been installed on the garage, and the metal roof panels have been delivered to site.  I understand that roofing is supposed to be installed this coming week.
After meeting with our mechanical guy Hailey and I went for lunch at the restaurant in town.  Then we took a drive to explore.  There was not a lot of snow in the area and for that reason we didn't bother to bring the new snowmobile.  We took a drive up to Abraham Lake to see if the ice was starting to form.  There was no ice yet and the water was completely open.  I understand that a little ice exists at the upper end of the lake, but we never made it that far to check it out.  True to it's name it was extremely windy up at Windy Point.  So much so that you had to hold onto the truck door with two hands when you opened it to get out.  Seemed as though the wind might blow our teeth out.  It was warm... with the temperature up around +7C, but the wind made it impossible to do anything.  Hailey shot this video clip with her phone, from the window of the truck.  The wind gusts sweeping around the point were creating cool patterns on the open water.

We took a drive up the side road to Crescent Falls.  The road was closed for the season at the top of the big hill and we had to walk the last couple hundred yards.  Water was still roaring over the falls but it was concealed by a large ice formation that had accumulated.  We spent a little time here and wandered around a bit, taking a few snap shots.

By this time it was getting to be mid-afternoon and with the short days at this time of year we hit the road for home.  

Losing Streak

My Renegades Hockey Team is on a seven game losing streak.  Something has to break... the streak has to come to an end.  We have a game this afternoon and I'm just about to start packing up my gear.  I'm doing everything I can think of to try and break the bad luck.  I washed my gear... for the first time in over a season.  I always thought it was bad luck to wash my gear... but the luck can't get any worse.  Besides... the gear was getting pretty crunchy and unbearable.  I bought a new stick.  I sharpened my skates.  I bought new hockey socks.  We have a back up goaltender playing today.  Hopefully this is the first game of a winning streak.

Definition of Traditional Photography

I recently received an e-mail from Bostick and Sullivan.  They are based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and supply materials to the photographic alternative process community.  I have purchased chemistry and paper from them for Ziatype, Cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown processes on several occasions.  This particular message promoted an organization called Luminaria, who were trying to set up some studio and darkroom space in Salt Lake City.  They have a Kickstarter campaign underway trying to raise some funds.  I will never be able to travel all the way to Utah to take advantage of their facility so I chose not to support them at this time.  I've included links to Bostick and Sullivan, and to the Luminaria project, for anyone that might be interested.  Mostly I was really moved by the description of traditional photography that was included in the Luminaria package...

We believe photography is more than images on screens.  Photography is a craft that transforms intangible rays of light into monuments of self expression and artifacts that we can hold in our hands, pass down to our kids, and share with our best friends.

This really sums up the way that I feel about traditional film based photography and hopefully helps to explain why I pack around big cameras, and go to the effort to expose and process my film.  There is just something more to it.  It is not a fleeting image on a monitor but something more...

https://www.bostick-sullivan.com/

https://www.luminariaslc.com/

Finished with 2015

On the weekend I finished processing the last of my 4" x 5" negatives that were exposed in 2015.  The year included a total of 439 shots.  The last couple batches were some of the more obscure films that are either new to me, or that I don't shoot very often.  I always accumulate this exposed film until I have enough sheets to justify running a larger batch, and making better use of the chemistry.  The last few batches of the 2015 year were FP4+ given N+1 development in HC-110, Rollei RPX-25 given Normal development in Rodinal, and the last one J&C Classic 200 given N+1 in HC-110.  The very last image that was processed was a shot of the Maligne River in Jasper, taken on the 2015 Fall Photo Weekend with the Monochrome Guild.  A scan of that image is included below, as well as one taken just hours prior, up along the Pyramid Lake Road.  I am now continuing with processing my negatives from 2016 and 2017.  I exposed over 500 sheets in 2016, and have shot a little over 400 so far in 2017.  Many of those have already been processed, but there still quite a few remaining.  It will likely be at least several more months before I complete the next year.

Game Camera

Hailey and I took a drive out to Nordegg last Sunday.  While we were out there I changed the memory card in my game camera.  There were a few interesting shots this time around, in addition to the usual coming and going of all the construction trades.  The first shot is an image of my ATV buried in snow after the big dump on the last day of summer.  The rest are of various visitors that wandered by during the past month or so...  Interesting that we had so much snow in late September, then it all disappeared, and more recently it has returned.