David Thompson Country

I finished up a bunch of errands on December 13th.  This included helping my Mom with a couple of things, picking up a few groceries and supplies, and packing.  It was about 1:00 in the afternoon when I hit the road for Nordegg.  The highways were clear all the way there, and at one point the temperature peaked at Zero.  A far cry from the frigid temperatures I experienced last time I went out.

This time around I was driving a rental truck, as mine is in the shop getting hail damage repairs done.  They gave me a brand new Ram 1500, and it only had 119km on it when I got it.  It is a pretty light and small little truck, with a gas engine and a short box.  I was not able to take as much stuff with me as I would have liked.  But I was fortunate to get a truck.

I took my truck in for repairs on December 7th, and was told not to expect it back until December 27th.  Then I was told they would try to get it back to me before Christmas.  Later still I was told it would be ready on December 20th.  On my way out to Nordegg on the 13th I got a phone call advising that my truck would be ready for pick up the next day.  Go figure....

I arrived at the cottage just as it was getting dark and got unpacked and got a fire going.  On the morning of the 14th I had my morning coffee and then went over to the guest cottage.  I was sort of dreading a project that was facing me as I expected to have to open up two walls and change some electrical cable that had been installed incorrectly.  But when I double checked I found that I had indeed installed the correct cable and there would be no changes necessary.  That was a huge relief.

Then I set to work on the interior doors, and started on the one for the east bedroom.  I finished cutting the notch for the door latch to fit into the door, and sanded all the surfaces.  I used the chamfering bit that I bought for my router and beveled the edges of the door.  Then I applied a coat of primer.  By this point I was looking at how nice it was outside.  The sun was shining, the skies were clear, and the temperature had risen to about -6.  The forecast high for the afternoon was -4.  

I decided to leave the work for the time being, and take a drive out to Abraham Lake.  It was a little breezy around Windy Point, but for the most part it was relatively calm.  Most of the lake had frozen over, presumably in that cold snap we got back at the beginning of the month.  There was layer of snow on the ice, so it seems that this season will not be a good one for viewing the ice bubbles.  A section of the lake near Windy Point remained open, so perhaps conditions there will be OK later.  I drove just past Windy Point and stopped at the lake, immediately across from Mount Michener.  I wandered down to the lakeshore with my camera.  Many of the shoreline boulders were crusted with ice that had been windblown before the lake froze and when the water level was a little higher.  There were broken slabs of ice along the shoreline resulting from the drop in water level.  But everything was covered with a light layer of snow.  I wandered around with the big camera and set it up three times for some shots.  The temperature here was a little cooler, at around -7C.  The wind was light, but when it gusted a little, it still felt really cold, particularly on my exposed hands.  It is just not possible to operate a view camera with gloves on.

It was about 3:30 when I finished taking photographs and packed up and headed for home.  Along the way I saw a few groups of Bighorn Sheep.  They were grazing in the ditches and also licking the salt off the highway.  

Before heading back home I made a brief stop at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg and dropped off my David Thompson Country calendars that I am putting up for sale.

Beer Parlor Project 3.0 - Elk River Inn

This is a shot of Len, the proprietor of the Elk River Inn.  Margarit and I were visiting his establishment with our friends Chris and Connie, back in late September.  Len was a real character, and we really enjoyed spending some time with him.  I told him that he had to remain really still for this photograph, as a long exposure was necessary.  He followed my instructions flawlessly and remains very sharp in the image, despite the 4 second exposure.  I shot this one on Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 developed in PMK.  I rated the film at 320 iso and gave normal development.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  This one is a keeper in my mind, and hopefully becomes part of the project.  Although, I would love to get back there and make some additional photographs...!

Family Cemetery

This is a shot of the family cemetery that we found on our way home from the Fall Photo Weekend.  I shot this one on October 24th, at 12:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens, with no filter.  The film was Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 developed in PMK.  I gave plus development to try to pump up the contrast a little.  There was only about three stops difference between the background trees, and the whites of the crosses and the snow.  I think the plus development helped to open this up a bit.  I suppose this one might be considered for the Apparitions project, but that was not really the intention when I shot it.

Fall Photo Weekend 2022 - Athabasca Falls

This image is from the Fall Photo Weekend in Jasper National Park, with some of the members of the Monochrome Guild.  This shot was taken on October 22nd, shortly after 12:00 noon.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens.  No filter was used.  This was Ilford Delta 100 film, developed in PMK.  I gave the film plus development to pump up the contrast a little.  The highlights near the top are blown out a little but I think they can be burned in during printing.  The plus development helps to increase the contrast of the rest of the scene, which was in very flat light.  There was only about 3 stops difference between the dark rock, and the white water.  The shutter speed was 1/2 second, which nicely blurred the moving water.

Roadside Hoodoos

I shot this one back in mid-October, when I was down in East Coulee for the open house at The Rock.  These Hoodoos are right beside the highway, near Cambria.  I managed to catch them in some beautiful evening light.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens, with a #25 Red Filter.  This was Ilford FP4 film, developed in Perceptol.  This developer yields a nice soft image with smooth gradation.  The red filter pumped up the contrast a bit.  I'm quite happy with the way that this one turned out.  I shot a duplicate of this on T-Max 100 which I will develop in 510 Pyro.  I'll wait until that one is done before deciding which version to print.

War Wounds

I made it back to the city, from Nordegg, on December 5th.  Its been super busy since then, catching up on a whole bunch of chores and appointments.  That included a late hockey game on December 6th.

My Renegades team played a game at 10:45 on Tuesday evening against the Jagerbombers.  We won the game by a score of 7-2.  In the process, I foolishly decided to stand in front of our net and block a slapshot coming at me from the blueline.  I should have stepped aside and let our goaltender see it, and stop the shot.  After all, he's the one wearing all the heavily padded equipment.  But it happened too quickly, and I took the shot right in the thigh.  Just above the shinpad and just below the hockey pants, at a point where there is no padding.  I certainly felt it, but finished the game.  A couple of days later a huge purple bruise developed.  I have to get over it quickly as there is another game coming up on the 11th.

Our team is in second place in our division with a record of 12 wins and 2 losses.  We are just one point behind the division leading Patriots, who have 12 wins, 1 loss and 1 overtime loss.  Our only two losses are to the Patriots... both close games.  We also lead the division in penalty minutes.......

A Day of Rest

On the afternoon of Saturday December 3rd it really warmed up.  I worked in the cottage for a while to finish up the doors.  Then I put a roasting chicken in the oven for dinner.  I had hoped that Margarit, and maybe the girls would come out to join me for dinner, but they decided to stay in the city.

It finally warmed up during the day and that evening it was really clear.  The moon is almost full and there were lots of stars in the sky.  But this time there was no arctic air mass parked on top of us, and overnight temperatures stayed really mild.  I took a phone snapshot out my bedroom window at about 10:45 and the guest cottage next door was clearly visible, and the moonlight shining through the trees, onto the snow, was really beautiful.

On Sunday it remained warm.  I lacked motivation to do much of anything.  After morning coffee I started my truck, for the first time in several days.  I fully expected the warning system to kick in and advise that my DEF reservoir had frozen.... again... but this time it did not.

I went into town and filled a jerry can with fuel.  Then I stopped at the Beehive and dropped off a calendar.  I took a short drive south on the Trunk road up to the Industrial Park, and then north on the Trunk Road.  I saw a Spruce Grouse and a Ruffed Grouse, but not the wild horses that I was hoping for.  I stopped once and set up my 4x5 to take shot of Coliseum Mountain, with horse tracks in the foreground snow.  This was the first large format image I've taken since October.  I drove east out to Harlech, hoping for some open water on the creek, but there was very little.  About this time the clouds rolled in and the light became very heavy and dull.

I ended up back at the cottage... not doing much of anything....

Apparitions Project - Floor Scrubbers

I shot this one in the wash house of an abandoned coal mine.  These are floor scrubbers, that I presume were once used to wash the showers.  The remains of the sink or fountain beside them adds to the interest a little.  This one is from the same batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 as my previous few images.  And, this one was also give plus development in PMK developer.

I shot this one with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens, with no filter.

Work Continues.....

Thursday December 1st was another really cold day out at Nordegg.  The temperature dropped overnight to -33C... almost as cold as the night before.  By Friday it seemed like it might be starting to break a little.  It got cloudy through most of the day, so perhaps the high pressure system that brought the deep freeze is moving on.  The temperature on Friday made it up to -17C.  The forecast suggests that temperatures will rise significantly in the coming days.

I spent all day Thursday and Friday working in the guest cottage.  By the end of the day Friday I had completed fabrication of all three of the interior doors.  Now I can move on to final preparations for finishing.  There is some sanding needed, and I have to rout out for the hinges, and then chamfer some edges.  Once that is done I can begin painting of the doors.

On Friday evening after dinner I took the old fashioned door latches apart so that I could reverse the mechanism on two of them.  Two of my doors have a left hand hinge and the third is right hand.  The latches have to be set accordingly.

The cold spell finally broke on Saturday December 3rd.  It only went down to about -25 overnight and then during the day Saturday it got up to as high as -3.  I spent the day working in the cottage yet again.  I set up a jig and routed the hinge mortises in the edges of the doors.  Then I lightly sanded out the filler that I had applied to all the joints and nail holes the day prior.  This was not a finish sanding, but just smoothing things out enough to run a router over the surface.  Then I switched to a beading bit in the router and finished the edges of all the raised panels.  I discovered that I don't have a chamfering bit and will have to pick one up to bevel the door edges.  I also discovered that I left my palm sander in the city, so final sanding will have to wait until next time. 

Apparitions Project - Parts Bins

Like the shot of the spilled fasteners, this one was taken in the maintenance shop.  And, like the previous shot this one was also Koadk Kodak Tri-X Pan 320, given plus development in PMK.  Plus development is something that I do when the image is in rather subdued lighting, and the subject brightness range is not very high.  The increased development adds separation to the mid tones and pumps up the high values.  It also adds a little detail to the low values.  This in combination with the staining Pyro developer works really well in my opinion, as the stain subdues any of the extreme highlights a little.

I shot this one back in September with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens with no filter.

Another Calendar

I decided to try making a second 2023 calendar.  This one will not be given away to friends, rather it will be put up for sale at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.  It was kind of a last minute decision, and if I do it again next year, I will be better prepared, and have these put together sooner.  

I discovered that the company that I used to print my other calendar also offers a 12" x 12" size.  This allows me to use both portrait and landscape format images in the 4x5 aspect ratio, without any cropping.  I put together a collection of images all from the West Country near our cottage.  I ordered 20 copies of the calendar and if they are well received, and sell out, then I can order more.  If not, then I won't have invested too much, and won't get stuck with too many.  I'll share the images from that calendar here on my blog, over the coming months.  For now, here is the cover image from the calendar.  This is a shot of Ram Falls, dating back several years.  

Sadly this area was slated to be mined for coal... although current plans have been put on hold, there is no legislation in place that outright bans mining in this area.  Something to think about the next time we are scheduled to mark a ballot.

Apparitions Project - Spilled Fasteners

I shot this one in an old maintenance shop.  It was taken on Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 and given plus development in PMK developer.  I shot this back in September of 2022 with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Nikkor 300mm lens, with no filter.

Working with Arturo on the Apparitions project has taught me to look a little closer at details.  His shooting style is to get in tight on little things, while I have traditionally looked at broader compositions.  He still tends to compose a little tighter than I do, but I now find myself looking for stuff like this.  I think this works well for the project and we shall see if it ends up being a keeper.

Gossip

This is the third and final image from my "Pears" session.  I actually shot this quite some time ago... back in May as I recall... or maybe June...?  Two of the other three images in this series... "Victim" and "Orator" were posted some months ago.  This one was shot on Ilford FP4 film, and was just recently processed on my Jobo processor, in Perceptol Developer.  I call this one "Gossip".

When I go to the grocery store I often wander through the produce section and see if there are any fruits or vegetables with interesting or expressive shapes.  On this day earlier in the year, the Bosc Pears showed some fantastic personality.   I bought half a dozen and set about photographing them, and this is the result.

Damn Cold.....

It was -23C when I got up in Nordegg on November 30th.  It never really warmed up much during the day, and by sundown the clouds and fog lifted and it cleared right off.  It was -25 by dinner time, and supposed to drop down to -30 overnight.  Well the forecast was wrong... it got colder than that overnight.  My weather station recorded -35C just as it was starting to get light.

I procrastinated all morning, not wanting to go out in the cold to pack the truckload of lumber I had brought out, into the cottage.  I spent a great deal of time on the phone, trying to resolve my outstanding insurance claim for hail damage to my trucks.  Finally, by about 1:00, I ventured outside to brave the cold.  It had warmed up to a balmy -19 by this point.  I had 1x4's, 1x8's, 2x6's, quarter rounds, underlay and 3/4" plywood in the back of my truck.  I finally got it all packed in to the guest cottage by mid afternoon.

I got the fire going in there and nicely warmed the place up.  Then I set to work building the first of the three interior doors.  It all went pretty well, but with such a late start, I did not accomplish a lot.  But now everything is inside, and I can continue to work no matter what the weather.

The deer have been coming back to the property in the past couple of days.  I saw a group of seven in the morning, and then a short time later... two more.  Later in the afternoon two different bucks wandered by. I got a phone snapshot of the smaller of the two as he wandered past my window.  Hunting season ends today, so these guys that have survived should calm down a lot and be hanging around on a more regular basis.

December Calendar Image

This is the image that I selected for the December page of my 2022 calendar.  Seems I have been very busy with calendars in the past little while, and this is the last image to share from the old one.  This is the Maligne River in Jasper National Park.  I shot this in mid-November of 2019 when I was out with my friends from the Monochrome Guild on our Fall Photo Weekend.  This was the trip just before the Covid pandemic and as I recently posted here on my blog, we were not able to get the tradition back on track again until earlier this year.