Dance Hall

This is another scan of an 8x10 negative.  I scanned this the other day when I was testing my scanner on my newly upgraded computer.  I've posted shots from this same outing, that were taken on 4x5 sheet film, but this is the first time I've done anything with the shot I took on 8x10.  This was taken in April of 2021 on Bergger Pancro 400 Film with my Chamonix 810V view camera and a Fujinon 450mm lens.  Development was in Perceptol Developer.  I love the old battered chairs sitting out front in the grass and the tattered curtain in the window.  It seems an old "Fireworks" sign was used to patch a hole in the door... likely where someone kicked it in.  The place is unfortunately badly vandalized.

Aspen Glade

I finally got my computer up and running again on February 15th.  My friend Mike, the IT guy, helped me with the upgrade.  He also managed to find some driver software to allow my old printer to function.  Everything seems to be working now.  

I decided it would be wise to run a test and make sure that my old Microtek scanner, and my CD burner are also functioning properly.  I use my newer Epson V700 scanner for 4x5 sheet film and medium format negatives.  But the old Microtek works way better for 8" x 10" negatives.  So I tested it by scanning a couple, including this one.

This shot was taken back in May of 2021 when I was out on a day trip with some of the Monochrome Guild gang.  We were exploring the coal strip mines down around Forestburg for our Coal in Alberta project.  We came across this roadside glade of aspen trees and the blustery spring sky just made for a really moody image.  I shot this on Ilford HP5 film, developed in Kodak D-76, with a wide angle 240mm Nikkor lens.

Back in the City

I returned to the city on Wednesday February 8th... somewhat reluctantly.  That evening I attended a meeting with some of the gang from the Monochrome Guild.  We met at a local pub and discussed putting together a gallery submission.

The rest of the week was insanely busy.  I was catching up on a bunch of chores around the house.  Margarit's SUV blew a power steering hose, so she was unable to drive it until we got it repaired.  During that time, we had to share my truck for all the errands.

I had my desktop computer serviced and upgraded to Windows 10 while I was away at Nordegg.  Of course, once I got it back and reconnected it to all my stuff, it was not functioning properly.  It would no longer recognize my older keyboard, or one of my printers.  I was forced to buy a new keyboard, but luckily found a decent one on sale for 20 bucks.  My printer is still not working, despite upgrading the driver.  I'm not sure if it will ever work again and I'm hoping that I am not forced to buy a new one.  This has sure made for a frustrating couple of days dealing with everything.

On Saturday night the Renegades played a hockey game at Argyll Arena verses the Patriots.  These guys got moved up into the higher division at the same time that the Renegades did.  We played them twice before, both times in the lower division, and both times we lost.  This time we jumped out to an 8-0 lead before finally giving up a couple of goals.  We coasted to an easy 11-4 victory, which seems very out of character for this team.

On Monday and Tuesday I went to work in the darkroom and started making some prints for the Apparitions project.  We don't have any confirmed exhibitions yet, but there will be a lot of prints to make and I wanted to get started on it.  I made some unsharp masks of five negatives and then set about printing all of them.  I'm quite happy with the way they turned out, and presently have them cleared, toned and in the washer.

Last Day in Nordegg

Tuesday February 7th was my last day in Nordegg... for a little while.  But, the cottage will not be empty for long, as shortly after I leave, my oldest daughter Hailey is to arrive and stay for a few days.

On this last day of working in the guest cottage... for the time being... I finished up the three cabinet sections.  I sanded out all the filler on the third section, and then applied a coat of primer.  After that I dug out a small roller and finished all the exterior exposed surfaces of all three cabinets with two coats of paint.  When I return in the future I will have to make all the cabinet doors, and start on the drawers.  I believe I have all the materials needed, so it will just be a matter of getting busy.

I was finished with the painting around lunch time, and as it was fairly sunny, with not much wind, I decided to go for a drive with my camera.  I started heading west, thinking I would check out the ice conditions on Abraham Lake.  But, it was obvious that there was heavy cloud hanging in the valley, and the light would not be very good.  So I decided to stay closer to Nordegg.  I went down to where Highway 11 crosses Shunda Creek, below Beaverdam Lake.  I've noticed that there is always open water here, even when temperatures are bitterly cold.  I wandered down along the creek and despite the days of mild temperatures, there was still a lot of snow, and I managed to fill my boots.  But, I also got three setups done with the view camera.

2022 was a record year for me and I shot over 600 sheets of 4x5 Black and White film.  Despite that, I didn't take my first shot of the year until near the end of March.  This year I have already shot over 20 sheets, and it is just the beginning of February.  I'm not striving to shoot quantity over quality, but I do find that if I get out and shoot regularly, I see better, I stay in better practice with the camera, and better images result.  It is always difficult to get back to shooting after a long pause, and I am trying to avoid that this year.

Cabinets Almost Done

I got up earlier than I usually do, on Monday February 6th.  I was up at 7:00AM... over an hour before the official sunrise.  But, because the sun actually has to clear Eagle Peak before we can see it, the true sunrise is a little later than that.  I had a shower and breakfast in the morning and then checked messages and what not on my computer.  I sent birthday greetings to my middle brother Greg, who turns 58 on this day...

It was shortly after 9:00 when I wandered over to the guest cottage and went to work.  My original plan was to work until around lunch time, and then head out for a drive in the afternoon with my cameras.  But, it was heavily overcast, and got very windy, so I decided to just keep working.  I took a short break and went over to Scott's place to pick up a couple of large cable spools that he needs returned to his supplier in Edmonton.  There is a hefty deposit on these things, so he is anxious to get them back....

In the morning I got the third section of the kitchen cabinets put together.  It was kind of slow going, because this section is larger than the other two, and a little cumbersome for me to work on by myself.  But it eventually all came together.  I discovered that I made a couple of minor cutting errors that I had to fix up, but that was relatively easy considering that the cabinets will be painted.  The minor patching and adjustments that I made will not show through the paint.

After picking up those cable spools it was obvious that getting out with the cameras, even briefly, was not an option.  My weather station, which is very sheltered in the trees, was recording wind gusts approaching 20kmh.  But I know from past experience that this means that out in the open, the winds are probably close to triple that.  So I continued with installing the hardwood facing onto the third cabinet.  This time around I was little smarter, and remembered to paint the interior exposed edges before I installed them onto the cabinet.  

On Tuesday my plan was to get up early again.  I would sand out the filler that I put on the nail holes and then give a final two coats of paint to the exterior of the third cabinet.  Then, while I had the paint in a tray, and a roller dirty, I would do the other two cabinets as well.   This way the paint could dry, while temperatures remain very mild, and not ice up all the windows in the cottage.  Hopefully if the winds are not as strong on Tuesday, I can get out for a little while with my camera, in the afternoon.

Full Moon

There was a full moon on February 5th.  It cleared in the evening and by the time the sun went down, there were hardly any clouds.  The moon was clear and bright as it rose above the shoulder of Coliseum Mountain and up through the trees.  Later in the evening I marveled at how bright it was.  I took these couple of snapshots with my phone, through the bedroom window.  The reflection off of the snow on the ground nicely illuminated everything and the trees, and the guest cottage were clearly visible.

Third Cabinet

It was really warm out at Nordegg on Friday February 3rd.  The temperature peaked at about 4:00 in the afternoon at +8C.  The snow that we got a few days ago has settled a lot, and is now getting very wet.

I spent the afternoon over in the guest cottage, working on the third cabinet.

The first thing I did was flush trim the plastic laminate that I glued on the day prior.  This was the large section for the floor, and two small intermediate shelves.  Then I cut up all the rest of the plywood pieces, and got a coat of primer on all of them.  In between, while waiting for the primer to dry, I sanded out the filler that I had put on the hardwood facing of cabinet two.  This material also got a coat of primer, and then later a first coat of blue paint.  Late in the afternoon a got the dadoes cut into the floor panel before shutting things down for the day.

On Friday evening Margarit and Hank came out to join me for the weekend.  The three young ladies decided to stay behind in the city.... again.  I had a prime rib roast in the oven and on the go when Margarit arrived.  I also had mashed potatoes, gravy, yorkshire pudding and some salad.  We enjoyed a nice dinner together after she arrived.

On Saturday we just spent a relaxing day together in the cottage, and I didn't do any work.  We had Hank out for a short walk, and then just hung around reading and getting supper prepared.  I made us some baked potatoes, hot wings and T-bone Steaks for dinner.  Later in the evening we got a fire going in the stove and just stayed in.  I didn't bother going to town to play in the outside hockey game.

On Sunday, Margarit packed up and headed back to the city.  The girls were having some issues and demanded her attention.  After she left, I went back to work in the guest cottage.  It was yet another really warm day, and the temperature peaked at about +7.  Seems the recent snow that we got will be very short lived.  

I got all the rabbets and dadoes cut into the panels for the third cabinet.  Then I got all of the interior exposed surfaces finished with two coats of paint.  The next time that I go back to work on this, I will commence assembly of the third cabinet.

February Image - David Thompson Country Calendar

This is the image I selected for the February page of my 2023 David Thompson Country calendar.  This calendar is available to purchase at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.  This mountain is called Wapta Kista, and it is prominent on the south shore of Abraham Lake west of Nordegg.  This shot was taken in April of 2020.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Schneider G-Claron 210mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter was added to boost contrast and increase the separation between sky and clouds.  This was taken on the now discontinued Efke PL25M film, developed in Rodinal 1:50.

Back to Nordegg

I returned to Nordegg on the afternoon of January 31st.  It was really nice to get out of the city and back to the mountains.  In fact the weather in Nordegg was nicer than what I left in the city.  The temperature peaked at about -4C, and there was six inches of fresh snow... a winter wonderland...!

I felt totally lacking in motivation on Wednesday February 1st.  It cooled off quite a bit overnight and during the day.  It was -9 at dawn, and then dropped to about -12 during the day, and -14 by late afternoon.  It felt really cold too, because it was heavily overcast with no sun, and the humidity was high at around 85%.

I unloaded some materials, and took some waste to the dump, but didn't really accomplish much else.  The cold is supposed to be short lived and by the weekend it is forecast to be partly sunny and slightly above freezing.  I spent the day figuring out a cut list of materials for the next cabinet, and then working on some photo submission stuff on my laptop.

By early evening, when the outside hockey game was scheduled to start in town, it had cooled off even more.  By game time it was down to -17C and the humidity was up to 92%.  I was chilled from the little bit of time I had spent outside and just couldn't warm up.  I decided to skip the game and stay by the fire in the cottage.

By the morning of Thursday February 2nd, Groundhog Day, it had warmed up nicely.  It was only about -4 in the morning and by afternoon it got up to above freezing.  It started out partly sunny in the morning but then clouded over and got really breezy in the afternoon.  It was certainly a pleasant day, but didn't feel quite as warm as the thermometer suggested.  To bad this wasn't the day scheduled for the hockey game.

I spent a good part of the day working in the cabin.  First job was to pull out the tablesaw and rip up a bunch of the hardwood that I brought out.  I cut enough to face the second cabinet, and also cut right away for the as yet unbuilt third cabinet.  I installed the maple facing onto the second cabinet, and then started cutting plywood parts for the third.  I didn't get all the parts cut up, but I did cut the ones that need plastic laminate glued onto them.  This is the floor and the interior shelves.  I got the laminate glued on as well, and then called it a day.

I have the first and second cabinet sections sitting on furniture dollies.  This allows me to move them around easily as I need to.  Its starting to get a little crowded in the cottage.  Once I have the third section built I will paint them all, then then set them into place.  That should provide a little more space to begin construction of the pantry and the bathroom vanity.

Apparitions Project - Collars

This shot was taken on the same day as the earlier "old shoes" image.  These priest's collars were left behind in the train station at the old museum.  I shot this previously, but this time around I got in a little tighter on the collars, and I like this concise view a little better.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a 125mm lens.  This is the last one from my recent batch of Kodak T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro.

Drafting

As a junior high school student back in 1977 I learned drafting for the first time.  Back in those days it was with T-squares and set squares.  Later, as I moved on to high school in 1980 I took a number of drafting courses, including architectural and mechanical drawing.  At that point we moved up from T-squares to drafting tables and machines.  Originally I thought I might go to University and study to become an architect.

But, then I graduated from high school in 1981, and went to work full time in the family Plastic business the next day.  In 1989 I purchased the company from my father.  And in 2020 I sold the company and retired.  I never did get around to going to University, but used my drafting skills through my entire working career.

Of course in later years drafting went digital.  The drafting table that we had at the shop was given away and we moved up to the AutoCad software program.  Over the years I bought three versions of AutoCad and we spent thousands of dollars on the software.  Now in my retirement I would like to use the software that I legally own to drawn up plans for the cabinets, and other furniture projects, that I intend to build.  But the old software will no longer function and the AutoDesk company is essentially forcing me to buy a subscription to AutoCad LT in order to keep using it.  But that costs $60 per month and is far beyond what I can justify for the small amount of drafting I need to do.

I finally got my old version of AutoCad LT 2002 to sort of function on my computer.  Every three or four commands it locks up and shuts down.  So, after every action I save my file, and then continually restart whenever it freezes and shuts down.  It's very frustrating to work with, but far better than spending $600 Canadian per year.  I find the drawings are very helpful as they provide exact dimensions for all the components, and precise locations for all the rabbets and dadoes.  Here are the print outs of the drawings I just completed for the third cabinet for the guest cottage.

February Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the February page of my calendar.  This is my annual Fine Art Monochrome calendar that I print every year and give away to friends and family.  I shot this old house up in Barrhead County back in late January of 2021.  I was out on a day trip with a few friends from the Monochrome Guild.  This was back in the days when Covid was a serious concern and we had to drive around in an entourage of several vehicles.  I remember it was rather cold that day, and we drove around for quite a while without finding anything to photograph.  Eventually we stumbled upon this old yard and managed to make the trip worthwhile by taking a few photographs.  I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 250mm lens.  I used a #25 Red Filter to increase contrast and darken the sky.  The film was Ilford Delta 100 developed in PMK developer.

Changeover

I had three new prints ready to go for Mimi's pub, and on January 27th I put them up.  There are a total of five large prints on display.  Two of the existing ones will remain until the next changeover, and these three new ones were added.  I picked up a couple of the existing framed prints on the evening of January 26th and brought them home.  The next morning I took those frames apart, removed the previously displayed work, and installed the new prints.  Around lunch time I took the first two back and hung them up.  At that point I picked up the third one and brought it home.  That was quickly changed over to a new print and an hour or two later I returned and hung it up.

My print of the Spirit Tree in Dinosaur Provincial Park, taken way back in 1997 remains on display though it was relocated from a spot around the corner to the center of the main wall.  My print of the Sunflower Field near Warwick, taken in 2011 was moved from the main wall to the back corner.  The three new prints include a shot of some trees covered with Hoar Frost, taken at Strawberry Creek Ravine in 2017.  This one is now by itself on the side wall, where the Spirit Tree used to be.  The other two prints are in portrait orientation.  One is a shot of Tangle Falls in Jasper National Park, taken in 2020.  The other is a shot of Willow Creek, near East Coulee, taken in 2016.  These are now on the main wall, on either side of the Spirit Tree.

My prints have been on display at Mimi's pub since they opened about five years ago.  I am very grateful to the owners Shanaz and her brother Al, who allow me to show here.  Originally it was my intention to change them out every three or four months.  That happened at the beginning, but then Covid hit and nothing was changed for three years.  Now that things are returning to normal it is time to get back on track.  By about May or so I will look to remove the Spirit Tree and Sunflowers prints and replace them with new work.  At that point the others will also be moved around.  This should provide a fresh look for the pub, and allow me continued exposure for my work.  Then the process will be repeated again, around August or so.

Sunday Drive

When I got up in the morning on January 22nd there was a couple of inches of fresh snow.  It made everything look really clean and refreshed after living with the old, dirty, crusty snow for the last few weeks.  By around noon the clouds lifted and sun came out.  The temperature was just a couple of degrees below freezing, but once the sun came out it felt warmer than that.  With the work in the cottage taken as far as I can go, I took Sunday off.  I made a run over to the dump and dropped off a couple of bags of garbage.  Then I headed for a drive down the Trunk Road.  I got about 15km north before eventually turning around.  There was slightly more snow as I got further north and higher up.  I stopped at a couple of places along the way and took some photographs.  

For the first time in years I also took out my Russian panoramic camera.  This one uses 35mm film and has a rotating lens.  The resulting negatives are about double the width of a standard 35mm frame.  So I played around with that a little too.  Later I drove south of the highway on the truck road, as far as the industrial park.  I saw a couple of wild horses here, but they were too skittish and wandered off before I could set up the big camera.  I shot a landscape here, and then made a final stop near the cottage along Shunda Creek and shot again.

By this time it was getting to be late afternoon so I just tidied up around the cottage, and then dug out the BBQ.  I made a nice steak for dinner... the first one I've had this year I think....  In the evening I watched some TV for a bit and then continued cleaning up.  I did the dishes and got stuff organized for an earlyish departure on Monday morning.

Apparitions Project - Old Shoes

I shot this image back in September of 2022 with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a 200mm lens.  This was in the interior of an old cobbler's shop, at the old museum.  I took quite a number of photographs at this location and I'm certain that some of them will be considered for the "Apparitions" exhibition and publishing project.  This particular one was also part of the recent batch of T-Max 100 developed in 510 Pyro.