December Calendar Image

This is the image that I used on the December page of my 2021 calendar.  Its the interior of an old abandoned farmhouse, northeast of Edmonton.  I now have to get busy and get my image selection completed for the 2022 calendar.  Must get that off to the printers so that I can have it ready by early January.

I don't like Mondays

Actually I do... now...!  I used to hate Monday's because it meant the end of my weekend and a return to work.  But now that I'm retired, every day is like a Saturday...!  I actually like Monday's a lot because most of the world goes to work or to school and it's quieter wherever I go... particularly Nordegg.  I was just referencing the old song by the Boomtown Rats, as I thought it was a fitting title for this post.

There is hardly anyone else around the subdivision in Nordegg on this Monday November 29th.  Even the trades are not really working on the other cottages.  Maybe its because its Cyber Monday, and the hangover of Black Friday is still lingering...?

I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't sleep any longer.  I laid in bed for a while then got up around 6:30.  It was clear overnight and the temperature dropped to -5C by morning.  I went over to the guest cottage to light the fire and it was still +5 inside from the fire the night before.  I carried on with finishing of my aspen paneling.  Some of the wood is just gorgeous.  Most of it is very white in color, which is why I selected aspen.  The guest cottage is small, with not a lot of windows, so I didn't want it to be too dark and gloomy.  The heartwood and the knots are a beautiful reddish color and some of the wood shows a beautiful ribbon like grain.  I will attempt to install some of the nicest pieces in prominent locations so that it is highly visible.  I got most of the lacquer application done by mid-morning, and then shifted to another project.

I installed an extra security camera on the system in our cottage.  Rather than put a separate system in the guest cottage, I just added a camera so we can view the other building with our exiting system.  I'm not very good with electronics and always seem to have trouble with it.  But, I got everything working without issue.  I may still have to go and align the camera a little better, but for now it is just fine.

Rented Mule

I feel like a rented mule tonight.  I worked myself really hard today, and my old carcass is telling me I had enough.  Nothing overly physical... but just a long day.  Stretching across a rack of boards to sand and apply lacquer.  And reaching up to the ceiling to fit boards into place and attach them with a brad nailer.

On Sunday November 28th I slept in a bit.  It was a warm night overnight and the temperature stayed a couple of degrees above freezing.  I think it was about 11:00AM before I got over to the guest cottage and got started on work.  I got a fire going and there wasn't much chill to get out of the cottage.

The past couple of days I managed to get 16 of the aspen boards finished with four coats of lacquer, per day.  This was a seal coat on the back side, and three coats on the exposed side.  Today, despite the late start, I got 24 boards completely finished, and eight more started with two coats.  I also finished installing boards to the ceiling of the east bedroom, and got most of one wall finished.

It was after 8:00 in the evening by the time I finished.  Needless to say the sun was long down, and it was dark.  It is a bit of a challenge to work in the guest cottage after dark as I only have one extension cord.  This has to power the light, the saw, the compressor, and today, I had the tunes playing.  But they all don't run at once, so the breaker never popped.  I only have one little work light, and once it gets really dark it is a challenge to see properly.

I had leftover roast beef and mashed potatoes for supper.  So this made working late a little easier.  I only had to warm up my evening meal, and not cook anything from scratch.

These snapshots of the progress were taken with my cell phone, and the lousy flash that it has.  Maybe in the next day or two I'll take a couple of photos in daylight to better show the work in progress.

Paneling Installation

In late September I got a phone call from the lumber mill that was going to be making my aspen paneling for me.  I was informed that they were on schedule, and my paneling would be ready in October as promised.  My project was behind schedule, due to delays in availability of other materials.  I had kind of been hoping that they would also be running behind schedule milling the paneling.... but they were not.

It seemed as though paneling was a long way off and I had to figure out something to do with it.  I eventually made arrangements to pick up the material, and store it until spring.  Low and behold here it is not even the end of November, and the installation of the paneling is underway.  It has surprised even me.

With the recent push on getting the guest cottage winterized I'm now able to work inside.  During this most recent trip out to Nordegg, I brought 75 lengths of paneling with me, and started on finishing and installation.  The finishing is going a little slower than expected because the water-based lacquer I'm using takes a lot longer to dry than I expected.  But over the course of two days working in the cottage I got 32 lengths of paneling finished, and 14 installed.

I got up on Saturday morning, November 27th, and headed over to the guest cottage to get a fire going.  It was about 9:00 at that point, and I let the fire burn for a while to warm the place up, while I had breakfast.  I ventured over after breakfast and got started.  Although it was -8 overnight, it stayed just around freezing in the guest cottage, and once the fire had been going for a while it warmed up to 10, and eventually 15.  I was able to work inside all day without a jacket... just coveralls and a hoodie.

My neighbor Rob came over to check on my progress and we visited for a little while, but other than that I worked all day until after dark.  That sounds like a long day, but I can't get started until around 10:00AM and by 5:00 its dark and I'm shutting things down.  

As the sun was going down, and I had to plug in the worklight, as I finished up the last of what I was doing.  I got the 14th board installed on the ceiling in the east bedroom, and got the fourth and final coat of lacquer on the second set of boards.

As I stumbled around in the dark putting things away I realized that Black Friday has come and gone and I didn't even get a chance to go to the mall...!  Somehow I didn't miss it... and as the day comes to an end I'm tired and sore from the work, and from my fall yesterday, but I have a great sense of accomplishment.  I put a beef roast in the oven at about 5:30... well after it got dark... and will have a late supper.

I plan on staying out and continuing to work for the next few days.  If the weather remains really mild and pleasant, as it has been, I may take a break for one day and go out for a drive with my camera.  Today was not as mild as the past couple of days, but it still got up to around +4c.  It is supposed to be a little milder the next couple of days.

Back to Work

On Thursday November 25th I headed back out to the cottage.  I got a bit of a late start as there were a bunch of things to look after in the morning.  I picked up a load of 75 boards of the aspen paneling that I had previously purchased and stored.  I wrapped these in a tarp for the trip out to the cottage.  I also had to drive Margarit to pick up her vehicle, which was in for service.  It was about 1:00 in the afternoon before I finally hit the road.

The late start was probably a good thing as we had freezing rain over night.  Everything was coated with a layer of about an eighth of an inch of ice.  It would have been easier to get around on skates, than shoes.  I understand that there were nearly 60 collisions in the city that morning.  I saw four of them just in our part of the city, as I ran my errands.  I had my truck in four wheel drive, with the engine brake turned on, and was just carefully driving.  I had no issues.  I understand that there were nearly 30 calls for ambulance services by pedestrians that fell on the ice and got hurt.

By the time I left the city the temperature had got up to about +3 and the roads were just wet and sloppy and no longer icy.  I saw lots of cars and trucks in the ditch as I headed out of the city.  There was a big accident on Highway 2 north of Ponoka.  The RCMP had the northbound lanes of the Highway closed and were detouring traffic on Highway 2A.  One big semi-truck jack-knifed on the ice and two other big trucks piled into it.  One of the drivers was killed.  I drove by the scene on my way out to the cottage and one of the 50 trailers was spilt right in half with its cargo strewn all over the highway.  By this time the southbound lanes of the highway were clear and dry and I had no issues getting out to the cottage.

I arrived just as the sun was dropping towards the western horizon.  The days are very short at this time of year and the sun sets at around 4:45PM.  But it was very warm, and the temperature peaked at about +10C.  I managed to get all 75 pieces of paneling off loaded from my truck and stacked up in the guest cottage, finishing just after dark.

Friday wasn't quite as nice a day, and was mostly overcast.  It still got up to about +8C, and the wind was not as strong.  I got a fire going in the guest cottage to take the chill out, and set to work about 10:30AM once it had warmed up.  The sun doesn't even break over Eagle Peak in the east until nearly 9:30AM, so it takes a while for things to warm up.

I brought along one of the five gallon pails of water based lacquer that I bought, and set to work finishing the paneling.  I gave one coat to the back side to seal the wood, and three coats to the exposed surface.  This stuff takes a long time to dry... a lot longer than the solvent based lacquer that I previously used.  That stuff would dry in minutes.  But its far to volatile and flammable to use at this time of year, with a fire going for heat.  I only have room to lay out eight boards at a time.  But I managed to get two sets of eight fully finished, before the day was done.  

There is no entrance step into the cottage yet as the backfilling is not complete.  I have been using a step ladder to get in and out of the building.  At one point I slipped as I was stepping from the ladder into the door.  My shin came down hard on the edge of the aluminum threshold, and my knee, elbows and hands crashed to the floor inside.  As I lay there in pain I thought to myself... I'm out here alone, and if I've broken a leg or something, I'm really screwed.  But nothing was broken.  Just a bunch of bruises and a big cut on my shin.  I walked it off and carried on.

I stoked up the wood stove when I left for the evening and let it burn itself out overnight.  The next morning at 9:00 when I went over to start the fire and check on things, it had only dropped down to zero in the cottage, despite being -8C outside.  Once the place warms up, I'll get back over there again and get back to work.

Two Weeks Apart

Back on November 15th we got a snowfall in Nordegg.  I posted a panoramic shot on my blog that showed the fresh snow around our cottage.  Today, on November 28th, we have been blessed with a few days of mild weather, and what was left of that snow is now almost gone.  We have had high temperatures up into double digits in recent days, but mostly it was overcast.  Today it made it up to about +7, and as I write this, at 11:00PM, it is still +1.  Once again, it was overcast, but what was left of the snow really melted off.  I took a panoramic shot with my phone this afternoon, from more or less the same spot that I did two weeks ago.  The difference is remarkable....!  I like winter, but its a little too long in this neck of the woods.  The longer it stays away, the better.

Forgotten Chair

This is another image taken on Foma Retropan Soft 320 and developed in Microphen.  When Arturo and I were out exploring last summer, we found this abandoned community hall.  All of the walls were totally covered with graffiti.  It was very colorful, so I also took a shot on color film.  I haven't got around to processing that one yet.  But I think it looks OK in black and white too...

The Bulge

The day after I completed the batch of FP4, I decided to process a second batch of film.  This was a batch of 4x5 sheet film... Foma Retropan 320 Soft.  This is kind of an old school emulsion that gives a soft, dreamy sort of look.  I try to enhance that somewhat by developing it in Microphen.  This developer dramatically increases the grain in the film, and in my mind helps to soften the image even further.  I don't use this film a lot, but from time to time I shoot something with it.  I've accumulated a batch of 20 sheets that need processing, dating back to 2017.

This is the first one from that batch.  It is some bulged and water stained plaster in an old abandoned building.  I thought the soft look might add to the nostalgic feel of the image.  Not sure if it helped..?

Sandspit

This image was taken about six or eight weeks prior to my previously posted Mistaya image, in May of 2020.  Obviously the mountain runoff had not yet started and water levels are very low.  This is Abraham Lake, near Windy Point.  The reservoir is filled to capacity by fall, and water is slowly released over the winter.  This image was also taken on FP4 film, and developed in the same batch of Perceptol.  It suffered from the staining issue like all the others.   

Mistaya

These past few days I processed a couple of batches of 4x5 sheet film.  The first was yet another batch of Ilford FP4 in Perceptol developer.  This time around I reduced the development time a little and used stock strength, rather than diluting it 1:1 with water.  The result was the same, and if anything perhaps slightly worse... more blue/purple staining.  This will be my last attempt at using Perceptol and I will move on to something else.  Hopefully the images are not ruined and I can print through the stain.  The stain doesn't really show up in the scans, so I'm hopeful they won't in the prints either.

This shot of the Mistaya River in Mistaya Canyon in Banff National Park brings back some memories.  I was photographing there with my friend Rob in June of 2020.  Water levels were very high everywhere as the mountain runoff was in full swing.  At this spot I was right beside the rushing torrent of the river.  The water was shooting over this rock ledge at tremendous speed... like cars zipping by on the highway.  Anyone or anything that fell into the water would have been shot down into the canyon with great force and pulverized to bits.  A still image really doesn't do justice to the force of nature that was evident on this day.

Ice Bloom

On November 22nd it was forecast to be sunny and get up to +7C.  Well, the clouds rolled in late in the morning, and the temperature only made it up to +3C., so the forecast didn't hold true.  But, it seemed not too bad, so I headed down to the river valley to try and capture the annual Ice Bloom on film.  There was a wind blowing through the valley, and high humidity down near the open water.  As soon as I stepped away from the cover of the shore, and out onto the pedestrian bridge, it suddenly felt a LOT colder.  This time around I attempted to photograph at the footbridge down at Hawrelak Park.  

In the past my best photos of the ice bloom have been long time exposures.  The lily pads of ice float along at a pretty good clip.  During a long exposure they become a streaky raceway of white lines against the dark water.  It's particularly interesting when there are some gravel bars to shift the current from side to side.  You never know exactly what you're going to get until to you process the film.

It's challenging to shoot on the bridges because the railings are so high.  You have get the tripod really elevated and then it is difficult to see the ground glass and compose properly.  I attempted two setups, and took a couple of shots of each.  Hopefully something turns out.  

Damn that duck must have been cold....!!  There were actually three of them paddling around among the ice lily pads.

Moonlit Snow

I can't believe how bright it was at night, out at Nordegg.  There was a clear sky, and a full moon, and fresh snow.  When I got up in the middle of the night to feed some logs to the fire, it seemed like it was early morning, and the sun was about to rise.  But it was the bright full moon reflecting off the newly fallen snow.  My phone was even able to capture it... to a degree...

FP4 in Perceptol and Purple Stains

I've been having a lot of challenges with Ilford Perceptol developer.  Mostly I've used this developer with Ilford FP4 film.  I have also been using it with Bergger Panchro 400 and Rollei RPX-25.  The developer does not completely wash the anti-halation dye out of the film.  As a result there is a purple/blue stain left on the negative.  It varies from sheet to sheet within the same batch.  Sometimes it is very light and almost non-existent, while other times it is very distinct and obvious.  I'm hoping that for the most part I can print through this, and salvage the negatives.  But sometimes the stain is uneven, so this may not always be the case.

The problem is consistent through various manufacturing batches of the film.  As the problem is also evident in other films from other manufacturer's, it is obvious the issue is with the developer.

I've tried all sorts of things to attempt to narrow down the problem.  I tried processing the film without a water pre-soak, as Ilford recommends this.  That made no difference.  I was doing some reading online and it seems that others have had similar issues.  Someone suggested an afterbath [following fixing] in Dektol developer.  This is a very strong and robust developer and the theory was that it would wash out the stain.  It did not.  I normally use Perceptol diluted 1:1... so I tried a batch with stock solution and reduced development time.  This also made no difference.  My friend Arturo suggested trying some film that had never been frozen.  I generally keep all of my film in the freezer until I load it in film holders.  I bought a fresh box of film, loaded some, took some photographs with it, and processed the film.  There was little to no visible stain in any of the film that had not been frozen.  It seems that is the answer...!

But, this doesn't solve my problem.  I have hundreds of sheets of film in my freezer that I would like to use.  I can no longer consider using this with Perceptol developer, despite the fact that I very much like the soft look of the results.  I guess I'll have to buy a couple of boxes of FP4 and keep it unfrozen, for use with Perceptol.  The rest of my film I will need to use with some other developer.  Arturo suggested Rodinal would be a good choice as he is very happy with that combination.  That will be my next experiment.

The snapshot below is one of the sheets that showed the greatest amount of stain.  They weren't all this bad.  And when the film is wet, and catches some surface reflection, as this one is, the stain is much more evident.  But even after washing the film and drying it, the stain is still there.  I wash my film by soaking for 24 hours with at least ten water changes, after two rinses and a bath in Hypo Clearing Agent.  I rinse the film with distilled water before drying in a cabinet.

November Snow

I woke up on Monday November 15th to snow.  Not a lot, but there was about half an inch on the ground, and it snowed lightly through most of the day.  By the time it got dark there was about an inch.  The forecast had called for it to get up to +6, but it never made it above freezing.  Between that and the cold wind out of the northeast, there was no melting taking place.  This time it feels like winter might be here to stay.  There is more snow in the forecast so I will have to decide when I want to head back home to the city.

Despite the poor weather and crappy road conditions, my plumber Leonard and his helper made it out to Nordegg.  They roughed in the plumbing vents for me, so now I can carry on with insulation and vapor barrier.

The next big stumbling block is the siding.  I need that on so that I can cut through all the exterior wall penetrations... intakes, exhaust vents, electrical receptacles, lights and the power supply.  The sooner I can get to that the better.  Once this is done, then there is nothing stopping me from finishing all the inside walls and ceilings.  In the short term I can start on the high ceiling and some of the bedroom walls.  So I am not at a standstill and have lots of work to keep me busy.  But I am kind of anxious to get the meter base mounted and the power supply run into the building.  Then I can energize some of the circuits and not have to keep stringing an extension cord.  Beggars can't be choosers....!!!  A few weeks ago it was looking like I wouldn't be able to get the guest cottage closed in for winter.  Now I am done to the point that I can work inside in relative comfort, even though some things are a little limited.

This is a panoramic snap shot I took this afternoon with my phone.  The guest cottage is barely visible, through the trees on the left side, behind the firepit and the adirondack chairs.

It seems it has wintered in.  There was even more snow on Monday night into Tuesday morning, and we ended up with about 2 to 3 inches.  The skies cleared late Tuesday afternoon and it is forecast to get very cold over night.  I've decided I will head back to the city on Wednesday morning.  Hopefully the roads are in a little better shape by then.  The forecast is calling for below freezing temperatures for the next week, so it seems likely this snow will stay.

Beaverdam

Once I got rid of my load of garbage at the dump on Sunday, I decided to go and check out the area around Beaverdam.  This is a small lake, at the toe of Coliseum Mountain, that is formed by the widening of Shunda Creek.  I always thought there was sort of a natural rock dam here that had created the lake, and I think there is... But, this time as I wandered around there was an actual beaverdam at the outlet of the lake.

There was also a cross in the opposite bank of the creek, just below the outlet.  It looks like a memorial of some sort, but I couldn't see any markings on it...

I set up the big camera at the lake a couple of times and made some photographs.  Although the temperature had risen since earlier in the morning, and the sun was burning through the clouds a little, it was quite open along the shore of the lake.  The wind was rather brisk out of the west and it was somewhat chilly.  But, it is mid November after all, and many times at this time of year it is much colder than it was today.  I was grateful for the mild fall we have experienced this year.  Not only does it allow me to continue getting out with my camera in relatively pleasant conditions, but it also allowed me to get the guest cottage closed in and ready for winter work.

I will remain out at Nordegg for a couple more days and continue working in the guest cottage.  There is some electrical that I can start to rough in down in the crawl space.  And I can also prepare for installation of the aspen paneling.