The Beer Parlour Project - Grand Union Hotel

Margarit and I headed down to Crowsnest Pass on the afternoon of Friday September 15th.  We dropped off Helena at school in the morning, and then hit the road.  Hailey was going to pick up Helena from school later that afternoon.

We arrived in Blairmore at around 3:00 in the afternoon and met up with Chris and Connie.  We had reservations to stay at the historic Cosmopolitan Hotel and checked in shortly after we arrived.  The Cosmo, as it is affectionately known, recently changed hands.  The last time we were here, in the fall of 2022, the Cosmo was a happening place.  It was owned by a very friendly East Indian couple and they served great food in their restaurant.

This time around we never met the new owners.  Their prices had significantly increased, and their new staff was not very friendly, and a little disorganized.  The booking that I did on line charged me a very questionable service charge and the hotel staff refused to offer any help in dealing with it.  I am still fighting with the booking website for an explanation, and hopefully at least a partial refund.  The restaurant was not even open for breakfast and had a very limited menu.  And their tavern was a lot quieter than it had been a year prior under the previous management.  We were not able to make any plans to document this tavern as the new staff simply didn't seem very cooperative.

After checking in we headed down the highway to Coleman and headed for the Grand Union Hotel.  This would be the seventh location that we explored for the Beer Parlour Project and thus this one became BP7.0.  This hotel does not rent rooms by the night so it was not an option to stay here.  Rather the rooms are rented by the month, and only the tavern is open to the public.  We met the owner, Glory-Jo, and she was a fantastic host.  She had arranged for a historian friend of hers, Stephanie Laine Hamilton to meet with us.  Stephanie has a history degree from University and is very well versed in the background of the Crowsnest area.  She had recently published a book about the history of all the hotels and pubs in the area.  A project eerily similar to ours, but specifically focused on the Crowsnest Pass area.  Her project was more written history, while ours will be broader based on western Canada, and have more of a visual element.  She was thrilled to meet us as we were to meet her and we shared a lot of information.

Glory-Jo took us on a tour of the hotel and showed us all of the inner workings.  She even posed for some photographs.  She is planning to retire and has the establishment up for sale.  We understand that a deal is pending with a buyer that plans to restore and continue to operate it.  It seems a return visit is very likely.

Later in the evening a local band played for a while and we hung around, having a few drinks and listening to the two sets.  They were pretty decent and had a great set list of cover songs.  We stayed until shortly before 11:00 and then once the band had finished up we packed up all of our gear, said our goodbyes, and travelled back to Blairmore for the night.  

Service Station

Once again... more images taken on Ilford HP5 and developed in 510 Pyro Developer.  I processed this batch on Thursday September 7th.  I thought that some of my previous batches were a touch thin, so I increased the development time a little this time around.  I think somewhere in between is probably where I need to be, and the refining shall continue.  I took this shot down in Crowsnest Pass last fall.  This historically designated building was once called Arctic Gas.  I really liked the art deco look of the design and tried to capture that in this image.

It would have been nice to take a step back and take in a little more of that curved step in front of the door.  But, my tripod was right up against some parked vehicles so that was not really an option.

I took this shot on September 25th of 2022, at about 12:45 in the afternoon.  It was taken with my Ebony view camera and a Rodenstock 90mm lens.  As the front of the building was in shadow, I did not use any sort of filtration.

Flashback to Beer Parlour 3.0

From that same batch of Ilford HP5 4" x 5" sheet film, recently processed in 510 Pyro Developer, comes these two images.  These were taken during the third stop on the Beer Parlour tour in September of 2022.  These were taken at the Elk Valley Inn in Hosmer, British Columbia.

Margarit and I just returned from Crowsnest Pass.  We were down there this past weekend with our friends Chris and Connie and worked a couple of Beer Parlour Project locations.  While we were there we took a spin over to Hosmer to check in on Len at the Elk Valley Inn.  We were hoping to be able to document BP3.1.  Sadly the establishment was closed.  There was a handwritten note on the door stating that due to unforeseen circumstances they would be closed until further notice.  We will have to dig into this further and see if we can figure out what is going on.  Hopefully the next time we are down that way we can stop in again.  Hopefully everything is OK...!

510 Pyro and HP5

This combination of Ilford HP5+ film, developed in 510 Pyro developer, is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  HP5 used to be one of my least favorite films.  Perhaps because most of my early attempts yielded really flat and dull negatives.  Then I tried developing in 510 Pyro developer.  The results were a huge improvement, and I have started to refine this even further.

This is much the same situation that I experienced with Kodak T-Max 100 a few years back.  I gave up on that film several times, and kept circling back to it.  I never got results that I was really happy with until I tried it with 510 Pyro.

510 Pyro Developer was created by American Photographer Jay DeFehr.  I'm really grateful that he chose to share his success, and published the formula to make the developer.  I understand that the developer is now available commercially from a couple of suppliers, but I continue to make mine from scratch.  It consists of 5 grams of ascorbic acid, 10 grams of pyrogallol and 1/4 gram of phenidone, in a base of 100ml of triethanolamine.  It is a very economical developer, and is mixed 1:100 for use.  The shelf life of the stock solution is a couple of years.

This is a staining pyro developer that yields a brown stained negative.  The stain is a little different from that of the PMK developer, which is another formula that I also really like, and use extensively.  The stain is proportionate to the amount of exposed silver in the emulsion and does not add an overall density, but rather proportional density, resulting in increased contrast.  The stain also holds printable values even in extreme highlights, though they do have to be burned in during printing.  All in all a great discovery and I'm glad I have been able to make it work.

Here is a selection of images that resulted from this combination.  Some of these images have been posted here on my blog in the past, and others have not.  All were taken in 2022 and 2023 and are the result of experimentation with this film and developer.

August Game Camera Photos

I still haven't been able to master setting the proper date and time on my game camera.  Despite my best effort to do so, all of these shots show dates in January of 2015, and a time of day that is totally off base.  All of these images were captured in August of 2023.  I think I've figured out how to set the camera properly now, so going forward, this should not be an issue.

Just the usual collection of images of deer and fawns and the fox for the most part.  Although there has been a black bear wandering around the neighborhood and this time I captured him on the trail camera.  I also saw him in person a few days later, on August 31st.

Flashback to Beer Parlour 2.0

These images are from a recently developed batch of Ilford HP5 4" x 5" sheet film, processed in 510 Pyro Developer.  Isn't it funny the way this film and developer combination keeps coming to the forefront in recent months...?  I have posted copies of these images before, but those were shot on different films.

These are all from the second edition of the Beer Parlour Project, back in September of last year.  These images are of the Greenhill Hotel in Blairmore.  Coincidentally we will be making a return visit down to this area in the coming days, and hope to expand on this subject.  In fact by the time I get around to posting this on my blog, I may already be down in the Pass.

Scammed...?

I saw an ad on Instagram for a plush dog toy that is supposed to be indestructible.  The seller claims that they have never had anyone report the toy getting ripped apart.  There is supposed to be a replacement guarantee if your dog destroys it, so that you never have to buy another dog toy.  I suspect I've been scammed.  

I decided to invest the 25 bucks and buy one of these for Hank.  He has destroyed every dog toy that we have ever given him, though some have lasted longer than others.  Although the manufacturer claims this toy is for aggressive chewers, they have apparently not met Hank.

I checked the mail at lunch time on September 8th and the toy was there.  I gave it to Hank at almost exactly 12:00 noon.  Within a couple of hours he had the head pulled off.  In the middle of the night, at about 3:00AM, he was disturbing us on our bed.  We awoke to find that he was chewing the rope neck into a pile of yarn, had pulled most of the stuffing out of the body, and was starting to gnaw on the squeaker.  I sent an e-mail to the retailer later that morning to see if they are going to replace the toy.  I'm not sure that its really worth it because if Hank can destroy these in less than 24 hours, there is not a lot of point in continuing.  Unless the manufacturer wants to arrange to just automatically ship us a new one every other day....?  Somehow I doubt they will be willing....!

That crazy little mutt is sure destructive for a little terrier cross that only weighs about 20 Lbs....!

The supplier responded to my e-mail.  I was told that the product will be replaced for free under warranty, but that I have to pay the shipping.  I'm not sure if it's worth paying the shipping to give Hank a couple of hours of playtime....?  I advised the supplier that since the product lasted less than 24 hours, maybe they could send me the next six toys in one shipment, and I could pay just one shipping fee.  I'm waiting for a response.....

Their response was that they would be willing to send me two of the toys, but I would have to pay double the shipping fee.  The shipping fee $6.99 USD.  I can't see that this is really worth it, as Hank will just tear them apart again in a few hours.  The money is probably better spent on some beef bones or rawhide chews or something.....

The website is antarcking.com, and they claim that no one has ever reported one of their toys being ripped apart by a dog.  If that was true, and I'm skeptical of that, it no longer is.  They do honor their pledge to replace the toy, but the poor quality and the high shipping cost make this option a non starter.  I recommend against buying anything from these guys.

So, here we are, less than a week later, and Hank now has the toy totally destroyed.  I bought him a new toy three days ago, and he has already move on to that one, largely abandoning this donkey.  The new one seems to be made of some sort of tougher material and was only 17 bucks at Princess Auto.  He already has the tip chewed off that one too, and some of the stuffing pulled out.

In the meantime the seller of the original toy responded to me and is prepared to offer 10% refund on the original purchase price.  I suppose I will reluctantly take that, as anything at this point is better than nothing.  This is what is left of the toy now...

In the latest and final twist in this saga, the seller has now offered me a 15% refund, which I will accept.  They told me that I should pass the toy along to someone else so that their dog can enjoy it too...!  So if anyone would like a dog toy with just a few minor imperfections, please let me know...

Shunda Creek

Yet another image from the recent batch of Efke PL25M 4x5 sheet film developed in Rodinal.  This one is actually quite recent.  I shot this earlier this spring when Margarit's sister and cousin were visiting with us at Nordegg.  We went for a walk down to the cascades on Shunda Creek.

I rate this slow speed film at an iso speed of 10 or 12.  This provides long shutter speeds, even in broad daylight.  I wanted a long exposure for this shot to blur the cascades on the creek.

I shot this on May 25th 2023 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Schneider 210mm lens.  I added a polarizing filter to remove the surface reflections from the water and this had the added benefit of reducing light intensity and lengthening the exposure.  Th exposure was 16 seconds at F20.0

Super Smoky...!

When I left Nordegg on the morning of Labor Day Monday, conditions were the smokiest I had ever experienced.  Heavy smoke rolled in from the forest fires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.  You could not even see Eagle Peak, across the Highway from the subdivision.  Even Coliseum Mountain, on the flanks of which the subdivision is constructed, was shrouded by dense smoke.  This is certainly a terrible year for fires.

There is no doubt that the climate is changing and the warm, dry conditions in some areas of the country are contributing to the increase in fires.  But, a large number of fires are human caused.  And the population of the western provinces in Canada has doubled over the last couple of decades.  Access to the wilderness is much more readily available, and there are a lot more people out in the bush.  It only makes sense that with double the population and easier access, we should expect more than double the past number of fires.  Sad but true....

Divide and Conquer

On the afternoon of Saturday September 2nd, I stayed on the property and worked all day.  It is the Labor Day Long Weekend, and it is very busy out at Nordegg.  There is was a steady parade of cars and ATV's going back and forth on the road all day long.  Families were out at most of the cottages, and many of the short term rentals had guests.  Nordegg Days was going on in town, but I preferred to avoid the hoards and just put my nose down and went to work.

I spent most of the afternoon splitting firewood.  I worked my way through the middle of what is left of my big log pile, dividing it in two.  I split something like a dozen wheelbarrow loads of logs and stacked them all up on the pile over by the guest cottage.  I started this pile last fall, but never got around to finishing it.  I didn't finish it this time either, but it has more than doubled in size.  I hope to find a little time later in the season to split the two small piles of logs that remain.

I now have five moderate to large sized piles of split firewood at the property.  This is enough to last for three or four heating seasons.  Much of this wood is quite wet, and it needs to be split and dry for at least a year before it can be burnt.  I still have three piles of cut logs over by the guest cottage that need to be split.  Plus there is lots of deadfall and standing dead trees that have to be cut up as well.  It's lots of work, but essentially free heat in the winter months.

Earlier in the day I did a whole bunch of small projects in the guest cottage.  I cut up the chrome tile edge for the kitchen, and installed it on the walls above the kitchen cabinets.  There were a couple of spots where the plywood sheathing that I installed for tile backing is a little deflected.  So I put some filler on in these areas to level it out.  One of my upcoming projects is to install a tile backsplash.  I will be doing the same in the bathroom, but have to figure out our medicine cabinet first, so I set aside some chrome trim for later.  Then I cut in the remaining two cold air returns.  We need to allow air from the main floor to flow down into the crawlspace, so that it can be re-heated and re-circulated by the furnace.  There is no fresh air intake from outside on a forced air electric furnace.

Later still I applied more filler to some of the screw holes and joints in the subfloor.  And after that I installed a bunch more vinyl tiles in the dinette.  This was my sixteenth day out at Nordegg and I spent most of those working in the cottage.  I accomplished a lot on this trip, and look forward to returning soon, with some additional materials, to carry on.

Cracks and Bubbles

Another image from the recent batch of Efke PL25M developed in Rodinal.  This is more along the lines of what the tourists, or "bubblers" as the locals call them, come out to see in the ice of Abraham Lake.  Usually the wind is very brisk, which is what sweeps away the snow and keeps the bubbles visible.  On this day it was very mild and pleasant with only a light breeze.

I shot this one on March 12th 2023 at around 1:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Rodenstock 90mm lens.  A number 22 orange filter was used to increase contrast.  This filter is similar to a number 25 red, but the effect is a little more subdued.

Sun Glazed Ice

This image is also from the recent batch of Efke PL25M 4" x 5" sheet film, developed in Rodinal 1:50.  This shot was taken out on the ice at Abraham Lake.  I assure you that my camera was properly levelled on the tripod.  It is the ice that is sloped, as it slowly collapses through the winter months as the water in the reservoir is released.  I like the way that the surface of the ice became glazed by the sun, which really showed up nicely in this backlit composition.

Abraham Lake is very popular with tourists that come out to see the ice bubbles.  This image was taken rather late in the "Bubbling" season and the ice was not only collapsing, but was starting to accumulate a little sticky snow in places.

I shot this on March 12th 2023 at about 1:15 in the afternoon.  I used by Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  A red filter was added to separate the clouds from the sky, and to increase contrast.