Bubble Trails

My last post of 2025.  Onward to the new year.  May 2026 be better than the year we just finished...!!  This is one of my recently developed sheets of Kodak T-Max 100 4" x 5".  The film was rated at 80iso and developed in 510 Pyro, 1:100, for 8:00 minutes at 24C.  I ran this batch on December 15th.

I shot this back in November when Margarit and I went for a walk down to the little waterfall on Shunda Creek.  The air temperature was below freezing, and there was no sun.  The water was still open and flowing, with only a few little bits of ice starting to form at the edges.  The rapids on the upper right were generating a lot of bubbles but with the cold temperature, none were bursting and they accumulated in this pool below the rapids.  They were doing this slow rhythmic dance with the current and I wanted to show this in my photo.  I put a #25 Red filter on my camera to increase contrast and create some separation between the dark water and the white bubbles.  It also served as a neutral density filter and allowed for this long exposure.

I shot this image on November 7th at about 1:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a slightly wide 125mm lens, fitted with that #25 Red Filter.

The exposure was for 30 seconds at F20.0.

Shoreline Trees

This is a recently processed older photograph.  On December 23rd I processed a batch of 4" x 5" T-Max 100 film in 510 Pyro.  Development was at 1:100, for 8:00 minutes, at 24C.  

I shot these trees along the shore of Abraham Lake last spring.  When I was back at this same spot in the fall, the water level was right up into the trees.  I still marvel at how much the level of the reservoir fluctuates from spring to fall.

I shot this on April 20th 2025 at about 1:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and an old, almost antique Fujinon 150mm lens.  The film was rated at 80 iso and a #25 Red Filter added some contrast.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F20.0.

Ice Detail

This is a much more recent photograph.  This is part of the recently processed batch of Kodak T-Max 100.  I ran this batch on December 15th.  I actually ran about five batches of film over the holidays.  This was while I was laid up with sciatica, and the fresh incision in my leg.  The film was rated at 80iso and given normal development in 510 Pyro, 1:100, for 8:00 minutes at 24c.

This is a detail shot of the ice at the shoreline of Abraham Lake.  This was taken on December 4th at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  I was at Preachers Point, where the lake had begun to freeze.  The rest of the lake still remained open, though with the recent cold weather much of it has probably since frozen.

The dark area at the lower right is a little bit of open water right at the shore.  The dark area at the upper left is smooth ice.  In between there is an area of significant methane bubbles.  The level of the reservoir continually drops over the winter and this results in broken slabs of ice, and sometimes a little open water right at the edges.

I shot this with my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a long 300mm lens.  A #25 Red filter lowered the value of the ice and water and made the bubbles stand out a little more.  The exposure was for 1 second at F29.0.

BP11.0 - Warspite Hotel

Here's another old shot, also from the batch of recently processed film.  This is Kodak T-Max 100, processed in 510 Pyro, 1:100.  The film was rated at 80 iso and development was for 8:00 minutes at 24C.

This is the Warspite Hotel from Beer Parlour Project outing number BP11.0.  That is my colleague Chris standing in front of the hotel, chatting with a patron in the pickup.  When we visited, the hotel had just recently reopened, after been closed for an extended period.  The town was very grateful and supportive of new owner Sunny and his family.  We heard that shortly after our visit the hotel was sold.

I took this shot on April 12th 2024 at about 7:45 in the evening.  It was taken with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F8.0.

BP10.0 - Chipman Hotel

These are a couple of recently processed sheets of film from a Beer Parlour Project outing in early 2024.  I am slowly getting around to my backlog of undeveloped film.  Both of these were shot on Kodak T-Max 100, rated at 80 iso, and processed in 510 Pyro developer, 1:100, for 8:00 minutes at 24C.

The first image was of the hotel shortly after our arrival.  It was a very mild winter day and the streets were wet with melting snow.  It was this high level of humidity that resulted in some heavy fog, later in the evening, as it cooled off.  I took this photograph on February 2nd 2024, at about 4:20 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a slightly wide Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F20.0.

The second shot was taken later that evening.  February 2nd 2024, at about 8:40 in the evening.  By this time the fog had rolled in, and it is evident in the background of this night shot.  I used the same camera for, but this time with a much wider Nikkor 75mm lens.  The exposure was for 1 minute at F14.0.

Christmas 2025

Well....  Christmas Day ended up pretty low key for us.  We just hung out at home with our immediate family.  It was me, Margarit, Hailey, Ryan, Helena, Braeden and Hank.  We slept in until about 10:00AM and then had our gift opening.  Later in the afternoon we put together another big Christmas Dinner.  This time the turkey was about half the size of the one me made a few days prior.  But we also had a baked ham.  In addition to all the meat, there was the usual side dishes... stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables.  After dinner every one was too full to move.  We just hung out together, visiting for a while, and then some of us... mostly the older crowd... went to bed early.

On Boxing Day we slept in for a bit and then I made a big breakfast.  Bacon, sausages, eggs, biscuits, and Ryan made a batch of pancakes.  It was pretty low key.

It has certainly been a white Christmas this year, at least here in Edmonton.  Out at Nordegg they've only seen a light dusting of snow since I was last out there.  In the city we got walloped with a heavy dump of snow on Christmas Eve, that carried into Christmas Day.  Then on the afternoon of Boxing Day, it started up again.  It has been fairly cold, and for about the last week to ten days the temperature has consistently been around -20 during the day, and colder at night.  We are supposed to get some milder weather as December winds down and we move into the New Year.

Chain and Sprockets

I've always been drawn to old threshing machines.  The intricate and exposed mechanics of these old behemoths is fascinating, both visually, and for they way that the functioned.  I've photographed them many times in the past, with limited success.

This is a recently processed sheet of Kodak T-Max 100, rated at 80iso and developed in 510 Pyro.  Development was at 1:100 dilution, for 8:00 minutes, at 24C.  I shot this restored thresher in the exhibit hall at the Reynolds Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin.  This was taken on June 9th of 2024, at about 1:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE, and a Fujinon 250mm lens.  The exposure was for 30 seconds at F11.0.

Oh Christmas Tree

On December 20th we had our first Christmas dinner of the season.  This would be our dinner with Margarit's side of the family.  Shawn and Lisa came, as did my nephew Garrett.  Sadly his sister Bethany and her partner Cody were unable to make it.  We had a huge roast turkey, that had been in the oven all day.  With it we had all the usual fixings.... stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and salad.  It was a good feed, and we really enjoyed the visit.

During the evening Margarit upheld her old family tradition and lit a bunch of candles on our Christmas tree.  These are not electric lights, but actual burning candles.  Of course we stayed right beside the tree and paid very close attention to all the candles.  They are only left to burn for a short time and then are extinguished and put away for next season.  It looks pretty amazing I must say, even though it always makes me a little nervous.

Fuel Truck

We've been stuck in a cold snap the last week or so.  Plus I'm not feeling great... suffering with a bout of sciatica, and the incision in my leg is still healing.  So, in advance of Christmas, I have been spending a bunch of time in the darkroom, developing my backlog of film.

This one was just recently developed, but the exposure dates back to the summer of 2024.  Arturo and I were out exploring and stopped at the Reynolds Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin.  We were more interested in the old stuff outside, than we were in the restored stuff in the museum itself.

This old White Fuel truck sat parked outside with a bunch of other oldies, waiting its' turn for restoration.  I'm not sure if that day will ever come.

I shot this image on a sheet of Kodak T-Max 100, rated at 80iso, and processed in 510 Pyro Developer, 1:100, for 8:00 minutes at 24C.  I shot this on June 9th of 2024, at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Rodenstock 90mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F20.0.

Frankenstein

I waited five days after my surgery, and then removed the dressing on my leg.  But, in pulling the bandages off, the incision started bleeding again.  I immediately put a new dressing on and left it for a couple more days.  Then recently, Hailey got her car stuck in the snow and I was the only one available to help push her out.  When I did that, the incision started bleeding yet again.  So I put yet another dressing on, and left it alone for a couple more days.  It is now ten days since the surgery, so I removed the dressing.  It seems to be healing up well enough, and I was able to clean it up a little.  I am now leaving the dressing off, so that it gets some air and the incision can heal.

All in all, the surgery went really well.  I had six screws and a metal plate taken out of my leg.  This hardware was installed back in January of 2025 and the original injury, a broken fibula, has now fully healed.  The hardware was bothering me, particularly if had on tight footwear like skates or hiking boots, so I elected to have it removed.  

There are 15 staples in my leg that are fairly uncomfortable, but other than that, there really isn't much pain.  I am bothered more by the sciatica that has inflicted me since early December.  I can't wait until I can fully recover from both of these.  The staples will be removed on December 29th and I expect to be able to play hockey shortly after that.  As for the sciatica... who knows.  I understand that it generally lasts for four to six weeks, and I'm about three weeks in.

Ice Bubbles

I shot this one a couple of weeks ago, and just developed the film this week.  This is a sheet of Kodak T-Max 100 4" x 5", rated at 80 iso and given normal development in 510 Pyro.  Development was for 8:00 minutes at 24C.

Last time I was out at Nordegg I took a drive up to Abraham Lake.  Most of the lake still had open water at that time, but ice was starting to form at the upper end, by Preachers Point.  Although we had a bunch of snow at Nordegg, what little fell up by Preachers Point was mostly swept away by the wind.  It was a beautiful mild day and the breeze was light.  I managed to set up my view camera and take a few photographs, including this one.

I shot this on December 4th at about 1:20 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide Fujinon 125mm lens.  A #25 Red filter deepened the value of the sky, and made the snowy peaks stand out.  It also darkened the ice and made the bubbles a little more obvious.  The exposure was for 1 second at F20.0.

The Card Game - BP34.0

My daughter Ryan, and her boyfriend Braeden, playing cards at the Andrew Hotel.  We were there for the Beer Parlour Project outing BP34.0 on August 15th.  This was the day that the reporter from CTV news was also out to film the event.  I just recently processed this sheet of Kodak T-Max 400 film.  Development was in Kodak T-Max Developer, 1:4, for 8:35 minutes at 24C.  I shot this image on August 15th at about 7:30 in the evening.  I used my Ebony view camera and a 150mm lens.  I neglected to record the exposure data but based on other images taken at the same event my guess would be this was an exposure of about 1/2 second at something around F8.0.  The film was rated at 1250 iso.

Shunda Falls

Here's a new one.  I just developed a batch of Kodak T-Max 100 sheet film.  This was 20 sheets of 4" x 5" run in 510 Pyro Developer, 1:100, for 8:00 minutes at 24C.  This particular shot was taken recently, when Margarit and I went for a walk down along Shunda Creek, during our recent stay at Nordegg.  We enjoyed a week out at the cottage together in early November.  On a few of the days it was really mild, with temperatures well above zero.  But other days were colder, and at night the temperature dropped of significantly.  As a result, ice was starting to form on a lot of surfaces in and around open water. 

This shot was taken on November 7th 2025 at about 1:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a long 300mm lens.  The camera is an Ebony SV45Ti, and I bought it used from my friend Rob, when he gave up photography.  I have two others, an Ebony SV45TE, and an Ebony SV45TU.  I leave the Ti out at the cottage in Nordegg so I don't have to haul a camera back and forth all the time.  The exposure for this one was 4 seconds at F22.0.  This resulted in a nice silky appearance to the small waterfall, and some nice bubble trails in the creek below.

Under the Knife

On December 11th I went in to the UofA Hospital in Edmonton for surgery.  This relates to the surgery I had almost a year ago... last January... to repair my broken leg.  Recently I consulted with my surgeon and elected to have all the hardware removed from my leg.  This includes a metal plate and six screws.  The fibula is healed just fine, but the hardware bothers me when I wear skates or boots.  So... on December 11th I went under the knife.  Before putting me under anesthetic they gave me a marker and told me to write the word "YES" on the leg that required surgery.  That didn't really instill a whole lot of confidence...?! 

I was given a spinal block so that my entire lower body lost feeling, but other than that I was wide awake during the whole procedure.  It is a very strange feeling.  It felt as though my knees were up in the air and my heels were digging in to the mattress of the operating table.  But when I looked, my legs were laying flat and pointing in a different direction.  I even got some phantom cramping in my thighs, from the feeling that my knees were up.

When I got out of surgery I was taken to a recovery room for the spinal block to wear off.  That took a few hours, but eventually it happened.  The nurses were a little concerned because during the recovery my resting heart rate dropped to under 40 beats per minute.  I have been monitored ever since and it seems it was just my body's reaction to the anesthetic.  Since then everything has returned to as normal as I get.

Since the surgery I just have to play the waiting game and let the incision heal.  I didn't have any significant pain and haven't bothered to take any of the medication that was prescribed to me.  They put about a dozen staples in my leg, which are pretty uncomfortable, but not really that big a deal.  I am scheduled to have them removed on December 29th, after which I should be able to return to regular activity... including hockey.

This is why I come here....!

I live slightly over half the time at my home in Edmonton.  The rest of the time I'm out here at Nordegg.  In addition to the peace and quiet, and the wilderness at my back door, this is why I come here...!!!