Back to the Darkroom

On September 9th I spent the entire day in the darkroom printing.  I had a number of things that I needed to print, and it took me all day.  I think I made something like 23 prints, of various sizes, from six different negatives.  There were two, that were from Beer Parlour Project outings and were requested by subjects.  One was a shot of a couple that visited the Edgerton Hotel while we were there.  A second was from the same hotel outing, from a guy that actually lives in Calgary.  His name is Trevor, and he later visited us during our Beer Parlour Project outing in Cochrane.

A lady called me the other day and saw one of my prints at the Beehive Market in Nordegg.  She wants to buy it for her husband as a gift, but couldn't purchase it there because he was present.  The three others were large 16x20 prints that I wanted to see printed for consideration in Apparitions.  Ultimately I only elected to include one of the three.

Through September 10th the prints were all in the wash.  On the morning of the 11th I pulled all of them and left them to dry as we hit the road yet again.  This time around Margarit and I are taking Helena down to East Coulee for a couple of days.

Flooded Birch

I took this photograph back in July when Margarit and I were returning to the city from a day trip.  I was fascinated at the contrast of the dead birch trunks that had been drowned in this beaver pond.  This was taken in Elk Island National Park.

I added this sheet to a batch of film that I was processing, the day after taking the shot.  This is a scan of a 4" x 5" sheet of Ilford FP4+ film, rated at 160 iso and given N+1 Development in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  This development expands contrast by one stop.  The sky was rather blank due to smoky conditions from forest fires in British Columbia.  But I hoped that the extra development would make the birch trunks stand out against the darker background.  I also added a #25 Red Filter to further pump up the contrast.

I took this photograph on July 24th of 2026 at about 5:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 250mm lnes.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F29.0.

 

 

BP42.0 - Czar Hotel - Glenn

This is another portrait from the Beer Parlour Project visit to the Czar Hotel.  This one is cropped a little from the full frame Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 4"x5" negative.  This is Glenn, one of a group of locals that was out enjoying Steak Night in Bella's Bar.

This was our BP42.0 outing on April 10th of 2026.  I took this portrait at about 8:30 in the evening.  I shot it with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  The film was rated at 1600 iso and given extended development in highly dilute HC-110 developer.  The stock solution was diluted 1:100, and development was for 2-1/2 hours.  Only minimal agitation was given, every 30 minutes.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F8.0.

 

Hat and Bed

This is a recent photograph.  I shot this back in July when Margarit and I were out on a quick day trip.  I knew of this old residence in a small town east of Edmonton.  Somehow I neglected to shoot the hat the last time I visited.  To my delight the hat was still there...!  This is a tiny little two room residence that probably never had running water.  Pretty much just a stove, a bed and a small sitting area.

This is a scan of a 4"x5" sheet of Ilford FP4+ 125.  I rated the film at 160 iso and gave expanded development to increase contrast by one stop.  This N+1 development was in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution B, for 14:20 minutes at 20C.  I added this sheet to a batch of older stuff that I was running, the day after our day trip.

I took this photograph on July 24th of this year, at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F20.0.

 

 

 

BP42.0 - Czar Hotel - Val

This is a scan of a recently processed 4"x5" negative.  On August 27th I ran a batch of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  I rated the film at 1600 iso, and gave extended development in highly dilute developer.  This was Kodak HC-110 developer, diluted 1:100.  The film was developed for 2-1/2 hours, with brief agitation every 30 minutes.  This technique supports the lower values, without blowing out the highlights.

This portrait is of Val, the owner of Bella's Bar in the Czar Hotel, in Czar, Alberta.  The Beer Parlour Project team visited this establishment last spring.  There was a write up in the Wainwright newspaper about our visit, and that article can be found on our Beer Parlour Project website.  Val hosted her steak night on the evening of our visit, and the place was packed.  We all had the steak that night, and it was very good.

I took this photograph on April 10th 2026 at about 8:40 in the evening.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 210mm lens.  The exposure was for 1 second at F8.0.

 

 

Condor Corner

On Friday September 4th I had to travel from Nordegg to Red Deer to attend the opening reception of the Coal in Alberta show.  Five members of the Monochrome Guild put together this exhibition a number of years ago, and this is the third gallery on it's ongoing tour.  The prints will be on display until Thanksgiving.  Arturo, Court, Nigel, Fred and myself are involved in this one.

I brought my view camera along with me on the drive as I wanted to stop and photograph this old abandoned store.  This is on highway 11, at the turnoff to the hamlet of Condor.  I'm not sure exactly what it was... probably a country store, maybe with a service station.  Although, there is a newer service station next door to it, now empty and for sale.  I'm betting that this one won't be standing much longer so I took advantage of the opportunity and shot it with both my view camera... and my phone...

 

It's a rather somber day as I prepare this post.  Today is September 11th, and the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  It seems like just a couple of years ago... but my kids weren't even born then, and Margarit and I were newlyweds.  A lot of things have changed, but sadly a lot of things in world politics are still the same... 

September Image - 2026 David Thompson Country Calendar

This is the image that I selected for the September page of my 2026 David Thompson Country calendar.  I also used this one on the August page of my Fine Art Monochrome calendar, so it appeared here on my blog about a month ago.  The remains of this old car are up at the Nordegg Historic Site and I photographed it when I was there on one of my many guided tours.

It's getting to be the time of year that I have to start working on my 2027 calendar.  I need to have it printed and in the Beehive Artisan Market by November. 

Nails

I'm intrigued by these nails, and have photographed them a number of times.  They are in the company store at the Brazeau Historic Site.  There is a number written above each nail.

It was suggested to me that these could have been for miner's tags...?  Each miner was issued a tag with a unique number, and they were used to keep track of who was down underground at any given time.  But, it doesn't make sense for this to be in the store.  The tags were usually monitored in the lamp house, when each miner was assigned a lamp and battery before their shift.  Perhaps some day I will be able to figure out what this was for.  More research is definitely in order.

I took this photograph on a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320.  I rated the film at 400iso and gave extended development to increase contrast by one stop.  This N+1 development was in PMK developer, on my Jobo Processor, for 16:40 minutes at 20C.  I ran this batch on May 19th of this year.

The photograph was taken on March 31st 2025 during one of my many tours of the mine site.  I shot this at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a Fujinon 180mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/2 second at F22.0.

 

 

BP40.0 - Rockyview Hotel - Cochrane - Shawn

This portrait was taken during our first Beer Parlour Project outing of 2026.  It was a visit to the Rockyview Hotel in Cochrane, Alberta, back in the winter.  It was the 40th hotel on our growing list and therefore referred to as BP40.0 in our numbering system.

This is a sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film in 4"x5" format.  I rated the film at 1600 iso and gave extended development in highly diluted Kodak HC-110 Developer.  This developer is normally very vigorous and fast acting.  In this instance I diluted it at a ratio of 1:100, where something in the 1:31 range is much more typical.  Development was for 2-1/2 hours, with minimal agitation... only briefly every 30 minutes or so.  This is intended to support shadow values, without blowing out the highlights, and I've found that it seems to work reasonably well.  I ran this batch of film, just a few days ago, back on August 27th.

This portrait is Shawn, the manager at the Tavern in the Rockyview.  He was dressed all in black, much like Johnny Cash, so the image lacks some detail in the lower values.  I shot this on February 27th of 2026, at about 8:00 in the evening.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F8.0.

 

 

Door Handles

These chrome handles are on the inside of the door of an old car up at the Brazeau Collieries Historic Site.  I photographed them some time ago when I was on one of my many tours of the site.  I have posted another version of this image previously, but that one had some lens flare visible, while this one is much better.

This is a scan of a 4"x5" sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 film.  I rated the film at 400iso and gave it N+1  extended development, an expansion of one stop in contrast.  I ran a batch of this film on my Jobo Processor back on May 19th.  This batch of N+1 was developed in PMK for 16:40 minutes at 20C.

I took this photograph on April 18th of 2025 at about 3:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera, one of three Ebony cameras that I own, and a Nikkor 120mm Macro lens.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F32.0.  This included extra exposure of 1/3 stop to compensate for the long bellows draw [about 160mm] required to focus this closely on the subject.

 

 

Lasagna Day

About once a year I set up and make a huge batch of lasagna.  This year I did it at the end of August.  My youngest daughter Helena gave me a hand this time.

I cooked up a big batch of meat sauce.  We hit the grocery store and bought all the other ingredients.  Five boxes of lasagna noodles, fresh spinach, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese and fresh basil.  Once the meat sauce was ready we cooked up the noodles in batches and built the trays.  We filled seven large trays and two small ones.

Margarit and Hailey were out at Nordegg while this all happened.  When everything was completed, the rest of us at home in the city baked one tray for dinner that evening.  The remaining pans were all wrapped up and frozen for later.  I took some with me when I went out to Nordegg a couple days later, including one of the small trays for Hailey.  This batch turned out really well, if I do say so myself.

 

 

Infrared Coleman Snowplow

This is another rediscovered image.  The film was exposed some time ago, but relatively recently processed.  This old snowplow, like my previous post of the Mack Dumptruck, was photographed at the Reynolds Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

This is a scan of a sheet of Kodak High Speed Infrared film.  This particular negative is rather dense and experienced some fogging.  That is not a total surprise given that the film has been discontinued for over two decades, and hit its best before date in August of 2001.

I have recently learned that if I load the film shortly before using it, and then immediately unload the exposed film and return it to refrigeration, it works much better.  I don't think I took enough care with this one.  The film was loaded into a film holder in September of 2023, but was not exposed until June of 2024.  It sat around at room temperature during this extended period of time, and probably out in my camera bag on some warm days.  I did unload the film shortly after exposing it, and kept it refrigerated until I developed it this past spring.  But the damage was likely already done.  All the same, I still managed to salvage a reasonable image.

I rated this sheet of Kodak High Speed Infrared at 100 iso.  I exposed it with a #25 Red Filter, to block much of the visible light and expose the film more so with infrared wavelengths.  As a result it was not necessary to add any extra exposure as a filter factor.  I developed the film in Kodak T-Max developer, 1:6, for 6:45 minutes at 24C.  The film was developed on March 20th of this year.

I took this photograph on June 9th of 2024 at about 3:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a wide 75mm lens.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F16.0.

 

 

Mack Dumptruck

This is another of my older images that I recently rediscovered.  Back in the spring, when I set up my Jobo Processor, I ran a bunch of color film, and also some stuff that required development in PMK.  This is a pyro based staining developer that requires vigorous, continuous agitation, hence the processor.  This is a sheet of Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 that I gave normal development in PMK.  The film was rated at 320 iso and developed for 9:35 minutes at 20C.  I ran this batch back on May 17th.

The image itself is considerably older than that.  Arturo and I were visiting the Reynolds Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin when I too this shot of the old dumptruck.  This one sits outside with several others, awaiting the day that perhaps it gets restored.  I shot this on July 5th of 2024, at about 2:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a 90mm Rodenstock lens.  A #25 Red Filter was added to lower the value of the blank sky.  The exposure was for 1/15 second at F16.0.

 

 

Relaxation

I headed back out to Nordegg on August 31st.  Margarit had remained at the cottage over the past week or so, while I was back in the city.  This is her longest stretch out in Nordegg since the days of Covid isolation.  I think she is mostly enjoying the peace and quiet.

On the first of September I caught a ride with my neighbor to Rocky Mountain House.  There I picked up my old truck, that had been in for repairs.  The issues were mostly related to the old fuel in the tank.  They drained the tank, put in a new fuel pump, changed the fuel filters and all seems to be good again.  I brought the old truck back out to the cottage and parked it in its usual spot.  

Later that afternoon I played a solo round of golf.  It went OK and I shot a score of 43, right around my average.  While I played, Margarit went over to the library, and then later visited with Hailey, who was working the clubhouse that day.  The course is certainly one of the most beautiful, with its mountain setting.

On September 2nd, Margarit and I made a run up to the dump, and then continued on up the Trunk Road to the Blackstone River.  We took Hank along for the day.  We spent a pleasant afternoon exploring along the river.  I dug out my fly road and did a little fishing.  I had a nice trout on the line for a bit, but he spit out the hook before I could land him.  After that I took a few photographs of all the avens that had gone to seed.

Later that evening we returned to the cottage and had a nice dinner.

Horseshoe Lake

This is another one of the older images that I recently stumbled across.  This is a scan of a 4"x5" Agfapan 25 negative.  I rated the film at 32iso and gave normal development, in Rodinal developer, 1:50, for 13:00 minutes at 22C.  I developed the film back in February of this year, but the shot dates back some time.

I'll have to check exactly how much of this old film I have left.  It expired way back in 1990, and I've slowly been using up the last of my stock.  I know that I have somewhere around twenty exposed sheets that need to be processed, and probably another 20 or so that are loaded in holders and need to be shot.  Once those are done, it will be the last of it.  It used to upset me when certain film stocks were discontinued, and for a time there, in the early 2000's it looked like film might disappear all together.  But in recent years all sorts of new emulsions have been released, including a number of them in sheet format.  The most current new addition is Ilford Pan F... which has been available for years in roll formats, but just recently became available in sheet stock.

This image was taken up at Horseshoe Lake in Jasper National Park.  I was out there for a couple of days on the fall trip with the Monochrome Guild in 2022.  A couple of years ago a large forest fire swept through the Athabasca Valley into the Jasper townsite, and this area was heavily burned.  I have not been back to the park since the fire, but should venture back there one of these days.

I took this shot on October 22nd of 2022 at about 4:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens, with no filter.  The exposure was for 1 second at F22.0.