FIREFIGHTER’S HELMET

 

It is quite a lot of fun looking through old files and discovering negatives which I simply forgot about. This negative is quite a few decades old. Actually I took this picture when we just arrived in Canada and I worked for a photographer in Toronto, who did a lot of work for the provincial and federal government. So one morning,on my way to the subway, I passed some firetrucks parked outside an office building. The firemen were busy rolling out the hoses, so of course being a curious photographer I had to take some pictures of course.  I was intrigued by this helmet . You don’t see these anymore and I am certain that they are quite valuable . Thiswas shot using Kodak Trix developed in Agfa Rodinal.

WINTER, LAKE NIPISSING

 

Choosing negatives from my files, remind me of a famous quote by Ansel Adams, “the negative is the score and the image is the performance”. I have to agree with his analogy with music. Each time you make a print of a specific negative you make some subtle and sometimes of course major changes in the interpretation of the negative. A good example is this print, which is made from a old negative but is a very different interpretation from earlier prints. 

LIGHT BEFORE COLOUR

 

The British painter J.W. M. Turner once said light came before colourand as a photographer I have to agree with that statement. Turner of course was a master in painting light and that is one of the reasons I so admire his work. This image is quite old. I made this picture sometimes in the seventees but , because I did not write it down, I simply can’t remember where I took the picture. During this period of isolation and actually compltete lockdown, I gigured this is an excellent time to once again go through my old negatives and start scanning some of them.I came across this negative made with my old twinlens Roleiflex and processed it on my computer. I never printed it before and looking at the result I wonder why I never printed it. It is a wonderful image.

WINTER LANDSCAPE, BONFIELD,ONTARIO

Another picture from yesterday’s photo excursion. Yes it was quite cold with the temperature around -15 C However the sun just appeared above the horizon, colouring the Winter landscape in a beautiful golden hue. Of course it did not add to us feeling warmer but it definitely created a very romantic atmosphere, giving us quite a few nice images.

 

BACK LIGHTING

 What a beautiful Winter day we had. So John, Gerry and I left early on a photo trip. Of course we could not let this day go by without taking photographs. One of the places we visited was an abandoned saw mill. John and I had been there before but of course you always see something new. My first series of pictures were of a large backlit group of old loading facilities. The very pronounced shadows and large shapes made me think of the traditional black and white images by photographers like Edward Weston, Charles Sheeler and the German photographer Albert Renger Patzsch.

WINTER, THE SOUTH RIVER, ONTARIO

 

As I promised, I will be posting more pictures this year. While we are still in some form lockdown, I look at this time as a good period for reflection. My extensive photo archive is simply a treasury of forgotten images like this view of the South River, which I took two years ago. Using a large matt around the image gives it a new visual perspective. 

BARN, STURGEON FALLS

 

Revisiting some of the old sites I have photographed over the years, you see the process of time. Like this barn, which is slowly deteriorating and probably wil be gone in a few years or maybe has collapsed already  since my last visit. It still has character with its strong textures and patterns.

QUILTED ICE HUT, LAKE NIPISSING

 

When visiting the North Bay art winterfest I took a picture of this quilted ice hut on Lake Nipissing. It certainly is a good picture for these dark times when all of us are living in isolation because of the dreaded  covid 19. But I am certain that this year will hopefully bring us a semblance of normal life again. So lets keep our fingers crossed.