ABANDONED FARMHOUSE

Another old negative, but this time a colour negative of an old abandoned farmhouse I photographed quite a few years ago. The colour image lacked the dramatic atmosphere of a black and white picture. I never printed it before but when I found the negative and after scanning and processing the photograph, I wondered why I forgot about it. I gave it a slight warm tone reminiscent of the old warmtone papers so popular in the twenties and thirties.

COLOUR AND TEXTURES, CONISTON, ONTARIO

This picture definitely can only be in colour. I tried a black and white version but it certainly lacked the impact the textures and colours added to the visual richness of the image. I have not been back to the Sudbury area for a long time, but thsi Summer I definitely plan to return for another promising photo excursion.

LANDSCAPE, CONISTON, ONTARIO

Sorting through my old negatives I dfound a series of pictures I took in 1989 during a phototrip to Coniston near Sudbury, Ontario. The landscape was quite sparse, lacking trees which had disappeared from the landscape because of the mining activities in the Sudbury area. Since that time big changes have taken place with reforestation of the Sudbury landscape. But at the time it was a great place for photographers. The rock formation were impressive and actually quite colourful. The original negatives were made on colur negative film, however I am still quite interested in the graphic aspects of black and white photography and the strong forms and textures made the landscape eminently interesting for a photographer interested in classic black and white images.

WEATHERED TREE TRUNK, PEI BEACH

Searching through my old negatives is like opening a treasure trunk full of memories and also finding some long forgotten great images. This picture I took during our various holidays in Prince Edward Island. This old tree trunk on a beach was beautifully sculptured by wind, sand, water and sun, which had transformed it into the skeleton of some great unknown prehistoric creature.

PEGGY'S COVE, NOVA SCOTIA

Last Summer we visited Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. The small fishing village is one of the iconic sites in Canada. I think what makes this place so unique is the magnificent landscape. This was our second visit to Peggy's Cove, when I made quite a few images of the very beautiful rock landscape around the village. So while I am still working in black and white, I decided to post an earlier picture I took on our earlier visit. It is a scanned black and white negative. The film I used was Ilford HP5 which was one of my preferred film types. I like the grain pattern of this film and actually, when I am processing my digital images I nearly always add grain, simply because I like the visual  effect.

NOSTALGIA, DEMARCO'S, NORTH BAY

This North bay landmark has been closed for a few years but many people have very fond memories of this neigbourhood confectionery. I have posted other pictures of this store but they were colour images. This time I am posting a black and white version of a negative I made in the early nineties. Maybe, using the word nostalgia in the title,  refers not only to the actual picture of the store but also to me enjoying working in black and white again. No I am not making the print the traditional way. The computer allows me to get the same result without the use of environmentally harmful chemicals.

WINTER TRUCK

John had photographed this old truck before, so he made a little detour to see what it looked like covered in snow. Like many other photographers I enjoy photographing old cars and trucks, especially when they have not been restored sitting abandoned in some field or forest. The attraction is of course the rich textures and the discoloration. But it goes further I think.It is has to do with  remembrance and also a reminder of our own aging process.This time I  surrounded the print with a wide white border, which adds to the visual impact of the image.The split toning accentuates the cold Winter atmosphere of the landscape.

WINTER, SUNSET COVE

More snow, the Winter continues in the Spring. But it was a beautiful sunny day so John and I went out on a little photo excursion.We stopped at Sunset Cove on the South shore of Lake Nipissing. The light was quite harsh, which created strong shadows. For this landscape it worked well, forming an abstract pattern similar to paper cut out art. Adobe just issued an upgrade for Adobe Camera RAW and I am quite impressed. I think if you are working in Black and White then this is the most elegant photoshop plugin to achieve the best result.

SPRING SNOWSTORM

On Wednesday we were hit by a powerful snowstorm. I hope this is the last one of the Winter season. I did not go outside but took a few pictures in our garden. To capture the blowing snow I used a fast shutter speed. The result was an image which looked like an etching. Still working in black and white I decided to use a very subtle split tone in the image. The photo imaging programs  allow for a much greater control of this process than when split toning  in the traditional darkroom.

MAKING MAPLE SYRUP

What a surprise this morning, Winter has returned with a vengeance with lots of snow. But this is a good time to think and work with black and white images using the computer. Last week I reread a book on the transition from the traditional darkroom to digital. The book "darkroom to Digital" by the British photographer Eddie Ephraums is quite good. The book describes Eddy Epphraums his switch to digital black and white photography. He explores the differences but also the similarities. I agree with him that if you are comfortable working in the traditional darkroom, you will discover that working digitally is very similar. Of course, since the publication of the book, digital technology has made great strides but the basic techniques are still applicable. The writer expresses my similar view, when he says " Our transition to digital can simply involve a switch from one type of darkroom to another, or it can focus on issues of sel-expression. Either way ... black and white lives on.

DAVID BOWIE,DOWNTOWN NORTH BAY

On Sunday we took a little walk downtown and when I said a little walk, that is exactly what it was Even though the sun was shining, it still was bitterly cold. So i did not get many pictures except this image of another mural of a famous musician and artist David Bowie. I like to see these portraits of musicians on the walls of downtown. It might be a great idea to see more of them. Maybe it could be expanded to include portraits of Canadian visual artists and writers.Well it's just a thought, which could be spruce up the downtown area.

ABANDONED BLUE

Another image from Saturday's trip. This time I preferred a colour version. The subdued colours gave the image the Winter cold feeling of the day and of abandonment of the place.

ABANDONED

Yesterday John and I went on our first photo trip of this year. We decided to visit an old abandoned industrial site. I had never been there but as soon as I wandered around the place I was thinking of the work by the German conceptual artists and photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. The site is a great place to photograph. We regretted not bringing snow shoes but I am certain both of us will be returning there in the Spring to explore the site more thoroughly.

WINTER LANDSCAPE, POWASSAN, ONTARIO

This is a picture I took many years ago in a time when photographers used film. I still miss using the traditional silver based processes. Digital photography allows you to have a much greater control over the final look of the image, but the result is that so much of photographs today are technically exquisite but lack meaning and are visually quite boring.

WINTER FOG, LAKE NIPISSING

While looking for some pictures in my file I came across the image of a lonely ice fishing hut in this wide expanse of lake Nipissing. I took this picture a few years ago after a Winter thaw. The dark patches on the lake is smooth black ice. The fog, the textures and the general mood of the landscape is what inspired me to make this image.

CALLA LILY

The last few days the weather has been very mild, which gives us the illusion that Spring is just around the corner. Of course everyone knows that this is simply wishful thinking. So i started to do a series of pictures of a Canna lily. I really like this, in my view, an old fashioned plant. It has, in addition to its elegant shaped flowers, a very graphic shape.

MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

Another picture from my files. I took this picture almost a year ago when visiting the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to see the Chagall  exhibition. I still like taking Black and White pictures although I use my digital camera exclusively. I still miss working in the darkroom but ,in my opinion, by working my computer I avoid using chemicals, which is quite a bit better for the environment.

THE STURGEON FALLS CATTLE AUCTION 1976

Yesterday I posted a picture of the Highway bookstore, which is now just a memory. Today a picture of another event, which also is now just a memory. I am talking about the weekly cattle auction in Sturgeon Falls. In 1976 I wanted to try out a new fast colour negative film, Kodacolor 400. This was the fastest negative colour film made by Kodak. So every Monday afternoon I would go to the cattle auction. It was a great social event. Many people would visit the auctions and outdoor farmers market. In addition to the actually cattle auction, you could go to an auction selling a wide variety of merchandise ranging from clothing to tools. Outside you could buy clothing, apples tools and kitchen utensils. It was quite a social event. But this market and auction is long gone. I still miss it. Luckily I have many images to keep the memory alive.  

REMEMBERING THE HIGHWAY BOOKSTORE

Today would have been a great day to make a trip to visit the Highway Bookstore in Cobalt. But this famous bookstore has been closed for quite  few years. all that's left are the fond memories of countless hours browsing the rich collection of new and old books and a few pictures. Not all is lost because the small Cobalt bookstore The White Mountain Publications still continues publishing of books by local authors. So if you visit Cobalt, you still can brows for books at this small bookstore.

ST.JOHNSBURY, VT

Winter is the season for reflection. At my age its getting a little too difficult to wander around town and country looking for interesting images and ,actually, it's a wonderful time going through your files and discovering that you have many fine pictures which you simply forgot about. So her is one of those pictures, which I took a few years ago when we made a trip to Boston in the early Spring. I photographed this dog in the picturesque town of St. Johnsbury in Vermont, inside the town's information centre. So time to look for some other good pictures and memories of past photo trips.