Friday night, I finished off the first roll of film for 2007, I still have to get it developed. And today, I finished scanning the last roll of film from 2006 (working backwards). This puts me about a month ahead of schedule for scanning, which is good; because I still have the 12 rolls from 2005 for which I have camera data, the 13 rolls from before I started keeping note of camera data, and probably another 8 or so that I shot with a 35mm point-and-shoot to go through before I've cleared my backlog of old film. It's a good thing I'm cherry picking or the project could take years (especially since I'll probably expose between 300 and 500 more frames of film this year).

This calm, after sunset shot, was taken 7 August '06 @ f16 for 1 second with an AF Nikkor 28-80mm 1:3.3-5.6 G series lens at 80mm, in Grand Forks, BC.

This less than focused composition was shot last July, in the flower beds outside Grand Forks City Hall. At the time I was mostly interested in the light, its directionality and how it was affecting the colours (how the colours would represent on film). Prior to that night, I don't recall having ever uses a 5 minute exposure, honestly, I think that I had only exposed for 60 seconds and 2 minutes a total of perhaps ten times all together. Since then, I've exposed for 2 minutes or more a total of 13 times, three of those times for 15 minutes each. Often enough, I'm really only making an educated guess about exposure times. Right now, the best I can tell is if I need more that 30seconds wide open based on 60/40 partial centre weighted TTL (through the lens) metring of the total scene, use the "rule of reciprocity," factor in reciprocity failure, and run a gut check based on experience and intuition. So far, it usually works out.

Well, it's Friday, so it's time to get dressed, go out, shoot a few frames, and then go and get drunk (or at least a bit tipsy). Ciao

It was a long day yesterday, ten-and-a-half hours replacing an old oil heater with a new gas heater, up in Greenwood. Had the job finished around 6pm and everything was great, but guess what, grandpa got a call today and it turns out that that brand new heater has a faulty control board. Shit happens. There's a temporaty solution in place until a new control board can be gotten and installed.

I took this shot on 31 Decembre, as we were headed to Penticton for New Year's Eve. Between the Anarchist Summit (the "r" is silent for some strange reason) and Osoyoos, BC, there's a fairly large rest area with a "break check" across the highway. Someone apparently decided to decorate one of the trees. I saw it when we stopped to let the dog out, and figured "what the hell, film is cheaper than opportunity." So here U are, the Wild Christmas Tree.

I shot this, and a few similars, almost six months ago on 27 July '06, in Grand Forks City Park. It almost seems hard to belive that it was after 8:30 that night, when tonight it was full-dark before 5:00. And that's actually a four-and-a-half-hours difference thanks to day light savings then and the current lack there of.

Am I the only person who thinks that the current difference between the two times should just be split and we'd have just one time all year long, half-an-hour ahead of the current Standard Time and half-an-hour behind the current Day Light Savings Time? I know, it's as arbitrary as our current system (or anything else for that matter), but it's easy.

On another note, if U have any interest in Glamour Photography, I suggest U check out JimmyD's blog: Pretty Girl Shooter. There are lots of photos, and more importantly if U have any interest in doing Glamour photography, there is lots of advice and technical stuff on how to light model. And even if U don't have an interest in Glamour, most of the lighting advice can be applied can be applied to any controlled light photography from still life to general portraiture.

Grand Forks City Hall II

Things have been fairly slow the past few days. I can't complain, it gives me time to read, research equipment, figure out what the hell I'm doing and where I'm going.

One of the things I've been looking at is a 13x19in printer, and realising how close I am to actually getting one, naturally leads to other thoughts. Such as, "when should I register for tax purposes?" and "should I even register for GST?" The GST is a federal sales tax, in Canada, that is levied against just about every product sold in Canada. Small businesses having "taxable sales" under a certain threshold (I think it was $10 000 a year, I'll have to check that again) don't have to register for and collect the tax, but they can voluntarily register, and while they would then have to collect the tax, they would also be rebated any GST paid on equipment and materials purchases.

If I'm predominantly selling directly to other persons in Canada, then I don't necessarily end up with any more money in my pocket at the end of the day by registering (at least not where total end cost to the consumer is fixed at $X for both scenarios). Where things get interesting is in the realm of commissioned sales and exports. There is no GST on exported goods, such as a 12x18 photographic print shipped to Detroit or Hong Kong, and if the print is sold on commission through a gallery then they handle the tax collection. Similarly, GST does not appear to apply to publication and usage rights (but don't take my word on it). It really depends on how much of what type of sale to where, as to whether or not it make any sense at all to register for GST.

Naturally with all these thoughts, I also started to consider "value added" services for direct sales. To be brief, for either matting and framing, or for just matting, it turns out that it will only cost me about 60% more to gussy up a 12x18 print than it would cost to gussy up an 8x12 (and to be clear the 12x18 covers 2.25 times the area of the 8x12).

*the photo is Grand Forks City Hall, taken on a wonderfully misty January night.

Grand Forks City Hall

I've been spending some time going back and adding labels to all my previous posts (mostly about the photos, not so much about my words). As I've been doing this, I've had the opportunity to look at some of the night photographs that I had posted early on in this blog's life. Photos that come from a time before I got my own film scanner, and so had to rely on store scans (some of these I've already re-scanned, and others have similarity with new work that I've scanned myself).

I find that having my own scanner has really opened up many new possibilities in the way that I interpret an image. With picture CDs, the purpose of the jpeg is to allow U to get an exact duplicate of the store print, meaning that the file has the same (largely) automated "corrections" to contrast and colour as the print that U took home. With the scanner, I start with the raw and unedited data that exists within the piece of film, and I get to choose what "corrections" will be made, how, and in what order. Often enough, I find that it's just easier to get the effect that I want when working with the raw data, because, often enough, those automated store processes either edit out, or over emphasise, various subtleties that I really like working with (or at least having the option of working with). And all of this without even talking about the difference in file size, 20 million picture pixels compared with little more than 1.5 million.

The photo is actually the first shot that I ever took of Grand Forks City Hall, on 11 July of 2006. Ironically, I probably could have gotten the same end result off of picture CD jpeg (at least as far as this blog is concerned, printing is whole 'nother story).

Last night was pretty good, what I can remember of it, which is most of it, actually. It was cold, about -20, but I think that's part of what I enjoyed: walking a mile into town and getting nicely chilled on the way in reminds me of those winter days as a kid in northern Alberta, where I'd play outside in the crystalline snow... Of course I didn't have to worry about ice forming on my mustache back then, but really the most annoying part of that is the stiffness and the weight, the ice itself seems to help insulate my upper lip.

I went to the Winnie, as usual. I seem to be getting known a bit better in town now, making friends and all that. Grand Forks has quite a bit of that "small town feeling" to it, a city of 4000+ people where "everybody knows everybody," which is nice, but along with that, maybe because of it, it can take a long time to "become a part of the community." I met a guy this summer, Garth, who has lived here for five or six years if I recall, and he was saying that he's still seen as something of a "new guy in town."

Anyway, the best part of the night was getting to talk a bit with one of the most amazing women I can remember ever meeting. Actually, I've kinda had my eye on her for a bit now, she seems at least potentially "interested." I really don't know where this is going to go, but the scenery sure is nice enough in the meantime.

*the photo is of second street, outside of Pope & Talbot, shot back in last August. The pick-up is at a four-way stop intersection that the city had been planning to turn into a two-way stop to facilitate trucks entering the mill. Things have been delayed because trees along the corner make for real poor visibility there. (I don't know if it's been the budgeting of the trees' removal, or what exactly has been the problem but "the talk" has been that the change might get done this summer...)

More Grand Forks Deer

I was in to Penticton yesterday. Got the last roll of '06 developed, and picked up a couple print cartiges and some 4x6 HP paper w/ perferated tab (that's the one thing I dislike about my current printer, the damn 1/2 inch minimum boarder on the ass end of every print. Oh well, I'll have a newer, bigger HP in few months). I also picked up a bar of Lindt Excellence Dark chocolate with 85% Cocoa content. Personally, I find it a bit too bitter for eating, but it would be perfect shaved for on top of a Mochachino, or maybe on chocolate cheesecake...

Where was I?

Oh yah, since I showed the field with the deer in it last time, I figured I'd show U some more Grand Forks deer. This fella was photographed (don't want to say shot) on the 14th of last July, maybe 100 -140 feet from house. Now, just to be clear about it, the longest I can go is 80mm worth of lens (just slightly telephoto on a 35mm camera) so I had to get within 30-35 feet of this wee beastie, not to mention crop off about 4.5% of the image, just to get U this close to the critter. Anyway, I think it works as a bit of environmental portraiture a la venison (I think I just found a title for this). As always, click to see it "full size" (400x600).

Last night was good. The temperature was right around freezing and things were a bit foggy/hazy, making for some wonderful light in town (especially with the city's Consumersmas decorations still up). So, anyway, I managed to finish off the last of the final roll of film of 2006, and get a small start on the first roll of 2007 (and partake of a couple of a couple pints, but I digress).

I've almost finished scanning those two rolls of B&W I mentioned a couple posts ago. All in all, this B&W seems to have similar resolution to the colour film I usually use (or it could be that I've run up against the sharpness/contrast limits of my Nikkor zoom lens, I mean U don't exactly expect a kit lens to be made with the best glass in the world, now do U). Beyond that, I do find that this Kodak, C-41 process B&W doesn't seem to hold much detail in the shadows. There just doesn't seem to be much detail in the bottom quarter of the histogram. Not that there's much real detail in that region of a colour neg. either, but what little bit of colour U do get down there seems to make on hell of a substitute, at least to my eyes.

I shot this Grand Forks field last summer. It had been raining on and off a bit. Naturally, it opened up and started to just piss down right as I was setting up the tripod. Those critters are deer, a pretty common sight in GF, U can see 'em a little better in the full size.

(One of the things I've been thinking of doing, is getting a fast, long lens, loading some high speed film and hanging out around dusk, even in town under street light. I've done the math, and 200mm, f2 and ASA800 is totally doable. Maybe in the summer of '08.)

Well, New Year's was pretty much a bust. Blew all my money at the casino and wound up going to bed early. Grandma did pretty well though, she managed to win back about half of the cost of our little outing.

Beyond that, there was actually quite a bit to bitch about, such as the in hotel restaurant being closed on New Year's Eve, but it just doesn't seem worth the effort to type it all out. So here's a photo from Grand Forks City Park, taken last year in June or July (looking at it, I have a few ideas about how to re-shoot this spot in about six month's time).

PS, I didn't make any New Year's resolutions (it saves me the trouble of having to break them later), I am, however, working on my list of goals for 2007.