Nikon FE Never say never, however, I am pretty sure this will be my final post for 2024. This year, I shared more photographs with you in longer posts but had fewer total posts. December extended that streak as this is shaping up to be the only post of the month. The annual total stands at 29, just over 2 posts a month. A few productive months came to the rescue.

In another reflection, I started this blog in 2012. A dozen years later here we are closing 2024. How long do blogs last on average? Should one stop and move on to other things? When? I personally enjoy working on this blog more than any social media out there. I believe the most people see my photography right here on this blog. But there is no interaction. But is there really much interaction on social media? I stopped posting to Instagram a while back, I still have but stopped updating my Facebook photo page, I continue posting to my personal Facebook, and I am freshly trying Bluesky Social. I would not be surprised if I gave up most of those in 2025. With Facebook, the last thing keeping me there are there groups. Then again, is the extremely limited interaction really worth feeding the beat? What do you think? What's a good approach to all of this with one's photography? Does it have to be seen? Does anyone care?

I also tried participating in several photo swap groups that would mail physical prints once a month but those ended up being problematic too. Not everyone was ready to uphold their side of the bargain. The last one I am in is a postcard exchange. It's simple and cheap enough to keep it going. Yes, for being worldwide, its monthly participation has been at 20 - 30 people. Unfortunately, the platform it's run on does not allow for easy link sharing to try to advertise it more.

Inside Fort MississaugaNiagara-on-the-Lake

Inside Fort Mississauga, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

Let's try to get back to the topic on hand. The last time I was in Niagara-on-the-Lake was in the fall of 2019 for another photo walk. Wow, five years have gone by like crazy. And guess what? True to my photo backlog, the photographs from that photo walk are still awaiting posting. Same as last time, I had two cameras with me. One loaded with color film and the one relevant for today's post, a Nikon FE, loaded with black and white Fomapan 400. While I was mostly using the FE2 in 2024 I swapped them back to make sure the original FE gets some exercise. It holds its nostalgic value for being the camera that restarted me on film back in 2015.

Locked Gate in Fort MississaugaNiagara-on-the-Lake

Locked Gate in Fort Mississauga, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

I only got through 21 frames on this visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake and the roll had to wait for the next opportunity, which became the November TFS photo walk. And there was a surprise element to the roll after the fact too. I did not know about that when I captured these photos but I later decided to deviate from my usual D-23 developer and run the roll through the Rollei Supergrain developer. The slight catch with that was that I got used to exposing Fomapan 400 at 200 for my D-23 development and even then I get moderately dense lower contrast negatives. When I pulled the roll out of the development tank I was a bit afraid I took things too far but scanning proved quite flexible again. However, I will say that thinner lower contrast negatives work better for me for scanning. For darkroom, what I got out of Rollei Supergrain should work very well but I can't confirm that until I try.

Above Fort MississaugaNiagara-on-the-Lake

Above Fort Mississauga, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

We started at Fort Mississauga, which I had not visited before. A single building remains surrounded by earthworks walls. I am glad we stopped by this time, it inspired a few photographs. The fort is at the mouth of the Niagara River into Lake Ontario, another wonderful sight on its own. And in the distance across the river is Forth Niagara.

End of the Niagara RiverNiagara-on-the-Lake

End of the Niagara River, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

From the end of the river we walked south, up the river, towards the sun. We did not have a specific path planned, just the loose southbound direction to make it over to the next checkpoint at Fort George. We followed the river, went through a park, by a cemetery, and back to the riverside passing some wonderful houses along the way. Some reminded me of days gone by, some seemed like really cozy locations at incredible spots.

Old HouseNiagara-on-the-Lake

Old House, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

Look at this riverside house below. Not sure how large or small it is inside but it's definitely at a great location. Wouldn't it make for wonderful photographic expeditions at sunrise, sunset, or really anytime?

Riverside HouseNiagara-on-the-Lake

Riverside House, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

Finally away from the river it was towards Fort George. The Harbor House Hotel proved to be irresistibly eye-catching. I already have some cyanotypes in the works and hope to take this frame to the darkroom too.

The Harbor House HotelNiagara-on-the-Lake

The Harbor House Hotel, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

Even the visitor center at Fort George provided fertile ground for capturing a few scenes.

Fort George Visitor CenterNiagara-on-the-Lake

Fort George Visitor Center, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

The wood grain pattern on the fence posts was what prompted me to take the below photo. The whole fence here was painted with it as if nature's graffiti.

Fort George Fence PatternNiagara-on-the-Lake

Fort George Fence Pattern, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

This was the turning point of our walk but before turning around and heading back we circled the whole fort. It was a wonderful day so why not add some more steps to keep the health app happy? The fence, the earthworks, peeks inside, and even vegetation kept the shutter clicking.

Old Gate & Vine, Fort GeorgeNiagara-on-the-Lake

Old Gate & Vine, Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

I was really happy to find the above gate at the very back of Fort George. The wood and the ironwork kept it looking vintage, unlike some other gates, and the vine beautifully added to its charm. Again, I hope to run this photograph through traditional darkroom, a cyanotype process, and maybe I will even feel creative enough to try my hand in with printing, which I have not done in all too long.

Buttler's Barracks, Fort GeorgeNiagara-on-the-Lake

Buttler's Barracks, Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE Camera on Fomapan 400 Black & White Negative Film, Developed in Rollei Supergrain

On the way back, we cut through some open fields and ended up at Buttler's Barracks, learning about another piece of history there. From the barracks, it was back to town for lunch, and then the not so distance car ride back home.

Thank you very much for stopping by and spending a few minutes with my photography.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. And for more black and white photography hop over to the World without Color photo collection.

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