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Niagara-on-the-Lake on Black and White Film
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 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.
Street Flower Market, TorontoToronto, Canada
Gardiner MuseumToronto
Ontario Legislative LibraryToronto
Duke of Kent PubMidtown Toronto
Subway Tracks & TrainMidtown Toronto
Waxing Gibbous, Yes, The Moon
It has not been all that long and I am back with another moon blog post. The previous one, on September 19, was about the partial lunar eclipse we had here in Orchard Park, New York (Litany of moon titles, including an eclipse). While an eclipse is a very special event, whether solar or lunar, the full moon is not lit all that well for a portrait photo. The full frontal light just flattens everything out into a shadowless 2D object. So right then and there I decided I had to follow up when the moon was side lit to capture its surface with a hint of 3D features.
Waxing Gibbous Moon, 59%October 11, 2024
Waxing Gibbous Moon, 59%, October 11, 2024
The above moon photo definitely proves the point and the craters come more alive than in the lunar eclipse post. However, I thought that a lot of the wonderful craters at the top and bottom were still hiding in the shadow and another day or two would further enhance the view.
Waxing Gibbous Moon, 70%October 12, 2024
Waxing Gibbous Moon, 70%, October 12, 2024
And that extra day worked like magic. It's rather impressive how much things change in only 24 hours. The moon illumination went from 59% to 70%, lit up additional craters, and made for a better photo. I also continued to improve my technique and ended up with an even sharper photo. The biggest difference on top of all of the steps I shared last time? Shutter speed. It turns out that at a 560mm of magnification, the moon moves through the frame rather quickly. And thus, 1/60 sec does not really freeze the motion sufficiently. What a difference 1 stop can make at 1/125 sec! Yep, that's the secret of the second photo here today.
Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)
Moody Sunset over Green Lake, Orchard Park
Nikon N75 at Green LakeYates Park, Orchard Park, NY
If you missed my last post I introduced a new photo collection of my local photographs from Orchard Park, NY. You can either scroll further down or click on the link I am sharing here. If you are from the Buffalo, New York area you may find some familiar sights, find ideas for a trip, or engage in a dose of nostalgia. At the time of sharing the new collection there were 161 photographs ranging from urban photography to natural landscape, from spring to winter, from sunrise to sunset, from color to black and white.
Today is a short continuation of the topic with a few photographs from the beautiful Green Lake located in Yates Park in the village of Orchard Park. It's a small park but a true gem. Some people stop and park there car there on their way to work to watch the daybreak, others do the same at the opposite side of the day for a sunset. There are a lot of people walking their dogs or on their own. For us it often serves as a wonderful turning point on our walks. When timing is on your side the small lake can provide quite the sights.
The warm light of the low setting sun can bathe the lake and the whole park in warm light and vivid colors and add photogenic long shadows to the scene. That's what you can see in the first photograph of today's post. Over the years I have tried many variations on the bridge, the gazebo, and the path winding through the western end of the park. It's always fun to play with angles and focal lengths and discover new opportunities. Some days I come with a fixed focal length forcing me to think through that eye into the world, other times like on this occasion, I will have a zoom lens that changes the process a bit and allows me to crop into the selected perspective. I always have to remind myself though that zooming does not change the perspective itself, it only resizes the visible window. To change perspective, one must rely on their legs and move around.
Footbridge at Green LakeYates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Footbridge at Green Lake, Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon N75 camera on Kodak Colorplus Color Negative Film
Clouds always completely change how the last few minutes of the day play out. In the below photograph, a layer of clouds low on the horizon speeded up the sunset and turned the bright warm contrasty light into a subtle diffused moody illumination. What a change a few minutes and turning around can make!
All Quiet over Green LakeYates Park, Orchard Park, NY
All Quiet over Green Lake, Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon N75 camera on Kodak Colorplus Color Negative Film
And again, just a few minutes later and several steps forward and we have the scene below. I know, one of the differences between the two is that I did not get the color balance in sync after scanning them from the Kodak Colorplus 200 film. Above has a hint of a green tint, the below more purple. But I liked the two varieties and left them like that. This can happen with film and scanning or with digital. With film, you get the initial rendering based on your scanning software and can choose to go in any direction from there. With digital, you get the initial take based on the camera software or the RAW processor on your computer. Either way technology selects the default and then it's up to you to interpret the scene. You can try to make it look as close to what you remember, to what you think looks natural, you can stick with the default, or you can lean into the bias and go with mood and feeling.
Falling Behind the TreesYates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Falling Behind the Trees, Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Nikon N75 camera on Kodak Colorplus Color Negative Film
As I continued my loop around the lake I looked for the vantage point in the last photograph of today's post. A few days prior I stood there without a camera with just my old smart phone in my hand and really liked the partially obstructed view through the trees. I wanted to come back as soon as possible knowing everything changes fast, including the timing of the sunset and the sun's position. Unfortunately, a few bad weather days interfered and I was not able to return until several days later. I found the location and sure enough everything looked just a little different. And of course, the zoom lens provided for different interpretations cutting different size windows from the reality in front of me.
Green Lake Sunset MoodYates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Green Lake Sunset Mood, Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
I hope you've enjoyed today's return to Orchard Park, New York. I am sure I will be back many more times. We're enjoying this strange extended Indian summer now and while enjoyable it makes me wonder how dearly we will pay for it. Yesterday, Lake Erie was at 56ºF. Do we have a hefty lake effect snow in our near future? Is it going to be a solid cold white winter with La Niña taking the reins? Or is it going to be the dirty gray look of the previous two seasons? I have no idea but we will learn it soon enough.
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.
Shelter and Grill in the WoodsOrchard Park, NY
Welcome! The Village of Orchard ParkOrchard Park, NY
The Lost Mossy Well HouseOrchard Park, NY
Pumpkins at the Chamber of CommerceOrchard Park, NY
What's Left of the Fall at the Train DepotOrchard Park, NY
New Photo Collection: Orchard Park, New York
I have wanted to do this for years! There are many photo collections missing from my Collections page but this one has been the most obvious one. How obvious? I have just gone through my urban photographs (Buffalo Cityscapes) and landscape photographs (Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes) and found the two galleries included 161 photographs from Orchard Park, NY. That is obvious, isn't it?
Orchard Park, New York CollageFourteen Years, Twenty Photos
Orchard Park, New York Collage
Fourteen Years, Twenty Photos
Do you want to see the whole collection of photographs of Orchard Park, NY that this small photo selection is from? Click through to Orchard Park, NY and enjoy. For those technically minded, this is a mix of digital photographs and photographs captured on various film stocks.
Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy
Cyanotypes XVII: Rajhrad Monastery Variations
Rajhrad Monastery EntranceReference B&W Photo
In today's seventeenth article on cyanotypes I am sticking with a single photograph but am exploring the different looks one gets by choosing different papers. The photo was originally photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE camera on Fomapan 400 black and white film and developed in Fomadon LQN. For reference, I am including a thumbnail of the original black and white photograph here.
Nikon FENikon FE, 24mm f/2.8
As I walked around the old monastery there was a lot to photograph. There are areas that talk to what the life at the monastery is like, there are beautifully renovated sections, and there are sections that still need a lot of help. The main entrance is part of the renovated building and is truly beautiful. I had no doubt that it needed to be photographed. The entrance and the whole area around the monastery provided a perfect subject matter for the old camera and a black and white film. And yes, as with all of my trips to the Czech Republic this one was no different and a Czech-made Fomapan 400 was the perfect capture medium.
Throughout my cyanotype printing I have confirmed the basic aspect of paper selection that seems to be a common sense. If you want details go for smooth paper. If detail is less important gentle or even a rough texture can be introduced. Some papers render clear white highlights and some pull them back a bit.
Rajhrad Monastery EntranceSmooth Watercolor Paper Cyanotype
Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Smooth Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Smooth Watercolor Paper
When I started with cyanotypes I was looking at them as an alternative process to darkroom. And since darkroom prints come out with plenty of detail I wanted my cyanotype prints to be more lo-fi. Thus I immediately gravitated to papers with a lot of texture. I also did not care about a smooth coating of the sensitizer and instead intentionally used less of it and made sure my brush strokes left visible trails. I still love that rough look of a contrasty print on the Shizen Design watercolor paper but I have also tried to match paper to the photograph.
Rajhrad Monastery EntranceTextured Watercolor Paper Cyanotype
Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Textured Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Textured Meeden Watercolor Paper
While some photographs lend themselves really well to the lo-fi look others need their contrast a bit more balance. Losing the midtowns can mean losing the picture. And the same goes for the texture. Some photos have enough large defining features that losing the fine detail in the texture is alright or even better as the content gets simplified down to the basic building blocks.
Rajhrad Monastery EntranceRough Textured Shizen Design Watercolor Paper Cyanotype
Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Rough Textured Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Rough Textured Shizen Design Watercolor Paper
Today's photo is an example of one that seemed to work really well across all of the paper choices. The opening print shows the pure whites of the smooth (and the cheapest here) watercolor paper, Meeden watercolor pulls the highlights back slightly so while some details are lost due to the paper texture others are added as the highlights are brought in.
On that note, yes, I could have played more with the curve for my negatives to insure no highlights are lost but I did not. I still like to lean into the lo-fi look and let each print do its thing. Some work, some don't. Maybe overtime I will do some more tweaking but I definitely do not want to lose the surprise factor and the counterbalance to today's digital perfection. After all, If I wanted these to be perfect I could either go back to the darkroom, or even simulate the cyanotype blues with an inkjet print.
Rajhrad Monastery EntranceDeckled Edge Watercolor Paper Cyanotype
Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 4" x 6" Deckled Edge Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Egyptian Cotton Deckled Edge Watercolor Paper
The print on Egyptian Cotton is more new to me, I have just started experimenting with that. I definitely like the deckled edges on this variety as it adds to the lo-fi and an old-time look. Unlike my usual 5" x 7" prints this one is 4" x 6" and I do not make smaller negatives for it. I place it under the negative so that it further crops into the picture without losing critical features along the edges.
Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy
Previous posts in the Cyanotypes series: 1. First Cyanotype - 2. More Cyanotypes - 3. Highlands Cyanotypes - 4. How do Cyanotypes Happen? - 5. Cyanotypes V: Tweaking the Curve - 6. Cyanotypes VI: Toning - 7. Cyanotypes VII: More Toning - 8. Cyanotypes VIII: Toning Different Papers - 9. Cyanotypes IX: Horní Rozsíčky - 10. Cyanotypes X: From Black and White or Color - 11. Cyanotypes XI: Moravian Countryside - 12. Cyanotypes XII: Prague Castle - 13. Cyanotypes XIII: American History - 14. Cyanotypes XIV: Gulf Shores, Alabama - 15. Cyanotypes XV: Different Take on Travel Photography - 16. Cyanotypes XVI: Nostalgic Pernštejn - 16. Cyanotypes XVII: Rajhrad Monastery Variations - 17. Cyanotypes XVII: Rajhrad Monastery Variations
If you like cyanotypes, you can explore the Cyanotypes Photo Gallery dedicated to my growing collection of them. Would you like to browse through traditional darkroom wet prints? Visit my Darkroom Photo Gallery and enjoy!
Helfštýn Castle Tower and WallsCyanotype
Karlštejn Castle Tower and WallsCyanotype
Pernštejn CastleCyanotype