Bill Smith's Photography

A few things, one a safe happy new year to all out there, I hope 2008 is going to be a great year for everyone. I learned a lot in 2007 in several areas in my life, I have switched developers for printing and I will be making a switch from HC-110, syrup developer to D-76 which you have to mix up a stock solution from a powder. Heavy overcast days have been my challenge in the past, no more with D-76. I love the finer grain results I get with Ilford HP5 and Kodak Tri-X.

I walked into The Belfountain Conservation Area which is closed for the season but being part of the Bruce Trail is still accessable to hikers. I have not stepped foot here in over ten years, blame the Forks of the Credit up the street. There some emotions tied to this place hence my absence, long story I won't go into. I wanted to finish up a roll in one of my OM-1's and I walked in. I have to come back with a tripod for the long exposure water shots. I was using Adox CHS 100 and I processed it in D76 stock solution.

I put my Nikon F3HP to the test with a roll of Tri-x, the exterior shots were used on manual metering while the interior shots with Charlotte and Alex on aperture priority. I understand now why Alex swears by his F3's. The Nikkor AiS 50 f1.8 is a sweet lens, I love the bokeh on the photo of Alex feeding Charlotte at lunchtime. For those wondering what bokeh means, it is a photographic term traced back to Japan to describe the out of focus rendering. I am really happy with this set. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and have a safe Happy New Year. B.

Scenes from Christmas Day, pity Charlotte was sick with a fever, Ruxie had to stay home and care for her. Marcus got a lot of neat presents: puzzles, books and cars! He really like the tin retro speed racer from Schylling. when you run it there is mechanism that creates sparks under the hood where the engine is supposed to be. Charlotte gets a plush toy of a chocolate lab named douglas but she won't see that until tomorrow. Alex and mom loved their gifts and Christmas Dinner was a delicious roast chicken.

A super short photo essay from my friend Alan's 40th birthday. It was a small gathering of friends, all of us have known each other since elementary school. My favourite the set would be Mike pointing at me. Shot it all with an Olympus OM-1, Zuiko 50 f1.4 lens with Kodak Tri-x @1600 processed in Diafine.

Santa was good to me, a Nikon F3HP considered one of the best 35mm SLR's ever made, a Lloyds bulk film loader and 100' of Kodak Tri-x. I usually shoot Ilford HP5 but Tri-x is my other go to film at 400 ISO because it is widely available and can but abused pushed, pulled, tossed sideways etc and you still get a great image. Tri-x rated at 1600 ISO looks amazing in Diafine, going forward is my combination for interior and party shots.

I have a weak spot for trains, it's in the blood. Both my granddad's worked for railways, granddad Bush repaired steam locomotives for New Zealand Rail, Granddad Smith managed the advertising department for Canadian National and my dad managed pension fund money for Canadian Pacific Limited. I took this particular photo March 2006 on the way home from skiiing, i was exploring the back roads Southeast of Belfountain and saw the tourist train on the horizon. I managed to get to a level crossing and cranked off a couple of shots, with the one below my favourite.

This has to be one of my favourite prints in a while. The Cheltanham Badlands south of Belfountain Ontario on the Bruce Trail have always been a challege for me. The problem is the range in exposure values between the dark rust red ground and the sky. I lucked in with a partly cloudy day and if memory serves correct a yellow filter on the lens. I used Ilford FP4 and it was lab processed, I learned out to develop my own later on in the spring of 2006. I printed it on Kentmere Fineprint VC FB paper with a glossy finish.

I pulled two negatives from the archives because after being part of team to put on a photo competition and make more "Oakville" prints, I am getting a little tired of Oakville imagery. So, I have one from the Beach of the 501 Car Westbound and Country Church just south Belfountain Ontario to change things up.

Capture Oakville 150 was a success as the first annual photography competition for the Oakville Camera Club. Some of prints are destined for an exhibit at the Oakville Trafalger Memorial Hospital, my fiend Kieley, the president of the OCC requested I submit three more images. One you have seen in a previous post with the racing dinghy from the Oakville Yacht Squadren and the two below Erchliss on a Fall Day and Ringside Seat in the Spring . I printed them both on Kentmere Fineprint VC Glossy Fibre Paper for longevity.