Driving Up 35

It's time for another trip up 35 to Northern Muskoka for my annual NLP (no light pollution) photography retreat with friends. I always take Highway 35 as it's more scenic than 400/11which brings out the worst in humanity. This year it was even more scenic with two detours, one for road work and the other up 118 for a beer run with two breweries in the Haliburtons I rather buy local and on route.

This time out I stopped to shoot some abandoned buildings starting off with a Cango gas station which looks like someone just walked away back in 2011 and was left to rot which surprised me. Further further up on 118 I had an abandoned house and garage and at the bottom of the post the Leslie Frost Natural Resources Centre which was closed in 2004 due to provincial budget cutbacks. The story behind that compound can be found in this old Globe and Mail article.

This trip I used my Nikon FE2 and FM2n, along with my Rolleiflex Series F 3.5 Planar. Film wise while I packed a variety of film. I just used Kodak Portra 400 and Ilford HP5. I think next year I might strip the kit down a bit more and just roll with one SLR, one TLR and maybe a Rollei 35. We'll see, circumstances change.

Any way sliced, I much prefer the scenic route, the journey is half the fun.


Camera: Nikon FE2, Nikkor Ai 50 2 lens, Ais 24 f2.8 lens.
Film: Kodak Portra 400