I have visited Canada twice. The first time just for two days as a break of a tour through Montana in 1994. The second time in 1999 on a trip from Calgary to Vancouver. And since the first time I created a kind of week spot for the small town of Pincher Creek in southern Alberta near the Rocky Mountains and the US border. Just an half hour north of Waterton Lakes National Park and two hours south of Calgary.
But why? The town is nothing special. A population of 3,625. The country side is wide open with the plains to the east and the Rockies to the west. Often the strong Chinook winds blow off the mountains, so it can be very windy there. But I loved it. Simple, uncomplicated and pure. The vistas are gorgeous, the sky is clear.
The photographs here originate from some of my slides from 1999 with my Ricoh GR1. And I have to admit that I used a very simple technique to digitize these slides. I cut an empty roll of toilet paper into half and used it as extension tube in front of my camera. I kept the framed slide closely against the end of the roll and used a white background on my computer screen as light source. I used the macro mode to focus on the slide, as a result of the diameter of the roll this will work best with compact cameras, slower shutter speed and an aperture around f4.4 to make sure enough would get sharp. Of course you won’t be able to make huge prints from these photographs, but it works fine for smaller prints and web purposes. Sometimes though it can look like photos from a Holga.
All photographs by Wouter Brandsma
And on another photography related note. My friend Amin Sabet restarted his forum project Camera Work since last Tuesday. See here for more information.
Wouter Brandsma 