In honour of the Queen coming to Halifax, here’s a photo of where she’ll be staying, Government House. At least I think she stays here. Anyway, it’d be cool if she did since I live kitty corner. I’ve lived all over the place, east, west and central Canada, across the street from and next-door to some interesting characters, but the Queen might take the top of the list.

Anyway, this is the front elevation. The entrance most people know — the driveway on Barrington Street — is actually the rear of the mansion, which faces the Old Burying Ground. It’s also the oldest vice-regal residence in North America. So, I hope to give the Queen a wave on my way to and from work on Monday.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #8 yellow
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Developer: Rodinal 1+100
Development: Small tank for 18 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for the first 15 seconds of the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.
Date: April, 2010
Location: 44.643614,-63.570711
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

This is the view from the observation deck at the Empire State Building. This is looking north, the intersection in the lower-right corner is 5th Avenue and 37th Street, the treetops in the upper-left corner are part of Bryant Park. Visiting New York City earlier in the year is a good idea. There are fewer visitors, so fewer lines and less elbowing to get a decent view. On the day I visited Empire State Building there was no wait for the elevator and the deck itself was fairly easy to get around. On top of that, the weather was spectacular.

I love this shot, the perspective and the sheer number of windows packed into this frame are incredible. Walking the streets can make you feel a little fenced in, towered over by endless blocks of tall buildings. From up here, it’s easy to see why.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #8 yellow
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Developer: Rodinal 1+100
Development: Small tank for 18 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for the first fifteen seconds of the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.
Date: May, 2010
Location: 40.748702,-73.985466
Location: 40.748702,-73.985466
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

Well, I do love me an old, stately train station and the grandaddy of them all is Grand Central Terminal in New York City. You hear lots about it, you see it all over the television and movie screen, but being there really is something special. It just feels good to be in a place devoted to moving people around in a classy way.

The station itself is gorgeous. It’s a bit of a tired cliché, but we really don’t build like this anymore. So grand and ornate. Massive blocks and complicated patterns. And perhaps the most striking of it all, the cleanliness. I may be gushing here, but it felt almost holy standing in the middle of the main concourse. Many thousands of people make their way through this station every day and it was spotless. The crowd was hushed, perhaps in awe of where they were. Whatever the reason, it’s a special place.

On our way back out to E 42nd Street — my brother and I did an epic walking tour of the city that day, 16km in total — I spotted a lone person tucked into the corner working on his laptop. With the sun streaming in the front window and the beautiful chandelier hanging, it was another shot I couldn’t resist. I can’t wait to get into the darkroom and print this one.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #15 deep yellow
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Developer: Rodinal 1+100
Development: Small tank for 18 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for the first 15 seconds of the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.
Date: May, 2010
Location: 40.752291,-73.977534
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

The Trinity Church in New York is a bit of an oasis in the heart of the big city. It’s located at Broadway and Wall Street and was first constructed in 1698. The current building is the third at that location. The first was destroyed in the Great New York City Fire of 1776, the second was torn down after heavy snow weakened it in 1838. This is one of the doors on the north side of the church, overlooking the small but very interesting cemetery.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #15 deep yellow
Film: Fuji Neopan 400
Developer: Rodinal 1+50
Development: Small tank for 11 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for the first thirty sec­onds, then four inversions per minute.
Date: May, 2010
Location: 40.708184,-74.012176
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

After arriving at the hotel in the late afternoon, we decided to take a stroll around the neighbourhood. It was early evening and getting a little dark by the time we got around to Rockefeller Centre. There weren’t too many people around, so I managed to get a half decent shot of the nicely lit up statue of the Titan Prometheus. We were lucky as it was a pleasant evening, perfect for walking and hanging out. Lots of people to watch at this spot.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #15 deep yellow
Film: Fuji Neopan 400
Developer: Rodinal 1+50
Development: Small tank for 11 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for the first thirty seconds, then four inversions per minute.
Date: May, 2010
Location: 40.758578,-73.978287
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

The building on the left is the BMO Building. The building on the right is the back side of this guy. I like how tall buildings in fog bring the “ceiling” down, without them it’s just a thick white mass somewhere up there. But when there are tall buildings piercing the mass up above, it lends a real sense of cover, sort of like crown molding in a room. It defines what usually feels like endless, unbroken height. I find even in chilly, damp fog the sense of an actual ceiling makes being outside a little more cozy.

Also, 100th post!

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #8 yellow
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Developer: Rodinal 1+100
Development: Small tank for 18 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for 15 seconds at the beginning of each of the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.
Date: April, 2010
Location: 44.649252,-63.572991
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

Fog and drizzle usually make people run for cover, but since I walk to and from work, I’m pretty much stuck with it. Then again, it means I have the streets and waterfront to myself, which is plenty fine with me. On this foggy, drizzly Friday afternoon I decided to walk home from work along the water and see what photos were ready to be taken. Turns out I had no problem finishing a roll on my twelve minute walk.

Buildings shrouded with fog, empty boardwalks and lonely tourist traps make for excellent subjects, especially in black and white. This is the tall-for-Halifax 1801 Hollis Street, a good-looking glass and steel building that I’m sure drives the heritage people crazy.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #8 yellow
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Developer: Rodinal 1+100
Development: Small tank for 18 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for 15 seconds each for the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.
Date: April, 2010
Location: 44.649512,-63.573400
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

Growing up with a baker for a dad means you get to see a lot of bakeries and donut shops. When I was a kid I hung out at this place all the time. Tom — one of the T’s in T&T — would give me whatever I wanted. Heaven for a kid! Plus, I got to see donuts being made, which is pretty much magic at that age. I hadn’t been back to my hometown since I moved out west, almost fourteen years ago.

I dropped my mom off for a doctor’s appointment and decided to drive by some of my old haunts. My elementary school, William Armstrong PS, has far fewer portables then when I was there. My high school, Markham District High, is being completely replaced right next door to the school I spent five years just doing my best to get out of. Then I thought I needed a coffee and decided to drop by the old donut shop. It hasn’t changed too much since I last saw it, but one thing definitely has: no more donuts. I’m fairly certain it’s one of the seven signs of the apocalypse. So, it was with a heavy heart I decided on a butter tart instead, along with the coffee. A few minutes before the lunch crowd started, I snapped a shot of the front door, finished my treats and wandered out.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: #8 yellow
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Developer: Rodinal 1+100
Development: Small tank for 18 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was for 15 seconds each minute for the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.
Date: March, 2010
Location: 43.875147,-79.260018
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.

Well, this was my first exposure with my new-to-me large format camera. I took it up onto the roof of my building on a sunny but windy afternoon to see if I could get anything useful. The exposure itself turned out alright, but as you can see there are processing errors. Those lines across the sky are where the sheets of film I had in the tray overlapped. I need to do a better job moving the sheets around when there are multiples going in the same tray. Or buy a sheet film tank.

Anyway, it was fun getting under the darkcloth for a little while. It can only get better from here!

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Camera: Calumet 45NX
Lens: Caltar 210mm
Filter: none
Film: Kodak Tmax 100
Developer: Kodak XTOL 1+1
Development: Tray for 9 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius.
Date: February, 2010
Location: 44.643046,-63.570001
Copyright: 2010 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.
Notes: Exposure was for 1/8th second at f64. Contact print was made on Ilford MGIV resin-coated paper, developed in Kodak Dektol 1+2, fixed, washed and toned in selenium at 1+20 for four minutes.

I love this art-deco signage. You can find it here and there in downtown Halifax. I might make it a little project of mine to photograph all the examples I find during my wandering. Being fairly new to Halifax, I’m not sure what the previous name of the building was, but it apparently was not agreeable enough for the current owners, hence the missing lettering. Too bad, but I’m glad they at least left this obvious example. If I was more of an appreciator of the obvious — an obviist? — and less of a typophile I think I’d be taking a different type of interest in this.

Here’s a Google Street View of the corner:

There’s a larger version if you’re interested.

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Camera: Mamiya 6 medium-format rangefinder
Lens: Mamiya 75mm
Filter: none
Film: 400TX exposed at 320
Developer: Rodinal 1+50
Development: Small tank for 116 and a half minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Agitation was an initial five inversions, then two inversions every minute.
Date: December, 2009
Location: 44.646510,-63.572802
Copyright: 2009 Chris Jones. All rights reserved.