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1938 Ford Two Ton Cab and Chassis - Sangudo, Alberta

1938 Ford Two Ton Cab and Chassis – Sangudo, Alberta

A chain-link fence surrounds Sangudo, Alberta’s MacKenzie Highway Construction Truck Museum, a tribute to people and equipment that built the highway. The museum, its vehicles and equipment sit idle. You can look from the fence in; but, you cannot physically interact with the vehicles within the museum compound. The vehicles that are sixty-years or more old are in good shape; they have been kept well. Last spring I searched for the owner of the museum to see if he’d permit access to the compound and allow me to photograph the vehicles; I will need to do my homework if I am to find his contact information and try again for better images of those trucks. It’s a shame only to see them from the sidelines.

A black and red 1938 two ton cab and chassis sits waiting for further use.

Listening to – The Congregation’s ‘Don’t Pay No Mind,’ Chris Whitley’s ‘Dust Radio’ and the Eagles’ ‘Seven Bridges Road.’ Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ has been in my hearing this weekend at my daughter’s dance festival; the story behind ‘Yellow’ is a heart-warming, mother-son, story … something to be understood and not to be missed.

Quote to Inspire – “Photography is the only language that can be understood anywhere in the world.” – Bruno Barbey

Rusting Relics - Manning, Alberta

Rusting Relics – Manning, Alberta

Treasure is a term coined twice this week – in one instance within a John Le Carre novel it is taken to mean the secret that if possessed would turn the tables on your enemy (as in Control’s discussion with Jim Prideaux regarding ‘treasure’ before embarking to Budapest, ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’); in a second instance within Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, ‘Treasure Island,’ it refers to the ill-gotten gains that in the getting you seem to have a right to – but irony can play disasterously with you, here. Beyond this, treasure, if possessed, puts you to advantage and gives you power. It is taken to mean something that guarantees a future free from want. A second, perhaps more poignant irony is that treasure once in one’s possession requires care so that no one takes it away … work is involved. Here, within this image, the term treasure can be taken to mean the opportunity of possibility, the rusting relic that has potential in its restoration, in its possession and use. As a photographer, the treasure is perhaps in the image and the narrative that surrounds the image. Point of connection – I learned to drive in a 1969 GMC half-ton pick-up (transmission – three-the-tree-standard), similar to the white GMC cab three vehicles from the right of the image and the GMC on the left.

Listening to – Johnny Cash’s ‘Gods Gonna Cut You Down,’ a song first heard on Steve Stockman’s Rhythm and Soul broadcast, as rendered by the Five Blind Boys of Alabama.

Quote to Inspire – “… the most grandiose result of the photographic enterprise is to give us the sense that we hold the whole world in our heads – as an anthology of images.” – Susan Sontag, ‘On Photography’

Aways Down the Twin Lakes Hill - Twin Lakes, Alberta

Aways Down the Twin Lakes Hill – Twin Lakes, Alberta

Solitary, a Sunday afternoon motorist returns home northward along northern Alberta roads, descending down the five kilometres that comprise the Twin Lakes hill.

Listening to – Sigur Ros’ ‘Glosoli,’ the Lumineers’ ‘Stubborn Love’ and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Firefly.’

Quote to Inspire – “There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.”

Chevrolet Pickup - Reynolds-Alberta Museum - Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Chevrolet Pickup – Reynolds-Alberta Museum – Wetaskiwin, Alberta

One never-done project I hope to undertake is to photograph a vehicle indoors and to control context and lighting and to create a cluster of images from various perspectives. The vehicle could be a sports car, a restored relic or a project vehicle about to undergo rehabilitation – each will reveal character in its grillwork, lights, repetition of shape, door handles, badge-work and interior. The task will be to explore pattern, shape, design and colour. This 1940 Chevrolet pick-up truck has me thinking about the project because museum lighting is a fixed entity, something not within my control; multiple lights reflect at several points on the pick-up’s glossy sheen – the hood, cab, windscreen, fenders, grill and bumper. In a controlled, albeit impromptu shop as studio, limiting light in terms of source versus sources, controlling light intensity and in terms of directing light to the vehicle – all will allow freedom to photograph the indoor vehicle with intent. Key, here, would be having light that can be intense enough to allow work at lower ISO. Some of the work will be about context – borrowing shop space, ensuring that it’s tidy and setting/planning how to light the vehicle. It will also be about coordinating invitations and times to shoot. And, once each vehicle arrives the matter becomes that of seeing the shot, discovering the vehicle through the lens and then keeping the vehicle clean – lint-free, dust-free and smudge free.

Other News – Dave Brosha is offering a workshop in Fort Vermilion, Alberta, an event sponsored by the Fort Vermilion Community Library – +1 (780) 927-4279; a friend called and encouraged me to lock-in my spot with a deposit; check out Dave Brosha’s photography and website – http://www.davebrosha.com/ .

Listening to – Sigur Ros’ ‘Glosoli’ and ‘Hoppipolla.’

Quote to Inspire – “There is nothing as mysterious as a fact clearly described. I photograph to see what something will look like photographed.” – Garry Winogrand

4 Wheel Drive Auto Co - Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

4 Wheel Drive Auto Co – Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Front End - Graham Farm Truck - Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Front End – Graham Farm Truck – Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Graham Farm Truck - Reynolds Museum - Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Graham Farm Truck – Reynolds Museum – Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Graham Radiator - Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Part of Easter break took me into central Alberta to Wetaskiwin for an afternoon at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. With permission I photographed vehicles that had played a part in Alberta’s history – McLaughlin Buicks, Grahams, a Duisenberg, a Cord, some Chevrolets and Fords. With my Sigma 10-20 mm lens and at ISO 6400, the museum’s lighting was somewhat harsh and it’s possible that different metering and bringing down the ISO with longer exposures might have yielded more satisfying results. A speedlight might allow more control of lighting although reflection from vehicle gloss and finish would need to be anticipated. My intention, for my next visit is to bring my macro lens (for pattern and design work) and my 70-200 lens (to get closer-in to vehicles from a distance) – exploring other possibilities. So, these images become scouting shots, first looks at subject and context and first looks towards what might be done next time. The upcoming May long-weekend begins a tribute to cars from the fifties at the Reynolds Museum, something to return for.

Listening to – Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your Eyes,’ ‘Sledgehammer,’ ‘Shaking the Tree,’ ‘Steam,’ ‘Don’t Give Up’ and ‘Come Talk to Me.’

Quote to Inspire – “My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” – Steve McCurry

Cobra 2 Seater - Edmonton, Alberta 1

Cobra 2 Seater – Edmonton, Alberta 1

Cobra 2 Seater - Edmonton, Alberta 2

Cobra 2 Seater – Edmonton, Alberta 2

A candy-apple red, two-seater Ford Shelby Cobra sits, ready, waiting and unused, eye candy within a car dealership’s maintenance department.

Listening to – Bill Mallonee & the Vigilantes of Love and ‘She Walks On Roses,’ ‘Resplendent,’ and ‘Goes Without Saying.’

Quote to Inspire – “The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things in words.” – Elliott Erwitt

Sedan Along Path - Valleyview, Alberta 1

Sedan Along Path – Valleyview, Alberta 1

Sedan Along Path - Valleyview, Alberta 2

Sedan Along Path – Valleyview, Alberta 2

Sedan Among Trees - Valleyview, Alberta 1

Sedan Among Trees – Valleyview, Alberta 1

Sedan Among Trees - Valleyview, Alberta 2

Sedan Among Trees – Valleyview, Alberta 2

Away from home, tasks requiring completion fly me southward to Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, one week ago today. My Sunday is a day-long, northward return trek home with my Canon 60D.

In my first years as a teacher, an elder’s coaching presented the predicament of moving through or around brush as analogy for the challenge of dealing with Life’s obstacles. If moving through brush resulted in injury, the better judgment call was that of moving around the obstacle. The key was seeing the situation for what it was. The elder was promoting the path already carved out, the natural path; for him, the established easier route ought to be the path to take. Along the road home, east from Valleyview, Alberta a fifties’ four-door sedan sits, resting and rusting, its rear window absent. It’s placement in a farmer’s field positions it along a natural path that will take it forward through trees. No longer having power to move itself, though, this sedan sits along a path that could have been.

M. Scott Peck, Robert Frost and even the Dead Poets Society’s professor Keating would all promote the road less travelled as the path to take. Perhaps the elder talking to me all those years ago was establishing reality’s balance to such assertion – the road less travelled overcomes obstacles that no one else or, at least, few have encountered. Finding one’s own way throughout one’s Life, personal navigation, is the thing in either case – avoiding the obstacles or seeking the uncommon, unique yet obstacle-laden path. It’s interesting to be referencing the Dead Poets Society again within this photoblog while associating to photos of this vehicle.

Listening to – CKUA Online and the Friday Night Blues Party, Curtis Salgado’s ‘She Didn’t Cut Me Loose’ and Andy T and Nick Nixon Band’s ‘Drink Drank Drunk.’

Quote to Inspire – “I really don’t have any idea about photography, but I take pictures.” – Alex Majoli

Walkabout Friday - 30s Sedan

Walkabout Friday – 30s Sedan

Scott Smith, CMO of Motivation to Move, was the first person to let me and his listeners in on certain rejuvenating aspects of the secret Life of entrepreneurs, the matter of setting aside the occasional Friday for walkabout, times to reconnect with friends and colleagues, times to check-in, play, have a beer; the walkabout Friday would be a day to cruise not too far out of town on your Harley Davidson motorcycle and to arrive and explore … sort of the same way people hit Farmer’s Markets on Saturday mornings.

Not a Harley, but a thirties sedan among other glory-days vehicle – the 64 Mercury Monterey and a 55 Chevrolet Truck (cream coloured behind the sedan). Walkabout Friday is in full swing in Nanaimo, British Columbia. My wife is indoors at the Valhalla Pure buying some Keen shoes.

Listening to – Great Lake Swimmers’ ‘The Great Exhale’ and ‘Cornflower Blue.’

Quote to Inspire – “Photography cannot do much. It provides some level of information, yet it has no pretensions about changing the world.” John Vink

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 1

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 1

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 11

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 11

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 10

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 10

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 9

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 9

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 8

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 8

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 7

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 7

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 6

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 6

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 5

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 5

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 4

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 4

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 3

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 3

Ford One Ton Tow Truck - McLure BC 2

Ford One Ton Tow Truck – McLure BC 2

A 1938 Ford one-ton tow truck sits, seemingly at the ready, gazing out to the highway. Yet, at the ready, looks a lot like ready to sell.

Static, the Ford’s paint flakes away and metal beneath oxidizes into rust, colourfully. Curves are the thing, in the shape and detail of the cab, in each window, throughout the length and nose of the hood, in the catch-all of the fenders and in the perfect circles of the lights; straight lines add contrast to these curves with the verticals and horizontals of the running boards, bumper and grill; and then there are the diagonals associated with the structure for leverage, towing and pulling other vehicles. There’s remarkable engineering, here, both in the original build of the Ford and in the impromptu innovation of the towing structure … someone has the knack for towing vehicles. The whole vehicle is architecture, engineering, shape and detail from a former time, a time that preceded me, a time that was my father’s – all pull my interest to this Ford. And, there’s anticipation of how it would drive and how it would ride … the finding of gears, the getting it to move and remain moving … there’d be the unique bounce and shift of weight as the truck moves over terrain … there’d be the rhythm of engine combustion idling and working, pacing out each mile … and there’d be the view from within while piloting this vehicle – all intrigue me.

Automobiles that have left the road have been set back on the road surface by this Ford. Remnants of collisions – damaged vehicles, damaged people and damaged egos, their aftermath has needed transfer to homes, autobody shops and junk yards, something this Ford has provided regularly. In extreme and extraordinary winter weather this Ford has been one to venture out on uncertain roads and perhaps there would be no safer place than in an outfitted Ford one-ton tow truck with a rested driver who understands people, the road and his machine. This Ford one-ton tow truck is for sale down around McLure, British Columbia; the first person with $2000 or so dollars takes it.

Listening to – Tom Cochrane’s ‘Big League’.

Quote to Inspire – “Buy a good pair of comfortable shoes, have a camera around your neck at all times, keep your elbows in, be patient, optimistic and don’t forget to smile.” – Matt Stuart

Plymouth Savoy - Beaverlodge, Alberta 1

Plymouth Savoy – Beaverlodge, Alberta 1

Plymouth Savoy - Beaverlodge, Alberta 2

Plymouth Savoy – Beaverlodge, Alberta 2

Plymouth Savoy - Beaverlodge, Alberta 3

Plymouth Savoy – Beaverlodge, Alberta 3

Plymouth Savoy - Beaverlodge, Alberta 4

Plymouth Savoy – Beaverlodge, Alberta 4

No longer gliding forward on each tire’s balloon cushion this vehicle slumps to the earth in resignation. Snow’s first fall dusts this Plymouth Savoy’s pitted hood, scars of gravel-sprayed journeys. Paint erodes, chrome still gleams. The vertical of trees’ up and down becomes contrast to rounder more human car curves.

Listening to – Lenka’s ‘The Show.’

Quote to Inspire – “I don’t believe a person has a style. What people have is a way of photographing what is inside them. What is there comes out.” – Sebastiao Salgado

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