Cocktails on Argile St. Halifax.

Ambrotype

Yesterday we went to the flea market and i picked up this little gem. It's called an Ambrotype which is quite an old process of photography. It was first used around the late 1840's and prominently till the 1880's. This one was made roughly around the 1870's.

The glass plate is first coated in a Collodion solution (nitrocellulose in ether or acetone) and then dipped in silver nitrate, it is then exposed while it is still wet and developed and fixed. The resulting image is a negative so the back of the glass plate is coated with a black varnish to make it appear positive. In the end the final object is entirely unique.

aaah, flea markets...

xx.

Road Trip

(^Photograph: Wouter Walmink)
Waiting for the bus, raining

Snow Flakes in Wouter's hair.

On tuesday this week we rented a car and headed into the wilderness of south Nova Scotia. We got on our way around 9am, bought some coffees, our map spread out, and lost in the burbs of Halifax. Highway number 3 allowed our escape and we were on our way once again. We decided to take it really easy and travel along the smaller roads along the east coast, and to stop whenever a photo opportunity or otherwise popped up. Nova Scotia is really really small so we only had about 100km to travel that day.

We stopped in a bunch of little towns along the way, including Chester where we bought some chocolate fudge.

We arrived at the Spinnaker Inn around 5pm in Lunenburg. We were greeted with a KING size bed in a really nice old fashioned room, a nice change from the futon we have been sleeping on for the last couple of weeks.

(^Photograph: Wouter Walmink)

We had our complimentary breakfast at "Large Marge's", a funky looking diner that played 50's rock and roll on a juke box so we played of our favourites. (They dont usually give complimentary breakfast although i think because we were from Australia and Holland and travelling at this time of year is a bit strange, they felt sorry for us. In fact we had a lot of trouble finding a place to stay as the majority of accomodations close for the season, as well as resturants! I am really baffled as to what people do for the whole of winter! People really do hybernate here!)

We went for a walk around the Lunenburg Golf Course which has a really nice view of the townscape of Lunenburg (which also closes for the season, they were covering the greens up when we were there. I also noticed that people wrap up their gardens in wheat bags so they dont get damaged by the snow.

An eagle circling the highways.

One of the many risky stops we made to take photographs.

On thursday, after spending the night in Annapolis Royal (the oldest settlement in Canada and apparently voted one the best places to live in the world), we got up at 6am and went for a walk around Fort Anne (also closed). The mist was thick and there were small bits of snow laying around. There was a very evocative atmosphere.

As we headed out of Annapolis Royal we came accross an old run down building on the side of the highway with junk and stuff everywhere. We took some photos in the paddock nearby and i wandered closer to the building. I noticed some really cool metal scultpures and around the side some sculptures made from bicycles. We were just leaving when a ute pulled up in the driveway, a man got out and introduced himself as Brad Hall. We got talking and he invited us into his shed, which was, his studio. It turns out that he is quite an important artist in the area and accorss Canada. He explained that the bicycle sculptures we saw were the leftovers from a collection of 80 sculptures which were made to auction off for a fundraiser. He was also a photographer and worked professionally when he was younger, a weaver for 25 years and worked in a hospital for prostitutes and the homeless, he had some very interesting perspectives on things, such as the individual and the abandonment of free will in modern society.

(^Photograph: Wouter Walmink)

After the enlightening chat with Brad we headed up to the west coast of NS and travelled along the winding unmarked tracks. After getting a little lost we ran into this sign, the town we wanted was not signposted and so we thought this view was just a little ironic. We eventually found signs to Cape Breton, where we were heading. Cape Breton is a cliff in Fundy Bay, it sort of pokes out of NS, there is a 4 to 5 hour bushwalk up the hill. When we got there we were confronted with a sign:

'Visitors must wear Hunters Orange'

and then a long list of dangerous aspects of the walk and reccommended bushwalking equipment, with none of these at hand and far from discouraged, we decided to walk just a little way. The track was really muddy and wet so we went off track a little onto the grassy areas and took some photographs and enjoyed the beautiful view of Fundy Bay, unfortunately no whales were to be seen.

After our walk we started back to Halifax, only a 45 minute drive from one side of NS to the other. We got back into town in the early evening and grabbed some pizza and beer. Later on we had to take the car back to the rent office, but beforehand top up the fuel. We ended up getting lost twice in the terrifying suburbs of Halifax but eventually made it back downtown. I'll never ever go out of downtown Halifax again, the burbs are really scary.

Highlighted in green is the route that we took.

xx.

To see more photographs of our trip go to Wouter's website:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/walmink/

Tomorrow we're renting a car and taking a trip around the south of Niva Scotia. First stop, Lunenburg and then who knows. We might do some bushwalking inland or some whale watching on the most south point of Nova Scotia (you have to catch three ferries to get there).

Talk to you soon with lots of stories.

xx.

Dartmouth.

Well, it has been snowing again. Last night we went out to Dartmouth on a Ferry, unfortunately it was not the best weather for a ferry ride so we missed most of the scenery. I guess it's good to know that there is not much in Dartmouth, we'll never have to go back there again. We got off the ferry in the dark and snow, the first thing we saw was a bummed out bus sitting on the island in the middle of the road and a police car and traffic directors. We asked for directions to a main street and after discovering that was not such a thing in the area, we took a walk and some photographs and then hopped a bus to Mic Mac Mall, obviously the place to be on a friday night. We had dinner at a resturant where the guests as well as the waiters and waitresses did not have any idea what was going on, the food was massive and yummy. We left the mall and started out in -9 degrees and wind. Then we went home.

xx.

TV viewing chairs in the bus station in Buffalo.

snow on black street

this is in my street, Black Street.

Snow in Halifax!!

Wouter took this photograph on the way into Halifax from the airport. I left Halifax in the early afternoon and it was raining, when i got back there was a massive snow storm and everything was white and thickly covered!


and this is my house!

Anchor Archives

This afternoon i went to Anchor Archives Zine Library. I got their number off an ad. in The Coast asking for volunteers to run some shifts. The library is in the front of their house (pictured above) and holds both local, international, for sale, free and for loan items. It is quite impressive. They have a funny cat, which is very cute but it has no tail hehe.

First Sight of Snow

I headed out to a gig last night, the headlining act were called In-Flight Safety, everyone seemed to think they were great, although i didn't care much for them. They were quite drab to be honest. i did however enjoy the two supporting acts, i thought they were original and catchy.

I dissapointedly left the gig early and with muffled ears walked out into the icy air of Halifax. The wind blew and my cheek froze and then it started snowing! Tiny little flakes of ice fell down, it reminded me exactly of that episode of the Simpons where Homer and Bart try and steal the kitchen's cooking fat and it explodes in the air condition above the school dance. But i didn't really get to taste this snow, so i dont know if it tasted like hamburgers or not.

There is no snow this morning, just lots of sunshine.

xx.

Today i met a wet dog. Last night there was a big storm that blew away billboards and limbs off trees. It still hasn't snowed but last night there were blizzards in Chicago, so i hope it's coming this way.

Tonight i am going to a gig at the Marquee. Not sure what to expect.

Till tomorrow.

xx.