Ambrotype Subjects In Banff, Alberta, Canada?

 

$30 Donation For The Families

After my artist talk in Winnipeg during the FLASH PHOTOGRAPHIC FESTIVAL, one of the viewers gave me $30 to help THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP and THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY. Thanks so much. I will also try to give the $500 CARFAC artist fee (or as much as I can) back to the people in the pictures. 

I need to start running a new donation money total link to on this page for the next trip to continue the 2 projects. I think I might return to Thailand in April 2023, after my possible retirement as a guard (28 years by then). Lots up in the air just now, more details to follow for those that care :)

Gerry

PENTICTON ART GALLERY, ARTS LETTER, September/October 2018

Bored a bit tonight at work. I found this old PDF link story to the Penticton Art Gallery show from a few years back. When you get into nicer more prestigious galleries like the Penticton Art Gallery, they have these bonus things, other ways to tell your story (THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP).

Online PDF Link To The Art Letter from Sept/Oct 2018

Polar Bears At The Winnipeg Zoo

One of the fun parts of the trip to Winnipeg, was making some photos of the wonderful polar bears at the zoo. They have 9 bears, all started their lives as orphans and were rescued.

Got to love bears 2-5 feet away from you!!

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHIC FESTIVAL EXHIBITION, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The show hanging. The show looked pretty good, considering it was all arranged from Thailand. I just sent files.  I owe Leif N a ton of thanks for his work on the exhibition. 11 Photos were shown.

The talk went well. Met a lot of great people. About ten enthusiastic guests, many photogs. Spoke OK but need to shorten things as the talk went long. Even got a surprise $30 donation to help the families. It was fun.

Photos mostly from THE FAMLIES OF THE DUMP

Arrived In Winnipeg

In Winnipeg, doing a talk tonight on THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP and THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY. Photos are in exhibition as part of the FLASH PHOTOGRAPHIC FESTIVAL.

Hotel room and view.

Freddy Coming Out Of Hibernation

Taking him (FREDDY) out of winter hibernation next week!! Time to start working on the AMBROTOS KANATA, ambrotype project again.

Freddy (named after Frederick Scott Archer) is coming out of hibernation!

Free Foam

I picked up some free yellow foam from a work garbage (petro chemical plant where I work security). Will try to adapt it to help me transport large sheets of glass this AMBROTOS KANATA season. Might not work but its worth a try, and its free!

One of my early challenges in this project is transporting glass.

Weird Dream

Had a weird dream last night. I was explaining the virtues of digital photography to a film guy in the dream. Kind of strange because I was such a strong film person for so long.

One of the advantages of digital in 2022, is you make digi negs from both film and digital originals. One of my goals is to become a much better platinum/palladium printer in the years ahead. Here is a sample of "Families of the dump" prints done in 2020.

Platinum/Palladium photographs have a real beauty. to them, such a wonderful feel. Want to be able to print larger.

Platinum Prints from, THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP IMAGES

Found Dump Photo

First old but newly found photo of the day. This neg was in a neg sheet I had laying about.

Win family oldest son walking with bag in the dump, THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP, Mae Sot garbage dump, Mae Sot, Thailand, 2018

Lay Auh in the garbage, 2018

Working On My PowerPoint, For Winnipeg's FLASH PHOTOGRAPHIC FESTIVAL

Working on my PowerPoint presentation. Need to use it for an artist talk in Winnipeg next Thursday. One of the advantages of working as a night time security guard is you have time to do personal projects. Not much of a computer guy but trying to figure this all out. Want to make the presentation 45 minutes long.

Working At Work On My PowerPoint, Artist Presentation

Still Stuck In Vancouver

Still stuck in. Vancouver, eager to get home and have some pho. It has been 7 weeks! The unexpected 6 hour layover (missed earlier flight) still has over an hour to go.

My view of Vancouver, from my airport bed (tight uncomfortable chairs).

Missed Connecting Flight Back To Edmonton

So I missed my connecting flight from Vancouver to Edmonton! I arrived in Vancouver Canada from Seoul at 1230pm. As I am about to get out of my seat I look at my Edmonton boarding pass and it says boarding at 1310. So I have 40 minutes. I need to do the following in that time span.

- get out of the plane.

- walk to customs.

- get my passport receipt checked by customs, with the customary suspicious Thailand questions.

- pick up my check in bag.

- recheck in at the domestic counter. The counter was far away as a result of Covid restrictions. Air Canada did not provide clear instructions of how to get there. I went to 3 different check I. Areas and information before finding my way.

-go through the security X-ray machines again, 3rd time today.

- walk to the gate on the other side of the airport.

- get on the airplane.

Guess what I did not come close to making it. Now delayed another 6 hours waiting for the next flight to Edmonton. I am covered in sweat, an going to be very rip by the time I make Edmonton. The trio pack to Edmonton from Bangkok is going to run about 35 hours (usually around 24 or less). A bit of a nightmare return.

Starving, am forced to buy food at the airport, $18 for a burger combo.

A Very Expensive Hamburger

Keep Getting Locked Out

Travelling can be such a pain when using your various online stuff overseas. So far during this 7 week trip to Thailand, I have been locked out of my bank 2 times, out of my Gmail account and now out of Facebook. There are assumptions made that you are a hacker, then you need to follow multiple steps to log on again. The bank was the worst, I had to make long distant phone calls, that I paid for. Having money in your bank account but being unable to access it sucks. Spent an hour trying to log onto Facebook today. You have done nothing wrong but pay for the illegal activity of others. What a pain in the butt!

Buddha Sukothai

Beautiful sitting Buddha from Sukhothai, Thailand.

Got to love the Buddha's of Thailand. This one a sitting Buddha

Gai Yaung, Kao Nee-Owe

Some street food. Sticky rice and grilled chicken, 30 baht (S1.20 CAD). Very delicious!

Some great Thai street food.

HF2024, Update

So far the HF2024 has been great for me, limited use, but great so far.

From Facebook..

Made the second payment on the HF2024 camera (20x24 inch view camera). One more and she will be mine . Might be able to shoot her late this year as part of the climb up to HF3535. Plan on taking the HF2024 places that the HF3535 will not fit!

Ilnesses

For those of you waiting. The last trip to Thailand took a lot out of me. I  had an injury while photographing in Bangkok, a bad bacterial foot infection after the dump (multiple clinic and hospital visits) then a 35 hour series return flights and delays (missed the Vancouver to Edmonton link). Was pretty wiped out in arrival, felt all my 58 years. 

On arriving back in Canada I went back to work and got a bad chest cold (luckily not Covid). I think it was because of the temperature difference of +37-+40 C in Thailand for 7 weeks, followed by  -12C or so in Edmonton. 

I will be writing stories on the blog in the coming days. As I have mostly recovered. The good news is this trip in Thailand with the subsequent illnesses I have dropped from about 240lbs to 222lbs. 

Am flying to Winnipeg for next week to the Artist Talk and view the FLASH PHOTOGRAPHIC FESTIVAL exhibition.

Lots of updates ahead, sorry for the delay.

Note* Since I am down to 222lbs, going to try to reach 200lbs in the months ahead!! Wish me luck!!!!

Prints Up At The FLASH PHOTOGRAPHIC FESTIVAL In Winnipeg

Leif Norman the organizer of the festival, sent me an email. I guess the prints are up on the wall. He sent me a pic of 5 of the photos in the show. There should be 12 pics exhibited in total, not sure on the sizing, some look large. The other photos will be displayed in a street view widow. People will be able to walk on the sidewalk outside the space and see the imagery. Leif did a wonderful job! 

Note* I will be doing a 45 minute PowerPoint Artist talk for the 2 projects, THE FAMILIES OF THE DUMP, and THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE UNDER THE FREEWAY. The talk will be April 21. 7pm At 354 Portage Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Note** I am supposed to receive the exhibition photographs after they are shown. I will be selling the prints to directly help the people in the pictures. The Thai people who live under the freeway in Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok, and the Burmese refugee families in the Mae Sot dump, will receive the help (in the form of goods, supplies, food, medicines, candy and toys for the kids etc). I will distribute everything on my 2023 trip to Thailand. If you want to buy an exhibited print, please contact me. I will give 100% of the money earned back to those in the photographs, no waste, no profit, no tricks or ulterior motivations. I will send you updates on how your money was used. Your reaching out, helps those in need, from you to them.