Ian Andvaag d21 submission

Beechy Sand Castle

Hyper Hills

The first two images I have submitted were taken last summer at a unique location here in Saskatchewan called the Beechy Sand Castle and Sunken Hill. There are a couple of quarter sections of ranch land near the inlet of Lake Diefenbaker on the south Saskatchewan river that are home to some interesting land formations. It’s on private land, but the owner is gracious enough to allow visitors to come and hike around the area. Legend has it that an underground gas pocket collapsed,  causing the land to give way.  One day, the rancher went to check his cattle, and the tracks left by his truck a few days prior led right into the crater of the Sunken Hill!

The location is only accessible during dry conditions, since you have to drive through a field to get there. It was very hot the day I went and also quite smoky from forest fires out west in British Columbia. After walking around a bit and seeing the lay of the land, I knew I wanted to try out some hypers, but I had neither a laser rangefinder, nor Mike Davis’ stereobase calculator. I tried some anyway, but as you can see by my slipshod cutting to expand a panoramic mount, I didn’t get it quite right. Most of the hypers I took had very distracting retinal rivalry in the water, but this one didn’t seem quite as off-putting for whatever reason. This summer I have a goal to get a working system for hypers using two Agfa Isolettes.

Smell the Roses

Frosting

The other two slides are from my city, Saskatoon, on one of the few days of the year that we get hoarfrost. It’s always so beautiful and it’s one of my favourite things to photograph in MF3D. I titled the one slide “Smell the Roses”, because the frost can make even a pile of overgrown weeds in an industrial district look pretty, and it seems like many people don’t stop to take notice.

Now that I’ve got a workable B&W reversal process, I’m more motivated to shoot black and white. Hope you enjoy!

Claybank, Saskatchewan

Thank you so much for welcoming me into your group. I am struck by the great variety present in the folio. There are cha-chas, long night exposures, extreme hyper stereos, multiple exposures, homemade cameras, handheld shots, flash and more. All these different methodologies are used with a vast array of subjects. There is so much to explore with MF3D, and I can’t believe my luck that I’ve stumbled upon it when slide film is still available and this small but dedicated user group exists to support one another in our craft.

Thanks, I’m very grateful!


Claybank, Saskatchewan is home to North America’s best preserved brick making site. The Claybank Brick Plant was operational from 1914 to 1989 and made bricks for many building projects, including the Château Frontenac in Quebec City. The national historic site is open for tours during the summer, but you are able to visit the clay hills any time.

Shortly after receiving my Sputnik, I tried to think of locations near me which would provide good stereo photographic opportunities (a somewhat challenging task on the bald Canadian Prairies!) Claybank occurred to me as a unique place to photograph with its derelict brick-making plant and its eroded hills. I hoped that using black and white film would communicate a kind of neglected feeling about this old place.

All images taken in the Spring of 2016 on PanF+ except for Kilns which was Delta 100.

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