Tag Archives: #steveschwarz

Ice roads on Great Slave Lake

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Easter long weekend cruise on the ice roads on Great Slave Lake (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories).
This 110km long and 1.1m thick ice road heads from Yellowknife to the Vital Metals Ltd. Nechalacho rare earths project at Thor Lake near the Hearne Channel of Great Slave Lake. All heavy equipment for the mine was transported on this road.

On Saturday (May 8th) the light was poor and road conditions made road difficult to drive. Actually quite difficult to see the road. On Sunday (May 9th) the road was freshly plowed and sunny sky. We drove the Yellowknife – Devils Channel (Gros Cap) section (75km) and skied 11km in Devil’s Channel that separates Gros Cap from the mainland. No other traffic on the road. On the return, due to the warm temperatures in the afternoon and cooling evening temperatures the large and deep puddles on the crystal clear ice were partially frozen – peppering the hood and windshield with chunks of ice. The ice road was closed 12hours after we got home.

Anticipating that things can go wrong on a remote ice road, we brought safety and survival gear, including the rooftop tent, -30C sleeping bags, warm clothes, food, stove, inreach, extra fuel, winch, ice screws, towing strap, and Maxtracks. 

Pictures from Saturday:

Pictures from (sunny) Sunday:

Zion, Canyonlands and Arches National Park (B&W)

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It has been ages since I’ve posted –

It has been ages since I’ve had a vacation and

It has been ages since I’ve actually used a camera.

January 2023.

Yes – I am one of those people that still use a real camera instead of taking pictures with a cell phone. This vacation I brought 3 cameras; GoPro, Fuji X-T1 and a Leica M240. Add chargers, extra lenses (14mm Fuji, 8mm Samyang, and 24mm Leica and 19mm Leica)…it all adds up to a ton of gear. Wait, Leica M240 and Leica 19mm ??. Leica M240 is a rangefinder camera and the 19mm Leica lens is for SLR-type cameras !. Who does that ?.  The Leica 19mm has a Leitax adapter (to Nikon – and compatible with my D700 and D850) and with a Nikon – Leica L/M adapter.  This was supposed to be the final voyage for that Leica lens. It was dropped years ago and bent. No broken glass. Sent to Leica for repair and re-built – sort of.  The ring with the serial number was lost when it was dropped, so Leica gave it a new serial number. A unicorn lens !.  Since then, fungus has developed in the lens showing up as lens flare on the top of photo. My work-around is to hold the camera upside down.  A bit weird – though works !.

 

Zion National Park

So, on this trip I had 3 cameras. Each night the task of copying the images to a computer and then to an external hard drive for backup. In contrast, my travelling partner had her photos on her phone. With WiFi at the hotel her images were backed up to Google. Her posts to social media were quick and easy. Ugh. For me, copying the photos to the computer took ages and them more time to back them up. I also shoot in RAW format and the images are at least 25Mb.  And – with the Leica, it is manual focus too….More delays during the hikes.

All that complaining aside, I really enjoy using the old Leica camera and lenses.  There is something very different with those lenses. My Nikon lenses are crystal clear and sharp, auto focus, and light weight (carbon fibre instead of brass). The Leicas, designed in the 1970’s are…Not. That said, the Leica lenses have a certain character, the pictures have a look that is quite distinctive than modern state of the art lenses, and I like the feel of using them.  Similarly to a woodworker using hand tools instead of power tools, or a gardener using a shovel instead of a power tiller.

All the photos are in Black & White. Why ?. Although the colours are spectacular, the tone and patterns in B&W are more obvious. And, B&W is more old school, back when everyone had manual focus lenses. ;>

Zion National Park

Virgin River, Zion National Park, Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canyonlands National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

 

Arches National Park

Petroglyphys. Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Delicate Arch. Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Delicate Arch. Arches Nati0nal Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Delicate Arch. Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Delicate Arch. Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Delicate Arch. Arches National Park. Leica M240 + Leica -R 19mm

Canoe trip: Boundary Creek (June 4 & 5, 2022)

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A couple of pictures from a canoe down and up Boundary Creek June 4 and 5th, 2022.  Boundary Creek is approximately 30km west of Yellowknife and flows into Great Slave Lake. It river meanders, a couple of easy portages, and a couple of places it is easy to take the wrong turn.

All pictures with a GoPro2 or Fuji X-E1 (14mm lens).

For sale: Toyota land cruiser landcruiser diesel manual BJ42

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1980 BJ42 Toyota landcruiser.

Diesel (3b engine), 4 speed, two speed transfer case (2H, 4H, 4L). 10% gear reduced transfer case to compensate for the large tires. Drives and runs well. Rear body needs work. missing rear window on passenger side. Winch. Front turn light removed and is included. $5800 – OBO. Clear Title. Not at location shown in photos. **** Don’t ask if still Available. If post is up – it is available.

 
 
Yellowknife
 

Fun Friday: Leica-r 19mm on a Leica M240 Icefields Parkway (Jasper National Park)

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I recently returned from a driving vacation (6,000km in 2 weeks).  As usual, there were a few cameras in my bag, including a Leica M240 and my favorite lens – Leica 19mm/2.8 V1.  Yes, it is SLR lens on a rangefinder. An unusual combination: a huge and heavy lens on a compact (though still heavy) camera.   I use a Leica EVF for focusing and a Nikon-to-Leica M adapter (Leica lens has a Nikon F lens mount). Ok – lots of complicated camera gear.

Before the pictures….one more thing to add.

The Leica 19mm lens has a big blob of fungus and lots of dust (so does the camera sensor).

Icefields Parkway (Jasper National Park, Alberta). Sept 14, 2021.

(Click on the picture to make them Bigger).

Good – bad, or downright Ugly ?

Leave me a comment.

Road Trip: Yellowknife (NT) to Nainaimo (BC)

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First major road trip in what seems like ages. My last road, to Edmonton from Yellowknife was for medical travel, and the return route was entirely face down in a pillow.  ;<

This trip, solo driving from Yellowknife (NT) to Nainaimo (BC) – 2593km with a 740km detour to Smithers (BC).

For fun, similar driving distances:

Amsterdam – Moscow: 2446km

Amsterdam – Istanbul: 2720km

Amsterdam – Athens: 2870km

Amsterdam – Helsinki: 2264km

 

Lots of long sections of nothing – rocks and trees and intermittent cell phone coverage, Even radio coverage is spotty. Thank you Audio Books !

 

Dingne (France)

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The rapid spread of the Covoid 19 virus has pretty much stopped travel for the next – unknown while. We can’t stop thinking about travel; places where we have been – or places we would like to visit at some point in the future.

Here goes a little challenge – to post places where you have been starting with the letter ‘D’. Lets see how far we can take this, and see how many letters we can include.

Dinge (France). Pictures from April 28, 29 2015.  Camera – Fuji X-E1, X-Pro1 and Revue-3 film camera.

Chero Village (Kampong Cham, Cambodia)

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The rapid spread of the Covoid 19 virus has pretty much stopped travel for the next – unknown while. We can’t stop thinking about travel; places where we have been – or places we would like to visit at some point in the future.

Here goes a little challenge – to post places where you have been starting with the letter ‘C’. Lets see how far we can take this, and see how many letters we can include.

These pictures taken during a two week volunteer session at OBT (Organization for Basic Training), a Cambodian-run non-governmental organization established in 2007 by Sophal Pot to provide education and empowerment of the children living in Chiro Village.

November 30, 2014 – December 12, 2014.

 

Bhaktapur City, Nepal

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The rapid spread of the Covoid 19 virus has pretty much stopped travel for the next – unknown while. We can’t stop thinking about travel; places where we have been – or places we would like to visit at some point in the future.

Here goes a little challenge – to post places where you have been starting with the letter ‘B’. Lets see how far we can take this, and see how many letters we can include. 

All photos from March 3, 4, 5 and 6 – 2015.

GoPro2, Fuji XE-1 and X-Pro

 

Aix-en-Provence (France)

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The rapid spread of the Covoid 19 virus has pretty much stopped travel for the next – unknown while.  We can’t stop thinking about travel; places where we have been – or places we would like to visit at some point in the future.

Here goes a little challenge – to post places where you have been starting with the letter ‘A’. Lets see how far we can take this, and see how many letters we can include.

All photos from April 24 & 25, 2015, with either a Fujifilm X-Pro + 55-200mm 3.5-4.8 or Fujifilm X-E1 + 14mm/2.8