An ode to TMAX

It was my favorite film to shoot during 'those' days.  I don't know why, maybe the grain structure or the big dark contrast, or the way the blacks could really block up on you adding to that intense contrast .... I may actually never know, but in any event the TMAX look very much influenced the way I see B&W. 

With B&W I can focus on blacks and whites and shades of gray, structure, form, shapes and subtleties.  It becomes easier for me to tell the view exactly what it was that I saw and therefore, hopefully, easier for them to see what I saw. These 4 images from yesterday, developed in SEP using the TMAX filter and some of my own adjustments, were captured during my winter ride. 

I brought the trusty Trangia with just enough denatured alcohol to warm up my Snow Peak TI pots and make a lovely cup of tea.  It wasn't cold, but instead raw from the moisture in the air.  Having a cup of tea as I sat overlooking the water was a fitting way to end the day.

Fuel Storage

As spring approaches one of the great things for us UL travelers is that we get to put away the big (relative) white gas and propane stoves and bring out our lovely little alcohol stoves.  If you are not familiar with Alcohol stoves, they are small, uber lite, and run on denatured alcohol or some other derivative.  For three season camping where all you are doing is heating water for coffee and tea, or boiling some water for pasta or soup, these stoves just cant be beat. 

While many opt to make super lite versions out of assorted types of aluminum cans, of which there is a plethora of You Tube directions, I prefer the strength and stability of the Trangia.  Trangia is a Swedish company that builds a complete cook system around their little stove, but for those wishing simplicity, you can simply purchase the burner without all the pots.  These are wildly popular in Europe for good reason. They are just bomber little devices.  I use the base Trangia unit paired with the little Trangia Triangle which forms a windscreen and pot stand  when in use and folds flat when you are done with it.

As with all stoves you have to carry liquid fuel, and while the big bottles sold by MSR work great for the highly toxic white gas they carry, I prefer something more simple for the trangia.  I have discovered over the last year that the folding bottles from Platypus work amazingly well.  I can take .5 liters of fuel on a trip in one of the collapsible bottles and as the fuel is consumed, the bottle gets smaller and smaller, taking up less and less space.  If you are simply going for a one or two day trip and don't need that much fuel, you can start out with the amount you need and the bottle will shrink to a very manageable size.  With regards to durability, I have had fuel stored in one of these bottles for the past 5 months with no apparent degradation to the bottle or the cap. 

​At my presentation the other night a student picked up the little Platypus bottle and asked why my water bottle said 'TOXIC' on it.  I told him it was not water and that instead was my way of insuring I did not accidentally drink my fuel.  Apparently it works!!​

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Trangia Triangle, Trangia Burner, Platypus .5L Fuel Storage

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The little Trangia Burner