History Archives - Paterson Photography Ltd.

The Empress

Empress Fort MacLeod — Inside the Empress

For many years the only reason we would stop in Fort MacLeod was for the ice cream shop next to the fort. During the summer a stop at the ice cream shop was a treat for the kids as we were heading home from a trip. Of course Dad did not mind the stop either. But a couple years ago I had a chance to do some photography of the Fort and the Empress Theater. I have to say the assignment opened my eyes to the photo opportunities around Fort MacLeod. It is worth the drive, or a stop, when passing through.

Tour the Empress theater opened my eyes to some of the history of the area. It is a great tour to take! The theater really is a part of the past and it is so well preserved. As part of the shoot I had the chance to wander around the place with a guide then on my own and it was amazing to see everything!!

The fort at Fort MacLeod

The Fort also has a lot of amazing displays. The museum relives the settlement of southern Alberta. A huge highlight of the stop is the Musical ride. It is a treat taking you back in time to when the Fort was a major player in southern Alberta and western Canada. Add to all this the fact that the Fort has a number of photo opportunities and a stop in Fort MacLeod is going to get you some fantastic photos.

History is not as boring as school makes it out to be!

Many times over the years when I have been either taking pictures, editing or printing I think about how what I do today would look to those that have gone before us. Not only in the photography business but also in the printing business.

What would a photographer from the 1900’s up to the 1970’s think of the cameras of today. Even the cameras that we had to shoot during the last years of film photography. What would photographers up to the late 1980’s think about digital. Or my big one what would people think about the digital editing and printing that we can do now. I tell people that if I could go back in time 50 years or more with my computer and my printer I could own the printing industry. Both for photographs and for printing of signs, posters, etc. I could do so much. With today’s equipment I would be able to do retouching & print jobs that were unheard of in years gone by. Or jobs that took days to do I could do in minutes.

Searching for my history

After my father passed away I was going through a pile of old papers he had and found some information on my grandfather. My grand father on my father’s side passed away when my dad was just a young boy. I knew very little about him but I did have the blessing to come across some military records for him. As I was reading them I found out something that was SHOCKING!!! My grandfather was a printer early on in life. Later on I found more documents that lead me to believe after he came back from the war that he was still a printer.

From my families history a military record — My grandfather’s military information

I wonder what it would be like to work along side of him printing a book in the way he did or print a poster advertising an event. Then being able to show him what I can do now. Need a poster for advertising – it would take a printer back in the 1900’s the better part of a day to layout and print. Today I can do it in a few minutes and I can make changes in seconds. Or showing someone like Ansel Adams how I could retouch, adjust and print photos in minutes that would take his darkroom tech days!

Today will be tomorrow’s history

The saying is true that history does repeat itself. I also wonder if my grandson or a great grandchild will ever go into the photography or printing trade? What will they have for technology in the future that I could only dream of today or more so I could not even think of today. It is cool to think about!