Monthly Archives: July 2018

the times they are a-changin’

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. The Bob Dylan song “The Times They Are a-Changin’” appeared in the mid 1960s on the same named album.  And looking at photography and the dynamic shift from film to digital is so appropriate to Dylan’s song. George Dunbar … Continue reading →

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Snoping out fauxtography

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Was this heat wave REALLY so hot that cars melted in Arizona? Does the claim pass the smell test? Yeah,right! For many years the Snopes site has helped us mere mortals perform a decent smell test. Our customers occasionally … Continue reading →

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something’s wrong with this picture

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. In 1992, the late Glenn Frey, released the album Strange Weather. Included was the song Love in the 21st Century which includes the above line. Frey was the front man and writer for the dysfunctional rock band the Eagles. When … Continue reading →

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Ernest Brown, photographer (1877- 1951)

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Ernest Brown was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the bleak northern English town famous for its coal mines many decades ago, on September 8th, 1877, or so the book by Derek Hayes called “Canada: An Illustrated History notes based on an entry … Continue reading →

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Alice Austen of Staten Island, photographer

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar dropped me a note the other day about an early American woman photographer who was discovered by a wider audience only near the end of her life. Like Vivian Maier, she embraced photography as a hobby, but took … Continue reading →

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freezing motion at slow shutter speeds

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Robert

  Toronto. In the days of film, photographers used a trick to freeze a subject into sharp focus – scanning.  An article in a very old issue of LIFE magazine (Sept 17, 1951, p 121) shows the effect at a … Continue reading →

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why a Leica?

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. After the second world war, Leitz found itself competing with an old outmoded design in the screw mount series of cameras. In the 1954, it began to market the bayonet mount series of M Leicas. The M series is … Continue reading →

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movie film stats c2009

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar sent me an email the other day on statistics from spring 2009 issue of The Beaver. The statistics relate to the National Film Board (NFB) Vault. We have a gem in the NFB which was established in … Continue reading →

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the first 35mm camera was?

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. The late Thurman “Jack” Naylor of Massachusetts was a famous and well known collector of cameras and photographica in the States. In May of 1991 we had the pleasure of hosting Jack in Toronto where he gave a speech … Continue reading →

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camera brochures

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Camera makers offered many, many brochures to explain the virtues of their products to the common man. I have a few these days, mostly published by Ihagee, Leitz, Hasselblad (or their importers and distributors), or Kodak. These brochures give … Continue reading →

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