Monthly Archives: November 2021

lessons from the movies

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Just picture the late 1920s. Movies were well established as silent entertainment media complete with musical accompaniment from piano to orchestra and all in-between. In 1928, the silents used body language and text slides to convey meaning. Actors could … Continue reading →

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a kokopelli camera

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Before science burst the bubble, many gullible souls believed in ghosts, seances, and fairies This past summer, I did the above post linked to ‘fairies’ covering the infamous ‘Cottingley Fairies’ saga. Many well educated folk like Dr Arthur Conan Doyle, … Continue reading →

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an apple you say

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Wow, when I saw George’s email, I thought of the Apple digital camera. Opening the email, I saw it was a BBC article from November 9, 2017 on making a pinhole camera from an eating apple. I had a … Continue reading →

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transistor radios, TVs, trinitron, walkmans, and more …

Posted on November 7, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Today we usually think of Sony as a TV and camera maker. They made their name in North America with a transistor radio and later the fabulous line of television sets and walkman portable tape players. When digital technology … Continue reading →

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in Quebec we say nombre vingt

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. and the English say ‘number 20’ – our twentieth executive session via ZOOM. It’s over a year and a half now and COVID is still dragging on. Collectively, we have pretty well avoided the FOURTH wave effect by resorting to … Continue reading →

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one ringy-dingy

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Most of us remember Lily Tomlin and her hilarious nasal rendering of an officious telephone operator. Today, few can even remember the time when we had party lines and local calls were connected by an operator. Today’s smart phone … Continue reading →

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all aboard the gravy train

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. In the post WW2 years, photography grew in leaps and bounds: new amateurs, colour, slides, movies, etc. and all with easier, better ways to succeed as a photographer. The Chicago company, SVE, too wanted to profit from the enthusiasm … Continue reading →

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a linhofty objective

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. I dream about the last century when I used film and had a darkroom. I was sold on 35mm back then, but still dreamed of larger format media and cameras. For many years, I wanted to own and use … Continue reading →

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really, David? a Realist?

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The Stereo craze ebbs and flows reaching a peak about every 50 years. In the later 1800s and early 1900s it was stereo cards. A basket of cards plus a Holmes viewer took the place of television or movies … Continue reading →

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the alpha and the omega of enlarging

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. I first enlarged negatives when in high school. A few years later in Northern Quebec I bought my first enlarger – a very cheap affair labelled as a Federal. The small town I was in had only contact printing … Continue reading →

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