Tag Archives: flash

when we thought ten pounds was light …

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In this day of smart phones, it’s hard to imagine an accessory that was about 10 pounds in weight and a six inch square ten inches high with a flashgun stuck on the top and a tripod thread stuck … Continue reading →

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he is the flash man

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The March, 1946 edition of Popular Mechanics has an article on a unique 35mm camera designed for the US Army’s Surgeon General. Around the camera’s lens is a flash tube that flashes a 1/25,000th second burst of light “brighter … Continue reading →

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we’re back …

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Did ya hear the news? On October 1st, the PHSC Big One is back in person once again! We are now using a SATURDAY for the fall fair but we are indoors once again at the Trident Hall (Evans … Continue reading →

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checking shutter sync a half century plus ago

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the dying days of WW2, an article was printed in Popular Mechanics showing an impromptu way to ‘test’ a shutter – flash synchronization. The February, 1945 issue suggests photographing a flash bulb with caution and slow film to … Continue reading →

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dance with me, Henry

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. By 1940, newspapers and newshounds alike were busy trying to find new cheery ideas as WW2 rumbled on with its sorrowful gloom and destruction. Electronic flash suggested not only enough light for the slow film media of the day, … Continue reading →

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more than skin-deep

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Do you remember when you had an annual chest x-ray to detect TB? No? You must be a lot younger than me! This Popular Mechanics article from the January, 1939 issue shows how Westinghouse made an ‘electronic flash’ gizmo … Continue reading →

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four flasher

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Robert

Toronto.  … or more than one way to skin a cat (sorry cat fanciers). In the February 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics, a filler article suggests using two  special synchronizers for a Graphic camera to quadruple the light output over … Continue reading →

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nighthawks and newshounds

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. As night descends on the city, sirens cry out warnings. Yellow crime tape surrounds parts of the city. Marking the spot where deaths, accidents, fires, or other maladys of humanity happened. The area is lit up by brief flashes … Continue reading →

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smaller can be better

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. For many years flash bulbs were used to illuminate scenes at night or indoors.  Early flash guns were somewhat big and required fresh batteries to reliably trigger a flash bulb via a cable connecting flash gun and shutter sync. … Continue reading →

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cheap is how I feel

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Post war, the camera industry exploded with pent-up demand. Federal in Brooklyn was mainly known in photographic circles for their enlargers (I had one). Their enlargers were cheaply made and cheaply sold. Around 1948, the company decided to do … Continue reading →

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