Author Archives: Robert

dance with me, Henry

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. You may be surprised that in 1914, the world’s largest dance hall was in Canada! The island,  a popular resort today, is a bit south of Windsor, Ontario. This photo and the related story were discovered by my good … Continue reading →

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not all bees buzz …

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend, George Dunbar, sent over this century plus photo with the following words, “This image was published in How Firm a Foundation: A History of the Township of Cramahe and the Village of Colborne in Cramahe’s Digital … Continue reading →

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Auction Sunday April 30, 2023

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Robert

Toronto.  Spring is here and it’s Auction time again! Our spring INDOOR AUCTION is on TODAY, April 30th, 2022 down in the Long Branch area of Toronto at the usual venue BUT at a slightly later time (see poster) – … Continue reading →

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an instant collection

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Les Jones sent along an interesting note the other day from a Terry and Kim Kovel (the auction folks) newsletter. Dated April 12th, the Kovels article is called, “Take a Picture: More than 1,000 Cameras Found in Abandoned Storage … Continue reading →

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dem plates, dem plates, dem dry plates

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Member Jeff Ward from up Halifax way writes, “A correspondent informed me that the issue of Scientia Canadensis devoted to photography and science is now available online.” The issue was edited by guest editor Joan Schwartz and featured some … Continue reading →

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the last of the Naturalists’

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Ken Metcalf down in North Carolina sent me a copy of the current Graflex Journal (first issue for 2023). In this issue, Tom Evans has an article on an oversize, robust Graflex camera made in the years 1907 to … Continue reading →

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far, far, away

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. We have it soft today. Sources of photos, cameras, film, darkroom, etc. abound – like our auction this month. Today, film has largely been replaced by digital technology and the ubiquitous smartphone camera. Digital images give ‘instant gratification’. Little … Continue reading →

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cheaper by the yard …

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Our meeting number 36 by ZOOM (3 years). It’s hard to imagine that just days ago we were still struggling with a nasty winter. As I write this (on the 9th of April) many folks up Ottawa way and … Continue reading →

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first the film …

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. … and now the lens? The idea of using a digital sensor rather than a film coated with a sensitive medium revolutionized photography. Before digital technology as we know it today, fax machines and television were (and still are) … Continue reading →

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we’ve been everywhere

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Today photography is everywhere. So much so that we take it for granted. The Moon, Mars, wars, famine, poverty, art, portraits, books, magazines, television, smartphones, medical, and on it goes. Without photography we would have no visual record of … Continue reading →

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