Author Archives: Robert

see you in Montreal October 16th

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Montrealer and friend Sol Hadef sent me a note with this poster. Pre COVID, Sol was a regular table holder at our fairs and a member of the PHSC. Montreal is a beautiful city in the fall. I went … Continue reading →

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on see you in Montreal October 16th

faking a fading light

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Earlier this year we discussed movie fades in relation to a polarizing filter set that could be affixed to many movie lenses for 8mm or 16mm cameras (a May 1940 article). A few month earlier, in October, 1939 another … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on faking a fading light

it pays to advertise (again) …

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … or so they say. There are many innovative ways to advertise and this article found by my good friend, George Dunbar, who shared it here with us, shows oner example. In the December, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics, … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on it pays to advertise (again) …

what goes around …

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … comes around. Or so the old saying goes. And to prove a point, the November, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics carried this article about an unnamed American ‘inventor’ who came up with the idea of a circular film, … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on what goes around …

better than a clockwork camera

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In May of 1939, Popular Mechanics did an article on a nameless camera that used an electric motor rather than the usual spring wound affair. Its ‘fresh egg’ was allowing a full 25 foot spool of film to be … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on better than a clockwork camera

Kamloops in the news

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Over the past few years we have seen and heard about the horrific discoveries that began at the  the Kamloops Residential School. These shocking stories culminated in a visit by Indigenous Canadian delegates to the Vatican, an apology by the … Continue reading →

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Kamloops in the news

liquid silver

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of films and glass plates, the job of a developer solution was to  convert the silver halides in the emulsion to metallic silver in proportion to the light intensity hitting the molecules. The process had to … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on liquid silver

a modest merger

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In 1729, an anonymous article called, “A Modest Proposal” was written by Jonathan Swift, known for his satirical tales like, “Gulliver’s Travels“. The article was also intended to be a satirical piece but was taken as very serious when … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on a modest merger

some say film …

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … others say analog (or analogue). But whatever you call the old emulsion and liquid chemistry-based photography, the prints have a certain je ne sais quoi charm and look about them. Our favourite editor, Rita Godlevskis, at PhotoEd sent me a … Continue reading →

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on some say film …

before we had Xerox …

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Before we had the modern Xerox copiers,  photography helped businesses make decent copies, A brief article in the August, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics describes a special camera that was considered ‘portable’ and printed directly to special paper. A … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on before we had Xerox …