Author Archives: Robert

catching the fire light just right

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. I remember taking photos of fireworks one summer many years ago using 35mm colour slide  film and bracketing my shots. I was surprised when the film was processed and the fireworks were captured – with some burnt out highlights … Continue reading →

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blue water line

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Well this is executive meeting two two via zoom and as they say in the Corner Gas song “… nothin’ much going’ on …”. The most significant event recently is the January, 2022 presentation by Brandon Leung, winner of … Continue reading →

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a neater meter

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. One area of photography that absolutely demanded consistency in exposure was movies. Any unexpected exposure shift between scenes or reels was obvious and annoying to theatre goers, especially those who paid hard earned money for the movie experience. Weston … Continue reading →

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anchors aweigh!

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Those were the heady days of home movies when people lugged out the heavy projector and its awkward screen. Today, we call such marvels ‘boat anchors’ – not much value to a camera collector, and only good if you … Continue reading →

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daylight blues

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the mid last century, one could buy daylight or tungsten transparancy (slide) film. The difference was in their white balance. Incandescent bulbs would have a colour balance around 2700 degrees kelvin and a special blue filter on the … Continue reading →

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boys will be boys

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Most of us have heard of the rivalry between Leica (Leitz, Wetzlar) and Contax (Zeiss, Jena) last century. On page 455 of the October 1935 issue of American Cinematographer,  Leitz, New York placed this ad to extol the virtues … Continue reading →

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the good, the bad, and the ugly – again

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The last time I used this title. it was for a Leica accessory . This time it is camera design at and after the mid 1930s and the minicam revolution. Good camera design encompasses many considerations. Ergonomically designed, utilitarian, light, … Continue reading →

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riding the rails

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. View or Field cameras and Kodak folders, etc used a rail or two rails in parallel to move the lens, lens board (and shutter, if part of the lens) away from or closer to the sensitive media to capture … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year’s 2022

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Robert

Well, here we are at the top of the calendar, looking down a fresh new year, full of hope and anticipation. With any luck, we will see the end of COVID which has over-stayed its welcome by a couple of … Continue reading →

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how to introduce a new revolutionary product

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Leitz, a few years earlier, taught photographers the virtues of an enlarged small negative to introduce their novel little camera with small negatives. Traditionally, much larger cameras were used. The camera size determined the size of the final print … Continue reading →

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