Author Archives: Robert

stay home – stay inspired

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. By now we have all heard and felt the impact of COVID-19 and its repercussions. The terms – social distancing and self isolation have become common concepts as countries world wide struggle to contain this nasty virus. For entirely … Continue reading →

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film savings nearly 60 years ago

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend George Dunbar is a fabulous source of suggestions and inspirations as he pursues photographic history as reflected in magazine advertisements last century. Today’s item stems from George’s email a few days back showing a collaboration between … Continue reading →

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a snowball’s chance …

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Many image collectors specialize. Some by process (like daguerreotypes), some by history, and some by topic (like bicycles). PHSC member and speaker, Jeff Ward sent me this interesting link to a New York Times article about a collector of … Continue reading →

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predicting glass

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Wikipedia has an article on a famous essay that predicted things we take for granted today – like computers, Google Glass, AI, internet, robots and more. In 1939, Vannevar Bush published his essay “Mechanization and the Record”. After the … Continue reading →

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wishful thinking …

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. When Edwin Land announced the famous Polaroid Land system a few years after the war, dealers had difficulty keeping the “picture-in-a-minute” cameras and film in stock.  By the time this ad showed up, the Polaroid system was down to … Continue reading →

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Bill’s World

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. In 1995, McClelland & Stewart, Inc (then a famous Canadian Publishing House) published a Canadian edition of “The World of William Notman” written by Hall, Dodds and Triggs. The lavish book had a history of the Notman Studios and a … Continue reading →

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OCCS for April cancelled too

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. News from our friends in Ohio of another closing to offset risk of infection.

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Yashica 44LM in LIFE

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Yashica were very busy mid last century. One series of Yashica cameras took on the mighty Rollei TLRs. The Yashica versions came in the identical 120 roll film size and in the smaller size using 127 roll film. I … Continue reading →

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bean bag boogie

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. With the proliferation of fast cameras and films, photographers began to search for a simple support to rest the camera or long lens on. More flexible than a tripod; steadier than hand held, especially when depth of field was … Continue reading →

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getting a leg up

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Robert

Toronto.  Over the years there were many kinds of camera supports. The early studio supports were massive wooden boxes, usually with four legs. When cameras were used outdoors we soon saw the traditional three legs – tripods – first of … Continue reading →

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