Author Archives: Robert

made in Chicago

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. One of the most famous names in movies was Bell & Howell who made cameras and projectors  in the windy city. The history of the company, once famous as the premier maker of movie cameras for Hollywood, is featured … Continue reading →

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exhibition of “Skins” by Manolo Chretien of France

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. I often post the latest exhibition in the Galerie GADCOLLECTION in Paris, France. This time the Galerie is featuring Manolo Chrétien from July 5 through 31st. The gallery writes in part, “In his Aero series Manolo CHRÉTIEN puts sky on honor. … Continue reading →

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so what’s a Turmon?

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. You never heard of a Turmon? Well, where have you been? The little Turmon is nearly one century old! See the above Autumn 1987 Zeiss Historica article on page 7 by Joe Brown of Texas. In the mid 1800s … Continue reading →

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a tip of the hat to professionals

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. LIFE magazine back on May 21, 1951 published an advertisement by Ansco on page 95 encouraging families to get a professional portrait taken – using Ansco products, of course. For reasons best known by the Ansco advertising agency, the … Continue reading →

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a beacon in the night …

Posted on July 1, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Happy Canada Day, everyone! As I mentioned in an earlier post, the 1950s saw a burst of inspiration in selling flash guns to the general public as a means to counter the rather anemic speed of the films of … Continue reading →

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Ektachrome Redux

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. John Linsky sent me an email the other day announcing the rebirth of Ektachrome by Kodak. I replied in part, that Ektachrome is based on Agfa’s processes. Much larger colour-coupler molecules are used so they don’t drift from layer to … Continue reading →

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first photograph taken in what became Canada after confederation July 1, 1867

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. In 1840, an English businessman  called Hugh Lee Pattinson in a trip around the known parts of North America, used the the new daguerreotype technology to record spectacular areas of the world.  In British North America, he recorded the … Continue reading →

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all the news that’s FAKE to print …

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. It is often thought that manipulation of photographs only happened after Photoshop and its ilk arrived on the scene. However, decades before Photoshop, a savvy darkroom expert could seamlessly blend or otherwise manipulate two or more negatives or prints … Continue reading →

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more information on the recovered daguerreotype images

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Two days ago I posted a note on using x-rays to bring out daguerreotype images long thought lost in damage and tarnish. The earlier article was printed in the Globe and called to my attention by John Linsky. This … Continue reading →

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a flash in the pan

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. For Christmas 1951 I received the gift of a Brownie Hawk-eye kit with a camera (box), a roll of 620  film, flash  bulbs, flash-gun, dry cells for the gun and a plastic protector to hang over the flash-gun in … Continue reading →

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