Author Archives: Robert

Vancouver panoramas

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar found this link to a number of old Vancouver panoramas in the City of Vancouver Archives and sent it to me last Tuesday. While I have done a few posts on the panoramas (Clocks for Seeing,Groupies,W. J Moore … Continue reading →

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Pictures for an Auction March 19, 2017

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. The latest PHSC auction will take place this month. These are some of the items to be auctioned (shown here on our web site – click the small icon that comes up to see the slide show and then click on any … Continue reading →

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a missed opportunity

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. When it burst on the scene in the early 1960s, the Gossen Lunasix (Luna-Pro over here) solved the problem of low light readings. Using the recently released Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) photo cell, the meter was both accurate and sensitive. … Continue reading →

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… and a touch of Selenium

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. In setting a dry plate or roll film camera for a particular scene, the toughest part of all was to determine the light value so the aperture and speed could be estimated. In 1935, Weston Electric Instrument Corporation in … Continue reading →

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Not only fish and snakes have scales

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. An option to actinometers or extinction meters was the more sophisticated scales and nomographs. These devices like the Harrold Exposure Scale patented in 1922, or the Johnson “Standard Exposure” calculator, allowed a photographer to describe a scene and the … Continue reading →

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Extinction meters

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. Another popular design to aid the photographer in his pursuit of the correct exposure was the extinction meter. This device relied on the photographer looking though an eyepiece or tiny aperture as a filter was slowly moved across the … Continue reading →

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Actinometers

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. Since the beginning of photography people tried to find reliable ways to predict the correct exposures for a given light and scene. One idea was to expose a sensitized contact paper in the shadows enough to “tint” the paper … Continue reading →

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Le Posographe of 1923

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. We are spoiled today. Our digital cameras automatically adjust settings to match the light. What was coal black a century ago is like daylight today. When dry plates and roll films arrived on the scene, development was split from … Continue reading →

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Pictures a century ago

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. Mo Patz dropped me a note from BC yesterday. Maureen was president of our Toronto chapter which folded into the national chapter many year sago. Mo writes, “A friend of mine in the States just sent me this e-mail … Continue reading →

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Lansdale Photograph from The Star Archives

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. Over a week back I was sent an email by George Dunbar. George had spotted a photograph in the Toronto Star that Saturday taken by Bob back in 1974. Bob’s photograph of Marshall McLuhan  was used to illustrate a … Continue reading →

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