Author Archives: Robert

a midsummer’s holiday …

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. … with apologies to Bill Shakespeare.  A long weekend break for the working folk is a great idea! Traditionally, The holiday in question is August 1st and celebrated the first Monday on or after the 1st. One or two … Continue reading →

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simply de-vine, my dear

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Continuing on with issue 14-2, another article by Ev discusses an old print tool – the Vignetter. Ev’s article is called, “An old friend, nearly forgotten, THE VIGNETTER”. The basic idea of this tool is to block out a … Continue reading →

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inky dinky parlez vous

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Issue 14-2 has a wealth of interesting stories by the editor. This a story about a small incandescent spot light with attachable accessory snoots to create a small circle of illumination. I used a variation of a line from … Continue reading →

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the Canadian connection

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Apologies to Gene Hackman and the exciting movie, “The French Connection”. In late 1987, one of our founders and a driving force for our fairs, the late Lauro (Larry)  Boccioletti, wrote an article in issue 13-3 called, “ARCHIE JOHNSON, … Continue reading →

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shadowland

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Perhaps the best known photographer who  used shadows to create special effects was Man Ray. In the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century many now famous photographers created artistic photos like those the pictorialism era … Continue reading →

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lights out …

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. The photo at left shows closing day at Simpson Brothers in Toronto. The year was 1955 and it was the end of the skylight and dry-plate era. Since the 1800s, photo studios clustered around the Yonge-King-Queen corner of Toronto. … Continue reading →

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flashes of fancy

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Our then recently appointed editor, Ev Roseborough wrote an engaging story in issue 13-5 called, “The Twenty-fourth of May – everyday”. Ev’s skills as a photographer make a point that to be a good editor one must be devoted … Continue reading →

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kudos to Kodak

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In 1888, George Eastman down in Rochester broke new ground with his then iconic “Kodak” camera. This marvellous invention has a name speakable in most languages. For the first time in photography it was a camera that used roll … Continue reading →

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all a-whirl …

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In the days before motion pictures, people congregated to see ‘magic lantern‘ slides projected on a screen with commentary by the projectionist or an assistant. In order to add motion to the slides, some had added means to move … Continue reading →

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helping the bacon

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In issue 13-1, I reviewed the book, “#16 – Champlin on Fine Grain”. This 1938 text gave a detailed explanation and developer formulae for fine grain processing while maintaining film speed. At the time there was considerable effort to … Continue reading →

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