Category Archives: history

how to fail without really trying …

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. “What the heck is a photon, anyway?”, you may ask. Actually, it is a measure of light. In 1948, Bell & Howell misspelt the word to create a unique name for its still camera, as is often the case … Continue reading →

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drumming up business

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. In November, 2003, we had the privilege of hearing well known photographer, the late Paul Hoeffler, talk about his experiences as a youth photographing jazz musicians in the Rochester area. Back then, Paul knew and photographed many once celebrated … Continue reading →

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marks the spot

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. After the end of the war, all camera makers used marketing to try to increase market share. Even the most trivial difference between camera makers was touted as an amazing breakthrough. For example, Argus chose the viewfinder of their … Continue reading →

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cat’s eye

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Nearly a century ago, there was a race on to create a faster lens. Such a lens would allow photos  indoors and at night using natural light. In 1924 Ernemann announced the Ermanox plate camera (4.5×6 cm) with a … Continue reading →

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eye of the storm

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. It was ‘the best of times and the worst of times‘ between the world wars. After the first war, pent-up demand blossomed into unprecedented wealth in the first decade, followed by the worst depression ever in the next (world … Continue reading →

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Japan c1908 in photos

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Our President, Lewko Hryhorijiw, sent me this link from Helen Teager. The photographs are a selection of the work by the German-American photographer, Arnold Genthe, held in the Library of Congress. The photos were taken when Genthe spent a … Continue reading →

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I shot an arrow up in the sky …

Posted on August 29, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. WW2 had ended three years earlier and the world was getting back to normal. Just a year before this December 1948 ad appeared, Ansel Adams took a photograph of mountain climbers on  the top of Yosemite Park’s famous ‘Lost … Continue reading →

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one born every minute …

Posted on August 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. … or so Barnum is supposed to have said.  The Bolex was the Leica or Contax of the amateur movie crowd. It was a high end camera made in Switzerland by Paillard. Interestingly, Bolex was originally not a Paillard … Continue reading →

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it’s a bird, it’s a plane … it’s a camera?

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Some collectors specialize in novelty cameras such as this old Pentax RS1500 with the Superman skin (image posted by Andy Khouri April 14, 2011 and once seen on the ‘Comics Alliance‘ website. Since digital photography has been around well … Continue reading →

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easel come, easel go

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. When film photography was a popular hobby last century, amateurs used a darkroom and enlarger to crop and adjust the final print size. To focus the enlarger, and hold the photographic paper flat, the photographer would often use an … Continue reading →

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