Category Archives: history

light my fire

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Back to the very beginnings of photography, savvy studio artists used lighting to model their subjects, control contrast, and at just the right instant capture the fire or essence of each subject. Over the decades, books have proliferated with … Continue reading →

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if not for you …

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. … my lens would unscrew. Photographers know that the infinity focus setting sets the lens at its closest to the film/sensor plane. For close-ups, the lens is extended further from the film/sensor plane. Box cameras for film often had … Continue reading →

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making it big, making it better – again

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Cartes des Visite or CDVs came along in the early 1850s with wet-plate technology and stayed popular for about 15 years. The actual photograph, on albumen paper, curled into a tight cylinder making a stiff backing necessary. Cards of … Continue reading →

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a pretty little poser

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. I bought this daguerreotype of a little girl around 1975 at one of our fairs from Bill Marshall of Deux Montagnes, Quebec. There was only a half case on it so the quarter plate image was priced under $10. … Continue reading →

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Charlie Geschke dead at 81

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. You may wonder who the heck this guy was and why his passing merits attention on a photographic history website. Almost everyone above ground and many underground have used his products over the years. Monday, April 19, 2021, I … Continue reading →

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up, up, and away

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Bet you thought your telephoto lens takes a really long shot! I have an old 20 inch Bausch and Lomb lens that mounts on a Leica mirror box. But, NASA has everyone beat by miles. Their tiny Intrepid drone … Continue reading →

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Oh Lordy, Lordy!

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. After World War Two (WW2), Japan worked hard to restore its industries. One such company was called Okaya Kogaku Kikai K.K. This optical house sold cameras to North America. To be accepted, the company had to rename their camera line … Continue reading →

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flogging colour print film in the 1970s

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. At first I thought these were two separate shots showing the superiority of Kodak colour film, since cameras or gift sets didn’t appear in the advertisement. Suddenly, I realized that the vertical white bar was a seam. This photo … Continue reading →

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down periscope

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The Corfield Periflex line fulfilled the post-war demand in Britain for  a quality 35mm camera. The cameras copied the old Leica screw mount bodies without a rangefinder or (initially) a viewfinder. Borrowing from the SLR world, a periscope and … Continue reading →

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a CHPF off the old block

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Back on March 22, 2021, I did a post on the CHPF photo contest. Tusday afternoon I heard directly from Nicole Plaskett on a new on line image facility. Nicole writes, “The Canadian Heritage Photography Foundation (CHPF) is excited … Continue reading →

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