Category Archives: history

an ambrotype self portrait

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Over the years, photographic processes continuously evolved. For example, some effort was made to deliver less expensive cased images (Daguerreotype look-a-likes). One solution was to take a negative using the then new wet-plate technology and treat it to reverse … Continue reading →

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a better mouse trap

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Past president, author, and sports photographer Les Jones sent me a note the other day on an interesting article about Henry’s lost cameras. In January of 1839, Two unique means to capture images created by sunlight were announced. One, … Continue reading →

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from mother Russia (with love??)

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Issue 22-1 features a selection of cameras from our 1996 spring fair as photographed by Bob Lansdale and assisted by Tiit Kodar. Among the offered goodies was this rare Russian camera, the USSR Sport from 1935. The photo for … Continue reading →

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aptly chosen words …

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Various photographers have chosen to pick popular city locations which were photographed many decades ago, and show what they look like today given roughly the same field of view, etc. In our journal issue 22-1, the late Stan White … Continue reading →

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mr Garrett continues …

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. The late Graham Garrett was our guest speaker at the 20th anniversary supper. One one hand he could be downright prickly to deal with but on the other hand, he was the epitome of  a photographic researcher: determined, thorough, … Continue reading →

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in the beginning …

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. The National Gallery of Canada [NGC]  houses one of the most auspicious photographic collections. This month, writer Nathan Mandigo wrote a detailed article on the collection, its original collector, and their background in the magazine of the NGC titled, … Continue reading →

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Hey! … four eyes!

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Little school kids can be unintentionally cruel. Any kid who falters or has an obvious medical issue gets an immediate ‘nick name’. For example, children who have corrective glasses are almost automatically called ‘four eyes’! In the first decades … Continue reading →

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did ja ever hear of Vittorio Sella?

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Our president, Clint Hryhorijiw, sent me an email a week or so back saying, “Got this cool thing from Cindy [Motzenbecker]”, along with a link to a BBC article and photos. Turns out Vittorio Sella was a European photographer … Continue reading →

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1995 was not nice to us in the big smoke

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. In 1995 we lost three from the photographic community: a collector, a store owner, and a professional photographer. The ‘in memoriam’ for Harold McNutt (Bill  Belier) and Erik Olesen (Ev Roseborough) are already posted. The third loss that year … Continue reading →

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Queen St King

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. I remember Erik since my user camera at the time was a Leica M4. As a Leic a rep for Walter Carveth, I often saw him in camera shops buying used cameras in good condition. Erik (briefly a member … Continue reading →

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