Category Archives: history

daddy, daddy, come and see …

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. … lots and lots of lots for you and me (apologies to Hellerman and Minkof). I first heard this song in the mid 1960s sung hauntingly by Harry Belafonte. Next month, November 24th, we will host our fall Estates … Continue reading →

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just zoomin’ along

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In the late 1950s, when I bought my Exakta, ZOOM lenses for 35mm cameras were rather short on focal length range, slower than prime lenses,  heavier, had serious distortion, and were far more expensive. In 1959, Kilfitt in Germany … Continue reading →

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point to ponder

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Robert

Toronto.  in the mid 20th century, the Exakta was a rare bird – a 35mm film SLR. The bright view was accomplished by a special waist level viewer, a fast lens and a mirror the size of the film frame. … Continue reading →

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a crick in the neck

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of pathetically slow emulsions, devices like the head clamp were used in studios to ensure the subject remained motionless for the time needed to get a decent exposure. Once emulsion speeds reached the sub-second levels these … Continue reading →

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drawing from Dags

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. We had the pleasure of hearing speaker Philippe Maurice from Alberta back in November, 1996. In issue 17-3 Philippe has an article titled, “The Artist’s Hand – Engravings Based on Daguerreotypes”. This harkens back to Daguerre’s original idea for … Continue reading →

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a commercial focus …

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Issue 17-3 has an article on commercial  photography by Toronto’s City Archivist, Steve MacKinnon. The photo at left shows the lack of sky detail in early work when all films were orthochromatic (insensitive to red and barely sensitive to … Continue reading →

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bang! you’re shot …

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. The late 1930s saw the rise in so called subminiature cameras with the Minox arguably the best known. To stand out, the Doryu company in Japan marketed this novel submini that used 16mm film. The one shown at left … Continue reading →

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disaster shown in stereo

Posted on October 7, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In issue 17-3, Bob Wilson’s ‘image’ column features his article titled, “Terrible Accident on the Great Western Railway” and shows a stereo view of the 1876 wreck (see left). Bob begins his tale, “The above title is the main … Continue reading →

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a “something” camera

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Did you ever see a one-off camera? Bill Belier found such a beast that was once used in a studio. In issue 17-2 Ev writes and illustrates this captivating find by Bill Belier in an article titled: [Identify] Bill’s … Continue reading →

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Micklethwaite Captures U of T Ruins

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. In issue 17-2 Bob Wilson featured a local disaster in his “Image of the Month” column. In 1890, the east wing of University College on the U of T campus was ravaged internally by fire, a definite threat back … Continue reading →

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