Category Archives: history

just right

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Remember the fairy tale, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”? Well, like the little heroine, photographers found the medium format cameras “Just Right” In issue 30-3 of our journal, the late Bill Belier did a short survey of the earlier … Continue reading →

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and a sida camera with that, please

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Robert

Toronto.  In the late 1930s, the ‘minicam’ revolution was well under way. The craze centred on cameras using 35mm ‘movie film’ or similar  sized paper backed roll film. An enlarger was a ‘must’ for even pocket sized prints. A small … Continue reading →

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powder … POOF!

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. The early light sensitive media were far too insensitive for dusk, night or  indoor shots (studios used long exposures, a means to hold the subject very still,  and large windows, ideally facing north, to let in copious amounts of … Continue reading →

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Triumph of the Image

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend, George Dunbar, recently dropped me a line mentioning a NY Times article about at a Museum in Belgium. The article, titled, “Triumph of the Image” is an archived writing by Luc Sante. George writes, ”  A … Continue reading →

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you’re stringing me on …

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. … a comment that may have entered the mind of an 1888 photographer seeing Eastman’s ad for his new camera. Before the Kodak was offered, cameras were mainly large, heavy devices that took only a few shots at most. … Continue reading →

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wild blue yonder

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Even before airplanes, photographers took aerial shots. Hot air balloons were the basis for the first aerial shots. Perhaps Nadar was the most famous hot air balloon photographer, taking photos shortly after the art was invented. When airplanes began … Continue reading →

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smoke and mirrors …

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. The Young-Helmholtz  theory of colour with three different wavelengths of rays in various combinations became the standard means to create colour images – even today in the digital world. Different camera designs were touted to place the three unique … Continue reading →

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… with fries

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Robert

Toronto.  … Add-ons are always a way to increase sales/profits. In film photography add-ons or accessories, as they are often called, helped the photographer create better/different photos. In the mid 1950s built-in meters were uncommon yet an exposure meter was … Continue reading →

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out, damned spot!

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. … with apologies to Bill and his Lady Macbeth. Bill was born long before photography was announced. When the minicam became prominent in the mid 1930s, negatives were enlarged out of necessity. And the nightmare began. To darkroom photographers, … Continue reading →

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its a selfie, silly

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend George Dunbar came across this photo of two girls at an exhibition. They were hamming it up with a landline handset. The photo is remarkably similar to a modern ‘selfie’ taken with a Smartphone’s front facing … Continue reading →

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