Category Archives: history

hot pix, it’s a phoney; hot pix it’s a phoney …

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto.  … with apologies to Karen Shopsowitz and her family. You couldn’t live here 60 years ago without hearing the jingle, “hotdog, it’s a Shopsy” or visit the city without buying one of those delicious hot dogs from her father’s … Continue reading →

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you can call me Max

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. As you know, a camera needs a lens to capture an image. Leitz had just such a lens designer. In 1912 according to Dr Kingslake in his 1989 book, “A History of the Photographic Lens“, a young Dr Max … Continue reading →

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an Oscar for design

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In 1914, a young German visited NYC. He brought along a tiny experimental ‘device’ that looked nothing like the cameras of the day. He took photos like the one at left with the people on the street oblivious to … Continue reading →

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celebrating niche enthusiasts

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. You may have noticed that a small group of photographers continue to use film, preferring its ambiance  over digital technology. It may be a novelty to you having old technology linger on, but this has occurred over the centuries … Continue reading →

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having a blast

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. While not directly related to photography – other than the book’s photos, this book was the basis for the recent movie whose release prompted  an unexpected box-office success. I first learned of Oppenheimer as a youth interested in the … Continue reading →

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magazine photography

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. A big presence in the magazine world of last century was LIFE magazine. The magazine, based in NYC, had its own stable of photographers. In October, 1998, a book by John Loengard, called “Life Photographers: What They Saw” was … Continue reading →

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a crash course

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. We are so accustomed today to full colour photos/videos if not the actual people, scenery,  concerts, theatre, etc, that we never give it a second thought. That was not always the case. Think about not having photography or photographers. … Continue reading →

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beyond macro

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of minicams (mainly 35mm),  subjects could be focussed from infinity down to about a metre. Any subject closer needed accessories like front element lenses, extension tubes, bellows, or special closeup stands. If a lens was asymmetrical, … Continue reading →

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memory makers

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. To a photographer, photography is a business. The end result is payment for the prints or photographs or album (more likely images, videos, or files these days). But to his subject or their family he is a ‘memory maker’. … Continue reading →

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jungle fever

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Jungles are unkind to photographers. Hot, humid, dangerous places full of fungus and mold. No place for cameras! In the late 1800s or so, manufactures made special ‘tropical’ cameras. Instead of a leather covering on wood (organic leather was … Continue reading →

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