Category Archives: history

far, far, away

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. We have it soft today. Sources of photos, cameras, film, darkroom, etc. abound – like our auction this month. Today, film has largely been replaced by digital technology and the ubiquitous smartphone camera. Digital images give ‘instant gratification’. Little … Continue reading →

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first the film …

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. … and now the lens? The idea of using a digital sensor rather than a film coated with a sensitive medium revolutionized photography. Before digital technology as we know it today, fax machines and television were (and still are) … Continue reading →

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we’ve been everywhere

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Today photography is everywhere. So much so that we take it for granted. The Moon, Mars, wars, famine, poverty, art, portraits, books, magazines, television, smartphones, medical, and on it goes. Without photography we would have no visual record of … Continue reading →

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before the old city hall …

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar sends this remarkable photograph from the archives of the Toronto Public Library. The photo shows the old Globe Foundry on Queen Street West at about the address of the old Toronto City Hall (the only City Hall … Continue reading →

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the Barretts of Whitby

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. I seldom see write-ups on older Canadian photographers. George Dunbar was browsing ‘ourOntario.ca‘ and happened upon the Whitby Library Archives. There he found material on a photographer, Augustus Barrett, who once operated a studio in Whitby and later a … Continue reading →

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now a b-i-i-i-i-i-i-g smile

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Group photos were often taken over the years to show the team players in a school, plant, or factory for a given year. Smiths Falls pre-WW2 was a very active Canadian factory town with  a number of impressive industries. … Continue reading →

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a KODAK moment

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Robert

Toronto.  From the very beginning, the sine qua non of any portrait photographer or artist was capturing the very essence of his subject. Some images succeeded and some did not. The successes, such as the famous Karsh portrait of  Churchill, … Continue reading →

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marble nursery

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Like all youths, we were very incorrect. When we passed a cemetery for example, it was called a ‘marble orchard’! In response to a recent post on work photographs (workin’), my friend George Dunbar replied that he sent photographs … Continue reading →

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educating photographers

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of film, many cameras came from Europe or Japan. Photographers used the information booklet that came with the camera – often written by folks definitely not use to English – for education. Photographers resorted to books … Continue reading →

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through a computer darkly

Posted on April 2, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Another past-time of mine is family genealogy. For over forty years now I have traced ancestors diligently. The other day the society received an email from the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) announcing its free online series for this month … Continue reading →

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