Category Archives: history

mac and alex

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar sent me an email recently saying, “The photography of Alexander Henderson is featured in the March issue of Maclean’s magazine.” I subscribed to Maclean’s years ago finding its stories far more interesting to me than the various … Continue reading →

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broaden the beam, matey

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the early days of photography, studios took portraits by soft northern light, avoided appointments on cloudy days, used ‘unobtrusive’ hand holds, neck braces and clamps to hold the patient, (I meant subject) steady for the seconds/minutes needed to … Continue reading →

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an easy image back-up

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar is a fierce supporter of the virtues of printing digital images: The human eye can view prints without fancy software or equipment that may go out of date and leave these memories forever lost. Also, prints are … Continue reading →

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all lens

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Heinrich Ernemann began making cameras when it was founded in 1899 Dresden. In 1926 it was part of the amalgamation which was called Zeiss-Ikon. The Ermanox camera used a single glass plate and a focal plane shutter. The f/2 … Continue reading →

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tong wars

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Sorry, I don’t refer to any Chinese gangs in this post. Instead, I discuss photography tongs – A minor accessory for B&W darkrooms – usually bought in sets of three. In the 1960s, I used tongs made of three … Continue reading →

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developing an interest

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The ad at left is from an old Popular Mechanics magazine, courtesy of my good friend George Dunbar. George writes, “A Testimonial from GD: Many became photographers because of the magic of the darkroom.”. The ad, of course, is Kodak’s … Continue reading →

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family history

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Every family seems to have a ‘keeper’ of records and a photographer who diligently records and photographs the minutiae of life as it is lived. A few decades back, my parents answered a knock on their front door. A … Continue reading →

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remember when?

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. There was once a camera exchange across from Simpson’s department store in the Temple Building (Toronto’s first skyscraper) on the north-west corner of Bay and Richmond in downtown Toronto. According to the ad in the 1931 Magnet magazine, they had … Continue reading →

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flyin’ high

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Jeff Ward was here in the city in August of 2017 (Canada’s 150th) and spoke at our monthly meeting. Since then Jeff has been in periodic communication with the PHSC. Under Facebook in a series of articles called, “The … Continue reading →

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room for a better one

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The title is a riff on the old saying, “… build a better mousetrap …“. One of the earliest cameras was called a mousetrap by the spouse of its creator. It was basically a very small camera obscura. A … Continue reading →

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