Category Archives: history

ol’ two (three) eyes

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The art of stereo predates photography. Every half century or so this niche art becomes popular once again and companies publish papers and books; make movies; and even make cameras devoted to stereo. Even Kodak jumped in at one … Continue reading →

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I see, I measure

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Photography by its very nature demands a certain amount of light. Surprisingly, measuring light was not an easy task until well into the last century. From photography’s inception, books and pamphlets gave suggested lens settings and timings for a … Continue reading →

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a book for the bug brigade

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of film photography large manufactures produced not only advertisements for their products but many booklets, books, brochures, pamphlets, etc showing how to do various photographs using a manufacturer’s products. Kodak was no different. Their written materials … Continue reading →

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just another name

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The photo at left by Steve McCurry caught my eye. To me the name Street Photographer always meant a lone soul who scoured the city streets to snap photos of willing tourists, or wandered the streets like Fred Herzog recording the … Continue reading →

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an ‘Arctic Madonna’ c 1937

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Many of us have seen and enjoyed the photography of the late George Hunter, including his iconic portraits of the Inuit people. Surprisingly, an American photographer visited the far north to photograph its people for LIFE magazine back in … Continue reading →

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blinding me with flash bulbs

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the 1800s, efforts to use photography and its very slow media under poor lighting (i.e. less than full sunlight) resulted in the invention of flash powder ignited in a long narrow tray held high(ish) by the photographer. As … Continue reading →

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the way we were – updated and corrected.

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Thanks to Trish J who diligently searched the LAC site and discovered this photo is NOT King St TORONTO, but King St SAINT JOHN NB! Trish J writes, “A photograph of King Street, Saint John NB is mistakenly labelled … Continue reading →

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to print or not to print

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The popularity of mid 1800s printing made possible the Victorian practice of making a photographic album. This practice carried on well into the next century. When the idea of albums disappeared, a drawer, shoe box or other small space … Continue reading →

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a bank clerk makes good

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. When Englishman Richard Maddox discovered a dry plate process fast enough for use in a camera, he set in motion many things including the shift in technological revolution from the old world to the new. During the 1870s in … Continue reading →

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… and keep your camera dry

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The wet-plate process became the primary process in photography for the next few decades until another Englishman, Richard Maddox solved its problems of slow speed, damp cameras, and the need for immediate exposure and processing. Maddox came up with … Continue reading →

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