Category Archives: history

when wet-plate was king

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Of the two earliest photographic processes, most photographers chose to use the Daguerreotype. It was free (outside England), had the best resolution by far, and had good contrast. But it was limited to one plate unless the plate was … Continue reading →

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Hollywood in the Klondike – Book Review

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. About five years ago I did a post called, “Frozen in Time” about some movie reels discovered up in Dawson City. Since then Michael Gates has written a book about the find. Our good friend, “George Dunbar” managed to … Continue reading →

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flattop revisited

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. A few days ago I did a post on a February, 1950 ad for Kodak’s enlarger – the Hobbyist. Two months after that ad, Kodak did another one on the Hobbyist, this time explaining the way the Hobbyist ensured … Continue reading →

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egging it on

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the early days of photography, the idea of paper prints took hold. Thus the albumen print came into being. At its peak, photography was a major user of eggs. Albumen (or raw egg whites) was (were) used to stick … Continue reading →

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a hot time in the old town tonight

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. When I first saw this March 1950 ad for a Kodak lens that used Lanthanum, I immediately thought about the radio-active Leitz lenses I remembered reading about. To create unique glass characteristics, many glasses were melted with pinches of stuff … Continue reading →

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flattop

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Robert

Toronto.  Post WW2, Kodak made goods to be all things photographic ensuring any new comer to the hobby would automatically think ‘Kodak’ when outfitting his/her camera, darkroom, studio, etc. Enlargers were no exception. In the early 1950 ad shown, Kodak … Continue reading →

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blues in the night

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the days of back and white films, prints were toned for artistic purposes and sometimes for protection. Gold toning helped protect the print and extend its life. We all remember sepia toned prints, The brownish colour was a … Continue reading →

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the way we were

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Back on July 1st, 2017 Alice Evans wrote an article featuring photographs from 1867 and a few years later to show how we looked around confederation. The photos and article appeared in the Daily Mail. The title of the … Continue reading →

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brass monkey time

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. On January 8th, the Insauga website had an interesting article by Don Redmond titled, “Can Niagara Falls ever fully freeze over?“. Ignore the many, many ads and instead read the words and see the photos. We had a speaker … Continue reading →

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a colourful projection 

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Most of you don’t remember seeing colour slides let alone colour projectors. I used to buy the Kodak frames to hold self-developed 35mm transparencies by Agfa (colour slides) in those pre-carousel days. A household  iron sealed the each Kodak … Continue reading →

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