Category Archives: history

more than one way to skin a cat …

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. …. or ride a frisky horse. The May, 1939 article from Popular Mechanics shows how a stuffed horse could simulate a bucking broncho in a photo taken for the folks back home! Notice how the professional photographer uses a … Continue reading →

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before there was Virtual Reality ….

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Robert

Toronto.  … there was Stereo. After all, Virtual Reality (VR) is just Stereo on steroids – i.e. interactive video in stereo. Modern day VR is experimenting with various techniques such as projecting directly on the human retina. In the PHSC, … Continue reading →

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3D anyone?

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. An article in the June, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics shows a clever device for shooting live 3D with a normal 35mm camera. A mirror device affixed to the lens takes two images in a single frame – one … Continue reading →

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who needs bells and whistles?

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. 1939 – what a year! The great depression of the dirty ’30s was a decade old and rapidly becoming part of the landscape. One of the worst wars ever (WW2) was about to erupt in Europe inspite of Hitler’s … Continue reading →

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where the girls are

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Many photographers over the years were female, in spite of the majority being male. Some members have researched the history of women in photography, and occasionally given a presentation on the topic. Any discussion of women in photography brings … Continue reading →

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seeing double

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. “It’s deja vu all over again“, as Yogi Berra was thought to have said. This wonderful old tabletop viewer (stereo, I believe) was offered at the recent auction down in Port Colborne – our first auction outside Toronto and … Continue reading →

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street walker

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Not that kind! Some cities have a street photographer who snaps folks walking the streets just like him/her. For example, Vancouver had its Foncie – his fame spred well beyond Vancouver. This November, 1934 article from Popular Mechanics tells … Continue reading →

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smartphone, anyone?

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. This November, 1934 article from Popular Mechanics brought back memories. Mid last century, the telephone was still voice-only in spite of this article decades earlier. As a young employee of “Ma Bell’, I remember Bell Labs in New Jersey … Continue reading →

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watch da birdie

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. As WW2 was winding down, companies became more innovative in their advertising. Pepsi-Cola – the major competitor to Coke – tried a humorous approach using a cartoon based on the old idea of a studio photographer capturing a portrait … Continue reading →

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night scenes

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Today’s savvy smartphone and digital camera users would roll their collective eyes at anyone touting ‘night scenes’ as a big deal. But it really was back in the mid 1930s in the days of slow film and generally slow … Continue reading →

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