Category Archives: history

Newfoundland life in the olden days

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend, George Dunbar, enjoys browsing the internet these days for interesting facts about photography and its rich history. Today, George brings us his finds about people on the great island of Newfoundland – the most easterly part … Continue reading →

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do you remember DuPont photo products?

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Do you remember DuPont when they made photographic materials? To day the company is still very active, but no long makes movie films and other more traditional photo products. In May of 1932, the company took out a large … Continue reading →

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doing a Don McLean …

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Les Jones sent me a note that Marlene Cook will be closing  her antique market. On Sunday, May 29th,  Victoria Gibson, the Affordable Housing Reporter for the Toronto Star wrote an article in the Star titled, “Sunday Antique Market at … Continue reading →

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Photo-Era: photography over a century ago

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Photography was an exciting avocation just over a century ago. One of the magazines of the time was called Photo-Era (The American Journal of Photography). This illustrated monthly covered the photographic scene in America. This example was first published … Continue reading →

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a flash in the (colour) pan

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Did ya ever hear about Multicolor? It was just a flash in the pan – on market in 1929 and dead in 1932. In those days, colour sequences were EXPENSIVE so movies were mainly shot in B&W with short … Continue reading →

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in case you missed …

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Kodak was really serious about their 8mm camera and projector line and the opening of home movies to a far wider audience. With 4x the running time per foot of film vs. 16mm gear, Kodak was aiming at the … Continue reading →

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when economy trumped quality

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the summer of 1932, the great depression was well underway and grabbing the countries of the world in a death grip, eased a few years later by a world-wide war. In  the August, 1932 issue of American Cinematographer, … Continue reading →

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a practical use of Edgerton’s research

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The July, 1945 issue of Popular Mechanics has a brief article on using rapid fire flash tubes to record the passage of a .50 calibre bullet through armour plate. The experiment was performed by the ATSC of the American … Continue reading →

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a niche in time

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. For the past couple of decades, die hard film (analogue) fans have flocked to our fairs and auctions to buy and use old cameras and film. The folks at Lomography have aided and abetted these die hards with cameras, … Continue reading →

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selective lighting – no sync cable needed

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The photo at left is from an article in the June, 1945 issue of Popular Mechanics. As the war in the Pacific neared its end (the war in Europe had already ended a few weeks earlier), American techies continued … Continue reading →

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