Category Archives: history

when I grow too old to dream …

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … I’ll have you to remember. Or so the song says. To try for memory beyond a generation or two, people relied on a photograph – then and now! George, like anyone with a curiosity – and access to … Continue reading →

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the Graflex of movie cameras

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Professional camera men in Hollywood for the most part used Mitchell cameras. The Mitchell was to Hollywood cameramen like a Graflex camera was to newshounds – Fully professional and a sturdy work horse. In 1922, when silents were still … Continue reading →

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the jig’s up

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend, George Dunbar, spotted this 1947 ad by Kodak portraying Mr Hitler dancing an inappropriate jig in 1940 during the fall of France. George high-lighted one line in the advertisement which proclaimed, “with unique reality and objectivity”. … Continue reading →

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gold in them thar hills …

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Ahhh! The excitement of the  gold rush! When it hit the Yukon,  it became famous the world over. Movies were made; books were written (even poems); the centennial of the celebrated trail (Chilkoot) was recorded. Over six years ago, … Continue reading →

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fuzzy focus

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Modern smart phone and digital camera buffs only see fuzzy focus when they move or try using dim lighting or are just too close to the subject. No need to understand photography these days to get correct lighting. Focus … Continue reading →

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elementary, my dear Watson …

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … as Sherlock Holmes was supposed to have said (but never did say in Conan Doyle’s stories). However; Holmes often said ‘elementary’ to his side kick, in his usually superior and snobbish way. And of course our photographic lenses … Continue reading →

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reflections

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. No, not the introspective kind you dream about on a cold winter’s day. I mean the kind that reduce image contrast and limit the number of lens elements used. At left I show two lenses for a film camera. … Continue reading →

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will that be 8 or 16?

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Bell & Howell was a respected name in Hollywood movie equipment. For home movies, they used the “Filmo” brand. In the March 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics, B&H advertised both the 8mm and the 16mm versions of their Filmo … Continue reading →

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jumping in with both feet

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. America was a bit late to the WW2, but made up for it in spades after Pearl Harbor was attacked by an ally of Germany. All industries quickly turned to the war effort. Hollywood cranked out propaganda movies galore … Continue reading →

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a rose by any other name

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. One of the earliest ambitions of film makers was to expand their film’s sensitivity spectrum down to the reds. By the mid 1930s when Agfa-Ansco made this film, yellows, greens through near violet blues could be captured. Such a … Continue reading →

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