the last of the Naturalists’

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Robert

a 1921 Graflex Naturalists’ camera courtesy of Thomas Evans and the Grafiex Journal issue 1-23

Toronto. Ken Metcalf down in North Carolina sent me a copy of the current Graflex Journal (first issue for 2023). In this issue, Tom Evans has an article on an oversize, robust Graflex camera made in the years 1907 to 1921.

The camera was specially designed for the long focal lenses needed by Naturalists to view the birds etc. from a distance as if they were far closer.

Learn about other Graflex cameras in their many variations by viewing past issues of the journal here. And check out the other sections of the website by beginning here.

Note: The post title is a riff on James Fenimore Cooper‘s 1826 novel,  “The Last of the Mohicans“. I had this as a high school book review – some kids used a comic book version … . The copyright on many books back then had long expired (this book, The Spy, Black Beauty, Hans Brinker, etc.) and very cheap versions were sold in small shops as ideal stories for children.

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , | Comments Off on the last of the Naturalists’

far, far, away

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Robert

an elderly couple living in a small Ontario town. Photo taken around the late 1940s or early 1950s

Toronto. We have it soft today. Sources of photos, cameras, film, darkroom, etc. abound – like our auction this month. Today, film has largely been replaced by digital technology and the ubiquitous smartphone camera.

Digital images give ‘instant gratification’. Little or no extra effort. No delay. Full color. Poor shot? Snap it again.  Digital formats make annotating and searching so much better, but a terrible future cost.

Picture a researcher, professional or amateur, in the future. Few paper brochures or photos exist. Lots of material and images were produced ‘way back then’ but digital media and files are not physically touchable; viewable with human eyes. Now what?

Lots can go wrong over time: file formats may change, technology can disappear, images become unrecoverable. Old fashioned hard drives and SSDs found in junk shops or antique markets are long dead (current estimates are for a useable life of less than a decade). The images, if any remain, are millions of ones and zeros. Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on far, far, away

cheaper by the yard …

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Our meeting number 36 by ZOOM (3 years). It’s hard to imagine that just days ago we were still struggling with a nasty winter. As I write this (on the 9th of April) many folks up Ottawa way and over in Southern Quebec (and Montreal) are still in the dark with a severe ice storm earlier causing a lingering power failure due to serious infrastructure damage.

The photo below is a screen grab courtesy of our programme director now located in the relatively balmy city of Windsor.

screen grab courtesy of our programme director

 

Please note our newsletter needs an editor. Meantime, journal co-editor, David Bridge will send out a brief newsletter in April to announce a few key events. If you would like a personal copy but haven’t joined yet, just drop me a note at news@phsc.ca.

Our membership secretary was unavailable. In his absence president Clint reviewed our current membership. Clint noted that we added two new members this month.

The monthly meeting for April has been posted here and will feature an interesting talk on ‘Vintage Occupational Photographs” by MiPHS own Cindy Motzenbecker. We are holding a consignment/member auction on April 30th with lots potentially accepted at the door. Early lots with photos will be posted here along with dates, etc. later this month.

Our next  journal is well underway and will be out as a pdf file (in April or May). Note that it has been decided to move the journal from hard copy to PDF files (more pages, full colour) so be sure you include a working and frequently read email address when you join or renew.

Just smell that spring! Buds promise tree leaves by May. And COVID19 seems to be but a nasty memory for most of us.

PS. Do you like cameras, photos, etc.? Got some spare time on your hands? Well tell us! We can always use help for our many endeavours and positions. Remember, we are a society run by volunteers. Do your part. We can be reached via info@phsc.ca .

Posted in activities | Tagged , , | Comments Off on cheaper by the yard …

first the film …

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Robert

revolution in photo lens design

Toronto. … and now the lens? The idea of using a digital sensor rather than a film coated with a sensitive medium revolutionized photography.

Before digital technology as we know it today, fax machines and television were (and still are) capable of sending photographs or videos to remote locations for viewing.  They suffer from being monochrome (fax) and relatively lower resolution (both).

Now it is time for the lens design to be revolutionized. Russ Forfar, my friend from up Owen Sound way, sent me a link to an article on the Freethink website titled, “New salt-grain sized micro camera takes images on par with a full size camera’s“. Or as Randy Bachman sang, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet“.

It is amazing just how much photography has changed since I first learnt the art. Darkrooms and delays have been replaced by full colour and instantaneous positive views from right here or worlds away! What next?

 

Posted in history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on first the film …

we’ve been everywhere

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Robert

Early 2012 MRI of neck blood vessels

Toronto. Today photography is everywhere. So much so that we take it for granted. The Moon, Mars, wars, famine, poverty, art, portraits, books, magazines, television, smartphones, medical, and on it goes.

Without photography we would have no visual record of people, events, and places. In the metal plate, glass plate, and film era, one had to be there and wait for processing to view an image.

As digital technology evolved, be it fax, television, cameras, medical imaging, or smartphones, we were severed from the creation of the image and could see images remotely. Photography is so pervasive today that it is taken for granted by most people. Only when we see truly remarkable photographs do we realize a professional photographer used his skill to capture the moment.

Note: To title this post, I did a riff on the 1959 world-wide song, “I’ve been everywhere” which originated in Australia and has lyrics adapted by singers in many countries including the states and Canada. Here is a rendition by Stomping’ Tom down at the Horseshoe Tavern on Queen Street West here.

 

Posted in history | Tagged , , | Comments Off on we’ve been everywhere

it’s coming, it’s coming!

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Robert

lot from the 2019 Fall auction

Toronto. … and just what is coming, you may ask? THE PHSC SPRING AUCTION, that’s what. Keep an eye out for it.

On Sunday, April 30th. Same place, slightly later time.

We are back in person with a wide selection of lots for your consideration. Sellers – we can post any selected lots on line. Just send the images to Clint. He will verify their eligibility for this auction and send me the photos to upload for our April 30, 2023 auction.

Check out the sample lots to be posted later this month. Here is great chance to add to your collection, or get that user thingy you just have to have for better photos.

 

Posted in auction | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on it’s coming, it’s coming!

before the old city hall …

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Robert

The Globe Foundry at Queen and Bay were the old City Hall now resides

Toronto. George Dunbar sends this remarkable photograph from the archives of the Toronto Public Library. The photo shows the old Globe Foundry on Queen Street West at about the address of the old Toronto City Hall (the only City Hall when I was a kid).

George writes, “A wonderful street scene in Toronto. This address must be the present location of The Old City Hall, built 1888/1889.

“Globe Foundry, Queen Street West, north side, between James & Bay Streets 1882 – TPL”

Just another reminder that libraries and archives have a wealth of photographic history. Take a look at your local library and archives.

 

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on before the old city hall …

the Barretts of Whitby

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Robert

Portrait of Sarah and Augustus Barrett – from Whitby Library archives

Toronto. I seldom see write-ups on older Canadian photographers. George Dunbar was browsing ‘ourOntario.ca‘ and happened upon the Whitby Library Archives. There he found material on a photographer, Augustus Barrett, who once operated a studio in Whitby and later a bit further west in Toronto.

George sent me these notes he gleaned from the archives, “Augustus Barrett was born in Germany in 1830. He married Sarah Ann Edwards and they had two children. Augustus opened his photography studio in Whitby in 1872 and operated a studio and gallery until 1884.

“Barrett’s studio in Whitby was located at 121 Brock Street North. He later opened a studio in Toronto and died in 1902. Sarah died in 1919. They are buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.”

Note. I used a riff on a popular 1930 English play, “The Barretts of Wimpole Street” about the romance of Robert and Elizabeth (Barrett) Browning.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on the Barretts of Whitby

now a b-i-i-i-i-i-i-g smile

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Robert

Some of the boys at the Smiths Falls Malleable Casting Company. Click to see the full panoramic photo/

Toronto. Group photos were often taken over the years to show the team players in a school, plant, or factory for a given year. Smiths Falls pre-WW2 was a very active Canadian factory town with  a number of impressive industries. Here are the boys at the “Smiths Falls Malleable Castings Company” in 1944.

It was popular to use a panoramic photograph like the one here. Such extra wide photos were taken by a special camera like the Cirkut. The patent was taken out by William Johnston, buried here in Toronto. NB. Parks Canada have a brief story about ‘Malleable’; its founding and its demise (see pages 313/4 and look at the index near the beginning for other notes and pictures).

The PHSC journal, Photographic Canadiana, has many articles on panoramic photos such as this one titled, “Monster Panoramic Photographs Found Beneath (Ontario) Legislature Floor” found in issue 31-1 on page 20 (members get/can request a free searchable CD index of the first FORTY issues of the Journal and copies of those issues as well). The index is also available on Google.

George Dunbar spotted this interesting photo in the Smiths Falls Public Library and sent it along for all of us to enjoy. Photographs by Cirkut camera were in vogue for a few decades. And yes, there is NO apostrophe in Smiths Falls as far as I can tell.

My mother and her sister are in a c1930 school photo by Cirkut, while years later I was in a non-panoramic (group was small) plant photo (late 1950s). Our late editor Bob Lansdale often took group photos with a regular camera. I saw one case where he used a stairway to good advantage.

Long forgotten, these extra wide group photos are often collected by members and a few have popped up on our show and tell sessions.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on now a b-i-i-i-i-i-i-g smile

PHSC ZOOM Event TUESDAY April 18, 2023

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Our monthly meeting for April will be a talk by Cindy Motzenbecker on “Vintage Occupational Photography“. Cindy was editor for many years at MiPHS, a long time member of the Daguerreian Society, occasional visitor at our meetings, and part of the late Bob Lansdale’s network when he was editor of our journal,  “Photographic Canadiana“.

Sign up for this free talk via Eventbrite. Any questions? Drop our programme director, Celio Barreto at program@phsc.ca a note. Please note that the image below is a jpeg and as such does not have active links.

Posted in program | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on PHSC ZOOM Event TUESDAY April 18, 2023