eye of a hawk

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Robert

Brownie Hawkeye Flash camera

Toronto. Traditionally, the day after Christmas is called boxing day.  It was a day to give gifts to the poor. Later on, the day became known for its wide spread sales. As time passed, many sales on other days were called ‘Boxing Day Sales’ – or even weeks.

It wouldn’t be boxing day without a box camera theme. Post ww2, Kodak came out with the Brownie Hawkeye camera – one of the most popular models ever sold. In the early 1950s, I received the flash version in a kit. Taking 620 film, it could be used for B&W or colour film.

The flash had a safety cover of transparent plastic. It was clear on one side and blue on the other (for using colour film with regular flash bulbs). The kit shown in the large image is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  The camera and flash in the thumbnail are by Chuck Baker courtesy of the Brownie Camera Page.

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Merry Christmas 2022

Posted on December 25, 2022 by Robert

Wishing you and family a great holiday season – Robert (back yard Christmas 2021)

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’twas the night …

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Robert

… not even a mouse

Toronto. … before Christmas … as Clement Moore  said in his popular Christmas tale first published in 1823.

I didn’t have a decent mouse shot so these hamsters in a Dektol tin will have to do. I took this photo at home in a Montreal suburb in the early 1970s with a Leica M4

Enjoy Christmas eve, one and all, especially those of you with little children!

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so last century!

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Robert

ad for Christmas gift ideas in 1948 from Kodak

Toronto. Last century nearly every kid remembers getting a camera or camera kit for Christmas (most likely a Kodak).  Today kids  will still ask for gifts, but not for a camera or camera kit. Instead, top of the list would be their own cell phone – and any decent cell phone is a smart phone complete with a built in camera for selfies and for scenes and others. Any image once taken can be shared anywhere, any time.

This November, 1948 Kodak ad in Popular Mechanics shows the many different Kodak gift ideas offered after WW2.  Those who use film today, or want a Kodak product for the collection, can visit one of our events and they may see just the right camera!

Once again, we owe my good friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar, a debt of gratitude for not only discovering this wonderful advertisement but for thoughtfully sharing it.

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will that be matt or glossy?

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Robert

Old Spaghetti Factory, Toronto c1979

Toronto. In the early 1950s I was a member of our high school camera club. At the time we could buy a single sheet of 8×10 double weight Kodak photographic paper for a dime. If we washed and dried the paper (after exposure from the enlarger of course) the surface was matt and the contrast a bit soft.

If we placed it face down on a ferrotype plate (not to be confused with an 1800s ferrotype/tintype image), rolled/squeegeed the back, and put the sheet on a heater (held there by a canvas and metal rod affair) until dry, the print would be glossy and the contrast sparkling. The chrome plated iron sheet flatted the paper’s surface and made it appear to have a glossy shine. Any spots not rolled enough would form a blister on the surface and affect the print.

Drying and ferrotyping prints were the final steps in the old film darkroom days of printing negative under the light of an enlarger.

When black and white was king, the surface and tone of the paper was wide so one could choose surface, weight, grade, maker, etc. in a confusing array of choices. Print and processing labs chose a particular brand and simply offered matt or glossy finish. Early colour prints were such poor resolution that they often came from the lab with an embossed pattern. While the black and white films and papers allowed a wide range of artistic choices, the best one could do with colour was to just ‘get it right’.

Note: The post title is a riff on the old pre-VISA credit card days slogan, “Will That be Cash or Chargex?“.

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to hell and back

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Robert

first TH&B train to arrive at Dundas, Ontario Station (1895) – courtesy of Hamilton Public Library Archives

Toronto. In the heady days of railway travel there were many railroads operating. On such railroad was the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railroad with headquarters in Hamilton. My friend’s grandfather and father called it the “To Hell and Back” railroad. His grandfather was a tinsmith working for the Grand Trunk/ Canadian National Railroad, a competitor to the mighty CPR which absorbed TH&B.  I met him as a little kid and like all grandfathers, he was a font of fascinating stories.

In pursuit of Canadian photographic history, George Dunbar came across the Hamilton Public Library Archives and this photograph of the little Canadian TH&B railroad line showing the first train in the Dundas (just by Hamilton) station in 1895.

In pursuing photographic history, be sure to check out your local archives, museums, and libraries as well as this wonderful resource in nearby Hamilton.

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I met a camera that wasn’t there …

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Robert

Mathieu Stern’s example of a ‘fake’ camera photo (courtesy of PetaPixel website)

Toronto. We have all (well some of us) heard about artificial intelligence (AI) tools and the amazing job they can do to create a photo. They can also create photos of cameras that were never made!

The PetaPixel site shows  some examples: “Mathieu Stern tells PetaPixel that he generated the fantasy cameras using Midjourney before working on them in Photoshop.” Have a look at the article, “Photographer Fools the Internet With AI-Generated Cameras That Don’t Exist“.

Our enthusiastic photo historian and good friend, George Dunbar, came across this article and shared it. I also received an email from Russ Forfar on  the same article. Thanks guys! The article shows how modern technology interacts with the art of photography raising a concern once again on whether or not “the ‘camera’ or a ‘print’ lies”.

Note: Post title is a riff on a line in the amusing poem called Antigonish [anti gone ish] by Hughes Mearns. The poem also became part of a 1960s British war movie called, “The man who never was“.

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Christmas a century ago

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Robert

Enemies taking a break at Christmas

Toronto. Our erstwhile historian and good friend, George Dunbar, discovered this photo from the LAC in ‘The Lake Report‘ and shared it with us.

It shows the two sides in WW1 taking a break and celebrating Christmas together. One soldier is taking a photo of friends and the opposition troops.

As George writes, “This item tells me that we (and soldiers, too) were more civilized 100 years ago (from “The Lake Report,” a weekly in Niagara-on-the-Lake).

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just another ad for the Beacon II

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Robert

a 1948 ad for the Beacon II with synchronized flash

Toronto. George Dunbar came across this ad in Popular Mechanics for July 1948 and shared it with us. I did a couple of posts on this typical box camera and its predecessor (both dressed up to look like the popular minicams). The post on the Beacon is from a November, 1947 ad in Popular Mechanics, while this post shows the Beacon II from a May 1951 ad in LIFE magazine.

As mentioned earlier, the camera really is a simple box camera. Whitehouse, the maker, goes to great lengths in these ads to portray its cameras as more sophisticated minicams at far more reasonable prices.

Browse the previous two posts for more information on these rather simple plastic box cameras and see how the ads emphasize the good qualities while down playing or outright ignoring the not so good qualities. This was before the days of “Truth in Advertising”. Note that these ads simply omit the downside and infer the quality as a bargain at the price. Grey area?

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our AGM and December Great Finds Show and Tell

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Come out and see what members bring from their collection. We will have a brief Annual General Meeting (AGM) hosted by Clint followed by the traditional Show and Tell with selected members showing items and briefly describing them (or asking for more information).

If you have any questions, please contact our programme director, Celio Barreto at program@phsc.ca. Reserve your space today at Eventbrite for this ONLINE presentation!.  Note: use the links in the text above, not in the jpeg of the poster (no live links in this jpeg).

Our December, 21 2022 AGM and S&T meeting

 

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