Edward and the Giant Camera

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Robert

Casa de Vecindad, D.F. 1926 from the Aperture book.

Toronto. Edward Weston was an iconic American photographer. In 1973 Aperture printed a massive coffee table size book called, “Edward Weston: Fifty Years” with many of his famous prints plus a biography by Ben Maddox. You may be able to see a copy via your local library.

I bought my copy a year later in the summer of 1974 while living in Quebec. At the time, I was learning about the many great photographers. In terms of population, we were a rather small country with history dating back a century or two. At the time, I knew of few Canadian photographers.

This wonderful book shows the beautiful works of Weston, started when photography itself was less than a century old.

Note.The title of this post is a riff on a children’s book by Roald Dahl. “James and the Giant Peach“. I read this book – and others by Dahl – to my children when they were young.

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taking its measure

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Robert

Spring 1948 ad for a GE PR-1 hand held light meter

Toronto. While browsing for photo history material, George Dunbar spotted this May 1948 ad for a GE PR-1 selenium exposure meter and shared it with us. To separate the GE meter from others, it was advertised as having a ‘memory’ long before solid state memories existed. The meter likely trapped the exposure needle when the activation button was released.

Until glass plate and film media became sufficiently sensitive to demand accurate sub-second exposures, photographers managed with experience and notes relating plates, cameras, and light.

When ‘instantaneous’ exposures became common, various ‘calculators‘ and extinction meters were offered. The first true exposure meters were those using a selenium cell to detect the light and convert the light photons into a tiny current. This current usually gave a meaningful number which a calculator could translate into camera settings for a given plate or film sensitivity. The results usually displayed combinations of shutter speed and f/ stop.

Unfortunately, selenium cell light meters were useless after the evening began or to measure ordinary indoor light level. The arrival of CdS cells (which required a battery) solved this short coming. The incorporation of a meter in the camera spelt the end of the hand held meters. And today even translation to camera readings is automatic! That’s the meaning of ‘program’, ‘aperture priority’, and ‘speed priority’ settings on digital cameras.

Note. The title is from a common expression.

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Auction this Saturday December 17, 2022

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Robert

poster for our estate auction

Toronto.  Winter is in the air and we are holding our INDOOR AUCTION on SATURDAY, December 17, 2022 down in the Long Branch area of Toronto at the usual venue – free parking and free admission.

This Estate Only Auction will feature – rare items and  user items for both film and digital folk – photographs, cameras, lenses, accessories, books, and more. Come out and enjoy this event while adding to your collection or user gear! Click on the AUCTION tab here or in the menu bar above for directions.

Everybody is welcome. Sorry, no consignment lots at the door.  All lots are ESTATE Lots – really good items, many very rare. First come first serve.

We owe a big thanks to Clint for photographing the lot examples shown here (samples have been added each day including today). Click on the photo below, then on the beautiful Leica 21mm lens, and then on any lot icon to see it larger. Your left/right arrows will work to move from one enlarged photo to another. Enjoy!

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the man from T.M.K.

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Robert

Fan Ho – approaching shadow, 1954.

Toronto. While searching for photographic historica, George Dunbar came across the works of a Chinese (Hong Kong) photographer, Fan Ho on the South Korean website called, “Public Delivery“.

George writes, “Some wonderful ‘street photography’ in China  by Fan Ho. He has been compared to Henri Cartier-Bresson. I certainly appreciate this amazing talent, will you?”

I have been a fan of Cartier Bresson and Paul Strand for many years. When I first saw this image by Fan Ho, it reminded me of Paul Strand’s arresting 1915 photograph titled, “Wall Street“.

Note. The title is a riff on the mid 1960s TV series, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”. At one time Hong Kong was a British colony and later a protectorate. After the 99 year lease, in 1997, it reverted to China. And China is sometimes called, “The Middle Kingdom” as I discovered in my days of reading The Globe and Mail.

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grainy days

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Robert

Robert James Wallace – Plate VII from “The Silver ‘Grain’ in Photography” by Robert James Wallace, The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. XX, No. 2, Sept. 1904, pp. 113–122, Chicago.

Toronto. In film photography, grain is the ‘clumping’ of metallic silver created by the development of exposed silver halides. Large clumps were not a great issue when the sensitivity of glass plates was relatively slow and the plates and cameras so big. However, it became an issue when the minicams, 35mm films and 120 films took over the market in the 1930s.

Generally speaking, the greater the film sensitivity, the greater the grain, the lower the resolution and the softer the contrast. before and after WW2 great effort was spent in the darkroom to increase film speed a stop or two and reduce the grain. So called fine grain developers became popular for B&W film (I eventually settled on microdol-x  and microphen).

Copy film was very slow but contrasty with high resolution and little visible grain. At the other end of the scale were HP4, and Tri-X, etc. films – relatively fast, soft in contrast (more pleasing) with lower resolution and more visible grain.

When colour film arrived the ‘grain’ was the smallest ‘dot’ of colour dye created by the developed silver halides. In today’s digital cameras, grain doesn’t exist at all (no film). A comparable effect is pixels – the more there are, the better the resolution, etc.

Note: The title of this post is a riff on a Carpenters song called, “Rainy Days and Mondays“, a song I have always enjoyed.

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MiPHS journal -The Photogram

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Robert

A Kinnear plate camera c1860s from the Niederman collection

Toronto. MiPHS is a photo collecting organization in Michigan. They  publish a quarterly journal (The Photogram) available to all MiPHS members in pdf file or hard copy versions. Please note that The Photogram is copyright 2022 by MiPHS as its official newsletter.

The current issue (and their website) contains instructions on how to join.  Consider joining this fine group of camera and image collectors. We have seen some folks from MiPHS at our meetings (pre-COVID) and some of our members are also MiPHS members. On occasion our editors have collaborated to share articles.

 

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bowl on

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Robert

a still shot from an article in the April, 1948 Popular Mechanics magazine

Toronto. Here’s one way to take a neat video of a bowling strike. The technique can be used in other sports too. George Dunbar, a retired cameraman for IBM here in the Big Smoke, used this technique (totally unrelated to the Popular Mechanics article) to capture a curling sweep.

George has been a movie/video photographer ever since he was a kid. He writes, “Here’s an inventive cameraman filming a strike at a bowling alley in 1948.

“Twelve years later, 1960 (having never seen this magazine item), I made a similar 16mm film-shot at a curling rink.Running on the ice was a treacherous experience, however the film ended with a perfect stone to the house.

“The short clip was sold to the newly-opened CFTO-TV station’s sports Dept. – my one & only film sale to TV!”

Note. The title of this post came to mind when I recalled the song “Roll On Mississippi”, sung here by Charlie Pride.

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calling all cameras

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Robert

article about a camera and a portable radio combination

Toronto. Anther faux pas in North American camera sales. An article in the April 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics touted a case that carried a small camera plus a ‘portable’ battery powered radio.

Smart phone users may relate to this story but the battery was non chargeable and the camera and radio were separate entities. Modern smart phones use rechargeable lithium-ion cells (light and powerful), connect to cell towers via radio at a far higher frequency, and have a teeny digital camera built in.

The article mentions a ‘superheterodyne’ receiver which was the norm even earlier. The vast majority of radios used this kind of circuit as did early TVs  – TV video used AM (actually vestigial side band) while TV sound used the relatively new FM for better sound quality.   The over the air signals were usually amplified and then transformed to intermediate frequencies (IF) and further amplified before being detected and sent on to the audio amplifiers, etc..

This article was found my my good friend, George Dunbar, who shared it with us. It was possibly a good idea since minicams and portable radios were popular post war, but alas, it seemed to be a non starter where it counts – in retail sales.

Note. The post title is a riff on, ‘Calling All Cars’ which was a popular catch phrase last century (police alerts, radio programs, board games, video games, etc.).

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32 Boo Boo by Zoom

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. a small meeting this time. Celio was tied up with Christmas grades so Clint organized our 32nd executive meeting via ZOOM  on Wednesday evening, December 7th.

Our March 2017 Spring Auction was held here in Long Branch

Please note, the PHSC Newsletter still needs an editor. Nevertheless, if you would like a personal copy but haven’t joined up as yet, just drop me a note at news@phsc.ca.

Our membership secretary summarized membership as little changed since the  October report. We are still checking out an alternative meeting locale with faster, more reliable internet so we can offer joint in person and ZOOM meetings. However, as we rush towards the year end holidays, some things such as investigating a new locale had to be delayed.

The monthly meeting this month (December) will be a Show and Tell. While Clint has pencilled in over a half dozen names already, we can always use some more. If you have an interesting item and would like your few minutes of glory, drop me a note at info@phsc.ca and I will pass it along. Our January 2023 speaker is Cassie Stiles who will discuss the contents of her award winning MTU thesis.

You may have noticed above, the sign outside our auction site in Long Branch.  This is to alert you to our latest auction will be held this month on December 17th. The legion hall is in Long Branch (south-west Toronto). It will offer estate lots. Details and photos will be posted here before the 17th.

Our next journal will be out before year end according to the editors (it is nearly finished).

Like I have said many times, “Have a great fall/winter and let’s hope the seventh wave of COVID-19 and its restrictions are very modest at best!”. Note: The Late Premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, was fondly called ‘Boo Boo’.

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a few of my favourite things

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Robert

from the August 2022 article by in The GALA Herald (Hamilton)

Toronto. Photo books and coffee – what’s not to love? Many of my books are about photography: its history, its cameras, its technology (film), etc. And we begin each morning with a cuppa.

After visiting Hamilton (the west end of our ‘golden horseshoe around Lake Ontario), George Dunbar writes, “Here’s an interesting new idea in Canadian photography: A photography enthusiast in Hamilton has opened a coffee shop that specializes in photography books along with coffee and cookies.

“On a recent trip to Hamilton I visited Katie Sadie at Rooney’s, a pleasant place for photographers, book lovers, conversation and coffee.

“The attached article recently appeared in a local community newspaper, the GALA Herald.

“Here’s wishing Katie great success with her fine entrepreneurial venture.”

Note: The title of this post is a line in a song from, “The Sound of Music” sung so well by Julie Andrews.

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