self portrait

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Robert

a chameleon is featured in this 74 year old article

Toronto. Self portraits or selfies are simple today with the ubiquitous front facing smart phone camera. Before that, a self timer allowed self portraits with  tripod mounted cameras.

But how can you capture something that is over in the blink of an eye – like the tongue of a lizard capturing a tasty morsel? An article in the October, 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics shows one way this can be accomplished.

The stand the chameleon is on looks very much like a bit of Leitz hardware to me.

Thank you to good friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar, for spotting this article of by gone days and sharing it with others who cherish photographic history.

 

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a new tourist in town

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Robert

ad for the new Kodak Tourist camera in September, 1948

Toronto. Kodak made many cameras from the in expensive box cameras to the high end minicams. Some of their folders settled into the mid-range with a better, faster lens and a multi-setting flash synchronized leaf shutter.

An example with a few extras is the new 1948 Tourist camera, A camera that folded to become compact but used 620 film and had some minicam features. This September, 1948 advertisement announced its availability and features. The camera was offered with less features at a lower cost. It was replaced by the Tourist II with even more features.

The camera addressed amateurs who believed in Kodak quality and wanted a reasonably priced camera with added features.

Thanks to the diligence and hospitality of good friend George Dunbar, we can share this find. The ad reminds us of those times past when Kodak stood for quality in film cameras and their range was very wide indeed!

 

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Oh Sun-Ray Days

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Robert

ad in Nov 1948 for a Sun-Ray Aristocrat enlarger for 35m to 2-1/4 by 3-1/4 negatives

Toronto. When minicams became the norm, enlargers were no longer an option but became a necessity to make prints from the tiny minicam negatives.

Amateurs reluctant to buy high end enlargers (Durst, Omega, Beseler, Leitz, etc.)  costing much more than their cameras, turned to ‘equally high quality’ models at far lower prices made by companies such as Federal or Sun-Ray. This late 1948 ad for Sun-Ray’s Aristocrat enlarger is typical of the ads of the day.

The ad emphasizes the compactness of the enlarger and how easy it fits into a very small space yet gives such remarkable “Hollywood” prints. The low price is strongly noted while the lens is given very little space, only that it is sharp, even ‘pin-point’ in focus. One one side the ad says ‘hobby’ and on the other ‘professional’ looking prints.

Cheap it may have been, but it still helped the budding amateur learn the art (I had a Federal enlarger at one time before I bought a Durst and saw what quality a few more dollars purchased).

Note: The post title is a riff on a song. “Sunny Sunny Days“. The song is sung here by, “Fredrica Stahl”. A thank you to my good friend and retired photographer, George Dunbar for spotting this piece of photo history and sending it to us.

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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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