still into analogue (a.k.a. film)?

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Robert

Celebrating three decades of Lomography

Toronto. After nearly 20 years of serious digital technology, many folks still enjoy the mystique of analogue (film). The folks at Lomography know this! For 30 years now they have offered cameras and films for the niche enthusiast.

A recent flyer from Lomography, courtesy of Brigit Buchart, says in part, ” 30 Years of Lomography, Exposed!  Over the coming year, we’re going to be holding exciting events and releasing even more new products to celebrate our anniversary!

“To kick things off, we’re asking Lomographers and everyone around the globe to get involved and tell us why they still love shooting film via our new survey – 30 Reasons For Analogue: https://lomography.typeform.com/30-reasons “.

So if you shoot film today, use the above link and join in on the fun. As we hear of the new products, we will try to post a notice here.

P.S. Visit our auction on December 17th and see if you can score some films or film cameras!

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , , | Comments Off on still into analogue (a.k.a. film)?

Our America by Ken Burns

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Robert

book by Ken Burns

Toronto. I first learnt about Ken Burns via iMovie. The Apple App had a spot for effects and even came with one – the Ken Burns Effect. Burns as a documentary photographer used his effect to zoom and scan  stills in his videos to give a sense of motion.

I was surprised to hear that Ken is also an accomplished photo editor of historical photos as demonstrated by his book, “Our America“.

George Dunbar brought this to my attention. George writes, “I’ve been spending some enjoyable time with a magnificent new book, ‘Our America’ by Ken Burns. This huge, coffee-table-size volume, displays the excellent photo-editing talents of this famous documentary film-maker. He’s chosen about 250 images that beautifully capture the essence of America from 1839 to 2019.

“Most of the amazing images are entirely new to me since Mr. Burns and staff have obviously scoured the contents of many useful archives. Although all images depict American life, this book is a treasure-house of historical photography that will surely interest viewers worldwide.

“P.S. It’s available at the Toronto Public Library.”

 

Posted in book | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Our America by Ken Burns

a poet, a photographer, an author, a teacher …

Posted on November 28, 2022 by Robert

Stan White reads one of his books Nov 2022.

Toronto. … and president of our Toronto branch 1985- 1987. Stan White at 93 has two more books to his name. Read more about Stan in this Hamilton Spectator/Toronto Star article by Jeff Mahoney. Stan was our resident Stereo expert – along with the late Dr Bob Wilson.

For a time, we kept one meeting open – usually a September meeting – as a stereo night often featuring Stan.

Note that Stan, with the help of family, has his own website (see link at bottom right too).

Enjoy the above article and if you were a member – or had EvRoseborough or Stan do photographic work for you – you may recognize our whimsical past president and speaker.

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , , | Comments Off on a poet, a photographer, an author, a teacher …

send in the cameras …

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Robert

Kiev camera from earlier auction

Toronto. … never mind, they are here! At our Saturday, December 17th 2022 auction, of course. We are pleased to announce the live estate-only PHSC auction at the Legion Hall, Branch #101 just west of Brown’s line on the Lake Shore Blvd in Long Branch (Toronto).

Typical lots will be like the Kiev at left which was sold at a 2018 auction. We can’t be sure whether a Kiev or Contax will show up on the 17th, but there will be many desirable items in the lots going under the hammer.

Come on down and take a break from all that Christmas shopping. Enjoy yourself and reacquaint with old friends. And you may even win a bid for a new item for your collection or user gear. We will be posting lot photos as soon as they become available for display.

Note. The title here is a riff on that haunting and poignant 1975 Stephen Sondheim song as sung by Judy Collins, “Send in the Clowns“.

 

Posted in auction | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on send in the cameras …

and where will you be on December 17th?

Posted on November 26, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Our next auction is Saturday, December 17, 2022 at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall #101 on Lake Shore Boulevard West in Long Branch (South West Toronto). Pictures of sample lots will be posted as available.

PHSC auction DECEMBER 17, 2022

Posted in auction | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on and where will you be on December 17th?

the importance of being fixed

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Robert

example of a photogram from Britain.co.uk

Toronto. By 1802, the sensitivity of silver halides to light was known in scientific circles. Thomas Wedgwood managed to make ‘photograms‘ – silhouettes on leather but could not make the photograms permanent. The delicate images – even kept in darkness – slowly turned completely black.

The first successful photographic processes by camera  were announced in January, 1839 after it was discovered that a mild salt solution could ‘fix’ images and prevent them from turning black over time.

In 1840 Hippolyte Bayard, suggested that a solution of hyposulfite could act as a better fixer bath. The term ‘hypo’ remains in the lexicon today as a name for the fixer bath in film photography (even though the actual chemical turned out not to be hyposulfite).

Basically, the developer solution turns light exposed silver halides (clear) to metallic silver (black). The fixer solution is CRITICAL. It removes all the remaining silver halides so they cannot turn to black metallic silver. A good wash removes the now released halides and other chemicals from the film or paper.

Note. The title of this post is a riff on the name of Oscar Wilde’s play, “The Importance of Being Earnest“.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on the importance of being fixed

disappearing heirlooms

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Robert

My father on a bike, c1925

Toronto. We have all seen Victorian Photo Albums chock full of CDVs etc. at fairs, auctions, and sometimes used goods stores. The albums came along around the mid 1800s when cheap CDVs became available and a place to store and view the photos was needed. Nowadays they are rich fodder for collectors and historians.

As time passed, less expensive albums came to market with black pages and special ‘lick and stick’ tabs to anchor the corners of the prints. My grandmother carefully selected images from her box camera and added them to such an album in date order making her album a family heirloom.

Others used shoe boxes or other small boxes to hold special photo prints such as the one at left. In the mid last century so called ‘magnetic’ albums became popular. Sticky strips on a thick white page were covered by clear plastic sheets which were pulled up to add prints. Very convenient but not so good for the prints.

After the magnetic albums ran their course, the idea of a photograph album faded. Today most photos are images on a computer or smartphone. Really convenient to view, send and store. A much faster search can be done using EXIF, etc. data.

But what happens when you move on or the format changes or viewers change or software changes (or you simply shed this ‘mortal coil’)? Disappearing Heirlooms indeed …

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on disappearing heirlooms

celebrity endorsements

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Robert

1963 ad using celebrities to endorse a camera – in this case a Miranda 35mm SLR

Toronto. In the early days of minicams, makers used explorers and others who demanded perfection under extreme conditions. Post war. celebrities became popular in ads as if they used the cameras shown. Naive folk seeing the ad might choose a film camera based on ‘celebrity’ use.

Typical ads are like the ones used by Miranda – a middle range 35mm film camera using lenses made by others. At left, this 1963 ad announces “Miranda goes Hollywood” featuring a shot from the latest Gidget movie, “Gidget Goes to Rome”. From my magazine reading days, I remember one such Miranda ad featuring Jerry Lewis as the celebrity.

Like so many Japanese film cameras, the Miranda couldn’t keep up with the advancements of the competition and eventually disappeared. The name itself was sold a few times so non-camera ‘Miranda’ items may still exist. And film? It too disappeared into the mists of history, aside from the small band of current enthusiasts who appreciate the look of ‘analogue’ photos.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on celebrity endorsements

before TV; before video;

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Robert

a late 1947 ad for Revere 8mm home movie technology

Toronto. … we had home movies. Originally 16mm, during the depression Kodak began selling 8mm versions and post war in a scramble to expand market size and improve image quality, Kodak moved to ‘Super 8’. In the late 1930s, Kodachrome first became available as home movie film, allowing all home movie buffs to shoot in colour.

The December, 1947 advertisement shows a colour 8mm home movie being enjoyed by all. From my point of view, few ‘amateurs’ took the time to script and edit home movies. Such movies became instead a valuable historical record of family life, primarily of scenes and people – of interest only to immediate family members. Today, some historians are beginning to see their value in tracking trends and changes to the way we live.

TV came along after WW2 – after 1952 up here in the great white north. And stills reigned supreme. Then videos became standard fare with the advent of digital technology, Youtube, and smartphones. Today most of us prefer video guides over text and stills as tools to learn new software, do it yourself repairs, gardening, crafts and anything else that needs learning before we succeed at hands on.

The ad used here is courtesy of our good friend (and retired professional videographer), George Dunbar.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on before TV; before video;

days of war surplus photo supplies and gear

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Robert

1947 Ad for a bargain 16mm
Lektro Jr camera

Toronto. Some of us may remember the days when the local war surplus store had stocks of photo paper, film, chemicals, equipment, etc. at big discounts since the cost was already paid once by tax dollars.

This November, 1947 American ad is for a Lektro Jr 16mm movie camera ($59.95US – cost new over $200.00US) and cheap  Super-X B&W movie film with processing.

Ironically, the American Surplus store was called ‘Fotoshop’… An interesting choice of name for the business – and prophetic – Adobe ‘Photoshop’ software (Mac only) came to market in 1990 a bit over 40 years later.

In the day, I visited surplus shops in Toronto, mainly Hercules on Yonge above Wellesley. Film and paper were my main buys. I still remember the Kodak paper. It came in large rolls about 5-1/2 inches wide and could be cut to size.

Once again, a thanks to my good friend, George Dunbar, for discovering and sharing this record of photographic history going back to the post war era.

 

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on days of war surplus photo supplies and gear