Richmond BC Camera Show POSTPONED

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Robert

August 1, 2020 show in Richmond British Columbia CANCELLED

Toronto. We were sorry to hear that Big Dave and our other friends in Richmond BC had to postpone the August 1st Richmond Camera Show and Swap Meet.

Big Dave writes, “I hope that all of you are safe and well. During these unfortunate times, COVID-19 has changed our world immensely . We have been in communications with local authorities and have been watching all the press releases for the possibility of return to pre-COVID-19 conditions. As such we have held off this email for as long as we could. However, we must face the fact that at this current point in time, the Richmond Camera Show and Swap Meet must be postponed until 2021 for the safety and wellbeing of all.

“Once things settle, we will be emailing with the updated date for the show. I hope that you and all your loved ones remain safe and healthy during these times.

“Until we meet again,

“Big Dave and the Richmond Camera Show & Swap Meet team.”

Dave’s news release reads, “Richmond Camera Show & Swap Meet Aug 1st 2020, South Arm United Church – POSTPONED Richmond Camera Show & Swap Meet, has been actively monitoring the COVID-19 developments. We have been following the directives of the BCCDC, HealthlinkBC and Public Health Agency of Canada. As the BC’s Restart Plan in Phase 3, large gathering are prohibited. As the show date approaches, and Phase 4 is nowhere in sight, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our annual Richmond Camera Show & Swap Meet to the spring of 2021. Both the organizers and facilities are working together to secure a potential date for the next show. We must consider the direction of the BC Government and their authorities to be the final word on this issue. The safety and well-being of our guests and partners are of paramount importance and we will ensure our actions are congruent to that. We will announce the new date as soon as it becomes available. If you have reserved a table for the 2020 show, you are automatically registered for the 2021 show. Please check out our website here or follow us on Facebook & Instagram for the latest update. We hope you stay healthy and we look forward to seeing you in the spring.”

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Richmond BC Camera Show POSTPONED

i am so EXCITED …

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Robert

35mm Summicron set to f8 and hyperfocal distance

Toronto. … as Martin Short‘s character, Ed Grimsley, used to shout on SCTV skits. To do the character justice, Short was down right hyper. And speaking of hyper, hyperfocal distance was important in 35mm film photography, especially daytime street photography.

The camera lens was set to f/8 (or f/11). On the depth of field scale, focus was set so the infinity mark aligned with the furthest f/8 mark. The scene was then in focus from infinity to the distance aligned with the nearest f/8 mark. The camera was then basically a fixed focus camera with the light adjustment made by lowering or raising the shutter speed as needed.

I used this technique for years, moving the shutter speed on my M4 to compensate for the lighting variation as recorded by my light meter. This allowed me to keep ready for any split second scene without recourse to my meter and camera settings. Modern day digital cameras with a “programmed” setting, and both digital cameras and smart phones with auto ISO, auto focus, etc make such techniques unnecessary.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on i am so EXCITED …

make a date with f/8

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Robert

a great coffee for us all

Toronto. Those of us who used 2-1/4 or 35mm cameras and film are familiar with the aperture setting f/8. It is a great mid range setting offering a nice balance of speed and depth of field for outdoors.

The delightful head of PhotoEd magazine, Rita Godlevskis, has collaborated with a local coffee supplier, Sparkplug, to make a special blend for photographers. After all, there is nothing better than a hot coffee and a great magazine!

Posted in activities-other | Tagged , | Comments Off on make a date with f/8

shady stuff

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Robert

some of the many hoods for 35mm camera lenses

Toronto. Don’t you wish your photos were crisp and contrasty like those of an accomplished professional?

One issue last century was soft contrast caused by reflections from individual lens elements. Post war, element coating became common and with it a much crisper contrast. An alternative was avoiding light that did not come over the photographer’s shoulder (often Kodak’s advice to amateurs using inexpensive cameras).

Another option was a lens hood to block any light rays not contributing directly to recording the scene on film. Many professionals avoided the hoods and lighting guaranteed to cause a problem with contrast. Manufacturers sold hoods as accessories, or built them into a lens, or sold them with a lens.

Modern smart phones have no built in hood but your hand can be carefully placed to block extraneous light and materially improve contrast. If that maneuver fails, software editing can correct the contrast to a remarkable degree that was simply impossible using film and chemicals.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on shady stuff

and to cap it off …

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Robert

a kludge of caps

Toronto. Dust and dirt everywhere! How can you keep it out of camera bodies and lenses? Easy, cap the openings! Since the early days of photography, caps have been used to keep out dust and dirt when the camera or lens is not in use.

Caps have been made of many materials – leather, paper, metal, plastic, etc. Most are signed by the lens maker but others are  generic and unsigned (or signed inside and hidden from casual view). Most caps just push on, but some screw on and others actually lock in place.

These caps are often lost. Or are left behind. Or fall off. Most makers offer replacements as accessories for a few dollars. But caps change over time, They may have the same diameter and depth to fit a lens,  but a different shape (shoulders, cupped, etc.) or material may be used. After the M series of cameras were released by Leitz, the company offered a conversion ring to allow old lenses to be used on the new M mount cameras. The rear lens cap for M mount lenses had three tabs added to the outer edge allowing the cap to be a wrench to remove the 1mm adapter ring from the Leica M body. These tabs were dropped years later after the old lenses were rarely used on M mount cameras and the adapters were no longer sold new.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on and to cap it off …

hardly ever

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Robert

Case for screw-mount Leica with 5cm lens and an accessory viewer attached c1935

Toronto. In the late 1950s, I bought my Exakta VX IIa complete with an “ever-ready” case. Like many youths of the day, we called these “never-ready”cases since the camera couldn’t be used until the case was opened. When the box of cameras and lenses arrived in Labrador, I was disappointed that the camera case half covering the lens was a light brown plastic cup affair, not brown leather like the Leica used. On the other hand, the snap at the back of the camera allowed the two case halves to be separated. The knob attaching the case to the camera was threaded so the case (with the camera) could be mounted on a tripod – essential in those days for interior shots.

Years later, research showed these cases were offered around the time of the minicam revolution and may even have originated with the Leica. While the front part of the case dropped down to expose the camera, it didn’t detach. Hence, it was common practice to use the camera without the case. Shortly after the Leica appeared on the scene, Leitz sold a wealth of accessories and later lenses. Leitz sold many different cases of leather, aluminum, Bakelite, and other materials.

Cases are rarely collected making identification more difficult. The screw mount Leica case above could be used with an accessory such as the Imarect (multi-lens viewer) attached to the camera. I must have acquired it 30 or 40 years ago, but the records have been lost. My case was made by Leitz New York and sold to someone in Derry, NH.

 

 

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on hardly ever

spot on

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Robert

Kliegl Spot Light c 1930

Toronto. One big difference between amateur photographs, and those made by professionals and advanced amateurs, was illumination. Indoors, the professional went to great lengths to illuminate his subject bringing out the nuances of its very existence whether a human, an animal, or an inert object.

Lighting such as on camera flash or spot lights gave a harsh, contrasty scene. Bounce flash, light boxes etc gave a softer illumination. Only casual  amateurs used on-camera flash as a main light source with its harsh and sharply delineated shadows. Outdoors, on-camera flash was used as fill light to soften the camera-facing daylight and brighten the otherwise darkened front of the subject(s) facing the camera. On-camera flash lighting was the choice of professional news photographers where the picture was more important than any creative lighting.

In the studio, north facing daylight or light boxes served as the main light source, while illumination on the back ground could bring it out and separate it from  the subject. Spot lights could be used to highlight the characteristics of the subject. Careful lighting could give the model plasticity or  a three dimensional look or even lighting like Rembrandt once used in his painted portraits to highlight one side of his subject’s features.

Shown is a tiny Kliegl Brothers spot light I bought from another PHSC member at one of our fairs. Kliegl lights were initially created as arc lights to illuminate commercial movies (much larger and brighter versions of the lights). The arc lights died out as electric lights took over.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on spot on

so you want to be in pictures

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Robert

call for articles

Toronto. Do you remember the old Joe McDoakes shorts that used to run before the main feature in the movie palaces? That was the source for our post title! In this case, you can get into a pdf, but only if you are a PHSC member…

Not a member? This is the Easy-Peasy part: choose domesic or international; 1 year or 3 in the upper right part of this web page, breakout the plastic, and hit the Pay Now button to sign up via PayPal – we absorb the small fee.

Then write a few words and  add some images. Email to editor Bob Lansdale by July 24th and he will consider your idea for publishing. All current members WITH an email address have received the notice on the left with added details. You say you are a current member with an email address but were missed? Drop me a note at info@phsc.ca and I will followup promptly!

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on so you want to be in pictures

green and it’s gone

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Robert

Girl in front of green screen courtesy of PictureYouth, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wiki media.org/w/index.php ?curid=25763598.

Toronto. Have you ever watched a girl like this showing off fashion articles in exotic places? Or a weather girl on TV and saw the various detailed weather maps and videos behind her? Or joined a ZOOM meeting where participants have backgrounds of familiar photos?

The concept used to merge two images is actually over a century old! It is sometimes known as Chroma Key since the secret is to make a selected colour in the foreground transparent so the background image can show through.

As the person in the foreground moves around, the background looks like a solid picture. Sometimes the person uses a colour too close to the one selected for transparency and that area suddenly becomes transparent too and the back ground shines through.

Today, the internet offers videos, articles, apps, etc. showing how you at home can create things once seen only in the movies or on television.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on green and it’s gone

the invisible man

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Robert

Notman Studio Montreal

Toronto. Photography was a success when latent images were discovered (plus a fixer solution). Silver salts, or silver-halides as they were later called were molecules of silver and a “salt” bonded together. These molecules were light sensitive. The stronger the light, the weaker the bonding and easier the molecule broke into metallic silver (black) and the salt.

The 1839 daguerreotype process worked slightly differently. Mercury fumes could “bring out” the latent image (previously invisible to the eye) by bonding to the metallic silver to create white. The silver mirror of unexposed or under exposed silver salt molecules could reflect dark backgrounds (eg dark velvet) to create a positive image. The alternative 1839 process by Fox-Talbot used salt paper (like the called printing out paper of a later era). The light was intense enough to bring out a negative image without further development. To speed up the process, the latent image was later used plus a developer chemical.

Using latent images made the exposures needed in the camera far shorter, but meant darkroom processing before any image could be seen. Looking at the Negative-Positive processes which became dominant until digital took over, various chemicals would convert silver-halides to metallic silver and salts in proportion to the light hitting and weakening the bond. Development rendered the invisible image (latent) visible. Too long in the developer, or too intense a light and most silver-halide molecules became metallic silver and salts, ruining the image. The various developer chemicals would only work in an alkyd solution so immersion in an acid solution (stop bath) stopped the development process in its tracks.

And a fixer would eliminate any remaining light sensitive molecules so the once sensitive material no longer reacted to light and could be viewed and stored. Of course poor fixing or a lack of thorough washing after fixing (or exhausted or contaminated baths) could cause fading over time.

 

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on the invisible man