Where Angels Come to Earth

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Robert

Piazza Angels – cover of latest Pietropaolo book,

Toronto. Photographer and author Vincenzo Pietropaolo is no  stranger to the PHSC. Vince has spoken many times at our meetings and attended them as well. “When Angels Come to Earth” is his latest book. This book is in collaboration with Mark Frutkin.

The book is a glorious ” … Evocation of the Italian Piazza” as the book’s sub title suggests. The book was released last January, 2020 and presented at Ryerson.

Following is from that announcement, “Where Angels Come to Earth is an unprecedented visual and poetic journey, allowing readers to appreciate the Italian piazza like no other book in the English language. With a combination of artistic documentary photographs and lyrical texts, it reveals both the grit and beauty of daily life in Italian piazzas.

“The book combines the artistic visions of photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo and writer Mark Frutkin, both recognized experts in their respective disciplines. Their creative voices present a poetic and thought-provoking look at Italian community life, as they focus  on many of Italy’s piazzas—both North and South—still used by local residents as community gathering places, revealing the humanistic way of life of Italian cities and towns.

“Foreword by renowned architect and urban designer Ken Greenberg.

“Sample of text by Mark Frutkin:

“Two girls walk arm in arm across the rain-soaked piazza.  ‘A photographer is like a fisherman,’ Giorgio, the stick-thin custodian, tells me as we stand on the steps in front of the church overlooking the square. I nod in agreement. The photographer must have the same patience as the fisherman, ever alert to the precise moment when the shutter must be pressed, the rod lifted, the line pulled tight.  The photographer must have perfect timing to catch a fish of light glistening in air.  For the moment passes in an instant, the scene has changed, the two girls walking arm in arm have crossed the piazza, turned a corner, disappeared into the rest of their lives.

“For further information about the book, please feel free to contact the authors directly:
Vincenzo Pietropaolo – vpietropaolo@gmail.com
Mark Frutkin – mfrutkin@rogers.com

“Published by Longbridge Books.

“To order the book on-line, please follow this link
https://accenti.ca/product/angels/
ISBN:  978-1-928065-15-9. Hardcover with dust jacket. 160 pages. 122 photos in colour and black & white. $59.95 (includes shipping).”

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add to your collection over in Maryland

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Robert

Occupational Tintype (lot 32) is just one of the items on auction (online) in Maryland this coming May

Toronto. I received an email Tuesday from an auction house in Maryland that features online bids.

On Thursday, May 7th, 2020 at 5pm Richard Opfer Auctioneering is hosting the “Jerome ‘Pepper’ Broad Photographica Auction“. You can view the lots here.

The tintype at left is typical of the offerings. There are both images and cameras being offered. Have a look and place a bid to augment your collection.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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another high flyer

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Robert

Margaret Bourke-White high over NYC on a skyscraper c1931

Toronto. American photographer and LIFE photographer, Margaret Bourke-White was very popular mid last century. I wrote a post on her back in March 18, 2019 of last year.

This photo (at left) shows her high above NYC using a press camera (Graflex) Her history is covered beginning on page 85 of the June 28, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine,

Thanks to George Dunbar for sourcing this interesting story of an American icon in the photographic world.

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taking a bite in the big apple

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Robert

eating high on the hog

Toronto. This photo was taken in 1932 by an unknown photographer,  It shows a bunch of skyscraper workers sitting out in space along a girder as they eat lunch high above NYC at a time when many skyscrapers were being built. Some buildings used Iroquois from Canada to do this daring work. Modern day Safety rules would ban such derring do.

The photo is selected by TIME magazine as one of 100 all time most influential photographs. I did a similar post from this series in June of 2019 on Edgerton and his electronic flash experiments.

In both cases, a big thank you goes to my friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar, who is pursuing his interest in photographic history from retirement. As many know, George is a photographer and videographer in his own right (and a speaker, writer, and contributor to the PHSC).

 

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1906 – a bad year for San Francisco

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Robert

Arnold Genthe – San Francisco 1906

Toronto. We often feature photographers here. This time it is the German/American Arnold Genthe. He had the fortune (misfortune?) to be in San Francisco in 1906 when a devastating earthquake struck California near that city.

Genthe’s photos are available on line at many institutions, including the ARTIC in Chicago. A conservator in San Francisco plans to host an online conference on Arnold Genthe’s photos and the famous earthquake via Facebook.

Victoria Binder of the Fine Atrs Museum in that city writes,

“Hi Photo History Friends,

“Please join curator, Karin Breuer and me, April 22nd @ 3 pm, for a Legion of Honor Museum, Facebook Live discussion on resilience and Arnold Genthe’s photographs of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

“Please share!

“You can find the event on the Legion of Honor Museum Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/events/1399514816915614/

“Best wishes,
Victoria Binder
Head of Paper Conservation
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
de Young \ Legion of Honor”

A big thank you to our journal editor, Bob Lansdale, for passing this information along.

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the Jack Roy of photography

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Robert

Polaroid Land Camera 100 ad in LIFE

Toronto. Jack Roy used the stage name of Rodney Dangerfield. As Dangerfield, his catch phrase was, “I don’t get no respect”.  The vast majority of professional and amateur photographers viewed Polaroid in the same light. Polaroid had very innovative cameras and processes but you were locked into one media supplier and no interchangeable lenses. Later on, Polaroid backs became available allowing the use of any camera with a removable back that supported Polaroid.

The Polaroid colour material quickly shifted to 50 second processing. The camera 100 was a marvel of technology using Polaroid color packs or ASA 3000 black and white packs. Rather expensive, but showing results in under a minute. Prints could be copied to make different sizes or duplicates. Polaroid cameras were the epitome of automation. Much like today’s even simpler to use smartphone cameras.

Thanks to George Dunbar for noting this wonderful advertisement (pp65-7) in the September 20th, 1963 edition of LIFE magazine. Note: Anyone can browse many of the older magazine thanks to Google Books. Into photographic history and have no magazine back issues? Try George’s route to see the old advertisements and see how we lived last century. Of course you can attend our auctions and fairs when they resume and possibly find some old back issues.

 

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Yousuf Russia LIFE 1963

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Robert

Krushchev by Karsh in LIFE magazine September 13, 1963

Toronto. One of our most famous portrait photographers of all time was Karsh of Ottawa. Some members strive to collect portraits taken by Karsh. One member – Shelton Chen – even wrote and published a book of Karsh Portraits.

In 1963, LIFE magazine in New York devoted an entire issue to Russia. Beginning on page 72 of this September 13, 1963 issue is the essay and portraits captured by the great man, Yousuf Karsh.

My thanks to George Dunbar for unearthing this exciting issue, fresh in 1963, just weeks before the tragic death of president John F Kennedy and his replacement by vice-president Lyndon B Johnson.

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just before dawn

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Robert

Sample Portrait using Babylon ISO 13 film

Toronto. Hard on the heels of its ISO 8 monochrome film, Lomography has announced Babylon – its ISO 13 film, another dark, moody monochrome beauty with marginally softer contrast.

If you are into film, take a close look  at what this moody film can do for you.

The title of this post is from a song by the Mommas and Poppas – Dedicated to the One I Love. It is a haunting song, like the moody portaits possible with this high contrast film.

 

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gearing up for great pix

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Robert

My Exakta VXIIa winding mechanism in the 1970s.

Toronto. In the early decades of photography, the media were so slow a hat or lens cap worked just fine to control exposures. Lenses were left open or used waterhouse stops inserted into a slot in the lens barrel until the thin multi-blade aperture mechanism became popular.

Until the advent of film, metal or glass plates (and later cut film) were hand changed. When dry plates  arrived and “instantaneous” exposures became possible, a simple bladed shutter could be used. For the first time plate sensitizing, exposure and processing were potentially separated by a time beyond that ever known before.

As media sensitivity increased, clock-work mechanisms were designed and sold to allow sub-second exposures. With roll film, the manually exchanged plate holders were replaced by an in-camera means to roll the film on to a new unexposed frame. By the 1930s, the mini-cam rage hit and the popular and very compact 35mm cameras were made and sold. Gears were used to ensure the film was wound as the shutter was cocked, eliminating the risk of double exposure.

Today, we see digital technology everywhere. Sensors replaced film; solid state gizmos replaced gears and the captured digital images were a very lengthy series of zeros and ones saved to RAW and Jpeg files which could be “developed” in the device or downloaded to a computer for correction before electronic printing. Now, even the digital cameras are disappearing, replaced by smartphones. Always close-by, smartphones all have cameras now and their resolution and technology continues to evolve. As they say, the best camera is the one you have ready to take the photograph.

 

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the last picture show

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Robert

ads for evolution of home movies

Toronto. Over a century ago, it was discovered that a rapid sequence of still images would seem to show motion. This phenomenon was based on human  “persistence of vision” which neatly fills in the brief gap between images.

This concept required a long strip of film and special machinery to record and project the “movie”. Special movie theatres sprung up to house an audience in a darkened auditorium to view the latest “movie”. An entire industry flourished to create and distribute “movies”. As technology improved, movies evolved from jerky black and white silent films to smooth black and white, to sound and to colour films.  Pre war, home movies were the purview of those with deep pockets. Post war, there was a strong push for low resolution amateur colour silent and occasionally sound films for consumption at home. Meantime, commercial films experimented with 3D, Cinerama, Cinemascope, I-Max, etc. to enhance the audiences experience.

In the days of dim black and white TV and squinty resolution, commercial films blossomed. Today, this tiny resolution has evolved to 4 time the data (HD) and 16 times (4K), soon to be the even higher resolution of 8K televisions. Movies can now be viewed at home with friends at a decent resolution. We are no longer prisoners to blaring half hours of advertisements, sticky floors, and rigid schedules. Movie theatres are rapidly be coming redundant.

Technically, television sets have evolved from massive, power hungry CRT and vacuum tube beasts to slim solid state colour machines that can be wall hung and controlled by a hand held battery operated device.  Films can be piped in via fibre technology to offer many more options. Films can be streamed or recorded locally for later viewing (and skipping the inevitable inane commercials) freeing everyone from the tyranny of schedules.

Amateur movies became passé with the advent of digital cameras and smartphones. Modern models even sport 4K resolution and are seen recording events and photo ops for TV! My thanks to George Dunbar for suggesting this topic. The post title is from the 1971 movie of the same name.

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