home movies over 60 years ago

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Robert

DeJur in LIFE June 4, 1956

Toronto. Back in January of this year I did a post on DeJur and their 1954 ad in LIFE Two years later they are still banging away at home movies via an ad in LIFE.  As mentioned in my January post, the company did many things to try and make a profit including home movies.

The low end home movie scene was ably covered by the Kodak Brownie line but many others like DeJur struggled to compete with the great yellow father.

The high end was covered by many companies like Zeiss. Best remembered is the Swiss company Paillard. Their Bolex 16mm and 8mm movie cameras are those considered best as high end, high quality equipment.

Thanks to George Dunbar for sourcing this advertisement on page 70 in the June 4, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine.

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papering things over

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Robert

Solio Printing Out Paper

Toronto. The Toronto Public Library Archive is another source we have for photographic history. Eastman Kodak Solio paper was a Printing Out Paper or P.O.P. 

This paper was primarily used to proof studio shots. When my eldest was born, a Montreal photographer provided  us with P.O.P. proofs to see the various photos he took so we could make our selection.

Keeping the prints was of no consequence since the contrast was soft and the print would eventually fade as it was exposed to daylight especially if it was not thoroughly fixed, washed  and toned. In any case a large stamp marked PROOF meant the photographs were unusable.

Thanks once again to George Dunbar for reminding me of the rich history we have in the TPL archive and the process of using studio proofs many years ago.

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fresh eggs

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Robert

a collection of folders

Toronto. A few decades ago at Bell I had a boss who suggested I run with my suggestion. “After all”, he said, “it’s your fresh egg”.

Have you ever noticed that be it cars, cameras, microscopes, sewing machines, radios, televisions, or cell phones, etc that at any point in time there is a similarity amongst products by different makers?

Take for example the lowly folder. A great many were marketed varying in shutter speed, lens speed and quality, film size, etc but all used a bellows and a means to close the camera with the bellows, lens, viewer, and shutter inside making a very compact package. The original folder design was indeed a “fresh egg”, but I wonder what we should call the others – the improvements, the copies, etc.?

The similarity comes down to how cheaply can a product be made and still cater to those who lust after the basic design. Many models seem to operate the same, but still have idiosyncrasies that make a change from one make to another a bit awkward.

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keep on truckin’

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Robert

Delivery Truck c 1930

Toronto. Items from the website Fans in a Flashbulb have appeared here before. The site is a blog and like our site, uses WordPress to format the site and add posts.

In the about menu item, the site defines itself as, “Fans in a Flashbulb presents selected works from collections of the International Center of Photography. The blog’s name is taken from the title of the Weegee photograph from around 1952 reproduced to the left. The entries are written by ICP’s curators, staff, interns, and students. Enjoy!”

The particular post shown here is a 1930s delivery truck. The print was added to Fans in December 4, 2009 – nearly a decade ago. The truck shows an innovative way to advertise. The giant folder camera touts a Zeiss Tessar lens.

Once again, I must give my friend George Dunbar a ‘tip of the hat’ for discovering this nifty photograph and its source site.

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16×20 and all that stuff

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Robert

Horses CNE Coliseum summer of 1980 with my Leica

Toronto. When was the last time you made a big print? Never is the most likely answer when everything today is digital – unless you are an old coot like me. Around 1985, I decided to decorate my office with some of my photographs printed 16 x 20 inches and mounted in slim gold toned aluminum frames.

At the time, my largest trays would only print 11×14 paper so my first step was to get bigger trays. To this end I bought some plywood and some 1×4 inch pine boards. I made three wooden trays big enough to handle 16×20 paper. A double thickness of 2 mil plastic painter’s sheets lined the trays to make them moisture proof.

Developer, stop, and fixer followed. I made just enough to fill the trays about a quarter to a half inch (no drums big enough were on hand). A sink would do for washing. I looked through my Leica negatives and selected a handful of negatives to print with my Durst enlarger which has a great Schneider enlarging lens. And off to the photo store for 16×20 Ilford enlarging paper.

Once done, the prints were framed and mounted in my office. This was some 34 years ago – the first and last time I made such big prints.

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it ain’t over yet!

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Robert

Film Lives!

Toronto. About 40 years ago I wondered why the old process lingered on long after a new process was available. Now I know. Serious folk invested in the older process so they changed slowly to the new. And the older process has a je ne sais quoi look and feel compared to the new.

When you go to any of our events – fair, sale, or auction – someone always seems to have film available. And today there is even a niche market for polaroid style material of all things!

So go with your feelings and break out that wonderful film camera today and experience the wonder of analogue images. A 36 negative roll of film used to last because shots were costly. Today, I shoot that many digital shots in a few minutes knowing I can delete, sort, crop, select, and adjust after the fact using modern software.

 

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PhotoEd Summer 2019

Posted on June 23, 2019 by Robert

Cyanotype Kit

Toronto. Hey – its summer (finally). Check out Rita’s latest work here. She has both a print edition and a digital edition available (with differing content!).

Mind the Cyanotype Kit – uses some nasty chemistry –  like potassium ferricyanide (a nice orange red powder I had years ago).

Take a look on the link above to see what is happening in PhotoEd this summer.

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remember Kodachrome?

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Robert

Arrow Sports Shirts in Kodachrome Hues

Toronto. It’s been a decade now since Kodak shut down the Kodachrome film line and nearly nine years since the last Kodachrome processing facility closed.  In its glory days, people used Kodachrome for their best work. It was contrasty, slow, famous for enhancing some colours and for its time stability. Over a half century since they were used and my Kodachrome slides still have a decent colour rendering.

In 1956, Arrow shirts capitalized on the popularity of Kodachrome by offering a line of casual shirts all in “Kodachrome” hues! Thanks to my good friend George Dunbar for sourcing the above May 28, 1956 Arrow Casual Wear ad in LIFE magazine (pp92-93).

Nowadays we automatically expect colour accuracy in our photographs, but back then you chose a particular slide film for its emphasis of reds or greens or blues, etc.

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Shooting War

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Robert

Conflict Photographers

Toronto. The Globe is hosting a number of conflict photographers and moderators today and tomorrow (June 21, 22). Last month we hosted Louie Palu, a conflict photographer and this month we hosted Erin Gregory who spoke on the Imperial Royal Flying Corps in WW1. We have had many other such speakers over the years including Ken Bell (WW2) and Boris Spremo (the Irish troubles).

How appropriate to take part in the Globe’s event with many famous conflict photographers – we used to call them war photographers many decades ago. The above link gives full details. Tickets start at less than $40 – don’t be cheap, see for yourself how modern conflict photographers capture those iconic photos!

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a kludge of clones

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Robert

Bakelite 35mm cameras made by Spartus

Toronto. In the late 1930s, a Chicago man embarked on a program to create inexpensive cameras and the Spartus Camera Corporation was born. One of the many cameras to emerge was a bakelite wonder that sold under a variety of names.

If you happen to visit our Fairs, Trunk Sales, or Auctions, you are sure to come across a camera made by Spartus Corp. in Chicago.

Thanks to my friend George Dunbar for the idea and to the “Made in  Chicago Museum” for the gory details of the creator of Spartus and many other inexpensive articles.

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