making it big – making it better

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Robert

Leitz VAROB and FOCOTAR enlarging lenses, decades apart

Toronto. We often hear that Leitz turned photography on its head with its revolutionary 35mm camera, the Leica. But then what? How could you make such tiny negatives into larger prints?

Fortunately enlargers were around before the little marvel and its tiny negative. Once the Leica became a success, Leitz quickly populated its catalogues with darkroom accessories including film processing tanks and enlargers. The earliest enlargers were box like affairs that produced small prints – like the 3×5 and 4×6 inch prints the small processing shops made as night fell on the 35mm film era.

Later, enlargers accepted the 50mm Elmar lens from the camera. Then Leitz designed the VAROB which was an Elmar especially for enlargers, not cameras. It was later followed by the more sophisticated (and slower) FOCOTAR which was made in various configurations until Leitz ceased manufacture of enlargers and enlarging lenses. Meantime, owners could argue about which was better for enlargers, Schneider, Leitz or Nikon enlarging lenses.

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time after time

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Robert

GraLab Timer

Toronto. Back around 1960, I built my first darkroom. After an enlarger, my first purchase was a Gralab timer. This was when I first began developing and printing at home – high school and my time in Labrador and northern Quebec helped me hone the skills of developing film and printing positives (in black and white).

As you may know, a timer is needed for two critical operations: processing films via time and temperature, and printing positives using the same method.  Stop baths, fixing baths and washing are not that critical so a watch will do,  but development by time and temperature makes both critical.

As handy as the old Kodak Timer was, a massive Gralab with its big luminous dial and hands was the cat’s pyjamas for a serious amateur’s darkroom. Being a bit naive at the time I bought my Gralab, I added a foot switch socket, a push button “start”, an A/C fuse and a relay. Press the push button, and the relay sent power from the safelight to the enlarger for an accurately timed period preset on the large dial.

NB. The title of this post is from an old Cyndi Lauper song.

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Our Unsung Hero

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Robert

Photographic Canadiana Editor
Bob Lansdale
at last year’s spring fair

Toronto. Many of our members receive news of the society via a copy of Photographic Canadiana, but I wonder just how many members realize the efforts and research necessary to complete each issue? In the upper right hand corner of page 2 of each issue is a number.

For example, issue 45-1 for May/June of this year shows a tiny number 99. This means it is the 99th issue edited by Bob Lansdale!

The coming issue (45-2) will be the 100th issue he has personally edited. Bob took over from the late Ev Roseborough – no slouch himself when it came to editing. The first issue fully under Bob’s editorship was Volume 22, Number 4, back in January, 1997 – over 22 years ago. Just think – Bob has not only been our longest running editor, he has been editor for nearly half the time the society has been around. And every issue has been on time – no small accomplishment in itself.

Bob has made many changes to the journal during his twenty plus years as editor: creation went from cut and paste to digital; the journal went from 5 issues to 4 while retaining the same number of pages per year (to save postage); had its first colour insert; was revamped in style; began a stronger emphasis on Canadian history of photography; was made more readable; and was redesigned to be newsstand ready.

In addition to these journal changes, a news sheet insert was created to capture last minute items without impacting the magazine’s timing, design, or content; a colour pdf was initiated to cover colour images at lower cost and to announce PHSC events in a timely fashion; a network of writers and assistants was cultivated; and material for future issues was systematically organized and  compiled.

Hats off Bob Lansdale and his 99 issues! Here’s looking forward to his issue number 100 next month!

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docs on docs

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Robert

PhotoEd – next issue is on Documentaries

Toronto. Movies and videos are either fiction or non-fiction, the latter we call documentaries. The documentaries cover people, places or things from various perspectives to help the viewer understand more about them.

Many people view television for entertainment, news and information. Sadly, most television programming is fiction of one sort or another (reality TV isn’t – it’s just cheap scripted filler between commercials).

In the coming edition of PhotoEd magazine. Rita has devoted the issue to documentaries and their importance to us. She is offering free tickets to a documentary on the life of photographer Robert Frank here.

 

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the shadow knows…

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Robert

LIFE Ad for Colour Prints with GE M2 Flashbulbs.

Toronto. I remember as a child of seven or eight listening to radio dramas. One was called “The Shadow” and  his alter ego, “Lamont Cranston”. Like Cranston, the tell of a flash photograph with the flash gun mounted on a simple (cheap) camera is dark shadows (and burnt-out highlights).

Before the days of “Truth in Advertising“, marketeers latched on to a differentiating factor for their product and promoted it loudly. In the mid last century, amateur photography had two BIG events – indoor photos with flash bulbs, and colour prints. This advertisement  example is from page 43 of the December 17th, 1956 edition of LIFE for GE PowerMite M2 flash bulbs.

The colour print is small so details are not well illustrated and all the rest of the ad uses  black and white photos and text. The implication is that an amateur just needs to use GE PowerMite bulbs to get perfect colour prints, BUT the prints shown have neither burnt-out highlights nor deep shadows since good studio lighting and fast quality lenses were used.

Amateurs choosing inexpensive cameras and on-camera flash would still get crummy photos regardless of which flash bulbs they used. The shadow knows….

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if you know this guy, you’re too damn old!

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Robert

Jerry Colonna and Minox III-S in a LIFE ad

Toronto. Another popular “coat-tail” ad stunt was to get then popular stars of movie, radio and even TV to promote the camera you imported, inferring if so and so who is so popular uses it, you should too.

Typical was this small November 19, 1956 ad on page 180 in Life magazine by Kling Photo Corporation in the big apple (this excerpt on Kling Photo is from the NY Times obituary of its founder, Paul Klingenstein who died in early 2003).

The ad  has Jerry Colonna introduce the Minox Camera to America. The Minox was a sturdy precision made camera with a sharp lens. At the time Minox was rather unknown in North America.

Mean time, Jerry was a  well known movie and radio actor featured as a zany side kick to Bob Hope back in the day.

P.S. Thanks to George Dunbar for suggesting the various Life ad based posts…

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coat-tail advertising

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Robert

Spartus and GE in a LIFE magazine ad, November 1956

Toronto. Modern day advertisers “sponsor” athletes, movies etc. and join them in advertisements. Well known athletes at the top of their game promote sporting gear implying that using gear by that company will enhance your chances of winning too.

Mid last century, importers and camera makers wanted to promote their products. What better way than to join another well known company with one of the most popular amateur photographers’ accessories – a flash bulb. To this end Spartus, made by the Herold Products Co. of Chicago, touted all their cameras as ready for the “new GE POWERMITE [flash] bulbs“. Typical is the Spartus ad on page 142 of the November 12, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine, all ready for Christmas giving (the ad even repeats the GE line “This flash picture stuff is a cinch!“).

Spartus cameras were also included in gift kits at “$9.95 to $34.95” in US dollars. Power Mite (or PowerMite) was a GE trademark applied to sleeves of M5, M3, or M2 flashbulbs with or without the colour film coating of blue or amber.

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the good, the bad, and the ugly

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Robert

Leitz ZOOXY for OOZAB focussing stage and 5cm Elmar lens. Early 1950s

Toronto. When it comes to accessories for the Leica, the ZOOXY and its brethren are right up there as candidates for the ugly prize. The massive weighty thing is a focusing mount and extension tube that connects to an OOZAB focussing stage. It focuses a 5cm Elmar from 1m to 23cm (about 9 inches) using the Elmar’s bayonet and not its screw-mount threads. It was available from around 1951.

The mount was later made with the much wider 51mm thread mount for the last run of focussing stages. It seems to be made of brass (it’s non magnetic) with a durable black enamel coating. If you were to drop it, I think the floor would suffer the damage, not the ZOOXY!

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a COOMI cutie

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Robert

c1948 COOMI by Leitz NY lens is attached to removable ring shown attached (bottom of photo).

Toronto. In the post WW2 days of film, you could make close-ups by placing an extension tube between camera body and lens or by adding a close up lens (+1,  +2, or +3 diopter) element to the front of the lens – like a filter.

Leitz made both. Around 1948 Leitz NY made the COOMI, a micrometer extension tube, with fully variable spacing from 40mm to 60mm. You simply inserted it between the Leica screw-mount body and a screw-mount lens using the focoslide to take care of framing concerns.

The COOMI came in both a matt chrome finish like I have and a black finish. The front ring can be changed to accommodate a few different lens heads.

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logs and dogs

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Robert

Photograph by Robert Frank

Toronto. Rita is everywhere with PhotoEd. If you wish to see the upcoming documentary on Robert Frank at Hot Docs for free here in the big smoke, Drop Rita a line.

The ‘log’ in the title of this post is Analogue or film – The current edition of PhotoEd covers this topic admirably.

The ‘dogs’ refers to Hot Docs/Hot Dogs/Frankfurters/Robert Frank – just my whimsical mind and some lateral thinking…

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