a big THANKS to the PPoC

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Robert

Gallerie Winter 2019 PPoC

Toronto. Take a look here at Gallerie. The Professional Photographers of Ontario organization and its antecedents  were the proving ground for our journal editor Bob Lansdale.

He has produced impressive issues with well thought out content and content mix. In fact, over half the issues printed during the remarkable 45 year life of our journal were conceived and edited by Bob Lansdale.

In fact, our society would not exist in the form it is in today without his diligent and devoted publication of Photographic Canadiana, suggestions on speakers and suggestions how to improve our organization like his pdf newsletter that reaches thousands, displays at camera fairs, collection of email addresses, and his ideas and thoughts for our anniversaries (25th, 30th, 35th, 40th and now 45th) and much more – a behind the scenes force for innovation and encouragement.

A tip of the hat to Bob and the PPoC! We are blessed to have him as a member and serious volunteer.

 

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bag ’em Danno ..

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Robert

Leather Leitz Amateur Case for M series cameras, lenses, and filters

Toronto. The original TV show Hawaii Five-O from the 1970s (1968-1980) occasionally used the catch-phrase “Book ’em Danno” in an episode after McGarrett caught the bad guys.  For photographers, a bag to hold the camera, lenses, accessories, etc. was one of the first accessories to be purchased.

These cases ranged from the special camera Ever-Ready (fondly called a never ready) case to the large bags designed to hold and protect the camera and lenses while keeping them at the ready for quick usage on the job. The cases were made of many different materials over the years; fine leather, cheap pig-skin leather, aluminum, plastic, thick woven fabric, etc.

Some cases were made by the camera manufacturer for their various models. Others were deemed as universal designs ready to house many different cameras, lenses, accessories, cables, films, etc. Zero Halliburton sold (and still does) fancy lockable aluminum cases similar to brief cases with special inserts to protect your valuable goods.

A friend once mentioned the Zero Halliburton cases sometimes led to theft. He had his Halliburton cases and some ratty old suitcases on the street one day waiting for his cab. As he briefly looked away, the Halliburton was stolen – complete with the dirty laundry it held. Forgetting a dirty clothes bag on that trip, he just used the Halliburton, carefully moving his camera gear over to the suitcase, padding them with his clean clothes.

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those three legged thingies

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Robert

Leica Table Tripod 14100 c1970

Toronto. Tripods predate photography. All of the 19th century and into the 20th century the sensitive media (paper, glass plates, and film) were too slow for hand held shots – until near the end of this period when bright sunlight was enough to record an image on dry plates or film at speeds fast enough to allow hand held cameras.

Even into the 21st century and the final transition to digital with its far faster media, tripods were a popular accessory. Indoor shots, relatively slow colour films (negative and transparency), and any need for consistency, like video or movies, or slow shutter speeds demanded a tripod.

The earliest tripods were wooden devices with a camera supporting platform. The legs telescoped so the height could be changed. A telescoping central post allowed more precise height setting for the camera without resorting to adjusting the legs. Tilt and pan heads allowed the camera to be levelled and carefully panned across the scene for motion film, video, a panoramic series, or an HDR series. Less than three legs was too tippy, although monopods had some following. More than three legs risked instability unless considerable care was taken.

Studio cameras usually had four wheels on a solid base to roll over a flat surface. The tripod was by far the most economic idea and a wide variety of tripods were manufactured and sold. For closeup work indoors, a special copy stand was often used. Optionally spider-legs were used with extension tubes or closeup lenses. Closeups outdoors almost always demanded a tripod, as did some indoor closeups. Often the camera could hang down under the tripod by reversal of the central post making closeups easier.

You can find lots of different tripods and heads at our auction and fair this spring.

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photography periodicals

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Robert

A Weekly Magazine

Toronto. In July of last year I posted an article on camera magazines. This article glossed over commercial and society magazine while touching on the BJP and manufacturer specific publications. This time out we look at commercial, collectors, and society periodicals.

From the beginnings of photography, articles were written to describe and educate people on the new art form. By the mid 1800s there were magazines devoted to Photography – mostly text and illustration based as photographs waited for the half-tone process to be perfected.

Some magazines like The Amateur Photographer shown here were published weekly and served both to educate and offer a platform for advertisements. Continue reading →

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to the moon, Alice

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Robert

Moon from Apollo Project

Toronto. … as Jackie Gleason used to say on the Honeymooners – that hoary old B&W TV series of the 1950s. Nearly 50 years ago, man DID land on the moon carried there by the Apollo 11 space craft! We all recall the Hasselblads and Leicas used in the Apollo Project at one point. I was working in Montreal  in 1969 and an acquaintance generously arranged for me to get a set of moon landing posters when she arranged for her son to have a set (I think mine have long disappeared).

Our Editor’s son, Robert Lansdale Jr, sent us two links commemorating this memorial event: Images on Project Apollo as posted on Flicker! and a second link to the Apollo Archives.

Not a clue about Apollo? No problem, just read up on it in Wikipedia.

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all that’s fit to print

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Robert

Lens from Traffic Camera

Toronto. I received an email Tuesday from Brad down in Florida. Brad came across an unusual camera there with a label by Kominek in Toronto. He has it up on Ebay at the moment.

Brad explained the camera had been used by a bank to allow the teller to photograph customers. I replied that it looked like a telephone company traffic camera but I would discuss it with Russ, the current owner of Kominek Camera Repair (when Mike retired, he sold his business to Russ Forfar and the late Hugh Cooley, both PHSC members).

Russ identified it as a custom made camera tested and maintained, not made, by Kominek.  The cameras use a Wallensak lens and shutter on a half frame 35mm camera. The shutter is triggered by a solenoid and a small motor winds the film on. Mostly used to record traffic registers for telephone companies, the cameras could also be triggered remotely by bank tellers and manufacturing assembly lines. Continue reading →

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stereo goes to war

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Robert

George Hunter’s Aerial Camera cWW2

Toronto. During the war, aircraft would routinely pass over enemy territory using cameras such as this beast (used by the late George Hunter long after the war) to take long runs of photographs.

Stereo uses two images at slightly different angles. If each image is restricted to one eye, the two images are fused in the brain to create a stereo image. If the angle is exaggerated,  the images still merge but as hyper stereo images.

War time, selected photographs from the long run became stereo pairs. This pair of photos were viewed with a tall dual lens viewer and translated as topographical outlines on a map.

In hyper-stereo, what looked like flat lands suddenly became hilly or even mountainous. Things hidden under a camouflage cover suddenly became outlined and dimensional, no longer part of a forest or field.

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seeing double – again

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Robert

Realist Camera from 1955 LIFE ad

Toronto. Stereo seems to wax and wan in popularity. Around the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, stereo was very popular – the television and movies of the day. It disappeared and shot to popularity once again in the 1950s with books, movies, kids toys (like the View-Master), cameras, projectors and slides.

The stereo of the 1950s made use of special cameras like the Realist and dual lens projectors to simplify creation and projection of colour stereo slides. In house, we had both Stan White and Bob Wilson as enthusiastic experts. In fact Stan held special stereo evenings for our  September meeting over a number of years.

In 1955, the special stereo cameras were promoted in advertisements like the one above from the April 18th, 1955 edition of LIFE magazine (page 65). Not to be left out, major camera makers offered elegant accessories to convert their cameras temporarily to stereo instruments using prisms, mirrors, and tiny dual lens assemblies.

As in times past, the fad slowly died out. People were reluctant to wear special glasses needed to see the stereo effect – or to limit shooting to “normal” focal length lenses. In this century we have seen lenticular technology used to allow stereo viewing without special glasses. Special four lens cameras were necessary to create the lenticular prints and special handling of the resulting prints. Even televisions were offered with stereo capability – and rather pricy viewing glasses. Both faded into history quickly.

The ad that brought out this story was suggested by my friend and fellow PHSC member,  George Dunbar.

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seeing red

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Robert

Ansco Panchromatic film advertisement in 1955

Toronto. Nope, this isn’t about anger issues – or bulls – but good old films and emulsions. All emulsions and sensors are sensitive to light. The energy of light varies with blue and shorter wave lengths having proportionally more energy.

The light energy falls as light goes from blue to yellow to green to orange to red and below. Early emulsions were blue light sensitive. Some times a chemical sensitizer was used to make the emulsion sensitive to some lower wavelengths. For example, Orthochromatic film was sensitive to blues through yellows in the visible spectrum. Continue reading →

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“… you must have a fantastic camera …”

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Robert

First Born – Robert Carter

Toronto. This quote, attributed to Sam Haskins, must be one of the worst compliments ever given to a photographer!

Stripped of its bells and whistles, a camera is just a black box that holds the sensitive media (film, sensor) the right distance from the lens. And the lens allows the photographer to focus and set the aperture to control the amount of light entering the camera and the image’s depth of field/focus. The film determines the light sensitivity and contrast. The bells and whistles just simplify things.

Wedding – Robert Lansdale

The vital part of the photograph is the subject, framing and location – all dependant on the experience and judgment of the photographer, not his camera.  The First Born, above was taken in a gloomy corridor of Montreal General near midnight the summer of 1969. Tri-X ASA 400 allowed a hand held shot. A wide aperture put the background out of focus to add to the drama while providing enough light for the film.

36 years later, film was passé and this wedding was shot on a digital sensor by Bob Lansdale. Like my older B&W shot above, his photographer’s eye chose the pose and the venue to make the picture a work of art.

Churchill 1941 by Karsh

In the studio, the photographer can also  choose the posing and the lighting to give his photographs his trade mark touch. In 1941, Karsh of Ottawa took this very famous portrait of a war-time Churchill. Snatching the great man’s cigar was said to prompt the iconic bulldog scowl!

Journalists and news-photographers have a more limited choice in lighting and subject but they too determine the setting and lighting. These often change what would be a pedestrian snapshot into a chilling or historic work of art.

Oh yes, the quote(s) were suggested by my friend George Dunbar – a retired industrial photographer and videographer – the first quote of which prompted me to reminisce a bit.

 

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