feel like going to Vancouver?

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Robert

Vancouver BC Camera Show this spring

Toronto. Tonchi Martinic out on the west coast  sent me an email announcing the next Vancouver camera show this April 28th.

Tonchi writes, “Dear sisters and brothers in the camera collecting community, I am happy to announce that April 28th marks the 15th anniversary of my camera show. There seems to be a greater interest in my show this year, and I am very much looking forward to it. I would greatly appreciate it if I could receive some more of your [PHSC] photo journals/magazines.”

To see all the details, click on the show icon at the above left. Or call Tonchi at the number shown in the details.

 

 

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lighting up history

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Robert

Glass plate- click for reversal

Toronto. Around a century ago and earlier, cameras used glass plates to hold the sensitive media. Since the luminance values were reversed, the image on the plate was a negative. To view the image you needed an educated eye, and a light box to evenly illuminate the negative.

Today we have oodles of discarded monitors using thin fluorescent tube for even lighting across the entire screen. Member Harold Staats came across this Youtube video showing how one person created a modern light box from a discarded c2002 Windows monitor.

Watch it and see how you can turn a piece of old computer gear into a useful light box so you can see and photograph the old glass plate negatives you unearthed at one of our fairs or auctions!

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a wicked source of information

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Robert

Elon Developer

Toronto. Have you ever wondered where you could find photographic chemicals information on one site? One long time member suggests you look here on wikipedia.

The illustration is for ELON, Kodak’s brand name for Metol developer.

As a kid I used Metol/Elon and Hydroquinone as developers using formulae from Kodak in a then new Photo-Lab Index – a massive loose-leaf book with a pages/sections subscription that was the Wikipedia of the day for amateur (and some professional) photographers who ‘rolled their own” in the darkroom.

Note: The Photo-Lab Index link is to a free pdf of the condensed paperback version.

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Fuji Instax products at Indigo books

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Robert

Fuji Instax at Indigo Books

Toronto. I have written many posts on Instax cameras and Lomography but never showed this local source, Indigo Books, They have the Instax for $22.95 plus HST for two 10 packs of instant prints – plus they have lots of Fuji cameras and accessories for the instant film crowd.

For more posts and info on lomography and Fuji Instax, just type instax in the search bar at the upper right of any page. My thanks to a long time member for this suggestion.

 

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in a minute? why so long?

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Robert

Ad for Polaroid (p 5)
LIFE Sep 27, 1954 issue

Toronto. In the 1950s, the Polaroid cameras were a revolution in photography. Take a shot (always so great in ads) and in a minute you could see the result in crisp black and white luminance values. Passé today with the instantaneous full colour result on a smartphone or professional DSLR, but back then it was revolutionary when traditional photography meant waiting days or weeks to see if you managed to capture the moment.

Once again my friend George has unearthed a charming black and white ad in LIFE magazine for the 1954 model of the amazing Polaroid camera. If you long for the day of pictures in a minute, our friends over at Lomogaphy have just the camera for you, using the Fuji Instax film (but in full colour).

By the way, pp 63-64 celebrates Marilyn Bell’s swim across Lake Ontario. A year later our editor Bob Lansdale recorded Marilyn starting her crossing of the English Channel in France and her landing near the white cliffs of Dover! Bob’s eldest son recorded the event and posted it in detail to Facebook.

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directory of Massachusetts photographers 1839 – 1900

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Robert

1870s Drug Store in Mass. by Chas. W Briggs

Toronto. Ron Polito via Bob Lansdale suggested this link to his “Directory of Massachusetts Photographers 1839 – 1900” as an addition to our Research menu item which is currently in design mode.

Meantime, take a look at the work of Ron and Chris Steele. The images have been removed to preserve copyright, but many are available online as well on the same site (just click on the desired decade). If you have an interest in the history of our wonderful art, have a browse!

The image at the top left  is an example of material in the directory. It is a print of a c1870s Drug Store taken by Charles Wells Briggs, contributed by Briggs’ great great grand daughter, Priscilla O’Neill. The site is the Open Archives hosted by the University of Massachusetts and merits an evening of browsing all materials posted!

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lighting the way

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Robert

GE Flashbulb Ad in LIFE
September 6, 1954

Toronto. Tom Edison’s company got into the blossoming flashbulb era of the 1950s and 60s as shown in a September 6, 1954 LIFE magazine two page spread (pp30, 31). One of our society’s presidents and founders, the late Larry Boccioletti, shown here by editor Bob Lansdale, sold flashbulbs long after they became an anecdote to photographic history.

When Larry shuffled off this “mortal coil”, the summer of 2004, I did a post on this site mentioning his flash bulbs. For those of us who discovered photography after electronic flash and then digital/smartphones became common place, the flash bulb is indeed a novelty from ages past. The bulbs gave a single shot of blinding light flooding darkness with brilliance and heavy shadows.

Thanks to my good friend George Dunbar once again for discovering this old advertisement from when slow ASA (ISO) media made an alternative means of illumination so full of promise.

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Potsdam ASA 100 B&W Film

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Robert

Potsdam ASA 100
35mm film

Toronto. The folks at Lomography like the film niche so well that they are introducing another BW film in the traditional 35mm cassette.

To today’s photographer – amateur or professional an ASA (ISO) rating of 100 seems pathetically slow, yet in the 1940s and 50s it was considered to be medium to fast. I used Super-XX which was rated at ASA 100. It was later rated ASA 200 before it was replaced by Tri-X,  another great Kodak film that eventually became ASA 400 film.

If you enjoy using the old film gear, try this film and be sure to drop in at our spring auction and Photographica-fair or one of Gary Perry’s CAMERAMA shows.

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Swann Auction of Posters, Books, Graphics

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Robert

Poster – Swann Auction Galleries
New York City – Colours enhanced

Toronto. Nick Lowry at Swann Auction Galleries in the big apple sent me a note Friday saying Swann is hosting a poster auction on February 7th, 2019. The advertising editorial material says, “Our winter sale features tantalizing, rare Art Nouveau images and a panoply of evocative Ski and Winter Resort advertisements, as well as a strong selection of Art Deco imagery.”

An earlier auction on January 29th at Swann will offer Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics. Their advertising editorial material says, ” An oasis of images both Art Nouveau and Art Deco, this auction focuses on twentieth-century livres d’artiste with a selection of important examples of fine printing and press books, typography, architecture and graphics.”

Browse their web site and see if one of the posters or books would complement your photographic collection.

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whatever happened to Press King and its maker?

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. At last month’s meeting – our annual Show and Tell – one of our members brought along his vintage Press King. The 4×5 camera has a Kalart rangefinder mounted on the side and a leaf shutter and lens on a metal lens board. The shutter -Copal- and lens – Prinz – are Japanese.

There is no sign the camera ever had a focal plane shutter. Every one I found on the internet had a different lens and leaf shutter mounted on a similar metal lens board. Some had the Kalart rangefinder, some had viewfinders, others flash guns. All had the wire sports finder.

It is clearly marked on the camera front as Made in Canada by B & W Manufacturing Co  Toronto. McKeown’s 11th edition suggests the camera was made for only three years, 1948 through 1950. A search of the internet shows nada about the maker, but lots of cameras for sale with pictures as well. The manufacturer is not credited with other products including cameras. Every site seems to repeat McKeown’s information. Any ideas? Drop me a note.

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