Architecture in Photography Exhibitions 1858 – 1861 – review

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Robert

Natalie Banaszak by
Robert Lansdale

Toronto. We were graced with two excellent speakers in October, 2017. Natalie Banaszak was our Ryerson University thesis winner in 2016. In this presentation, she reviewed the highlights of her thesis and augmented a few items recently reproduced in our Photographic Canadiana. As noted, the photograph she chose are from the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX. The thesis is summarized beginning on page 6 of issue 43-3 of Photographica Canadiana.

The  talk presented the first time photography was used in a public exhibition (1851 – Crystal Palace in London, England) followed in 1853 by the formation of photographic societies like the Royal Photographic Society. The societies focussed on the art of photography and the sharing of examples.

Continue reading →

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September 2017 Show and Tell – Review

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Robert

Bob Lansdale
Manitoba Land Grant Certificate

Toronto. The past program secretary, Les Jones, arranged to kick off the fall sessions with a Show and Tell meeting devoted to Canadiana in recognition of Canada’s 150th anniversary. While we usually have a show and tell in December, this year we rreserved the year end talk for another speaker. The presentations were co-ordinated by our new program secretary, Yvette Bessels. This year we had a bit fewer speakers than usual (seven).

First up was editor Bob Lansdale who showed a Manitoba land grant document which he bought at a PHSC fair from Darren Dalton. The land grant certificate nicely complemented a recent article in issue 42-1 of Photographic Canadiana on the history of photographer James Penrose who spent his later years in Winnipeg. Continue reading →

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Coe’s opus on Colour Photography

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Robert

Colour Photography – Brian Coe 1978

Toronto. Brian Coe wrote this charming and concise history of Colour Photography in 1978 when he was curator of the Kodak Museum at Harrow, England. Sadly, the museum closed for good in 1985 – a precursor of the effect of the digital era?

The article I linked to above was written in 2009 by Michael Pritchard, who spoke to us back in October of 1997.

While the book is written from the perspective of Kodak, it does cover the key events in the evolution of colour in the first century of photography – lots of illustrations. Covers both additive and subtractive colour processes. Goes from hand coloured prints to special tri-plate cameras to Kodachrome.

 

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Another – more colourful – Louis

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Robert

Louis Ducos du Hauron
in a 1910 Autochrome
slide.

Toronto. The most popular modern day photographic techniques rely on the tri-colour vision of humans. Using only three colours in various strengths the entire visible spectrum can be seen by the human eye. There were are basic techniques, so called additive (RGB) processes and subtractive (YMCK) processes.

The first was used mainly in transparencies for about 35 years since by its very nature the additive processes reduce the light transmission rendering the method extremely slow. After the mid 1930s the subtractive processes came to the fore and offered prints and faster speed transparencies.

The Frenchman,Ducos, predicted and often patented the colour options well ahead of any capability to commercially create them. Louis Ducos du Hauron lived a long life from late 1837 to the summer of 1920. One again, I am indebted to Brian Coe who wrote on photographic history while the curator of the Kodak Museum in England. His theme in his 1978 soft cover book is Colour Photography.

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A couple of colourful guys

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Robert

Dr Thomas Young

Toronto. For centuries various folk speculated on how we see colour. The postulate of Tom Young hit it on the nail although he had no means to absolutely confirm his theory. In 1802, Young theorized that humans and other primates could see colour because three different kinds of cells in the retina of the eye were turned on each by a distinct and narrow band of colours which the brain transformed into colour. Thus we needed only three colours to see all visible colours. A mix of different strengths transformed into every colour we could see.

We use Red, Green, and Blue. Just look at your TV screen or monitor using a magnifying glass… Modern colour printing – including ink jet – uses a subtractive process of yellow, magenta and cyan plus a later refinement of black to enhance the crispness of the images. One TV maker promotes using a fourth colour – yellow – with their RGB colours to give a more realistic range of visible colours.

Young’s theory was later refined by Hermann von HelmhoItz, another doctor and scientist. It wasn’t until Jim Maxwell did his pivotal experiment with a tartan ribbon, three filters, and three photographic plates in 1861 that Young’s Postulate was confirmed.

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PHSC News – December 2017

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Robert

c1900 Field Camera featuring
a Goerz lens and a
Thornton-Pickard shutter

Toronto. Our latest pdf newsletter is out. Read and download this delightful issue filled with the wit and wisdom of our members by clicking on the icon at left.

Editor Sonja Pushchak has pulled together a fabulous read for this chilly month at year’s end. We feature a Wishful List on page 1; A story on our December meeting; An article on the work of Abelardo Morell; Image Finds (at the PHSC Auction and Image Show); and The Ick of Tech (using AI to snap a photo at just the right time).

These pages are followed by Scrooge-osophy (a review of the film Brazil); Equipment Review (Honeywell Strobonar 202  from the 1960s) and many more items of interest to collectors of cameras, images or photography books.

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“I can fix that”, he said.

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Robert

Sir John Herschel (1867)
by J M Cameron

Toronto. We have all heard or read about the famous processes by Daguerre and Fox Talbot that first opened up the art of photography.  I thought many other names in that fine art may be of interest as well. One such name is that of Sir John Herschel. If you did your own development of B&W film or paper, before they faded from popularity, you likely used his invention!

He was photographed (click the icon in the upper left) by Julia Margret Cameron, famous in her own right for her photographic portraits. In 1819, while doing scientific studies independent of the main stream inventors of photography, Sir John discovered that sodium thiosulfate, or hyposulphite of soda as he erroneously called it, would dissolve silver halides better than a salt bath – and hypo or fixer was born.

When Daguerre and Fox Talbot announced their processes in 1839, Sir John wrote to both gentlemen and suggested they use hypo instead of a salt bath. Daguerre adopted hypo immediately. Fox Talbot dragged his heels  for two years but finally adopted hypo in his process as well.

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Self capping miniature FP shutter

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Robert

Exakta VXIIa FP shutter

Toronto. When the Leica hit the market in 1924, it used a miniature focal plane shutter that was self capping.There are two curtains. The first moves across in front of the film followed by the second. The delay between the two events determines the shutter speed. On rewind, the first and second curtains lock together keeping light from hitting the film.

Here you can see my Exakta after I had disassembled it to see why the speed test shots were so wavy. A brass stop was nearly worn through and the grease on the second shutter curtain column had dried out (this caused erratic shutter cloth movement and a wavy image on the film – the damaged brass stop meant the camera could no longer be safely used).

The FP shutter actually saved manufacturing costs since one shutter worked with all lenses. Leaf shutters were usually imbedded in the lens meaning each lens had to have its own shutter. Alternatively, the shutter was placed at the back or front of the lens, or only the front elements were exchanged.

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One way of doing it…

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Robert

Focal Plane Shutter
fabric with slots
for different speeds.
Click above to see
Ed Westcott c1943

Toronto. The Graflex and Speed Graphic cameras were used everywhere in North America as the news photographers choice of camera. They were heavy, well built and rugged – ready for use in every kind of environment.

To meet the demands of a shutter, the Folmer-Schwing company elected to use an opaque fabric focal plane shutter. To me, this shutter was classically awkward to use. A long piece of the fabric had slots in it at various distances,. The slots were used with adjustable spring tensions. A table showed which slot and tension setting to use for a given shutter speed from say 1/1,000th second to 1/10th second.

The dark slide or a lens cap blocked the light while the cloth was wound to the chosen slot and set. Examples are often seen in old movies depicting news hounds with their huge cameras and flash guns. Clicking on the icon above shows Ed Westcott with his Anniversary model Speed Graphic in 1943 (this photo is shown in his 2005 book Images of America, Oak Ridge).

And on the subject of Ed Westcott, George Dunbar suggests a visit tumblr to see more of his photographs.

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Hats off to Larry

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Robert

Lauro Boccioletti
Photographer and founder, PHSC

Toronto. On a summery day in July, 2004, I got a bad news phone call from John. Larry had just passed away. He left a big hole to be filled in the PHSC that fall.

All this came rushing back when George Dunbar sent me some photos of local photographers via email. I had been a good friend of Larry for many years. He made a strong, rich cup of coffee and I used to tease him that it spoke with authority.

Larry became a photographer in Welland, Ontario. He taught photography both in NYC at the New York Institute of Photography and in the GTA at Centennial College with fellow PHSC member Fred Hunt. Larry was also a scuba diver, barbershopper (sang in a quartet), camera collector, exhibitor, movie prop house, B&W film processor and printer, auctioneer, and all around entrepreneur.

I had the pleasure of visiting him at his summer camp one warm and cheery day. The Harmony Ranch Recreation Club was founded by local  barbershoppers.  The visit was the  occasion of his marriage to Julie. She met Larry when she sold him the house on Jane Street. Continue reading →

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