Dawson City: Frozen in Time

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Robert

Dawson City: Frozen in Time

Toronto. An annual feature of this city is its “Hot Docs” festival. At this year’s festival one of the documentaries was called “Dawson City: Frozen in Time“. This film covers the find up in that illustrious Yukon town of many silent movies buried up there in the frozen earth.

My good friend George Dunbar writes, ” Went to Hot Docs Cinema today [July 27th] to see Dawson City: Frozen In Time. It’s the story of the Yukon Gold Rush in the 1890s as well as featuring details of the 1978 discovery of long-lost silent movie film that was buried and preserved in the frozen ground under Dawson City for more than 50 years. The film and story are certainly interesting, but too long at two hours.”

“The old silent, feature films (1910s and 1920s) found beneath Dawson, in many cases, are the only copies of those classics that have ever been located. Some have been restored and are the basis of this feature documentary by Bill Morrison.

“It’s a fantastic tale of photography discovered and restored.

“Trailer here…………. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEbHM8Vsvlo“

PHSC member Scott Rickard lived and photographed in a Dawson City studio for many years before moving down to a small town near Toronto. At our September 2015 meeting Scott gave a talk and slide show of his experiences years earlier as he celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Chilkoot Trail by walking with a group of volunteers as its professional photographer, all the way from Skagway Alaska to the gold fields near Dawson City.

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Brave New World

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Robert

Photographers over Bikini Atoll during an Atomic explosion

Toronto. As a  youngster I can remember the early August 1945 newspapers headlining that America had dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. We read in awe about the devastation of Hiroshima, amazed that one small bomb could wreak such damage on a city. This event was quickly followed by a second one, a single bomb once again,  this time dropped on Nagasaki with the same result. Japan surrendered a few days later.

The war ended but the testing continued. We had no idea what radio activity meant, or how the bomb could cause such damage. A year later LIFE magazine (July 15, 1946 issue) published pictures airborne photographers recording the  blast over Bikini Atoll. And the issue the next week (July 22nd) showed the famous mushroom shaped cloud the photographers recorded.

My thanks to George Dunbar for noting the two key LIFE magazine photos from the summer of 1946. Between release of the two issues, I turned 9 years old… one of the last of the people born before the atomic era began with its songs of mushroom shaped clouds, bikini bathing suits, and massive paranoia.

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Happy Birthday Little Nikon

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Robert

Nikon F  by Dnalor_01. Source is Wikimedia Commons. Used under license CC-BY-SA 3.0

Toronto. If you meet a professional photographer today, chances are he uses a Nikon. This Japanese manufacturer was formed in 1917 with the amalgamation of three other optical companies. The new company was called Nippon Kogaku K.K.

Their first camera lens (Aero-NIKKOR) was made in 1933 for aerial surveys and maps. After the second war, in 1948 the company made its first consumer 35mm camera – a rangefinder camera dubbed the Model I. Its design borrowed heavily from the Contax and the Leica.

The company was relatively unknown in the west until 1959 when an American distributor imported and promoted the now famous Nikon F. This SLR was quickly adopted by professional photographers. Today the major professional lines of digital SLRs are Nikon and Canon – both Japanese.

When I was a youth, the common opinion was that Japanese companies made good imitations of German products but seldom innovated. That myth was forever refuted by the innovative Nikon F. My first quality camera was a Japanese model, albeit a Minolta A. The f/2 Rokkor lens and its images were to my eye as good as any I had ever seen. While the camera and lens were well made, the instruction book used “pidgin English“, rife with spelling and grammatical errors. Ironically I use a Sony NEX-6 digital mirrorless camera today. Minolta folded into Konica and Konica sold its camera department to Sony when that company decided professional DSLRs were the future.

Happy birthday little Nikon – you have come a long way in 100 years.

 

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Nadar Bio Reviewed in NYT Book Review

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Robert

Nadar and a Balloon. Cover of the British publication of Gernsheim’s History of Photography 1969 edition dedicated to his late wife Alison.

Toronto. In January 1839 when the Daguerreotype was first announced, Gaspard-Felix Tournachon was just 18 years old. Know to one and all as Nadar, he enthusiastically promoted the new art form. He opened his own studio in 1854. Archer had announced the wet-plate photography process three years earlier in in England.

George Dunbar sent me this brief note regarding a NY Times book review of a new biography of the famous Frenchman.

George writes, “A new biography of photographer, Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (6 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), better known by his nickname Nadar, was reviewed in the New York Times Book Review (July 23). The Great Nadar, The Man Behind The Camera by Adam Begley (illustrated 248 pp. Tim Dugan Books. $28US will certainly interest any follower of early developments in France.

“Nadar was one of the first to take advantage of balloons for aerial photography. However, he was earlier praised for his excellent portraits of the elite in Paris. This animated GIF image demonstrates Nadar’s fascination with “selfies.”

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When Freddie bought the Farm..

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Robert

Ernst Leitz (left) and Oskar Barnack taken with the Ur-Leica about 1913

Toronto. … and Ernie bought the business.

In the early to mid 1800s, most of my ancestors were still in England in the villages around London. The horse was the main mode of transportation, aside from ships for those daring enough to cross the ocean. No telephones, no radio or TV, no computers. For the venturous well-to-do telescopes and microscopes served as a means of entertainment.

In Germany of the time many inventions took place. Optics was about to expand after the discovery of photography and a means of fixing an image. Near Frankfurt lived a bright young inventor called Carl Kellner. He devised a better eyepiece for the telescopes – an orthoscopic achromatic eyepiece. To market the new eyepieces, Kellner first had to make them, so in 1849, he founded an Optical Institute in the ancient town of Wetzlar. Continue reading →

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A walk in the park

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Robert

Heritage York Poster
Humber talk

Toronto. Joy Cohnstaedt wrote me recently about the presentation “Walk the Six West: History on the Humber”. This talk and show will be of interest to everyone, especially to those living in the west end of Toronto near the Humber river. The event was written up recently in the Villager – a local newspaper covering the Bloor West Village and Parkdale communities.

I learned from genealogy rersearch that history and geography are important. Historic processes and photographers must be put in context to appreciate the challenges they faced.

Joy writes, “On August 5th a free theatrical experience takes place in Étienne Brûlé Park. Walk along the historic Humber River to encounter Pauline Johnson, Tom Thomson, Joshua Glover, Geraldine Moodie, Sir William Pearce Howland, Mrs. Brown, Anne Leung, and A. B. Rice as presented by Ars Musica, Cheri Maracle, Mixed Company Theatre, Neil Ross and Sara Moyle.

“Heritage York, in collaboration with partner organizations Swansea Historical Society, West Toronto Junction Historical Society, Etobicoke Historical Society, York Pioneer and Historical Society, and Sunnyside Historical Society, with financial support provided by the Government of Ontario through its Ontario 150 Community presents Walk the Six West: History on the Humber.

“To register for free tickets please visit our event link here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/walk-the-six-west-history-on-the-humber-tickets-35949241148?aff=es2

Information: www.pvhs.info/historyonthehumber/ or call (647) 675-1792″

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Have you heard?

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. Word on the street is that we will be joining PhotoEd magazine to participate in this fall’s annual celebration of books…

The book & magazine festival will take place on Sunday, September 24, 2017 down at the Harbourfront Centre from 11 am to 6 pm. Come down and enjoy the books, authors, and excitement in Toronto’s usually balmy fall weather.

 

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It’s a dog’s world out there…

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Robert

Just Second Place!
Globe Archives September 28, 1964

Toronto. Recently the Globe and Mail opened its massive news archive to its subscribers in celebration of Canada’s 150th.

This photograph was shot back on September 28th, 1964 at the Scarborough kennel show by Harry McLorinan of the Globe. It features a sad Buffalo NY owner and his Afghan hound when they learned they had finished second in the show.

I mentioned the archive in a post nearly a month ago on June 25th of this year.

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A sign of the times 21 years later

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Robert

Summer 1996 photograph by “Goldie” with an Eaton’s store in the background. Three years later the Eaton’s chain was gone.

Toronto. My thanks to George Dunbar who reminded me about the site Urban Toronto. On that site using the nom de plume “Goldie”, George posts many of his personal photographs. As many of you may know, the long retired gentleman was once the industrial photographer for IBM Canada.

This photo taken July 1st in 1996 shows the nearly vacant parking lot of a local plaza on the Canada Day holiday.  Sadly the photo also shows an Eaton’s store. The once famous Canadian department store chain first entered bankruptcy protection a year later in 1997 and died two years later in 1999.

When George snapped this happy youth skate-boading in the empty mall parking lot, the Eaton’s store in the background had only a year to survive. When the grand old name finally folded there was much discussion about the fact that family businesses rarely survive the third generation after the founder since his (her) business acumen would have been seriously diluted in the grand children.

I was once at Eaton Hall for a seminar and earlier, an uncle of mine worked there during a renovation. As a kid I helped a friend research the Eaton steamer built in 1904 by the Toronto Iron Works and used by the family in the Lake of Bays region of Muskoka.

The old family-run photographic businesses seemed to suffer a similar fate. Bottom line: a professionally managed company has a better chance of survival and growth than one run by emotionally attached family members.

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Annie, get your gun

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Robert

Annie Leibovitz (right) and her famous photo of Demi Moore at the  Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2006. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Toronto. My friend (don’t know what this site would do without his terrific input) George Dunbar writes, “This CBC news story regarding Annie Leibovitz and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia should certainly interest PHSC members.”

Annie was one of my favourite photographers a few years back. When we had our store on Bloor, I can remember seeing her then shocking cover photograph of a very pregnant Demi Moore displayed on a local newsstand.

I was sad to learn that her exceptional photographs were mired in a CRA battle over cultural value and tax implications and may never see the Halifax daylight as intended.

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