It’s a digital world after all!

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Robert

Fibre Cable ready to be installed underground

Toronto. I woke this week to a heavy rumble. Bell finally began to install fibre lines on our street. In the next few weeks we will be able to switch our TV and land line telephone over to the internet and the internet protocol. This system, called Fibe TV, offers fibre to the home and high speed internet downloads and uploads, plus IPTV up to 4K – about 8x the resolution of the over the air TV I grew up with. Our best TV receiver at home at present is HD or high definition which is 4x the resolution of traditional TV.

We have seen the digital wave wash over and nearly crush traditional film based photography, nearly bring newspapers, magazines, and books to their knees, wipe out travel agencies and the music business, push traditional stores to the brink, and revolutionize our appliances and automobiles. This week I had my teeth x-rayed (a two year routine). The  dental assistant used a tiny sensor in my mouth and a small x-ray machine against my cheek. In seconds the result was on her computer screen. Low dosage and rapid results all thanks to digital technology.

Today’s cameras are almost all digital – in fact they are often smart phones. The most common camera on Flicker is the iPhone. It’s a digital world after all!

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Watch the Birdie

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Robert

Toronto. My thanks to friend John Linsky for reminding me of the old photographers who used a novelty to attract the attention of smaller subjects (John has some of these too). In the 1800s and early 1900s it was important that subjects sit still for a few seconds – or minutes – to have a decent portrait captured in the studio.

A typical gadget was this small brass bird which was mounted on the big studio camera and would chirp when the photographer pressed his rubber ball to snap the photo.

One of our members had an original birdie which he happily displayed at a meeting for all to see. The little brass bird sparked the popular expression “watch the birdie“. The icon and link will take you to an article on the birdie at Smile for me Toys.

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Innovation in the Digital Era

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Robert

Ed Warner’s Mirror device that attaches to the accessory shoe for back of camera IR signals

Toronto. Nearly a  half century ago, I modified my Heathkit Mitchell Fotoval enlarger light meter with a built-in timer that used a 555 chip, a tantalum capacitor, and a series of switches and resistors that set the enlarger timing in ever doubling steps – 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, … seconds realizing that you had to double exposure time for the equivalent to a one stop increase in light. I changed my Gralab darkroom timer to add a fuse, relay, and a foot switch outlet plug.

When colour printing came a long, I built an enlarger bench with a built in iron vane (true RMS) AC meter and a variac transformer so I could adjust for vagaries in Montreal’s somewhat erratic power system of the day (pre Hydro Quebec). Continue reading →

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Groupies

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Robert

Principal Bill Bell and his teachers at KES on October 12, 1928. Taken by Denton Photo, Kitchener, Ontario.

Toronto. Selfies are common today. You can even get a stick so you can take them. So lets call group photos groupies. This subject came to mind Monday when the Globe ran an article in “Life and Arts” called “Say ‘Cheesy'”. The author’s husband used a regular 35mm camera for his group photo.

Years ago  a panorama camera would have been an option as such cameras were a popular means of photographing large groups of people or wide vistas.

As journal and newsletter editor, Bob Lansdale has reported on a number of historical  panoramas over the years. In fact, Bob unearthed the unmarked grave of the pioneer panoramic camera inventor, Canadian born William James Johnston, here in Toronto. Johnston was the original patent holder bringing the Cirkut camera to market in the States but he went bankrupt and came back to Toronto to found the Panoramic Camera Company of Canada. My thanks to Bob Lansdale who did extensive research on Johnston.

Lorne Shields has also shown a number of panoramic photographs at the annual Show and Tell meeting held each December. I chose to use the centre third of this 1928 panorama of all students and teachers at King Edward School (built as the Burton Ave. School)  in Allandale (Barrie). This picture of the school’s student body and staff was recorded by Denton Photo of Kitchener, Ontario with what was likely a Cirkut camera.

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PHSC Consignment Auction March 19, 2017

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Robert

PHSC Consignment Auction March 19, 2017

Toronto. Our PHSC consignment auction will take place this March 19th at the previous location, the Legion Hall 101 in Long Branch (West End Toronto). The redesigned poster favours an old fashioned broadsheet theme.

Just click on the icon at left to see a larger version that can be printed. Photos of the lots will be added to the site as they are received. A minimum dimension of 1,200 pixels is preferred. Anything larger can be adjusted in Photoshop. Smaller images may suffer from artifacts.

A map and general details are here on the web site.

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Film is Making a Comeback

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Robert

Marx Brothers in A Day at the Races. A 1937 Movie when the brothers were at their peak

Toronto. My thanks to Russ Forfar, one of our speakers this month. Russ emailed me a link to this Time Magazine article by Olivier Laurent on the state of film in today’s largely digital world.

It is a timely article as we recently reported that Kodak joined the new wave with a re-introduction of Ektachrome via its subsidiary Aliris.

The image of the Marx Brothers at left is a great illustration. The boys are at the races and are looking at a “photo finish” of one race in a darkroom of the era. Harpo (left) holds a big news camera (Graflex?), Groucho inspects a negative while Chico looks on too, holding a betting slip.

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Review of January 2017 Miracle Repair Tips Meeting

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Robert

We had two very interesting speakers tonight as demonstrated by the very active Q&A sessions. Both speakers are PHSC members and exhibitors at our fairs. Russ Forfar, now semi-retired, was in the  camera repair business for many decades. Our main speaker, Lincoln Ross, has been doing print and slide restoration and conservation for an equally long time. 

Russ Forfar by Robert Lansdale

Russ Forfar. Kominek Camera & Optical Instrument Sales and Service on Yonge below Wellesley was founded in 1951 by three immigrants. In 1988, Russ and the late Hugh Cooley bought the business. Parts of the business which went to the Kominek estate, were auctioned at Waddington’s including a collimator (now in Russ’s hands). A decade later, Hugh died and Russ elected to buy out his share. From the beginning, Russ was customer interface on the front desk in spite of his technical training – he did the triage – deciding if an instrument should go upstairs to independent repair agents or be scrapped. Unclaimed items were tagged for a grace period before being junked or sold. When the Yonge Street lease was up, rent escalation forced Russ to move to a College Street basement. Continue reading →

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Toronto Mirage in 1894

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Robert

Quote by Erica Jong courtesy of picturequotes.com

Toronto. George Dunbar sent me an email the other day about a curious phenomenon which was deemed to be news-worthy when it happened in the summer of 1894 – a superior mirage.

The city of Toronto was seen briefly by citizens of our sister city, Buffalo NY, appearing to hover above Lake Ontario. It was believed that a temperature inversion on that hot summer’s day above the cool lake air created the illusion. Apropos my post a few days back, this event apparently was not recorded by a photographer and can only be imagined today.

George was informed of this event by a recent article reported in the Toronto Star.  We all recall mirages on hot days, often seen while driving when we approach a gently hilly area on our smoothly surfaced highways .

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Early Colour Books for 35mm cameras

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Robert

Color Photography by Paul Wolff

Toronto. We treat black and white images as niche photos today. Modern day digital cameras take beautiful full colour photos out of the box. The photographer needs to know little about colour, his (or her) camera, or the subject to get a colour balanced, correctly exposed image.

That wasn’t always the case. Seven decades ago the majority of photos were taken in black and white – films like Super XX,  Verichrome and  Tri-X prevailed. Even movies where monochrome delights.  Early television into the 1960s was back and white as well. When I was in Bell’s Engineering department in the mid 1960s, one lady had a new color TV. She preferred to watch only colour shows if one was available regardless of its content.

Colour was always the goal for improving photos. In the late 1800s and early 1900s various additive schemes were marketed to allow people to take colour photographs. The results didn’t fully replicate reality and were grainy. None of the processes would scale down to 35mm cameras which burst on the photographic scene in the 1930s.

Continue reading →

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Fine Photographs Auction in Boston Jan 27, 2017

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Robert

Oscar Rejlander, England, Skinner Lot 183, Nude  Female Study

Toronto. I received an email from Skinner a few days ago announcing their auction of fine photographs tomorrow at noon in Boston, MA.

If you can make it down to Massachusetts this Friday, be sure to drop in at Skinner’s in Boston at 63 Park Plaza.

A great chance to add some real historical images to your collection! Check their on line catalogue here. 

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