Tintype – Photographer with his camera.
Toronto. The Daguerreian Society sent me a note the other morning that it had its October 22nd 2016 Auction catalogue on line. Click here and see what suits your growing collection of images and equipment.
There is a live auctioneer available to take your online bid according to the newsletter they sent out.
Check it out!
Headless Victorian
Toronto. Editor David Bridge in conjunction with Sonja Pushchak and John Morden have come up with a second issue of the sparkling new version of our newsletter.
The lead article covers a favourite Victorian pastime – natural magic through photography… Page two covers the presentation next week by Mike Smith about well known postcard photographer Reuben Sallows.
There is an equipment review of the 1897 Kodak Bulls-Eye camera I donated to the PHSC and sold at a recent PHSC auction.
Our road trip to Ryerson is covered as is today’s Camera Fair hosted at the Trident Hall by the PHSC.
These pages are followed by Image Finds, Web links (compiled as usual by Louise Freyburger), PHSC Talks and events, Ask Vicky (a new favourite column),Current Exhibits (AIMIA and Contemporary Photography at the AGO), A poster on our Wednesday evening talk, and lastly The Classified (ads by and of interest to members). Enjoy!
Bob Dylan at Place Des Arts, Montreal in February 1966 taken by Minox
Toronto. I saw in the Globe today that Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel prize in Literature yesterday. He was considered to be a moving force in the world with his poetry and music, a force that has continued on to this day. I first learned of this strange young man in 1965 listening to his records of the day.
On February 20th, 1966, my girlfriend at the time knew the concert promoter and bought tickets for Dylan’s show at Place des Arts in Montreal. We were seated in the second row, just back from the stage. I brought along my little Minox B and took some pictures.
Few knew of the Minox. Most photographers – amateur and pro alike – used larger cameras. While the venue did not permit a camera, this little guy was easily hidden in a pocket and quite unobtrusive when used. It could be held steady and with the brightness of the spotlight, it worked fine without a flash. The image was a reasonable size as well, given we were so close to the stage. A faster film added a grain to the images I snapped that chilly February night. Continue reading
Man/Elm by Sara Angelucci at the Stephen Bulger Gallery
Toronto. Stephen Bulger of the Stephen Bulger gallery announced that he is hosting an exhibition of photographic works by Sara Angelucci called Arboretum. The photographs combine images of trees and people.
Ms Angelucci, an Adjunct Professor in Photography at Ryerson, is well covered by various articles and reviews. Her web site includes this information:
“Sara Angelucci is a Toronto-based artist working in photography, video and audio. Her work explores vernacular photographs and films, analyzing the original context in which images are made.
“Drawing attention to conventions of image making, her work foregrounds the cultural role vernacular images play in framing particular stories, creating histories, and memorialization.
“Angelucci’s work has developed from an examination of the family archive and immigration, to a broader analysis and interpretation of anonymous/found photographs. In recent photography, video, and audio projects, Angelucci draws from the history of photography, as well as natural and social histories, transforming found images and repositioning them within the broader cultural context from which they emerge.”
The show opens October 22nd and runs to November 19th, 2016. A reception will be held for Ms Angelucci from 2-5 pm on the opening day (the 22nd of October). Location is the Gallery at 1026 Queen St West in Toronto.
Sony Camera NEX-6 Lithium Ion battery
Toronto. In recent news we heard about the Samsung fiasco with its Note 7 smartphones suddenly bursting into flames. Once replacement phones also combusted, Samsung elected to recall all Note 7 smartphones and cease manufacture, taking a massive hit in market share.
A bit of background: batteries are divided into primary cells (single use) and secondary (rechargeable). The various chemical processes were well known over a century ago but improvements were necessary before the technologies became marketable commodities.
Over a half a century ago, when I was a kid, batteries were usually zinc-carbon technology and available in the same sizes as today (AA, AAA, C, D, etc), usually as a national name brand product – like Eveready or Ray-O-Vac. Leave them in your flashlight or radio and you risked changing the devices into a gooey mess as the electrolyte quietly ate through the zinc case allowing acid to drip into the light or radio.
A few years later, a new (old) technology arrived in the marketplace called Alkaline. This process was far less likely to ooze acid and lasted far longer than the zinc-carbon cells. In most cases the cells could not be charged and reused. Once depleted of electric current, they were finished. Continue reading
Spring Antique Photo and Postcard Show in Virginia
Toronto. Tom Rall of Diverse Marketing, who runs the antique images and postcard show in Arlington Virginia, sent me a flyer on October 4th announcing his latest show (34th annual) on Sunday, March 12th, 2017 at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn.
Tom warns prospective exhibitors and visitors that the NCAA basketball tournament will be held in nearby Washington DC so reservations need to be made sooner than later.
Click here or on the icon at left for full details.
Drawing of Sputnik in Orbit
October 4, 1957
Toronto. Just over 60 years ago on October 4th, 1957, I was sitting in my “ham shack” tuning in overseas radio stations. At the time, the USA was busy testing men, rockets, and satellites in anticipation of a future launch into space. The big challenge of the day was to get enough launch speed to break the gravity barrier and be able to orbit the earth (hard to image today when there are so many satellites circling the globe for communications and military endeavours).
Suddenly, I heard a beeping sound and then a voice saying Russia had just placed a satellite in orbit. The Sputnik was a oversized two foot diameter metal basket ball shaped sphere with a quartet of radio antennae on its circumference sending signals back to earth.
The news electrified the USA and massive funds were poured into math and science programs. The space race began in earnest. Decades later that American funding boost helped usher in the digital era we now enjoy.
Red Star Line Poster c1932
Toronto. Swann Galleries in NYC on East 25th Street, groups lots in their frequent auctions by type of goods. For example, the poster auction this month is of Rare and Important Travel Posters. The poster expert at Swann is Nicholas D Lowry. Preview in person begins October 22nd.
For decades travel between Europe and America was by ship. Many of our ancestors, including mine, emigrated from England via Steamship.
If you enjoy or collect the travel posters of the past century, click here and view Swann’s online catalogue.
PHSC Image Show Poster
Toronto. Its final! our next Image show will take place in downtown Toronto at the prestigious Arts & Letters Club on Elm Street. Space is very limited. Contact our VP Ashley Cook to arrange a space today!
Click here or on the poster icon at left to download and read details, parking, etc.
See this earlier post for those dealers already committed to attend.
Dog taken by Noah W using the iPhone 6 camera
Toronto. Well the obvious answer is… when it’s a phone – a smartphone. My friend George Dunbar sent me this delightful link on oneeyeland.com, the other day. It is about a video of shots with an iPhone 6 (the camera is 8 mpx) To advertise the iPhone (and its camera), Apple selected 162 images on social media tagged as iPhone 6 creations. The chosen images were enlarged to billboard size and posted world-wide.
Click the link here or above to see the video. Yummy and thought provoking! It wasn’t until I bought my 5th digital camera (a Sony F828) that I had an 8 mpx sensor. And that camera sported a 7X Zeiss lens making it massive in size. In comparison, the iPod Touch I use today is shirt pocket sized and sports the same 8 mpx camera with a lens equivalent to a 35mm medium wide angle.
EVENTS
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Stan White – Poems & Photos
Mise Au Point – sur la photographie Quebecois
