Newsletter 13-5

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Robert

Toronto, October 14 2013. Well David’s latest opus has hit the emails Monday. We held the newsletter to get two important items. First, Dr Deepali Dewan’s changes to the review of her well received talk last month. We really appreciate her response on such short notice. Secondly we were able to add a few details on our special video this Wednesday. There is a bit more detail here on the web.

From left: Cover, Dr Deepali Dewan, Louise, Petzval lenses,PHSC Press release, Tom Bochsler at the fair, Polaroid 300.

From left: Cover13-5, Dr Deepali Dewan at last month’s talk, Our Louise Freyburger  at last month’s estates auction, modern Petzval lenses for DSLRs, PHSC Press releases its very first title, Tom Bochsler will be at our fair this month, and finally from the ‘net includes the new/old Polaroid 300 instant film camera.

Dr Dewan’s talk was both very detailed and interesting. Mark Singer did the first draft of the report. David Bridge did the first edit while I added my two cents before we sent the article on to Dr Dewan for final correction and approval. You can down load and print or read this complete issue by clicking the above montage. Enjoy.

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Looking at the New Sony

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Robert

Bildschirmfoto2013-10-14um183137_zpse5a09ba2-smToronto, October 14, 2013. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. One of the blogs I frequently visit is “SonyAlphaRumours“. This site had been predicting a full frame digital from Sony in the NEX E-mount format for many months and expects to see the camera this month.

Images, courtesy of Digicame-info, show the two new Sony cameras and SonyAlphaRumours (SAR) has confirmed them to be authentic. The cameras are the A7 (24mpx sensor) and A7r (36mpx sensor) .

The icon above according to SAR is “an image comparison between the A7 and Leica M6 film camera. Made by Vaclav (Thanks!), it’s a photoshop workup”. In consumer cameras, I moved from Nikon to Sony because of the ergonomics, reliability and quality. And the Sony NEX-6 has a lens adaptor that lets me use my Leica lenses. They should fit on the A7 as well.

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Obsolescence and Darkness

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Robert

20131012-122349-Visual-Arts-2Toronto, October 12, 2013. I have been a fan of the Globe and Mail for over a half century now. I spotted this  photography related item this morning  in a Globe column called “Week in Preview” under a heading “Visual Art“.

Michel Campeau: Icons of Obsolescence and Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness

“A double-barrelled blast about the past – two powerful (and complementary) colour photography exhibitions at the National Gallery in Ottawa on the end of the analog photography era and the disappearance of so much associated with it (i.e. film, negatives, processing plants).

“Campeau, a Montrealer, has been taking digital pictures of darkrooms since 2005, travelling ‘from Havana to Ho Chi Minh City to Tokyo.’ Toronto’s Burley has been just as peripatetic, recording the demise of large scale darkrooms and film-manufacturing plants in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Opens Oct. 18.”

– James Adams

For those with a short memory, Bob Burley spoke to us in February 2007. After his book was published, I posted a note based on the Rick McGinnis blog re: the death of Kodak Heights.

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Movie Night: The Magical Movie Machines

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Robert

20101017-122854-DSC00754-smNEXT TORONTO MEETING: Wed, October 16, 2013.
MOVIE NIGHT: The Magical Movie Machines.

We have a treat tonight. This is a rare old video tape called “Hooked on History – The Magical Movie Machines“. It is a  45 minute video that traces the old  machines from pre-cinema up to the 1930s. The video was produced by Peter Kuehn of California in his spare time and includes a few very rare film clips. Click “Continue reading” for Peter’s background.  NB. I took the thumbnail through one of Robert Gutteridge’s antique movie machines three years ago (2010) at our fall fair

The public is welcome. Go to our Programs page for times and directions. Continue reading →

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Heritage Toronto Awards October 15, 2013.

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Robert

Heritage-Toronto-2013-smToronto October 5, 2013. The Heritage Toronto Awards and Wm. Kilbourn Memorial Lecture will take place this month. For details and tickets call or visit the Royal Conservatory of Music Box Office at 416 408-0208.

For information use these services:
performance.rcmusic.ca
@HeritageToronto
www.facebook.com/heritagetoronto

 

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Badly Bent, nearly busted.

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Robert

meter-smToronto, October 3, 2013. A couple of days ago, Louise (our Facebook guru) politely mentioned trouble commenting on one of my posts. I took a few minutes to check out the comment process and with her help I discovered the filters were set too tight. I loosened them up so Louise could add comments.

Unfortunately, I have been inundated with spam as well. My B.S. meter is almost broken so I tightened the comments up again severely shortening the time allowed for comments. If I continue to get hit hard with spam, then its bye bye comments once again. (it’s not really a B.S. meter but an early 1900s Weston voltmeter the size of a stack of dinner plates. It was once used by the telephone company in Collingwood, Ontario to test local telephone lines).

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PHSC Press issues its first book

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Robert

Baltzly-Book-smToronto, October 3, 2013. John Morden (press@phsc.ca) is pleased to announce the first book published by PHSC Press is now available. Secure the Shadow, by Robert G. Wilson is the exciting story of the life of Benjamin Baltzly.

Earlier  books on this 19th century photographer such as Andy Birrell’s have covered Baltzly’s very successful work for Notman in the wilds of British Columbia in 1871. Dr. Wilson for the first time delves into Baltzly’s life from his early years in the USA, time spent in Canada through to his death back home in the states. The book is in full colour and profusely illustrated. 75 pages, soft cover. $45.00. Copies may be ordered via press@phsc.ca.

The book can be picked up at a local meeting or mailed to the purchaser.

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Fall Fair – October 27, 2013

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Robert

Bookmark-Fall-2013-Poster-smToronto, October 27, 2013.

The Big One – the famous PHSC Photographica-Fair will be held at the Soccer centre!

This show features the work of well known GTA industrial photographer Tom Bochsler.  Our own Chelsea Jeffrey, fresh from her show at the Toronto Airport, curates for us. Come out and meet Tom (he promises to have his beautiful book “The Art of Industry” available for sale).

Click on the icon to see the show details poster. And to see Bob Lansdale’s photos from past shows, visit our earlier post here. Come out and find the new/old goodies for your collection or to use!

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Play-Doh Photographs

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Robert
Play-Doh rendering by Eleanor MacNair

Play-Doh rendering by Eleanor MacNair

Toronto, September 26, 2013. My friend George Dunbar dropped me a note yesterday to say how delightful he found “famous photos re-created in Play Doh“. You can visit the BBC news article here to see the famous image by Andreas Feininger as shown in the icon at left, or you can click here to visit the website of the creator, Eleanor MacNair.

In the case of the c1955 Feininger portrait of Dennis Stock, titled the photojournalist, Stock is holding a screw-mount Leica with a fast lens (Summarit) and a flash shoe clipped view finder in front of his face. I first saw this image in the 1970s in The Camera, one of the Time-Life series books on photography. Enjoy!

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Photographic Canadiana 39-2

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Robert

Issue 39-2 was packaged and mailed two weeks ago. It is another marvellous edition from the mind of editor Bob Lansdale. This issue features a number of articles just a few of which are highlighted in the pictures below.

39-2-montage

Clockwise from left: cover, Chris Kennedy from LIFT, Willie Nassau and his Eumig camera, couple of trunk sale finds, nudes from part III of sol Legault’s paper on Stanhopes, we lost two stalwart members this summer Bob Gutteridge (left) and Bill Belier (right), part of a rare and mysterious London, Ontario print, and Richard Lautens, our June speaker.

Below is Bob Carter (left) and Bob Lansdale at the Aries Group print shop in Etobicoke on September 9th after packaging this issue ready for mailing the next day. If you missed out, join the PHSC today!

20130909-150106-DSC09705

Down at the press, I help editor Bob Lansdale (right) prepare 39-2 for mailing

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