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digital portrait of a new baby adjacent to a century plus old head rest

Toronto. There is a saying that there is nothing new under the sun.

As a kid, I made a radio with a tiny bit of ‘fools gold’ (iron pyrite) and a thin copper wire ‘cat’s whisker’. This rustic semi-conductor radio wave detector was superseded by vacuum tubes which years late were succeeded by transistors (semi-conductors), in turn replaced by integrated circuits with tens of transistors and eventually millions of them (semi-conductors one and all)!

In 1839, Louise Daguerre announced his Daguerreotype process. It too was superseded by faster, wider spectrum solutions applied to paper, plates of glass, then to film, to be superseded by digital technology. This prompted some enthusiasts like Dr Mike Robinson (past president of the PHSC) to revert to the old processes with a modern twist.

Dr Robinson took the phot0 above with a digital camera, and later used a Daguerreotype camera and processed the image accordingly. What goes around, comes around.

The digital shot was used for the cover of the PHSC Journal issue 27-1.  Describing the photograph, editor Bob Lansdale writes, “[Then] PHSC Vice President, Mike Robinson, was quick to announce the arrival of his daughter Grania Grace Christie Robinson on the 26th of March, 2001 with a photographic announcement card.

“In the pattern of his Century Darkroom where he teaches daguerreotype and ambrotype processes, he created this setting with a 19th century headrest supporting a modern mobile seat.

“The thought-provoking digital image has since been circling the globe via internet. The young lady also held still for 14 seconds while Mike exposed a daguerreotype portrait.”

While you might not find such a charming baby photo at our events, you are sure to fine an item that is irresistible to you. Our spring fair is set for May 24th. Details will be pinned to this site as we near the fair date.