Executive Meeting No 44 via ZOOM

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Robert

PHSC President Clint Hryhorijiw

Toronto. Hot for February these days – and here we are again meeting via ZOOM (for the 44th time)!

The latest PHSC newsletter by editor Katrin Faridani is due out this month. Any viewer who wishes a  personal copy but hasn’t yet joined the PHSC can drop me an email at news@phsc.ca to be added to our MailChimp list.

Membership Secretary Lilianne Schneider has been busy with the existing records.

Do you want to help as a volunteer  (at our meetings or events)? Then just say so in note here: info@phsc.ca. And I will see our president gets your message.

The journal is issued in pdf format only. If  you UNSUBSCRIBE  to our MailChimp list, you will not receive any journals or other info. Nor can we reinstate that email address for you as MailChimp blocks such addresses (a form, not yet on our site, could allow you to reactivate it). And if you change email addresses, please tell us as MailChimp flags such old addresses as CLEANED and cannot add your new address automatically.

*By the way, please note as of 2022, our membership year ends December 31st.** Also as of 2024 memberships are $35/$100 1 yr/3 yr Canadian regardless of the member location (one of the perks of pdf format for our journal).

The February Toronto meeting will be  a  “Show and Tell” via ZOOM on the 21st. Drop Clint a note at info@phsc.ca to get added to the list of presenters. To view/join the event, we will have a post on Eventbrite closer to the meeting date. Further details will be in a post on this site.

Co-editor David Bridge and partner Louise Freyburger are currently writing issue 49-4 of Photographic Canadiana.  This issue is scheduled for release around March, 2024. PS: Please renew or join now if you haven’t already. See the MEMBERSHIP menu above and/or our PayPal button at right.

We notify members via MailChimp as each new journal issue is released. If you are a member but HAVE NOT seen the notification since you registered/renewed, please email me at info@phsc.ca. Journal 49-3 was issued the end of last year.

And remember to bundle up  – next week is supposed to be a cold snap …

Executive meeting 44 via ZOOM

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perks and perils …

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Robert

Michael S. Hopkins,  husband, walks out onto a promontory on the coastal Mahaulepu Heritage Trail on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. – courtesy of Ms Freeman via the CS Monitor.

Toronto. I often think about the risks some photographers take to get ‘that shot’ but this article in the Feb 1, 2024 issue of the Christian Science Monitor by Michael S. Hopkins (contributor and writer) with photos by his wife, staff  photographer Melanie Stetson Freeman  in Kauai, Hawaii shows the dangers faced by a sometimes reluctant subject.

Many a photograph/reluctant subject can relate to Hopkins’ article. Set aside your wonderful collection of photos and read this short article about the ‘perks and perils’ of being married to a photographer …

And a big thank you goes off to good friend and PHSC member, George Dunbar, for offering this article he recently discovered while doing photo history research.

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a tale of a board

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Robert

Photographic pioneer Ernest Marriage courtesy of PCCGB in the February 2024 issue of Tailboard

Toronto. Over the years, the PHSC has exchanged journals and newsletters with like minded groups. These include the Tailboard issued by “The Photographic Collectors Club of Great Britain“.

Their latest issue of Tailboard (Feb 2024) is available in the  hard copy or electronic version to any member of this august body of enthusiasts.

Check out their website (above) for details.

 

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90 dollars, 90 dollars, do I hear 100?

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Robert

a studio camera in the fall 2015 auction nine years ago

Toronto, Ahhh, that time again! In a few short months it will be spring and auction time again. As details of our May 2024 auction unfold, we will add them to this site.

Meantime, snuggle up – cold weather is forecast! Hard to imagine since we are bereft of snow here in the city – noise, eternal work blockages, bicycle lanes, but no snow (and little parking).

This interesting old studio camera was auctioned nearly a decade ago. Be sure to pencil in our May auction date (May 5th) – you may find just what you need to augment your collection or user gear. Usually we have both film and digital stuff to be auctioned.

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a vicarious trip to France – today

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Robert

photograph – lot 122 Hôtel Drouot, Paris, France

Toronto. While you wait so patiently for our spring auction this coming May, why not visit an auction in Paris, France being held online until TODAY?

I received an email yesterday morning from Christophe Goeury about an auction of cameras and photographs at an auction house in France (see the auction lots here). The auction house is called Hôtel Drouot.

The current bid or starting price for each lot is published in Euros, but be aware that the lot sale price may exceed the current/starting price. This auction house also sells things besides photographic memorabilia.

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a bar walks into an archive …

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Robert

a small grocery store c1946 in Quebec. About a decade later bar codes began up here identifying each product.

Toronto. … well, you may know the story. If not, my good friend, George Dunbar, offers this wording from the LAC up in Gateaux, QC (once called Hull), “Library and Archives Canada (LAC) – 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the barcode! The first Canadian scan was at a grocery store in Dorval, Quebec in 1974.”. Dorval is a suburb of Montreal and home to its closest airport.

The photo here, also from the LAC, is a typical Quebec ‘corner’ grocery store back in 1946. Note the casual smoking in the store and the tobacco advertising. As a kid, I remember being sent to just such a store in a small Ontario town for groceries.

We consider the bar code common place today and regularly see the shop owner or cashier casually scan each item purchased. A computer ‘reads’ the scan and prints the appropriate product name and price. Gone are the days when the owner/cashier typed in the product  price to a cash register or wrote the details in a carbon paper receipt book.

Photographs are the basis for these work place events, now long past (at least in grocery chains and large stores). Every product has a unique bar code and a price as decided by the seller. Collectors of photos often value such work place photos either as part of a collection or the focus of one.

 

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PHSNE 2022 Journal

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Robert

PHS of NE Journal 2022 available in print and online

Toronto. One of our exchange organizations, The PHS of New England is celebrating 51 years this year. A 2022 issue of its annual “Journal” featuring Simon Wing and other “Photographers, Innovators, and Entrepreneurs for Nine Decades” is available in either hard copy or digital format.

Like many photo history organizations today, the PHSNE conducts relevant presentations via ZOOM. The latest event is today (Feb 4, 2024): “Curating 1 Million Photos at the Cape Ann Museum with speakers Trenton Carls & Maegan Squibb – Sunday, Feb 4, 2024, 7:30PM EST on Zoom”.

Feel free to join the PHSNE and see this and all meetings since October, 2020. A selection of older videos appear on Youtube.

 

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a day in the far north …

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Robert

c1928 an uncle with arctic fox pelts in Manitoba – photographer unknown

Toronto. I received an email a few weeks ago from my good friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar, about the late Canadian Photographer Richard Harrington. A book of his Arctic photographs taken around 1948-1953 was featured in Canada’s History magazine. The book was self titled and appeared in an article by Phil Koch called “Intuit Life in Transition“. The article states “Posted January 10, 2024”.

The arctic fox pelts photo from the book struck a chord! An uncle with a similar cape of white arctic fox pelts (image at left) was snapped  by an unknown photographer around 1928. Back home, he generously gave us one of his pelts. It was made into a stole.

Photographs of the people and landscape of the far north are part of our history, not simply collectible images. Some years back I saw a series of Inuit portraits taken by that iconic photographer, the late George Hunter and on display at Mississauga City Hall. George was a fabulous photographer, amateur pilot, and raconteur who spoke at our Toronto meeting years ago.

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I, said the photo, beginning to fade …

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Robert

a digital photo with fake fading

Toronto. Digital technology brought with it many amazing changes to the photo industry. One of which is the plethora of software tools available today to improve and resurrect old photographs – along with an ethical issue.

My long time contributor and good friend, George Dunbar, asked a very good question, “Should archived images from online sources ever be subject to alteration?”

After some thought and discussion, we agreed that improvements like increased contrast and sharper focus could help one gain more information from the photograph, BUT not if the posted photo was intended to be for sale or was archived with the intent to show the impact of time. A photo for sale must be shown ‘as is’ lest the prospective buyer be fooled; while archiving demands some consistency and standards.

Click on the small icon at left to see a before and after adjustment of a faded print archived by the University of Guelph. Our thanks goes to George for his sharing of the photos and link.

Note: The post title is a riff on a line from the old Pete Seeger song, “Who Killed Norma Jean” about the death of Marilyn Monroe. Seeger’s song is reminiscent of a much older nursery rhyme, “Who killed Cock Robin” that is itself based on an even earlier rhyme.

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close call

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Robert

iPhone 13 Pro + Reeflex G-Series Macro Lens courtesy of Brian Matiash

Toronto. One of my favourite past times is closeup photography. With the digital era this is like Dickens and his “Tale of Two Cities” – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …”. Digital technology makes colour images far more crisp but the auto focus makes it very hard to capture a sharp image of what you see.

Modern day Smartphones are very often the camera of choice and in Brian Matiash’s latest “lightroom everywhere” blog, he offers the article, “My Must-Have Smartphone Photo Gear” showing the photographer of today (amongst other things) how to get closeup shots with a Smartphone.

No, digital technology and Smartphones aren’t quite history yet, but give them a few more decades and voilà! Histoire!

By the way, this is the start of BHM,  2024 edition.

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