Karsh by Weegee in 1956
Toronto. Karsh emigrated to Ottawa where he became a famous Canadian photographer.
He was interviewed by the ICP many times and you can hear the recordings of his interviews in this article posted on December 23, 2018 by Christopher George.
A big ‘thank you’ to my good friend, George Dunbar. George discovered this series of recordings and thoughtfully shared it with us.
Another bit of photographic history created by a famous Canada-based photographer.
Toronto. Our executive meeting on Wednesday evening, October 4, 2023, was our 40th held via ZOOM. A small group of us met for another enjoyable and productive session (Psst, please note our membership year now ends December 31st).
Welcome back Ms Mina Markovic! Mina will be taking over the Social Media sites from Celio as of this fall.
Our next newsletter (first under new editor Katrin Faridani) is being written. Remember, if you prefer a personal copy of the newsletter but haven’t yet joined the PHSC, drop me an email at news@phsc.ca and I will add you.
Wayne hopes to be able to take on the full membership secretary duties shortly. Please drop me a line to forward to Clint if you can help as a volunteer.(in any executive position or at any event). Just use this email address info@phsc.ca.
Our next Toronto meeting will be our Fall Fair on October 15th. Stay tuned for the possibility of another auction this fall. The Estate auction this month was very successful. We are considering a simplification of commission fees for Consignment auctions along the lines of our Estate auctions.
Meeting number 40 via ZOOM
Co-editor David Bridge gave the executive members an overview of the status and the present work in progress on the next issue of our journal. David is targeting another TWO journal issues this year with the first one out by the end of this month. If you are a member but DID NOT see a notification for any journal, please email me at info@phsc.ca.
While we are holding and plan to hold more ‘in person’ events again, COVID-19 seems to be slowly increasing according to recent news reports (and feedback from a few neighbours).
As I noted last month, like many other societies, the online pdf-only version of our journal will remain. PS. MiPHS will host the Michigan show on the 22nd of this month while Gary will host another CAMERAMA show November 12th in Toronto.
special f/2 64mm art lens for full frame mirrorless digital cameras
Toronto. Our friends at Lomography have announced a variable soft focus lens of 64mm focal length and f/2 maximum aperture for full frame mirrorless cameras. The press release states in part, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new Lomography Art Lens. The Nour Triplet V 2.0/64 Bokeh Control Art Lens by Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, Cairo, c.1021 CE gives photographers and videographers the opportunity to cast an irresistible spell of dazzling light using three levels of spherical aberration control.
“Launching on Kickstarter in a historically-inspired brass design and sleek black aluminium version for full-frame mirrorless Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts, the lens will be available to backers at an unrivalled starting price of 335 USD with 25% savings to be made on early bird pledges, with a delivery option before December 24th 2023.”.
You can read the full press release here. See how you can step up to artistic use of your mirrorless full frame 35mm camera. The variation in softness is controlled by adjusting the amount of spherical correction in the lens. A separate waterhouse style slot lets special plates be added to vary the effect even further.
Note: The reference to the Thambar is of interest here. Leitz introduced the Thambar in 1935. A 90mm f/2.2 lens, it was a bit late to the soft focus party. The lens used a special 9cm mirrored spot filter to block the sharper central rays. Two aperture scales were needed to set the lens with/without the spot filter. Results were always difficult to predict. Only a few years after introduction, WW2 broke out further reducing interest in the Thambar.
Modern day products from Lomography are intended for those folk using photography as art and willing to experiment in their results. The concept of soft focus by varying spherical aberrations seems to be rising again like stereo has done from time to time.
Sod turning ceremony for Convocation Hall, U. of T. 1904 by Galbraith Photo Co., Toronto
Toronto. Photo historians are blessed with a rich source of photographic history – a community archive of photographs from long ago local studios. The names and often addresses paint a picture of the community as it grew. Verification can often be accomplished with the city directories of the time (they were usually printed once a year replete with advertisements).
The photograph here is from the University of Toronto archives and shows the, “Sod turning ceremony for Convocation Hall“. This photo was taken in 1904 by, “Galbraith Photo Co., Toronto”. The description reads, “John Hoskin, chairman of the board, turns the sod. R.A. Reeve, president of the Alumni Association and dean of the faculty of medicine holds the wheelbarrow.”. George spotted the fellow to the left side of the enlarged photo with a shovel ready to take over once the photo-op of the dignitaries ended.
Our late editor, Bob Lansdale, has photographs in the U of T archives. Bob once discovered a cluster of studios in the Yonge Street and King Street area in the mid to late 1800s.
My thanks to good friend George Dunbar, for his diligent search of local archives and his generosity in sharing his finds with us. So dig into your local archive fonds and learn about your community’s history! Enjoy.
a photograph of the Milan Cathedral c1875 attributed to Ponti and his Megalethoscope technique
Toronto. Did you ever wonder how people amused themselves before movies, radio, television, etc? Books, newspapers, and stereo cards?
Well thanks to the Megalethoscope, patented in 1862 by Swiss born Carlo Ponti, people could also be entertained (and educated) by photographs that slowly turned to night and even colour.
In the late 1800s, slow media meant night scenes were very rare and colour captured from nature (not hand painted) was deemed impractical by existing photographic means in regular use.
However, the sense of motion by the concept of front and then back illumination to vary a scene was common even in Daguerre’s day (before photography) when it was used with the massive dioramas.
A post on ICP’s, Fans in a Flashbulb website August 27, 2009 shows this (left/top) General view of the Cathedral, Milan, ca. 1875 attributed to Mr Ponti and his Megalethoscope idea. Have a read and view.
My thanks to good friend and fellow photo historian, George Dunbar, for discovering this odd bit of photo history and sharing it with us.
Keystone View Coy Photographer’s Car courtesy of Calisphere
Toronto. Keystone is a familiar name to members of the PHSC. As publishers of stereo view cards and sets (at one time), their wares are seen at many PHSC fairs. At left is a shot of one of the Keystone photographers’ cars (Meadville, PA).
In the PHSC, a small group of collectors were heavily involved with the magic of stereo. The standouts in our society were the late Dr Robert (Bob) Wilson, and the late Stan White.
Both were presidents of the PHSC organizations and deeply involved with the society over the years. Bob wrote a column on stereo in the Photographic Canadiana journal and frequently had a table at our fairs. Stan spoke to the society many times accompanied by stereo shows. Stan also was instrumental in establishing and filling the Canadian Stereoscopic Collection (CSC) housed for many years at Sheridan College and later the AGO before it was returned to the society.
As a tribute to Bob and Stan, please enjoy this fine collection of stereo views on the Calisphere website. Calisphere is part of the University of California. Many organizations have provided the images displayed. The scenes are not only in California, but world wide.
Thanks to my good friend and PHSC member, George Dunbar, for finding and sharing Calisphere and its online archive of stereo images with us.
a real time, ultrahigh-speed mapping (DRUM) camera. Pictured are researchers Xianglei Liu and Jinyang Liang working on the optical setup at INRS, Quebec
Toronto.We usually cover old still photographic items in these posts, but today I take a look at movies (motion using the brain’s persistence and a rapidly projected series of frames).
Frame rate can noticeably affect a movie. When a movie is projected at the regular speed each frame is held briefly and projected giving what appears to be a natural motion on screen. If the movie camera records many frames in a given period, they appear to be projected in slow motion. And contrarily, if there are too few frames recorded, projection makes the action appear in fast motion – ie. a person walking is recorded and then seems to run when projected. Or a slow process (i.e. multi day) can be speeded up on projection (time lapse).
These events, are often used for entertainment or education (time lapse). However; some short term events (sub second) are of scientific interest. How can they be recorded and slowed down for projection? By using a special high speed camera! Unfortunately, physical limitations and media sensitivity set a boundary for the camera’s success.
Now Payal Dhar writes for the IEEE journal about a Quebec team’s success using optics to extend that boundary in, “A Cheaper Ultrafast Camera Required Looking to Optics The new “DRUM camera” can capture up to 4.8 million frames per second“.
Take a few minutes to read Payal’s article and see one direction scientific photography is going in the future (it will be history – in about 50-100 years – we are just a bit early here …). Another tip of the hat to my good friend, George Dunbar, for spotting and sharing this unusual article in the IEEE Journal (the Journal is a free PDF download to IEEE members).
camera designer Karl Nüchterlein, courtesy of Theme (photography daily)
Toronto. You have likely used his designs or innovations, especially if you took photographs last century with smaller roll film cameras (127 and 35mm) or used an SLR.
A young Dutchman, Johan Steenbergen, moved to Dresden in 1912 where he established a camera factory which he named Ihagee (IHG), the abbreviation for the German expression, “Industrie- und Handelsgesellschaft”.
In 1923, a talented camera designer of the name Karl Nüchterlein joined Ihagee. Karl designed the VP Exakta using 127 roll film in 1933, followed three years later in 1936 by the Kine Exakta using 35mm film. These were the first small SLR designs. The Exaktas were different in the fact they were designed for the left handed folk – key controls were on the top left, not top right!
While the cameras were of an interchangeable lens design, compromises had to be made to clear the necessary mirror mechanism. Normal lenses were 55-58mm, and any lens with a shorter focal length had to be specially designed to keep the rear lens elements clear of the mirror at infinity focus. A means to focus the lens at full aperture, then stop down for shooting was important.
Karl made other innovations at Ihagee, in addition to the first 127 and 35mm SLR cameras, including, the camera film winder lever, and a flash socket that was shutter activated.
WW2 was devastating for Ihagee with the deadly bombing of Dresden and the post war decision to put Dresden in the Russian zone. The Exakta survived for years after the war – my first interchangeable lens 35mm was an Exakta VXIIa, at the time more expensive than a Leica. When I bought the VXIIa around 1959, the shorter focal length lenses were often a ‘retro focus’ design with horrendous geometric distortion (both barrel and pin cushion).
Years later I realized the majority of my exposures were with a wide-angle lens, not the 50mm lens or a telephoto.
Alfred Stieglitz ca. 1904 or 1907 by Heinrich Kuhn
Toronto. Ken Metcalf sent along the issue 2 2023 of the Graflex Journal devoted to, “SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT GRAFLEX AND THEIR CAMERAS”. You can see the back issues by visiting the journal web site here.
Issue 2 2023 has these major articles:
– A Treasure From My Collection by David Bridge
– Photographic Equipment of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1817
– Cameras from the Smithsonian®
– Dream Street – book review by George Dunbar
– Attachment: Graflex Lensboards by Thomas Evans
Note: The title of this post is a riff on the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams“. The movie is based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella‘s 1982 novel Shoeless Joe.
AEB August, 1906. What is the costume worn??
Toronto. At a recent PHSC auction, one lot of photographs included the photo at left. The lady seems to be wearing an unusual costume with what looks like padded bloomers. Also, the lady seems to have vaguely Oriental facial features. The photograph frame does not seem to have a photographer or studio identification.
Journal co-editor David Bridge writes in part, “Hope you are enjoying this warm late summer. We found the attached lady in a bag of photos Louise bought … at the last auction. The only inscription on the back [is] ‘AEB Aug 1906’. Lorne Shields is unable to definitively say that this is a bicycling outfit – perhaps your multi-talented readers can come up with some further fashion opinion? Skiing outfit? In August? What’s in the pocket?”
Okay folks, if you recognize the person or clothing, please let David know!. Write me at info@phsc.ca and I will pass the message on.
Note: The title is the same as the title of the popular Beatles song of 1965, “Help!“.
EVENTS
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Stan White – Poems & Photos
Mise Au Point – sur la photographie Quebecois
