Tag Archives: article

a debt unpaid

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. … promise made is a debt unpaid … as Robert Service wrote in his 1907 epic Yukon poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee“. Service was born in England and lived in many places, including Canada (he once worked for … Continue reading →

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hot pix, it’s a phoney; hot pix it’s a phoney …

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto.  … with apologies to Karen Shopsowitz and her family. You couldn’t live here 60 years ago without hearing the jingle, “hotdog, it’s a Shopsy” or visit the city without buying one of those delicious hot dogs from her father’s … Continue reading →

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aide-de-combat

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The idea for this article comes from my good friend George Dunbar. The Legion magazine is online in both official languages. We mentioned war photographers in a number of earlier posts. Here we relate to the techniques of the … Continue reading →

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no rolling stone in this park

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. My friend and fellow executive member, David Bridge, sent me a note recently about a project at Moss Park by Sara Jabakhanji, who wrote the story in this link. Being an historical society, we often forget that photographs taken … Continue reading →

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I, Robot

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In a March, 1950 article in Popular Science magazine, a “Robot” was shown in a military darkroom. The gadget processed 8×10 colour negatives. A time was MANUALLY set for each bath, then the Robot took over, dunking the films … Continue reading →

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leaping’ lizards, Sandy!

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. … as Little Orphan Annie often said to her mutt … This article from the start of 1950 reports a colour projector for less than a sawbuck! While the inexpensive bakelite device projected Kodachrome slides, there was a small … Continue reading →

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computer to the rescue

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. In the early 1950s we were blessed with very costly and very crude computers (and little idea of how they could be used). A decade later, massive ‘mechanization’ projects were underway to use computers to do the work of … Continue reading →

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feeling blue

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. There are a number of 1800s photographic print processes. One is obvious even to the uninitiated. Cyanotypes can be recognized by their tell-tale blue shades. A more modern equivalent is last century’s ‘blue prints’ offering electrical, architectural, etc. data … Continue reading →

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dem plates, dem plates, dem dry plates

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Member Jeff Ward from up Halifax way writes, “A correspondent informed me that the issue of Scientia Canadensis devoted to photography and science is now available online.” The issue was edited by guest editor Joan Schwartz and featured some … Continue reading →

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bowl on

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Here’s one way to take a neat video of a bowling strike. The technique can be used in other sports too. George Dunbar, a retired cameraman for IBM here in the Big Smoke, used this technique (totally unrelated to … Continue reading →

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