Tag Archives: history

face lift for a grand old lady

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Thanks to our president, Clint Hryhorijiw, who sent me an email he received from Cynthia Motzenbecker the other day.  The email from Cynthia notes that thanks to the efforts of US Senator Charles Schumer , the George Eastman (House) … Continue reading →

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field of view

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. In the 1800s professional outdoor photographers were easy to spot: A dark viewing cloth, a wooden tripod and a field camera shouted it out loud! The wooden view camera spanned the wet plate and dry plate eras. Smaller, metal … Continue reading →

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know when to fold ’em …

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. … as Kenny Rogers once sang. A step up in camera design was the so-called folder popular around 1930-1950. Between uses, the camera could be easily collapsed for the pocket. The focussing bellows collapsed into the camera body along … Continue reading →

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holy Hannah!

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. It’s time for our monthly Toronto meeting. While it  is usually on the third Wednesday of the month, this time we join PhotoED magazine this Sunday, January 18, 2026 2 – 5 pm at the Arts & Letters club, … Continue reading →

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Christie’s at it again …

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. What’s an auction house without auctions? Well our friends at Christie’s always seem to have an auction on the go. This one features photographs, like the fire engine at left, from various collections. Daguerreotypes are featured plus many other … Continue reading →

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a book for Canada Day

Posted on July 1, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. McNally Robinson in Winnipeg have announced a new history of photography book set for release mid-August. Titled, “A History of Photography in Canada, Volume 1 – Anticipation to Participation, 1839-1918“, the author is Ms Martha Langford of Concordia in Montreal. … Continue reading →

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hand in glove

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. In the summer of 1969, we were ecstatic to see on TV a B&W news short of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. For the first time ever man created enough energy in a rocket to break the hold … Continue reading →

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pressing out from the masses

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Once studios took off, savvy owners tried ways to differentiate their services from the pack. One way to accomplish this was to use the “McKee’s Cameo, Embossing and Imprint Press” on photographic prints delivered to customers. Issue 23-1 of … Continue reading →

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another great use for AI

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. I received an email from past president Les Jones this weekend noting that a genealogy web site is using AI to estimate the date of a photo based on its contents. Since the service (called PhotoDater) is  used within … Continue reading →

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nailing down the minicam revolution

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Some years ago, I had one of the early Retina camera models in my collection. I still have a slightly older Nagel Recomar. When the minicam revolution took off, Kodak bought the Nagel factory (end of 1931) in Stuttgart … Continue reading →

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