Tag Archives: London

expensive words

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The old chestnut says a picture is worth a 1000 words. If so, the 14,000 words for these 14 daguerreotypes are worth nearly $39 USD each! Many Canadians remember the stories of Franklin and his two ill-fated vessels, the … Continue reading →

Posted in camera, history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on expensive words

remembrance day next month

Posted on October 22, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. As a kid in grade school we held a special remembrance each November 11th. The ritual was emphasized in high school with Vimy Ridge models, the ‘In Flanders Fields’ poem, minute of silence, pin-on poppy, etc. George Dunbar spotted … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on remembrance day next month

when I grow too old to dream …

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. … I’ll have you to remember. Or so the song says. To try for memory beyond a generation or two, people relied on a photograph – then and now! George, like anyone with a curiosity – and access to … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on when I grow too old to dream …

photographs at a museum

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK has a long and storied history.  The V&A has collected photographs for many decades (since 1852!). The image at left is a photograph of the notorious Christine Keeler taken in 1963 by … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on photographs at a museum

a kokopelli camera

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Before science burst the bubble, many gullible souls believed in ghosts, seances, and fairies This past summer, I did the above post linked to ‘fairies’ covering the infamous ‘Cottingley Fairies’ saga. Many well educated folk like Dr Arthur Conan Doyle, … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on a kokopelli camera

dancing on the head of a pin

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. For centuries, the expression “number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin” has been around. Originally religious (as you can likely tell), it shifted to ordinary usage and meant arguing absurdities while real issues went … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on dancing on the head of a pin

at yer Beck and call …

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. You may have come across a British camera called a Cornex or one by Houghton’s called a British Ensign. Both camera lines were made by a microscope manufacturer on Cornhill Street in London, England. It was not uncommon for … Continue reading →

Posted in camera | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on at yer Beck and call …

rapid rectilinear lens redux

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Turns out the choice of glass plus the lens design makes a rapid rectilinear! Both the two wide angles lenses mentioned the other day predate the release of the Rapid Rectilinear (or Aplanat in Germany). R & J Beck … Continue reading →

Posted in lens | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on rapid rectilinear lens redux

FSA outtakes in London England exhibition

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Robert

  Toronto. We all (well, most of us older folk) remember the fabulous photos commissioned by the Farm Service Agency, now part of the US Department of Agriculture. The iconic shots recorded the impact of the 1930s depression on American farmers. … Continue reading →

Posted in photos | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on FSA outtakes in London England exhibition

David Granick’s lost London on Kodachrome

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Thanks to ex-pat and past PHSC president Mo Patz now in BC for the link to recently discovered London East End photographs on Kodachrome taken by the late photographer David Granick. Mo’s link to BBC news is just one … Continue reading →

Posted in people, photos | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on David Granick’s lost London on Kodachrome