Legion Hall 101 – Nov 2019 Auction Toronto. Close your eyes. Now think of all the amazing places you’ve been.  One such place is  Legion Hall 101 on the Lake Shore just west of highway 27 in Long Branch on the afternoon of Sunday, May 5th. At that time we will be holding our spring auction. And what an auction! There are lots for everyone be it for collectors or users; film buffs or digerati! The times and location (and lot photos) are shown here. Remember, parking and admission are free! Great food and drink are available. Come on out and see the lots in person before bidding star ..read more

Some garden tools around a red oak ready to use Toronto. I have posted previously on film vs. digital and its consequences. Since photography was created in 1839 until digital technology went main stream, family ‘snap-shooters’ and amateur family historians could save photographs in an album or shoe box to be pulled out whenever a visitor was to be shown ‘the relatives, old purchases, etc.’. These artifacts could be viewed by eye – no accessories needed (except perhaps, reading glasses). The down side was the time it took to finish a roll of film, get it processed, have prints made, and see ..read more

Drake Album cover April 2016 taken by Caitlin Cronenberg Toronto. When I was a kid, my mother, looking at a  newspaper photo often said, “cameras don’t lie”.  Once I grew up and learned photography seriously, I realized ‘double’ exposures in a camera or darkroom with some skill could indeed show something or someone where they had never been. When digital technology became common, the computer with Photoshop and its kin made such obfuscation even easier – layers, masks, and feathering merged part of one image into another seamlessly – if the operator was at all skilled and careful ..read more

My SB100 transistor on a breadboard experimental setup Toronto. In the early days of transistors, the tiny marvels couldn’t operate very far beyond audio frequencies. In the late 1950s, Philco managed to create a transistor usable at radio freqencies. The SB100 transistor, as it was named, was offered to experimenters. Shown here is a breadboard assembly acting as a radio receiver with a CK722 transistor as an audio amplifier also on a breadboard. While the photo at left is a snapshot, a branch of photography focussed on capturing images of technical products – for advertisements, catalogues ..read more

1956 and big news from Kodak as their films continued to be improved Toronto. George Dunbar recently sent me an email regarding this Kodak ad in the April, 1956 issue of Popular Mechanics. It brought back many memories. I used all the films noted at one time or another. As far as I know, Verichome was one of the first B&W films to have two emulsion layers; one ‘fast’ and the other ‘slow’. The idea was to ensure more printable photos from negatives exposed in box cameras and cheap folders with their f/16 or f/22 lenses. Kodachome and Ektachome gave different colour renditions of a scene ..read more

close-up shot of a spider – courtesy of How-to Geek Toronto. In the days of film and film cameras, lenses rarely focussed on subjects closer than a metre. Newer lenses would focus down to a half metre or some times a few inches closer. Macro shots were initially taken with the normal lens using some means to bring subjects, too close for the lens adjustment, into focus – usually a bellows, extension tubes, or a copy stand. Sometimes, if the normal lens design was asymmetrical, the lens could be turned around before being used. In some cases a positive diopter lenses (+1, +2, or +3) was bough ..read more

Dolphin book cover using Dupont photo products Toronto. We all remember Kodak products and most will recall Ansco and Ilford photo products. But do you remember the other products like those made by DuPont – both film and paper? I did a post on Dupont the summer of 2022. Recently Malcolm Brenner, a writer/photographer based in Florida, sent me a note on DuPont. He mentions the company’s adventure in B&W photo paper producing the first  variable contrast paper, “BTW, I seem to remember reading somewhere that Dupont originated the whole idea of “variable-contrast enlarging paper,” usi ..read more

a preview of a movie on the history of photography – courtesy of Strand Releasing Toronto. At 90, my good friend George Dunbar still manages to scour the web for interesting photographic items. Recently George discovered a preview of the Swedish/Danish film  called “fantastic machine” on the Strand Releasing site. George writes, ‘”Fantastic Machine” from the invention of photography to 45 billion cameras worldwide. Looks like this film could be quite interesting.’ Have a peek and see why George was delighted to see the preview. Our thanks to George for the image and link. And speak ..read more

A rare wet plate camera by W W Rouch of London, UK. Toronto. In June of 1998 this rare wet plate camera (sans lens) resided with member Bill Kantymir. Bill Belier in his “treasure” column traces it from its manufacture in England to an Ontario collection with stops a long the way both in Europe, and North America. To a collector unaware of the process, a wet plate camera is just another 1800s artifact. But to the knowledgeable collector it is indeed rare. By the very nature of the process, using a wet plate camera commercially led to its demolished state. Plates were coated with the sticky e ..read more

Mar 2017 Auction – all efforts shown, except printing the journal, are performed by PHSC volunteers Toronto. When I reviewed issue 30-3 of our journal I was reminded that we lost the first of our founders that summer/fall of 2004 (Larry Boccioletti). Bob Lansdale posted a notice on page three asking potential volunteers to contact the late Bob Wilson. Well, two decades later, we still need volunteers and if you can help, email me at info@phsc.ca and I will pass you on to Clint.  We are always in need and can pop you into any appropriate task/position. For example, I joined the society i ..read more