This episode is another live show from the streets of Toronto during our 10th Anniversary Photo Walk & Brewery Tour. The tour took the gang from Sugar Beach and the Great Lake Brew Pub on Lower Jarvis, through Old Town Toronto and into the Distillery District for Old Flame Brewing Co and into Riverside for Eastbound Brewing and into Leslieville for Radical Road, Black Lab, Rorschach and finally Godspeed Brewery. Despite the weather (which was not plesent) about twenty people attended the event and everyone enjoyed the shorter, but safer walk. Alex took time to record short interviews with twelve folks attending and asked themRead More →

While most TFS walks start with coffee and end with beer, this walk started and contained beer from start to finish. With the help of fellow co-host Bill, I selected a series of breweries across the eastern part of Toronto, starting with the Great Lakes Brewpub on Lower Jarvis and ending at Godspeed, located at Coxwell and Gerrard. Sadly, since I started planning this walk, one of the breweries closed at the end of June (Saulter Street). Bill Smith suggested Radical Road as a replacement. The bonus is that Radical is right along the route, so there was no need to make any changes. TheRead More →

There are small cameras; then there are small ones; the Pentax MX is one of the latter. Released as Asahi’s response to the Olympus OM-1, the Pentax MX took things to the next level with the size. The M-Series of Pentax SLRs are strangers to me; I’ve used the ME, ME Super and even an MG, but never an MX. Save for a brief encounter with an MX in Bill Smith’s collection for a CCR Episode (Ep. 36 – Last But Not Least) So when I started to look for one a few years back I found that they were rare on the used marketRead More →

I love a good industrial location, but the former Metal Tech Foundry in Woodstock along the Canadian Pacific tracks was filthy. I always came out wishing I had brought coveralls. But that would have drawn too much attention to the surprisingly residential neighborhood and the semi-active train station near by. This massive location was mostly empty but offered something big and exciting in the city that didn’t involve a former police station or piles of tyres. Formed as the Eureka Planter Company in 1905, the founders took advantage of the offer of a free plot of land from the Canadian Pacific Railway near their stationRead More →

Through the balance of 1813, neither the Americans nor the British made any significant gains to achieve victory. The biggest issue was with the overly cautious commanders on both sides; Major-General William Henry Harrison failed to exploit the rapid retreat by the British Army after their defeat at the Battle of the Thames. He chose to establish a loose beachhead along the Detroit River. Similarly, the Americans had only briefly pushed their advantage in the Niagara region but ended up only able to maintain a small occupation force in the region bolstered by over-enthusiastic traitors. On the British side, Major-General Francis de Rottenburg had nearlyRead More →

Established in 2013 by MainStreetHost and taken on by Alex Luyckx Photography in 2015, #photochat is a community of photography professionals and enthusiasts who congregate to talk shop and discuss anything and everything photography. After a brief pause through 2023 Photochat is back with a monthly chat model, as of 2025 photochat has migrated to BlueSky Social BlueSky Social and Mastodon. To participate in our monthly chat (every Second Thursday), search the #photochat hashtag on BlueSky Social and Mastodon to see the conversation, or find me at @alexluyckxphoto.bsky.social on BlueSky. Include the hashtag in your posts to answer the questions and talk with the otherRead More →

It’s hard to believe that CCR has been on the air for ten years and produced more than 200 episodes, so Alex sits down and thinks back on how CCR got started and some of the favourite episodes from the past. Including the mysterious Episode 0 and the far better Episode 1, which was recorded. Some good interviews, some of the more nerdy episodes, and the ones that certainly got CCR a tonne of attention. Plus a little bit of encouragement for those thinking of starting up a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel. CCR is ten years old this year, and to celebrate, we’re hostingRead More →

There’s a delightful irony in publishing this post on the 4th of July, a post celebrating Canada. I started working on this post in April after hearing about a list of the ultimate Canadian travel guides being put together by CBC Radio. Now, my travel within Canada is limited. I’ve only visited a handful of provinces. I wanted to put together a post about my seven favourite places I have visited in Canada during my various travels. Some I have visited more than others, but all seven hold a special place in my heart. These are also presented in no particular order. Stratford, Ontario IRead More →