By:
On:
In: Between Darkness & Light
With: 0 Comments

The Bernarr MacFadden Physical Culture Hotel has gone by many names over its long history and the building that still stands in Dansville today is not even the original. Better known to the local exploration community as the Castle on the Hill, this certainly was an interesting spot to explore from the beautiful views to the strange books found scattered throughout the property. As a Canadian I still managed to get here three times, once in fancy dress, and always enjoyed the quiet easy nature of the trip despite being a local sore spot. Despite the name, the Castle on the Hill in Dansville hadRead More →

By:
On:
In: 1812:Revisited
With: 0 Comments

The loss of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock had been keenly felt through the first part of 1813; while Major-General Henry Proctor had defended the British line in the west, the losses at York and Niagara had dealt a major blow to the British morale. It also did not help that almost every major ship-to-ship engagement had resulted in an American victory. And now with York still rebuilding and nearly the entire Niagara peninsula under American control and Chauncy back in Sacketts Harbor protecting Lake Ontario, the British needed victory to ensure that the whole of Upper Canada be preserved. Major-General Roger Hale Sheaffe was reassignedRead More →

By:
On:
In: #photochat
With: 0 Comments

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. To participate in our monthly chat (every Second Thursday at 1:00 pm (ish)), search the #photochat hashtag on BlueSky Social 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 other participants. IfRead More →

By:
On:
In: Classic Camera Revival
With: 2 Comments

In today’s hot seat is Ebi Agbeyegbe, a local GTA photographer. Ebi, originally from Nigeria, came to Canada to study chemistry but eventually went into photography and then Sociology. But it was photography that got him going, first with real estate and then into film production. He loves medium format, 35mm, and even a bit of large format work. Most importantly, he loves expired film. You can find Ebi’s work Online Website: www.filmstockreel.com Substack: filmstockreel.substack.com Instagram: instagram.com/visualsbyebi YouTube: youtube.com/@filmstockreel CCR is ten years old this year, and to celebrate, we’re hosting a Photowalk in Brewery Tour on 12 July starting at 11 am from theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Optical Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

The Minolta Zoom 24-105mm is Minolta’s late-model elevated kit lens, released initially with the Maxxum 7. It was designed to be better than the lower spec kit lens, the 28-100mm. And you know, when you put the two lenses next to each other, the 24-105 is a far better lens and doesn’t carry a hefty price tag. In all fairness, I was not happy with the results I got from the 28-100, and my copy broke and had to be fixed with a doner lens. However, the 24-105 is only slightly better as a lens because despite being an elevated kit lens, it is stillRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 3 Comments

When I hear the name Miranda I think of two things first and foremost, number one is Star Trek and the venerable Miranda Class that first appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and has remained a staple of the Federation Starfleet (I prefer the roll bar version) the second is Shakespeare which is where the class name takes its inspiration from. But when it comes to cameras, the Miranda brand is one that doesn’t get much respect, despite being an innovative company that sadly lacked the level of quality assurance that the bigger names could provide. I first learned about Miranda camerasRead More →

By:
On:
In: Musings
With: 0 Comments

So far in this ongoing series, I have only focused on my written content, mainly because there continues to be an influx of AI-generated blog posts. But this isn’t the only area where AI is starting to get in the way of real creative content. AI videos are a thing with avatars that can act and look like real-life people. Also, the number of ‘faceless’ videos with obviously generated images and voices is large. I’m happy that my channel is AI-generated content-free and always will be! Let’s dig into the process of how I go about creating a YouTube video. In the case of thisRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

Easter was late this year, but that’s how it all works; we’re tied to a lunar calendar that is constantly changing and shifting. It has been many years since I went chasing a sunrise, and because Easter was late this year, it was an early start to my morning while Heather and the little guy slept. It was out to Rattlesnake Point to attend an early morning service with Southside Community Church, Redhill Church and one other that I can’t remember. I took my D750 and carried along my 24mm, 28mm, 50mm, and 105mm lenses. I also took the chance to use manual exposure, especiallyRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

I’ll be the first to admit that when I first started taking my photography seriously, I looked down on people who used their mobile devices to take pictures. I’m also a bigger person and have grown much as a photographer. The cameras available on mobile devices are far better now than in the early 2000s, and I have come to appreciate the power they bring. While I have written on this subject in the past, this entry will be different. Rather than focus on mobile photography, I’ll look at some of the apps I have collected and why I like using them outside the stockRead More →

By:
On:
In: Classic Camera Revival
With: 0 Comments

Various names, including Modern Grain, Delta Grain, or T-Grain, are known for these films. These are the newest style of black and white film emulsions that offer fine grain, added sharpness, and a distinctly different structure than traditional cubic-grained film. In this episode, the team sits down to discuss films from Ilford Delta, Kodak TMax, Fomapan 200, and the Fujifilm Neopan line, as well as the various and assorted developers designed to maximise the potential of these modern films. But we also dig into developers like Kodak TMax Developer, Ilford DD-X, and Crawley’s FX-37! There is also a Canadian Federal Election taking place on theRead More →