The western division of the British Forces in North America was in a tough spot, as was the Naval Squadron on Lake Erie. Both were starved for men, arms, and supplies. Despite several requests to their superiors, both Major-General Henry Proctor and Commodore Robert Barclay were forced to divide what little they had between them. For Proctor, the failure to dislodge or delay the army of Major-General William Henry Harrison by land left a rift between him and the Indigenous forces under the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. He had holed up at Fort Amherstburg and hung all his hopes on a naval victory on Lake Erie.Read More →

This isn’t the first time this location has appeared on the blog, I featured it back in August 2022 during my big Railway project. But that was in the context of its railway history so it is only fair that I share my personal history with this location as an urban exploration. What makes this location important is that it was one of the first locations I was able to fully trace its history from start to current using a piece of paper and the Internet. And second I successfully captured a 4×5 sheet of this building less than an hour after finding out IRead More →

I went into the city with a grand plan; in fact, I had this entire post already written and was ready to commit. But then the day came when I was going to execute the plan, and everything didn’t seem right. By the time I got to the train station and stood in the mass of people all waiting for the next train, it all didn’t feel right. I knew what I wanted to do, but there was that looming threat of rain and even thunderstorms. I did not want to get caught in a sudden downpour and have no place to shelter. I alsoRead 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 and Mastodon. To participate in our monthly chat (every Second Thursday at 1:00 pm (ish)), 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 withRead More →

They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that certainly includes the personalities of the film photographers! Join Alex as he sits down with Nick LoPresti, if you haven’t seen his work he certainly has a certain flare for humour, big jokes a bit of self-deprecation and a flare for not taking himself seriously. And you know, it’s a refreshing take on a hobby that often takes itself way too seriously. I mean, we here at CCR can often lean into the serious side of things, but we also don’t take ourselves too seriously. To find more of Nick’s Work, check him out inRead More →

If you have never heard of FX-37, don’t worry. I didn’t know about the developer either until I saw a post from Flic Film about it on their Instagram feed. It fits in with the plethora of other “FX” developers, some of which I have reviewed on the blog (FX-39 II and FX-2). FX-37 is the invention of noted British photographer Geoffrey Crawley to solve the problem of sharpness in T-Grained emulsions. As a developer, FX-37 is a non-solvent developer designed to maximise the sharpness of these modern emulsions but can also work with traditional cubic-grained films. Technical Details Manufacturer: Flic Film Name: Crawley’s FX-37Read More →

One of my favourite events to attend in the GTHA is Hamilton’s Doors Open event. This was my first experience with architectural tours and has for many years been my birthday present to myself. My original plan for this year was to hit up locations in Ancaster and Dundas. I wanted to check out some of the historic churches in those communities, but what struck me as interesting is that not a single church was listed as being part of Doors Open Hamilton this year. So I went back with what I knew, downtown Hamilton and the industrial sector. I got in four locations thisRead More →

It’s hard to believe that 2025 marks several significant anniversaries. First off, it’s the 200th anniversary of photography as a whole, CCR is celebrating 10 years on the air, and we’ve reached episode 200! So the gang digs into a few topics on this show! If you remember, back in Episode 100, we talked about the oldest cameras in our collections, so in this episode, we talk about the newest cameras in our toolkits. We will also talk about all the latest films that have emerged in the 21st century and the developers! CCR is ten years old this year, and to celebrate, we’re hostingRead More →

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 →

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 →