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In: 1812:Revisited
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The early parts of 1814 had proven to be a quiet point in the war. While there was some action, it was almost a pause in the war, and both sides regrouped from a fiery 1813. While the British took the time to regroup, lick their wounds and prepare for renewed conflict and the promised reinforcements from Europe, the Americans took a different approach. Secretary of War John Armstrong would mostly be free of some of the older Generals, those who had achieved their rank through appointment rather than merit. As those officers had failed on the front lines, Armstrong either reassigned them to lessRead More →

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In: Musings
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One of the most rewarding and frustrating parts of working with traditional film mediums is developing the film yourself. This often allows for faster turnaround and greater control. However, when things go sideways, you can only blame yourself. I started developing black & white film myself over ten years ago now for two reasons. First, I was inspired after attending my first Photostock event, where I saw all the fantastic work people were doing and had the opportunity to chat with my good friend Matt Marrash. Second, my local lab had reduced its processing to a single day of C-41. The owner (Joan) took meRead More →

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In: Film Review Blogs
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The folks at the Film Photography Project have once again reached into their bag of tricks and brought out the latest addition to their line of monster films, in this case Jiangshi 400. The name Jiangshi honours the jumping vampire (and ghosts) of Chinese legend. The film itself comes from China and is relatively new to the North American market. While rated at ASA-400, most signs point to the fact the film responds better when over-exposed by a stop at ASA-200 and pulled in development, so I’ll be shooting all four roll at that ASA-200 mark. Although like many films out of China the emulsionRead More →

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In: Classic Camera Revival
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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 →

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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 →

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In: Camera Review Blogs
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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 →

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In: Between Darkness & Light
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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 →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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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 →

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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 →

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In: Optical Review Blogs
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At the end of my 24mm f/2.8 review I asked: Do I now need to find and invest in the 20mm? Well if you’re reading this review, the answer was yes. I enjoy working with wide-angle lenses, and while I do have the lovely 17-35/2.8-4 D ultra-wide zoom, there’s something special about an ultra-wide prime lens. I started looking at getting this particular lens after I finished my 24/2.8 review for the A-Mount. The desire to add one to my A-Mount kit only increased after picking up the 14mm f/2.8D for my Nikon kit. I was always concerned about the cost of these lenses; usually,Read More →