We start this week with high school English. I don’t know about you, but English seemed to love the topic of Shakespeare. Don’t get me wrong. Shakespeare is brilliant but way over analysed by the average high school student, but what does that have to do with photography? One of my first favourite historical downtowns in Ontario. That reason is Stratford, Ontario. I remember one of my first visits to the city in 2009, and it quickly became a spot where I would test out a new camera and clearly shows what a late 19th-Century City in Ontario once looked like. While the Canada CompanyRead More →

One of the area’s biggest geological features in the Niagara Escarpment, covered in ancient Carolinian forests, is instantly recognisable and helps new arrivals navigate the area always looming over Milton. Hidden deep in this forest is a lake that holds many secrets, distant voices from the past that allows us to see into the times before my ancestors arrived on this content. This week I went for another hike in my second favourite Halton park, Crawford Lake. The Niagara Escarpment was formed at the end of the last ice age, a massive limestone cliff that runs from the Niagara Penisula to the Bruce Penisula. AlongRead More →

Tired of Halton Region? Yes? So am I! So finally, for the first time since the first week, we can spread our wings and head out to one of my favourite historic downtowns, that of Galt, Ontario! Galt is not a new place for me; I have been there many times before, but I only recently discovered the fantastic photographic opportunities that it offers. Never heard of Galt? Don’t worry, it’s known today as Cambridge, Ontario, but was known for Galt a lot longer when it was an independent city. My first photographic taste of Cambridge was on a warm summer night in 2007, checkingRead More →

I should have known that the park would be closed as I pulled into the small out of the way intersection on Dundas Street. I didn’t have much time actually to get out and take pictures, and it was a ten-minute drive to and at least another ten-minute drive back. That left me a half hour to actually do some shooting. That left me five minutes down and five minutes back, and I would need that time. The yellow gates closed, and the pile of snow surrounding it said that I would need to hike into Sixteen Hollow. There’s something mysterious about a ghost town,Read More →

After several weeks of bouncing between two different locations, a little change in scenery is always welcome. Burlington offered something both familiar and different from bouncing between Milton and Oakville with a stay-at-home order forced a reduction in mobility. This week took place during the second virtual Toronto Film Shooters Meetup event, and having shot last month’s event in Milton, I needed someplace else. My original plan was to go to Acton, but having skipped Burlington back in Week 7, I decided to use Burlington instead. The secondary reason is a supply run to Burlington Camera. Also, with moving into the third month, I’m switchingRead More →

Fomapan 200 is a film stock that like TMax 400 and Delta 400 I’ve struggled with. I find it far too grainy for 200-speed film stock, often rather soft on the edges and can be rather fickle about lighting conditions. But it’s not a bad film; I think it needs to be handled with little extra care. Fomapan 200, was the first of the Fomapan films that I tried, and while initially disappointed in it, I quickly learned to like the film, for certain applications. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Polyester Film Speed: ASA-200, Latitude: 64-800 Formats Avaliable: 35mm, 120, Sheets Roll 01Read More →

I don’t mean to knock a camera right off the bat, but honestly, Pentax could have done far better than the Pentax MG. Built as part of the compact M series of Pentax SLRs following the release of the Olympus OM-1. Designed as an entry level camera and it shows, bare-bones, simple, and so small it hurts. But you have to take the good with the bad in these reviews, and it’s been a while since I found a camera that I immediately disliked the moment I picked it up. Thanks to James Lee for loaning out the MG for review. Disclaimer: This is anRead More →

The history of the Royal Navy is filled with legendary figures both real and imagined. Names like Nelson and Hornblower, Pellew and Aubrey. But there is one name that stands out in the annals of the War of 1812, and that is Philip Broke, or as he became known as Broke of the Shannon. While Broke was one of many captains that served in the blockade of the American coast, his actions turned the luck of the Royal Navy and boosted the flagging morale of the service. Born on 9 September 1776 at Broke Hall in Nacton, England. As the eldest of eleven children, heRead More →

When it comes to photographing sites connected with the naval actions of the war, it can be complicated. Most of the actions take place out on open water, and many don’t have much to photograph especially in the way of ships as many are long gone. Only one ship from the era exists in its original form while another is a rebuild of the historic ship. But if you know where to look there is plenty of things to photograph when it comes to the capture of the Chesapeake. By the summer of 1813, the spirits of the Royal Navy on the North American stationRead More →