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Over the previous year, I worked hard to expand my knowledge of black & white film developers and find myself down a deep rabbit hole. Some good, some meh. Some I didn’t care for or I found them to be too specialised for average use. And while I have several up for review later this year and you can check those out later, here are seven that have stood out in my head as worthy of using again and of getting you out of the rut of using the more vanilla developers like D-76/ID-11, HC-110/Ilfotec HC, and Rodinal. 1 – Adox FX-39 II Based onRead More →

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The historic downtown of Oakville has always been a bit of a respite for me and my photography since I started taking it seriously. It also helps that working fifteen minutes north of this space allows me an easy lunch break escape to relax in an urban environment. But my experience with downtown Oakville goes back further than working at Sheridan. Back in 2002, I attended PYPS Fall Convention at Knox Church. That event stands out in my mind for several reasons. First, I met several longtime friends at that event. The second I did my first serious photography at a PYPS event, and thirdRead More →

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There’s nothing better than a hike in the wood during the winter, especially when there is a decent snow cover, good sunlight and blue skies. The prior week saw fresh dumping of the white stuff on the ground, which resulted in several days worth of awesome photographic opportunities. And while I took out my new digital camera more than a film camera (because new gear). But Saturday provided Heather and me a chance to head out to one of our favourite parks. And I’m not talking about Niagara Falls, but rather Hilton Falls. One of the many parks around Milton that provides an escape fromRead More →

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If there is one place that I have photographed a lot in the past year it’s my hometown of Milton, heck I did a whole project on the town last year. Plus the current restrictions, Milton has become a space that I have gotten to know well. But the day I went out was also the first-ever virtual Toronto Film Shooters meetup. We were only able to meet once last year, and it looks like we’ll be doing the virtual thing for the near future. Rather than let this awesome group lapse in their gathering, we went virtual. I encouraged the group to head outRead More →

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Ah yes, the daily grind, and it does take many grinds, coffee that is. While many of you know me for my photography that is not my primary source of income (nor would I want it to be), I work in Information Technology at Sheridan College. Yes, I’m on campus daily to help support the small student body that learns on campus on a part-time basis and maintain the movement of technology to and from the whole campus community. While it can get lonely, it does give a rich photographic experience surprisingly. Sheridan traces its history back to a condemned high school in Brampton, Ontario.Read More →

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Don’t let the title confuse you, Streetsville is far from being a ghost town, unlike Balaclava that came up in the last 52-Roll project I ran. Rather the Ghosts title goes more with the featured image below and the former Barber House and the ghost stories that go along with the original house and its property. I had never considered Streetsville as a place to go specifically for photography. Sure, I had been through Streetsville before for a War of 1812 reenactment during the bicentennial and when capturing a 4×5 image of the Barber house for the Acts of Confederation project. But recently over theRead More →

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Ah yes, Guelph, I went back and looked at past 52-Roll projects and realised that Guelph had lacked in a lot of those past projects. And initially, Guelph had been bumped down into later in January. Until I actually went out to shoot the first roll in the project. An accident on the 401 and a sudden wave of exhaustion combined with leaving Milton later than I wanted, pushed Guelph into Week 1. Last year, Guelph provided a backdrop for many photography and reviews of cameras, films, lenses, and developers. I first discovered downtown Guelph’s wonders several years ago when I was housesitting for myRead More →

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I’ll have to admit, ever since I went to Europe in 2015, I’ve wanted to add some sort of folding medium format camera to my collection. Something compact, shooting at least 6×4.5 or 6×6. And for a little while earlier this year, I had my eye on a Mamiya Six (the original one, not the modern rangefinder). After reading and searching, I realised that there were too many questions about the Mamiya Six and stopped looking. And then this beauty fell into my lap, and I’m glad it did. The Ikonta 521 might not be the best folding camera out there, but it is exactlyRead More →

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Last year I joined a group of talented film photographer to produce a group project ‘zine organised by my good friend and fellow film photographer Dan Novak. The goal of the project was to shoot using a lens rated at 135mm on a 35mm camera. I ended up working with my Nikkor 135/2.8 (the review of that lens comes out in a few weeks). And while 2020 has been a bit of a gong show, Dan decided to launch a follow-up project this time using Twin Lens Reflex cameras. After the success of the first project, a tonne of people jumped on board, myself included.Read More →

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Do you know that Kodak D-76 has a cousin? Although in the grand timeline of things, I can’t place exactly when the stuff was first released. But if I had to hazard a guess it was sometime in the 1920s. It proved to be a favourite of Ansel Adams along with HC-110. Today Kodak no longer produces D-23 in favourite of the far more shelf-stable D-76, but you can still mix it up from raw chemistry if you know the formula (I’ll be sharing that later) or you can purchase pre-made kits. Personally, I enjoy working with D-23 when I need some compensating capabilities andRead More →