I love visiting museums, especially living history museums. While I would have loved to include more in this year’s project cycle, I’m glad to have a chance to visit one of my long time favourites. I first visited the Halton Radial Railway Museum when I was in Kindergarten and was taken in by the collection. The Museum is home to the largest operating fleet of light-rail vehicles that operated on the inter-urban lines and mass transit services that once dominated Ontario and beyond. From a vast collection of TTC vehicles and predecessor operators to smaller services the museum this year is celebrating seventy years inRead More →

Last year, when Foma announced the release of a new film, I’ll admit, I was immediately interested. What drew me into the film is that it was an orthochromatic film and not sensitive to the red end of the visual spectrum. I’ve worked with these films, notably Ilford Ortho+ and Rollei Ortho 25 plus. The trouble with these is that they are slower films, rated at ASA-80 (or ASA-40) and ASA-25, respectively. I’m not one to shy away from slower films, but it can get rather dull and grey here in Ontario during specific points in the year. So, having an Ortho option rated atRead More →

I have far surpassed one hundred and fifty camera reviews and one hundred film reviews, my other two reviews being lenses and developers have only made it to the big fifty this year. If you read my previous post on lens reviews these are my least favourite. And while I rather enjoy creating film and camera reviews the most, developer reviews come in as the third favourite. The reason being is that I have the most amount of freedom connected to their creation. And while I’m working on a full post on how I write developer reviews, this post is about looking back at theRead More →

With September being back-to-school for many, the usual crowd sits down for a roundtable to talk about the lessons they have learned with photography! From handling good business practices, including getting contracts, pricing, and double-checking gear. There are also discussions about chemistry foul-ups, knowing when to give up and realising that some things a deal is too good to be true. Looking for a good spot to get your gear and material fix check out Burlington Camera (Burlington, ON), Downtown Camera (Toronto, ON), Film Plus (Toronto, ON), Belle Arte Camera (Hamilton, ON), Pond’s FotoSource (Guleph, ON), Foto Art Camera (Owen Sound, ON). In Quebec, PhotoRead More →

You may have a couple of questions when looking at this review. First, haven’t I already reviewed Kodak Tri-X? To answer that, yes, it was one of the earliest films I reviewed, but this isn’t 400TX. This is Tri-X Pan or 320TXP/TXP, a more classic version of the modern classic emulsion. The second is, how can it be a classic review if the emulsion is still being made? Again, the sheet format of 320TXP is still in production, but the roll film was discontinued in 2010. But I quickly learned that I shot this film a lot more in sheet format than roll film format,Read More →

If you had to pick the epicentre of abandoned buildings in the American Rust Belt, many cities can claim that title. The 1970s were not kind to North American industry, and cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and many more still feel the sting of that troubled decade. Then there is Gary, Indiana; you can throw a rock in many parts of Gary and break the window of an abandoned building. And despite the stories I had heard about the city being a murder capital with rampant crime and watching not only your car but your wallet. I never once felt uncomfortable in Gary, unlike Detroit,Read 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. To participate in our monthly chat (every Second Thursday at 1:00 pm (ish)), search the #photochat hashtag on Twitter, Mastodon, and BlueSky Social to see the conversation, or find me at @AlexLuyckxPhoto on Twitter, Mastodon & BlueSky. Include the hashtag in your tweets to answer the questions and talk with the other participants. I will be activelyRead More →

Joining James & Bill on today’s show is noted long-time photographer and camera seller Paul RyBolt. Paul is one of several hosts on the Camerosity Podcast and is a wealth of knowledge from the camera retail world, collecting and using all sorts of cameras and film stocks. The conversation covers everything from the vast collections, including Kurt Ingham’s that Paul has helped sort through to shooting slide film, 6×9, Cibachrome, Corn Sweat, Stereo gear, Ansel Adams as a piano player, and single-malt scotch. Listen to Camerosity (and even join in): mikeeckman.com/category/camerosity-podcast Check Out Paul’s eBay Store: ebay.com/str/paulkris Instagram: instagram.com/ryboltcox Looking for a good spot toRead More →

In all fairness, McMaster University is an excellent institution but the title came to me as a bit of joke and play on the phrase, Jack of All Trades, Master of None. I honestly had other plans for August’s roll in the Frugal Film Project but due to various scheduling difficulties I found myself in the middle of the month without having shot the roll. Now I usually get the roll done as early as I can so that I have time to develop, scan and write. But life happens, plans change, and I ended up needing to get the roll done. So rather thanRead More →

The third in the Elan series of semi-professional cameras released by Canon and the direct successors to the original EOS 650, but why not call it the Elan III? Well, that’s because Canon makes weird choices with their camera names. In the case of the Elan 7, the number seven has nothing to do with the number of models but rather the seven focus points in the new AF module installed in the camera. Unlike my previous Elan camera, the IIe, the Elan 7 I’ll feature in the review is the model without eye control. But the difference between the IIe and the 7 isRead More →