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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 →

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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 →

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While many regiments served with distinction during the Anglo-American War of 1812 on both sides of the fighting, I would not be able to share with you the tales of every single one. As many have histories that stretch well before and after the war and some even, have units that carry on these traditions still today. There is, however, one unit that stands out in the history of the war and of Canada. The 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot served their king and country both in combat and how they arrived at the main theater of the war. The Fredericton Barracks while notRead More →

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Fur Trader, Loyalist, Indian Agent, and Officer. William McKay was born in the Mohawk Valley of New York State in 1772. The son of former Non-Commissioned Officer Donald McKay. His father had seen service during the French-Indian War and fought during the assault on Quebec City. Remaining loyal to the crown the family moved to Upper Canada’s St. Lawerence Valley during the American Revolution settling in what would become Glengarry County in Ontario. William and his older brother, Alexander, joined the North West Company in 1790. McKay would begin to trade throughout the northwest of British North America spending much of his time in theRead More →

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One of the unsung heroes of the Anglo-American War of 1812, the burly red-haired Robert Dickson was born to a merchant father in Dumfries Scotland in 1765. After his father’s business had failed, Robert along with his two brothers travelled to Upper Canada to work for their uncle, Robert Hamilton. Hamilton was a wealthy gentleman in Upper Canada, and while the two brothers found success with Hamilton’s business the dull clerical work did not appeal to the adventurous Robert. Robert would find his element in the Northwest upon his posting to Mackinac Island. He expanded his trade network among the northern tribes in both UpperRead More →

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Robert McDouall was born to a merchant father in March of 1774 in the town of Stranraer, Scotland. Educated at the Felsted School both his father and uncle hoped he would follow in the family trade as a merchant, placing young Robert at a business in London. Robert, however, was drawn to the military life much to his father’s dismay and with his reluctant approval purchased a commission as an ensign in the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot only to three days later purchase a lieutenant commission in the 8th (King’s) Regiment of foot in 1797. He served during the 1801 Egyptian Campaign against theRead More →

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There is a certain class to folders; they have a sleek look that harkens back to the early days of photography. These cameras offer a slim, compact option to bring medium format when space is at a premium. I would have loved to have brought a folder to Europe in 2015 to have a medium format option. Especially in places like the Waterloo battlefield, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Bruges, but I could not find the right one. The full name of this camera, the Zeiss Ikon Super-Ikonta C 531/2, would have been the perfect camera with a big 6×9 negative, rangefinder focus, and slim size. ForRead More →

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Nikon has an uncanny ability to build amazing cameras, not always but sometimes they get one just right, but then it just slides through the cracks. The Nikon F90 (N90 for you American readers) is one such camera, one from a proud line of SLRs that stretch back to the 1960s with the original Nikkormat. While often overlooked against such professional bodies like the Nikon F4 and Nikon F5 which the production of the F90 overlaps. The F90 can be had for a song these days and yet performs well both on its own and when paired with one of those bodies. And while IRead More →

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When it comes to game-changing Nikon SLRs, the FA certainly is one of them, and one of a long line of game-changing cameras out of the company. For the FA the change came in the metering system. This was the first camera that featured full matrix metering out of AI and AI-S lenses and full program shooting. The camera accomplishes this by having a small built-in computer storage system that has a selection of scenes and compares the scene in front of the camera and picks the exposure based on one of the scenes in the memory. A smart trick, while not perfect, was theRead More →

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Back to the boxes! There is something oddly satifying about shooting with box cameras. Take away all the fancy settings, lens choices, aperture, shutter speed and you’re left with, at least in Nikon’s words, Pure Photography. Point, Guess, Shoot, Enjoy. And that’s exactly what you get with the Agfa Box 50. One of many cameras in the “Box” line. This particular camera was one that belonged to my Opa Oosthoek, that is my mom’s father and has been passed down through my family. In fact we have several photos at home that were taken on this camera. Special thanks to my mom for loaning meRead More →