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Back in May the fine folks at Harman Technologies, the parent company of Ilford Photo and Harman Photo announced their newest film stock, Kentmere 200. The Kentmere line of film is designed to be a more budget friendly film stock, lower silver content than the main line of film stocks. Now I did not like this film when I first ran them through reviews, I did like Kentmere 100 more than Kentmere 400. But now I like both, so I was notably excited when Kentmere 200 was released. This puts the Kentmere line in the same range of the other budget friendly films, Fomapan. NowRead More →

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I miss Efke films; these were a blast from the past, a film stock that survived sixty years through three manufacturers. While the production line shut down in 2012, I had several years of using these classic films under the Adox and Efke brands. And even after the discontinuation, I secured a brick of the film through eBay, which I enjoyed for another couple of years. Back in July, I got a single roll of film from James Lee after the CCR 10th Anniversary event. So I decided to save it for a special day, so I took it out on World Photography Day, 19Read More →

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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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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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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 →

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The western division of the British Forces in North America was in a tough spot, as was the Naval Squadron on Lake Erie. Both were starved for men, arms, and supplies. Despite several requests to their superiors, both Major-General Henry Proctor and Commodore Robert Barclay were forced to divide what little they had between them. For Proctor, the failure to dislodge or delay the army of Major-General William Henry Harrison by land left a rift between him and the Indigenous forces under the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. He had holed up at Fort Amherstburg and hung all his hopes on a naval victory on Lake Erie.Read More →

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If you have never heard of FX-37, don’t worry. I didn’t know about the developer either until I saw a post from Flic Film about it on their Instagram feed. It fits in with the plethora of other “FX” developers, some of which I have reviewed on the blog (FX-39 II and FX-2). FX-37 is the invention of noted British photographer Geoffrey Crawley to solve the problem of sharpness in T-Grained emulsions. As a developer, FX-37 is a non-solvent developer designed to maximise the sharpness of these modern emulsions but can also work with traditional cubic-grained films. Technical Details Manufacturer: Flic Film Name: Crawley’s FX-37Read More →

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One of my favourite events to attend in the GTHA is Hamilton’s Doors Open event. This was my first experience with architectural tours and has for many years been my birthday present to myself. My original plan for this year was to hit up locations in Ancaster and Dundas. I wanted to check out some of the historic churches in those communities, but what struck me as interesting is that not a single church was listed as being part of Doors Open Hamilton this year. So I went back with what I knew, downtown Hamilton and the industrial sector. I got in four locations thisRead More →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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The loss of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock had been keenly felt through the first part of 1813; while Major-General Henry Proctor had defended the British line in the west, the losses at York and Niagara had dealt a major blow to the British morale. It also did not help that almost every major ship-to-ship engagement had resulted in an American victory. And now with York still rebuilding and nearly the entire Niagara peninsula under American control and Chauncy back in Sacketts Harbor protecting Lake Ontario, the British needed victory to ensure that the whole of Upper Canada be preserved. Major-General Roger Hale Sheaffe was reassignedRead More →

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The Minolta Zoom 24-105mm is Minolta’s late-model elevated kit lens, released initially with the Maxxum 7. It was designed to be better than the lower spec kit lens, the 28-100mm. And you know, when you put the two lenses next to each other, the 24-105 is a far better lens and doesn’t carry a hefty price tag. In all fairness, I was not happy with the results I got from the 28-100, and my copy broke and had to be fixed with a doner lens. However, the 24-105 is only slightly better as a lens because despite being an elevated kit lens, it is stillRead More →