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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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It’s hard to believe that I went on a massive trip to Europe ten years ago for three weeks. The trip’s primary purpose was to attend and participate in the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo with a large group of Canadian Reenactors and other reenactors from around the globe to mark a major anniversary of this world-changing battle. The trip also proved to be an adventure and offered many photographic chances. I also made a point to write a journal of my travels. As I was building this post, I ran a search and found out that I had written about it beforeRead More →

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There are small cameras; then there are small ones; the Pentax MX is one of the latter. Released as Asahi’s response to the Olympus OM-1, the Pentax MX took things to the next level with the size. The M-Series of Pentax SLRs are strangers to me; I’ve used the ME, ME Super and even an MG, but never an MX. Save for a brief encounter with an MX in Bill Smith’s collection for a CCR Episode (Ep. 36 – Last But Not Least) So when I started to look for one a few years back I found that they were rare on the used marketRead More →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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Through the balance of 1813, neither the Americans nor the British made any significant gains to achieve victory. The biggest issue was with the overly cautious commanders on both sides; Major-General William Henry Harrison failed to exploit the rapid retreat by the British Army after their defeat at the Battle of the Thames. He chose to establish a loose beachhead along the Detroit River. Similarly, the Americans had only briefly pushed their advantage in the Niagara region but ended up only able to maintain a small occupation force in the region bolstered by over-enthusiastic traitors. On the British side, Major-General Francis de Rottenburg had nearlyRead 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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I went into the city with a grand plan; in fact, I had this entire post already written and was ready to commit. But then the day came when I was going to execute the plan, and everything didn’t seem right. By the time I got to the train station and stood in the mass of people all waiting for the next train, it all didn’t feel right. I knew what I wanted to do, but there was that looming threat of rain and even thunderstorms. I did not want to get caught in a sudden downpour and have no place to shelter. I alsoRead 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 →

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When I hear the name Miranda I think of two things first and foremost, number one is Star Trek and the venerable Miranda Class that first appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and has remained a staple of the Federation Starfleet (I prefer the roll bar version) the second is Shakespeare which is where the class name takes its inspiration from. But when it comes to cameras, the Miranda brand is one that doesn’t get much respect, despite being an innovative company that sadly lacked the level of quality assurance that the bigger names could provide. I first learned about Miranda camerasRead More →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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The first six months of the war had not gone as planned for the United States. Rather than a swift capture of Amherstburg, Niagara, and Kingston, the swift actions of the late Major-General Sir Isaac Brock resulted in the capture of Mackinac Island, Fort Detroit and Michigan Territory down to the River Raisin, and a repulse of the invasion across the Niagara River which cost him his life at the Battle of Queenston Heights. The death of General Brock was a significant blow, as his replacement, Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, proved to be a far less effective administrator and military leader. It got bad enoughRead More →

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Lieutenant-General George Prevost, Governor-General of British North America, was displeased with his subordinate, Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. General Brock had disobeyed his orders, and instead of sticking to defence, he had gone on an offence and captured both Mackinac Island and Detroit from the Americans. President James Madison was unhappy with the results of the first months of the war, especially the surrender with little to no fight by the defenders. But what got Prevost was that Brock had received high praise for his actions and a knighthood. And with news that the Orders-In-Council were being repealed and the main complaint and the source ofRead More →