I remember the first time I saw the Pentax 645; it was at Belle Art Camera in Hamilton, Ontario. It was sitting there in all its medium format beauty with the 75mm f/2.8 lens. The store employee told me all about the camera, what it did, how it worked. And I was looking to up my medium format game. The price was right, so I dropped the cash and left with a camera that would come with me on future trips, projects, and even some weddings. As a camera, the Pentax 645 is a workhorse and a working man’s camera, it has everything you wantRead More →

One of the more contested figured in the Anglo-American War of 1812 was the Governor General and Military commander of British North America, General George Prevost. Prevost was groomed into the military from an early age, born the 19th of May, 1767 in the province (now state) of New Jersey to a lieutenant-colonel in the British Army, Prevost attended schools in both the American colonies and England before being commissioned an ensign in the 60th Regiment of Foot, his father’s regiment, in 1779. Prevost soon rose quickly through the ranks, mostly due to his having a grandfather who was a banker in Amsterdam as aRead More →

When I call the Rolleiflex 2.8F the oldest camera in my toolkit, that doesn’t mean it is oldest by age, rather oldest having been in my toolkit the longest of any other cameras. I got the camera in 2010 after buying it from the original owner. The original owner having purchased it in Germany in 1969 along with most major accessories, and since then it became a near-constant companion. And the camera saw a lot of action from trips to abandoned buildings, nature to weddings and other portrait sessions. The Rolleiflex 2.8F is my third and honestly final TLR in my kit having solidified myRead More →

Publisher, Parliamentarian, and Traitor, the strange case of Joseph Willcocks started in 1773, born in the Republic of Ireland, at the age of 27 the young man found his way to the town of York in Upper Canada. He soon found employment as the private clerk of the receiver general, Peter Russell, but it would not last, as Russell was not pleased with Willcocks’ advances towards his half-sister. But that did not stop Willcocks, who found another patron quickly in the form of the colony’s chief justice, Henry Allcock and with his influence was appointed to Home District Sheriff. However his views on the landRead More →

Gordon Drummond was the first Canadian Born Governor General of British North America and Commander-In-Chief of the British forces in the colonies that made up the region. Born in Quebec City on the 27th of September, 1772 but returned to England following the death of his Father in 1780. Educated at the Westminster School and joined the army as an Ensign in 1789 in the 1st of Foot (Royal Scots). He rose through the ranks quickly, achieving the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by 1794, and Major-General by 1805, having seen combat in the Netherlands, Mediterranean, and the West Indies. He married Margaret Russell in 1807. Drummond’sRead More →

The penultimate battle of the War of 1812, at least in the eyes of the Americans, and the final big battle in the entire war. By the middle of November 1814, the war in Upper Canada had all but finished for the campaign season, in Ghent the negotiations for peace continued, and if they went well, the war would not return. But for the United States, the war was far from over and far closer to home. Everything that the government feared would happen with Napoleon’s abdication happened. In June of 1814, a force under General John Sherbrooke captured 100 miles of coastline in whatRead More →

Henry Procter is one of several British commanders that served in Upper Canada during the War of 1812, while his initial days of the war were marked with success, his record has been forever tarnished by his actions later in the war. He is one of two controversial commanders of the Crown Forces during the war, that came from humble beginnings. The son of an army surgeon, Procter was born at Kilkenny, Ireland in the year 1763. His career in the army began in 1781 as an ensign in the 43rd Regiment of Foot. By the end of the American Revolutionary War he was aRead More →

One of the many unsung British heroes of the War of 1812, Miller Worsley the son of a clergyman was born on the 8th of July, 1791. He volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1803. The navy unlike the army at the time often promoted through merit rather than money and by 1805 he was a midshipman. While serving aboard H.M. Ship Swiftsure (74) participated in the Battle of Trafalgar. While he passed with Lieutenant’s Exam in 1810 his promotion was delayed due to a large number of officers in the Royal Navy at the time. By 1812 he was serving at the Bermuda StationRead More →

There are many who served in the War of 1812 that made a name for themselves, some positive and on which history smiled upon, and those whom history was not as kind to. American lawyer, politician, and hero of the American Revolution William Hull is one such men. Born in 1753 in Derby Connecticut, Hull’s goal was to become a lawyer, studying law and graduating from Harvard in 1772 and then passed the bar in 1775. The start of the American Revolutionary war brought him to join the patriot militia, quickly rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by 1785. His prowess in battle was notedRead More →

Street photography is not something for every photographer. Getting out there and taking pictures of random strangers in the street. Sure you get some people who turn away, or make a face, or even confront you about it. But for the most part, people are generally unaware. Back in August I went out and wandered up then down Queen Street in Toronto along with some fellow film photographers to capture a little slice of life on a typical Saturday afternoon in the city. Probably one of my favourite combos for shooting in the Street is my Nikon F4 and 105mm f/2 lens sure not aRead More →