By:
On:
In: Camera Tales
With: 4 Comments

After I got into the Nikon autofocus system, I started looking at cameras that were better than my Nikon F80. Don’t get me wrong, the Nikon F80 was the right camera for me at the time, and it produced some fantastic images and got me on the course I’m still on today with the Nikon system. But I knew there was something better out there, and I quickly latched onto the Nikon F5 as my grail camera of that time. But at that time, the Nikon F5 still commanded high prices on the used market, and many professional photographers were still using these cameras. ButRead More →

By:
On:
In: Between Darkness & Light
With: 0 Comments

The VCXPEX events were a great way to check out locations I usually would not see. Old industries in Ontario were few and far between and often had been restored with some adaptive reuse or so run down that it was unsafe to enter. Enter the former Hooven & Allison Rope Factory or Cordage company, depending on where you looked and who you asked. This massive 19th-century rope work factory in Xenia, Ohio, was a local attraction even though it had been burned three times. Tracking a complete and chronologically accurate history of the Hooven & Allison Cordage Company proved difficult. Mainly because the peopleRead More →

By:
On:
In: Musings
With: 0 Comments

I guess you could say that this post comes out from a short I released on YouTube last month about why photo walks are important and that you should go on photo walks. When the average person hears the term ‘photo walk’ they tend to think of a group usually medium or large. And I’ll admit, large groups of strangers can be a bit iffy. But a photo walk doesn’t have to be in a group, you don’t even have to have another person with you. My good friend and fellow photographer, Michael Hurley, goes on solo photo walks all the time. In fact, he’sRead More →

By:
On:
In: 1812:Revisited
With: 0 Comments

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 →

By:
On:
In: 1812:Revisited
With: 0 Comments

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 →

By:
On:
In: 1812:Revisited
With: 0 Comments

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 →

By:
On:
In: 1812:Revisited
With: 0 Comments

From 2012 to 2016, I worked on my most extensive photography and history project, covering almost all aspects of the Anglo-American War of 1812. It remains one of my favourite projects I ever worked on and became virtually a template for a few other projects. Both ones that were finished and published and others that remain in the background as possible for future endeavours. But this year marks the 210th anniversary of the end of the War of 1812, so I have decided to revisit the conflict and present it in a new way. Instead of going deep into details, I’ll show the war throughRead More →

By:
On:
In: Between Darkness & Light
With: 1 Comment

The first thing that struck me about the Harding-Jones Paper Mill was the age of the building. Most of the buildings I had explored up to that point were mainly from the 20th century; this was presented as one from the Civil War era. Of course, now know that this is not true; while the company was founded in 1865, the mill that stood was from 1871. But still, getting the chance to explore something from the mid-19th century was a real treat. Plus, it is one that is easy to explore and, despite structural concerns, an easy mark with a lot of history tiedRead More →

By:
On:
In: Film Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

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 →

By:
On:
In: Film Review Blogs
With: 1 Comment

While I certainly used FP-3000b more than FP-100b, but still not as much as I thought I did. The best use of this film I ever got was on a road trip through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York in 2011 (!). FP-3000b is a high-speed instant film that was available in both Type-100 and 4×5 formats and certainly holds up to what a high-speed film should be, but made all the better by the fact that you got a big positive print and after careful preparation a useable negative. It is also one of the two Fuji Type-100 films missed the most by theRead More →