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I don’t remember what drew me to purchase the Horizon Kompakt; I had worked with the panoramic format before, but in the digital sphere, I stitched images together by shooting multiple frames to capture a unique take on an environment. But in 2011, I walked along Queen Street to a Toronto UER meetup, stopped in the Lomography Store (sadly closed), and picked up the Horizon Kompakt. In hindsight, I spent the extra money on the Perfekt. I immediately loaded up a roll of film (with the help of the store staff), went out, and shot through the roll. Well, I was hooked and hit theRead More →

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The Nikon F5, at first glance you might mistake it for a digital SLR. I certainly have been asked ‘what sensor is in that camera’ and depending on my mood and my general view of the person asking I might reply with something a little more sarcastic, other times a simple response is “oh a 36x24mm or full-frame as it’s called in digital photography.” The F5 was my second grail camera after switching over to a Nikon system from Minolta, in fact, I picked up the battery grip for the F80 to make it look like an F5 because at the time the F5 wasRead More →

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When it comes to SLRs, I spent a lot of time looking for inexpensive cameras in systems that I had never touched before. I had a vague idea of Konica cameras and their SLRs. On a trip to Burlington Camera, I happened across the Autoreflex T4, and Joan told me how these were underrated but that the optics were where the camera shone. Other than that, the camera isn’t much of anything. Basic, simple, and took amazingly sharp images. Camera Specifications Make: Konica Model: Autoreflex T4 Type: Single Lens Reflex Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm Lens: Interchangeable, Konica Bayonet Mount II (AR Mount) Shutter: Copal SquareRead More →

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If there is an icon of Nikon’s durability and commitment to quality the Nikon FM2 is that camera. With one of the most extended production periods of any Nikon camera (1982-2001), the FM2 is a no-nonsense, mechanical camera that can take any punishment you throw at it. I picked up the FM2n originally as a gift to a friend, but quickly fell in love with the camera and promptly purchased an older FM for the friend and kept the FM2n for my own. The FM2n became a constant companion. The Dirt Make: Nikon Model: FM2n Type: 35mm, Single Lens Reflex Lens: Interchangeable, Nikon F-Mount Shutter:Read More →

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Sadly, my usual trip over the August Long Weekend to Cleveland this year did not happen because the gentleman running the event has felt a bit discouraged over the lack of interest in it. (I really should make a point to go out and shoot the area this fall). So instead, I headed down to a different area of Ohio, Hocking Hills State Park. I had been seeing a tonne of really great photographs from the park from a good friend and fantastic photographer Mat Marrash of late so I decided to take him up on the offer to show me around the park andRead More →

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Wars are won often through sheer force of arms, then a treaty is signed or just a cease fire put in place controlled by the side who holds the upper hand. And while the real war continued to rage across the Atlantic Ocean, both sides began to open up a new campaign, one to end the war in the ancient Flemish town of Ghent in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (today part of Belgium). The Americans sent John Qunicy Adams, Henry Clay, James A. Bayard, and Jonathan Russell. The British party was much smaller, Vice-Admiral James the Lord Gambier, Admiral of the Red, Under SecretaryRead More →

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When it comes to 35mm SLRs I’m solidly in the Nikon camp. Yet, Canon had something that could be considered an equal, if not a stronger camera for the 1970s than the Nikon offering of the time. That being the Canon F-1, Canon’s answer to the Nikon F2. Sadly the F-1 only lived a short time in my collection before going to a good friend who had a larger selection of Canon lenses. I know it went to a good home. But as a camera, the F-1 is an amazing performer and if I had more lenses it would have been a strong addition toRead More →

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When my Nikon F80 started to flake out, I needed a replacement, but in those days the Nikon F5 (my grail camera) remained financially out of reach, so I went with the one step down from the F5, the F4. The camera quickly gained my trust as the go-to 35mm camera when I headed out into the field and lasted in my collection for several years before I switched to the Nikon F5 and even then there was overlap. Despite the flaws of the early autofocus, the LCD bleed, and limitations with manual focus and AF-G lenses, the F4 became a constant companion. I knewRead More →

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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 →

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I sadly was unable to participate in the week long celebration of Instant Photography last year because I was in the Chicagoland region, but this year I went full force and worked on reducing my stock of expired Polaroid and Impossible material! I got the shooting started early over the weekend before ‘roid week so I’d have two days worth of material already stocked up. Day One – Jaite Depot Anniversary Speed Graphic – Fuji Fujinon-W 1:56/125 – Polaroid Type 79 Located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, the Jaite train depot one served the company town, the town’s surviving building now serveRead More →