a preview of a movie on the history of photography – courtesy of Strand Releasing Toronto. At 90, my good friend George Dunbar still manages to scour the web for interesting photographic items. Recently George discovered a preview of the Swedish/Danish film  called “fantastic machine” on the Strand Releasing site. George writes, ‘”Fantastic Machine” from the invention of photography to 45 billion cameras worldwide. Looks like this film could be quite interesting.’ Have a peek and see why George was delighted to see the preview. Our thanks to George for the image and link. And speak ..read more

A rare wet plate camera by W W Rouch of London, UK. Toronto. In June of 1998 this rare wet plate camera (sans lens) resided with member Bill Kantymir. Bill Belier in his “treasure” column traces it from its manufacture in England to an Ontario collection with stops a long the way both in Europe, and North America. To a collector unaware of the process, a wet plate camera is just another 1800s artifact. But to the knowledgeable collector it is indeed rare. By the very nature of the process, using a wet plate camera commercially led to its demolished state. Plates were coated with the sticky e ..read more

Mar 2017 Auction – all efforts shown, except printing the journal, are performed by PHSC volunteers Toronto. When I reviewed issue 30-3 of our journal I was reminded that we lost the first of our founders that summer/fall of 2004 (Larry Boccioletti). Bob Lansdale posted a notice on page three asking potential volunteers to contact the late Bob Wilson. Well, two decades later, we still need volunteers and if you can help, email me at info@phsc.ca and I will pass you on to Clint.  We are always in need and can pop you into any appropriate task/position. For example, I joined the society i ..read more

A Medalist II as featured in our Journal Toronto. At some point when the late Bill Belier became editor of Photographic Canadian, he started this column. In issue 30-3 dated November/December 2004, under editor the late Bob Lansdale, Bill has written, “A Short Survey of Some Earlier Medium Format Cameras“. Included in Bill’s survey is the late Stan White’s  Kodak Medalist II. Stan wrote about the Medalist II, “The Medalist (6×9) is a beautifully constructed camera but somewhat over-designed. In consequence, many have not survived in perfect working condition. But the lens is exceptional ..read more

An amazingly excellent photograph more than a century old Toronto.  Image collectors browsing the fairs and shows noticed many mid to late 1800s carded photos were faded and had poor contrast while the odd one was bright and crisp, seemingly printed just recently, belying its century plus age. Our late journal editor, Bob Lansdale, began collecting these fine prints and researching the process as noted here in Photographic Canadiana 30-3 (November/December 2004) under the title, “The Stigma of Instability – The Carbon Process and Commercial Photography in Britain, 1864 to 1880” written ..read more

May 5 2024 poster Toronto.  Get ready for our Spring 2024 Auction on Sunday, May 5, 2024 in Long Branch (south west Toronto) at the usual venue BUT at the slightly later time (see poster) – free parking [OVERFLOW AT GO TRAIN LOT JUST WEST of HALL] and free admission. Our Spring 2024 Auction features goodies for both film and digital folk – photographs, cameras, lenses, accessories, books, and more. Come out and enjoy this event. Click on the AUCTION tab here or in the menu bar above for directions. Everybody is welcome. There are many  really good items, some rare these days. Just ..read more

an eclipse viewer in Florida (temporarily modified plate camera) Toronto.  We were fortunate this time that the eclipse was almost a total eclipse of the sun. On the 9th, I showed the inventive side of our journal co-editor. Here we see an equally inventive writer, David Kenny down in Florida where the eclipse path covered about half the sun. David writes (speaking of his viewer compared to our co-editor’s), “Well… my setup was much, much simpler. I took the now restored 1897 Vive, stuck a pinhole on the front and a piece of cardboard where the plates go and voila, a 3mm image of the 50 ..read more

A glimpse of the total eclipse taken by Montreal urban astrophotographer AJ Korkidakis in Montreal on April 8, 2024. (AJ Korkidakis) courtesy of CTV News Toronto. Well, Monday the 8th was truly a night to remember. PHSC president, Clint Hryhorijiw, sent along  this link to a segment of CTV news titled,”Want to relive the eclipse? Check out this Montreal photographer’s stunning photos“. In the news clip, we see a Montreal photographer’s shots of the eclipse.  Click on the link and see and read about how Mr Korkidakis took the eclipse shots ..read more

PHSC President Clint Hryhorijiw Toronto. April and hot weather is forecast. Did you all see the eclipse of the sun on the 8th? Eerie … Here is a brief recap (and update). As our fiscal year end remains April 30th, our treasurer asks that all cheques outstanding be cashed by month end and any outstanding expenses submitted ASAP. PHSC newsletter editor Katrin Faridani issued the March newsletter and plans to send newsletters off every 5-6 weeks if possible. She has a number of suggestions for content. If you didn’t get your copy, drop me an email at news@phsc.ca and I will add you to the Mail ..read more

safely viewing the eclipse April 8, 2024 Toronto. Well yesterday was a rare day in Toronto! We saw the total eclipse of the sun! Shades of Carly Simon and Nova Scotia decades ago. Last fall I posted the 1912 eclipse in Lisbon. Keep in mind these are literally once in a life time events. While eclipses are frequent over a life time, they seldom block the sun over a major city – especially one in which you happen to reside. The Toronto event was experienced by many, including some PHSC members. David, our journal co-editor writes, ” In the interest of science, here’s a chart of exposure at f11 ..read more