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At least my drive to work isn’t all city driving; there are some suburbs, and my favourite section, the rural areas, which can be a pain this winter, especially with the number of storms we’ve been hit with in Southern Ontario. When I first started driving past it almost ten years ago, this barn was intact, part of an abandoned farm (my first experience with urbex). The fields around it are still used, but the barn and the house are not. Sadly the decade has not been kind; storms, rain, snow and ice have knocked it down. Modified Anniversary Speed Graphic – Kodak Ektar f:7.7Read More →

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Here’s the deal, the battle of Tippecanoe wasn’t actually a part of the Anglo-American War of 1812. But I have decided to include it because it was really a prelude to the conflict. Think of it like a prequel setting the stage for William Henry Harrison’s campaign of 1813 and the key to Brock’s capture of Fort Detroit with the required assistance of Tecumseh in 1812. Tippecanoe, like the war of 1812 was a culmination of violence between the Native population and the American government, and the idea of American Manifest Destiny. The Tippecanoe Battlefield monument stands on the battle ground still today. Engraved areRead More →

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The outlook for General Henry Procter in the west was grim at best, hopeless at the worst. On September 10th, 1813 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry had managed to take on the British Royal Navy Squadron on Lake Erie and capture all the ships intact, finally wresting control of Lake Erie from the mighty Royal Navy, this left the door wide open for a full out invasion of Upper Canada in the West. We have met the enemy and they are ours, Hazard penned in a dispatch to General William Henry Harrison who was waiting in the south. Harrison took this as an open invitation. ProcterRead More →

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Dundurn Castle isn’t a castle, it’s just the name of this stately manor home that sits on Burlington Heights, built over the ruins of the British Strong Point during the War of 1812 and the launch point of the small British Force that defeated the Americans camped at Stoney Creek in June of 1813. The home completed in 1835 was constructed in the Regency Style. Its most famous owner, Sir Allen MacNab, who served during the Rebellions of 1837/8, was a staunch Tory and briefly Premiere of the Province of Canada. Dundurn Castle has always been a draw for me; as a history buff, there’sRead More →

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But let’s get started! This is where I work, the Hazel McCallion Campus (HMC) of Sheridan College in Mississauga, Ontario. My division within the Information Technology Department, the IT Solutions Center, was moved here last April from our old office at Oakville’s Trafalgar Campus. I was initially wary of the move as it really increased my commute time, and more city driving however despite that I’m pretty happy with the new digs. First off…it’s a new place to shoot, although there’s not much TOO shoot around, just a shopping mall, although the curvy condo towers will make a neat subject. The campus has one thingRead More →

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Well it is getting to that time of the year where I lay out to you, my faithful readers what is going to be happening photographically with me over the next calendar year and update you on the ongoing projects. My 52-Roll project for 2013 has been a stunning success, and working with other faithful 52-rollers over on 52rolls.net has been a great time, seeing a little community built up over the course of the year that will continue into one of 2014’s project. The War of 1812 Project, now titled “A Peace Forged in Fire & Blood” continues on and enters into the finalRead More →

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How does one review a film they have only used once? Easy, when the film is something special. Eastman SO-331 High Contrast Intermediate Panchromatic Film is one of those rare cult films that have been floating around for a while. The SO in the name indicates that it is a special order emulsion. And it has developed a rather unique following among the film photography community. Back in October when I was in New York City for the PhotoPlus Expo I was handed a roll of the film by Michael Raso of the Film Photography Podcast (who got a large amount of the stock fromRead More →

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Both the United States Navy and the Royal Navy knew that who ever had control of the lakes and water ways could control the battlefields on the land. The water was the fastest most effective way to move armies and supplies. On the British side the squadron on Lake Ontario was commanded by Commodore James Lucas Yeo out of the Navy Yards at Kingston. The American’s squadron out of Sacketts Harbor under Commodore Isaac Chauncey. By 1813 both sides had ships roaming Lake Ontario, many conducting raids against the other’s shore targets and small villages and ports where stores were held waiting for ships toRead More →

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Back in the Summer there was a call out for unofficial FPP (Film Photography Project) meetups. As I do volunteer work for the FPP I took it upon myself to start organizing ones in Southern Ontario, but being busy I decided, hey why not just host one a season. Cross Promoting the event to APUG, and I settled on “Toronto Film Shooters Meetup” the Summer 2013 event was a good one, we took a very hot afternoon to wander around the Don Valley Brick Works. So for the fall at the suggestion of two other FPP fans in the area, Mike and John, for theRead More →

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I had known about the Cheltenham Badlands for sometime but I never realized how close to me they actually where or that we had such a formation here in Ontario. (And I’ve also recently found out there’s another such formation in the province). It was almost like the opening scene in Jurassic Park. Formed on an ancient riverbed out of Queenston shale, the formation was exposed in the 1930s after soil erosion caused by poor farming techniques revealed it. The land was purchased by the Ontario Heritage trust for conversation. Although the photos don’t show it, the red coloured soil is caused by high levelsRead More →