Hey there Readers! I wanted to make a quick note about why things are looking a little weird around here right now. If you may have noticed, over the last month, several errors have occurred here on the blog. Mostly in connection with Database Connection errors. I hate to say it, but these things were entirely my fault. I left the doors open, and someone decided to make themselves at home. And that someone started playing around with my database. After I got confirmation of this, I thought I had plugged that hole. I was wrong. Thankfully I was able to make a quick backupRead More →

CatLABS is an interesting company, their X Film lineup hit the markets several years back, and I reviewed X Film 80 and loved the stock. But they also included an X Film 320 in their initial lineup. I didn’t review that one because it was only available in 35mm and turned out to be Eastman Double-X 5222, with tweaked developing times. But last year, they announced new versions of both X Film 80 and X Film 320. I will be reviewing X Film 80 later this year, but in the colder, darker months, X Film 320 Pro is the film that will suit the dullerRead More →

Today Bill Smith sits down with Amy Jasek, better known as Texas Girl Photography across the wide Internet World and is a regular contributor to the Film Shooter Collective. Amy and Bill talk about her inspiration from her father in the wide world of photography. Her first camera and the lessons he taught her on developing and printing in a darkroom. Even if it was only hanging out with her dad and growing up with photography, her passion for the craft came in her 20s. Also, the importance of dabbling and photographing what you love and are interested in photographing. The love of cameras, printing,Read More →

While Methodism remained in the rural areas of Upper Canada, supported by circuit riders, urban congregations sprung up also. St. John’s, located outside Downtown Oakville is among these early Methodist congregations that sprung up in the early years of Oakville. One of the first settlers to the new village of Oakville, Justus Williams, a strong supporter of Methodism, desired to bring a Methodist congregation into downtown Oakville. The other congregations were located further north, so Williams invited various saddlebag preachers to hold worship services in his own home starting in 1832. He soon added the congregation to the newly created Nelson circuit and secured theRead More →

Of late, I’ve had a soft spot for consumer-level SLRs. These are excellent options as knock-about cameras that often have the same internals as their professional cousins but in a smaller form factor and can be had for a low cost. The F65 is one of Nikon’s final entry-level SLRs and one of the best options for the era, as it combines form and functions and offers the greatest compatibility. While the F65 only saw production for a short period, its replacements split things into two sub-varients, a lower-spec F55 and a high-spec F75, the features on both are found in the F65. If you’reRead More →

If you’ve been following along with my photography for a while, one of my favourite places to visit and take photos is the historic downtown of Milton, Ontario. I’ve called Milton home for forty years and have never tired of photographing the downtown. While I need to drive these days to get here promptly, where I grew up, I could walk here without difficulty. So as an introduction to a group of potential new blog viewers, I look into my hometown for the first month of 2023’s Frugal Film Project. The modern town of Milton, Ontario, sits upon the traditional territories of the Neutral, Huron-Wendat,Read More →

Established in 2013 by MainStreetHost and taken on by Alex Luyckx Photography in 2015, #photochat is a community of photography professionals and enthusiasts who congregate to talk shop and discuss anything and everything photography. To participate in our weekly chat (every Thursday at 1:00 pm), search the #photochat hashtag on Twitter to see the conversation, or find me at @AlexLuyckxPhoto on Twitter and Counter.Social @AlexLuyckxPhoto for more info. Include the hashtag in your tweets to answer the questions and talk with the other participants. If there’s a topic you’d like to see covered in #photochat, hop onto Facebook, Twitter, or good old fashioned Email andRead More →

The modern city of Oakville comprises several historical villages and settlements; In contrast, some are more visible than others; one that many drive through without thought is the village of Munn, marked today by a public school, cemetery and church. First settled in 1803 by Daniel Munn and his wife around the intersection of 6th Line and Dundas Road after fleeing the United States during the final days of the American Revolution, Daniel quickly established a farm and tavern along Dundas Road when the Trafalgar Township was surveyed. Daniel, like many Loyalists, was a Methodist, and the first noted worship service was held on theRead More →

At the end of last year, Harman/Ilford made a fantastic announcement, their popular budget film, Kentmere, was now available in 120 formats. And it was going to be the least expensive option for medium-format shooters. Kentmere and I go back, and when I first reviewed Kentmere 400, I was not happy with my results. I was downright rude towards the film stock, but looking back at it now, I can see it was not as bad as I thought it was when I first came to review it. Kentmere 100, however, did make an excellent first impression. And since then, I hadn’t thought much aboutRead More →

As a podcast that promotes ourselves as helping to feed photographers GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrom), it can be a breath of fresh air to help people find ways to reduce the amount of GAS that they suffer from. But in light of our previous episode and talking about keeping things simple, the team decided to sit down and discuss ways to help reduce GAS. Through everything from looking critically at your gear to determining what you needed and wanted to do with your equipment. And how to help get this gear into other people’s hands who will use it rather than let it sit collectingRead More →