At a glance, it might be hard to believe that the old Canadian National Station in Owen Sound looks like Grand Trunk had built in the early 20th Century, but this station is the second one built in 1931. It is also one of the most complex stations to find accurate detail online. The first successful railway line to arrive in Owen Sound was the Toronto, Grey & Bruce line from Fraxa Junction in 1873, north of the town core and on the eastern side of the harbour. After the takeover by Canadian Pacific in 1884, after Grand Trunk dismissed their chance to take overRead More →

Here I go again, sticking my nose into a speciality film. Copex Rapid, as the name on the tin says, is a high-contrast copy film that requires a special developer. Copex Rapid is a faster version of the original Copex. So a stop faster can be helpful in the right conditions. The trouble is that the special developer is not readily available in North America and is even harder to get in Europe. But that hasn’t stopped me before, so I took a chance. You’ll notice that I decided to drop one of my usual developers, Ilfotec HC, as it stated it was high-contrast, andRead More →

When photographing animals, one of the best ways to get close and personal is to visit a zoo. And we’re lucky here in Ontario to have the fantastic Toronto Zoo. Which is more than just a zoo; it also acts as a leader in conservation both in Canada and around the World. This past weekend Heather and I took our son to the Toronto Zoo for the first time, and while he enjoyed just being at the zoo and sleeping, I decided to take out a lens I haven’t taken out since 2019. The Tamron 100-300mm is one that isn’t the best lens in myRead 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 1:00pm) search the #photochat hashtag to see the conversation, or find me at @AlexLuyckxPhoto on Twitter 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 and let me know! Our Topic forRead More →

The placement of the former Canadian Pacific station in Owen Sound was the first thing that struck me as odd; the second was the station’s design. Given the overall architecture of the surrounding city dated to the 19th Century, this station was clearly from the post-war era. Owen Sound’s history with the railroad is one of constant disappointment. None of the big three from the early colonial railways made their way out to the community on the Upper Great Lakes. In 1869, Scottish investor, George Laidlaw, chartered a pair of narrow-gauge railways, Toronto & Nipissing and Toronto, Grey & Bruce. For Toronto, Grey & Bruce,Read More →

The first thing you’re going to think when you take a look at a C220f is that this is going to be a heavy camera, and then you’re going to pick it up and notice that it is relatively light for its size and form factor. I love a good system camera, but outside of the SLR world, there isn’t much in the way of system cameras in the medium format realm. At least until you look up Mamiya’s rather interesting C-Series of TLRs, they are proper TLRs in every way, but it’s also a complete system camera with interchangeable lenses, grips, and finders; theRead More →

In today’s episode, the team sets about discussing their favourite single malt scotches and whiskeys, well, not really. We consume some fine single-malt during our lively discussion about developing tanks and different systems for home processing, from the simple to the complex, steel, plastic, and constant rotation. Steel When it comes to a classic system, look no further than steel tanks and reels. These come in fixed sizes, and you must buy different reels for different formats. But the bonus is that you can use them wet. But not all reels are made equal; Hewes is the best brand for quality and ease of loading.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 1:00pm) search the #photochat hashtag to see the conversation, or find me at @AlexLuyckxPhoto on Twitter 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 and let me know! Our Topic forRead More →

The first time I drove past the old Havelock station, I was more interested in a pair of old Angus Van Cabooses, one in good condition sitting proudly next to Highway 7, the other looking worse for wear back in the rail yard. I got a couple of shots of those and one of the old stations. But at that time, I did not know the rich heritage of the area and its relation to the station. The current village of Havelock owes its thanks to the development of the new Ontario & Quebec line in 1881. The original settlement grew up south of whereRead More →

One of the more exciting aspects of home development is the ability to produce black & white slides. While these days this is more of a novelty, it is something that adds a punch to your black & white negative films. But it’s something that isn’t well known. Sure we had Dr.5 until recently, Foma has a reversal kit (which I hope to find and review), and even Kodak produced a TMax reversal kit. But Kodak no longer makes it there, and Dr.5 is shutting down due to increased costs, but not before letting the world know about their process. And it’s right in Adox’sRead More →