One of the jewels in the collection of Westfield Heritage Village is plenty of memorabilia and buildings related to the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway. They probably have the second largest collection next to the museum on the second floor of the Hamilton GO Centre. But they do have one thing that the GO Centre does not have, an original locomotive that once served on the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo line, Locomotive 103. The first example of a 2-8-0 saw construction in 1865, an improvement of the 0-8-0 design and completed by John P. Laird for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Originally known as the Bedford, ConsolidationRead More →

It’s not often that something new hits the market, especially something that comes out of Canada. If you haven’t heard of Flic Film, that’s okay; I only recently discovered this Canadian film lab out of Alberta in 2021. They mainly focus on selling rebranded motion picture films, the Eastman Vision3 series and Eastman Double-X; they have a chemistry production side. But their chemistry has a twist; they’re working on making it more environmentally safe. And that should come as no surprise given they are based out of Alberta with many rural properties and reliance on septic systems. And that is where Black/White & Green (B/WRead More →

Join the crew from Classic Camera Revival as we sit down to a round table episode to discuss anything and everything. We welcome Bill from Studio C-41, Gabe and Jeff from I Dream of Cameras and Andre from Negative Positives for this episode. Buckle up for an alcohol-fuelled marathon episode! We at Classic Camera Revival are horrified about the ongoing illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine by forces directed and ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Know that we at CCR stand with the brave defenders of Ukraine, those fleeing the conflict and those in Russia who are being arrested, suppressed from speaking out againstRead 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. Be sure to 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!Read More →

If you’re a fan of the show Murdoch Mysteries and are a sharp-eyed viewer, then the station featured today will be recognizable, having appeared in the episode The Annoying Red Planet, where the titular character visits the community of Jerseyville. Jerseyville is no work of fiction but is a rural community between Brantford and Hamilton and was only ever served by the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway. The Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway saw its original charter in 1884 to construct a second line between the three cities mentioned in the name as an alternative to Grand Trunk, which by 1884 had full control overRead More →

While I’m not always a fan of third-party lenses, every so often, one comes along that impresses me as an alternative to an OEM lens. And the Osawa is one of those lenses that I probably would have used more if I had known what a sleeper I was sitting on. Unlike Vivitar, Osawa is a lens manufacturer in their own right and produced lenses starting in the 1970s when many SLRs were beginning to gain popularity in the consumer market, and many were clamouring for inexpensive alternatives. While working with this lens in an OM-Mount, they also produced for other major camera makers likeRead More →

There’s something fun about getting back to the roots of your photography and combining it with the monthly challenge from my friends over at Embrace the Grain Podcast. The film of the month for February was Lomography Metropolis. Their third and, in my opinion, the most accessible in their false-colour film offerings. Despite my February being thrown for a loop, I managed to get out on one on the last days of the month to get the roll shot. It was also a complete surprise to have one roll sitting in storage that I recently received in a film subscription box. But what roots amRead 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. Be sure to 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!Read More →

When it comes to unique station styles in Canada, the one that stands out the most is the Witch’s Hat; these were popular among all significant railway operators through the early 20th Century. Sadly, there is only a handful left standing, but the only one still operates as a train station, which is the station at Uxbridge. The first railway to arrive in Uxbridge was the Toronto & Nipissing Railway. A narrow-gauge line was chartered and supported by George Laidlaw to access the agricultural and timber resources in northern Ontario and access a potential transcontinental railway at Lake Nippissing. The line originating in Cannington startedRead More →

Some films carry with them a particular cult following. While I’m not one to follow these cult followings when I’ve never shot the film stock before and usually don’t play into these followings. At least until I see a trusted and respected photographer rave about the film stock. And Fujicolor C200 is that film stock, and I can see why people love working with the stock. C200 is a film that fills a gap that provides a rich, almost perfect colour reproduction and blends well with the current digital age and is one of the most straightforward colour films to scan and run through post-processing.Read More →