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Throughout these reviews, I have shied away from third-party lens makers. But I have a long history with third-party lenses and often with good results. My favourite lenses are from my first SLR system, the Minolta SR-T 102, a Kiron 70-150mm f/4 lens and a Vivitar 75-210mm f/3.5. Although that Vivitar is different from today, the Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 in many ways. The biggest is the size and function; the Series 1 is a beast and a lens that surprised me that they even released the lens in an OM-Mount. Lens Specifications Make: Kiron Model: Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm 1:3.5 Macro Focusing Auto ZoomRead More →

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The whole world seems to exist these days in a liminal space. Liminal space is a time between what was and what’s next. Moments of transition, waiting but not knowing the future. All transformations take place within liminal space, but we don’t know what’s next, what the future holds for us who are there. We must be patient, allowing ourselves to be transformed in this time. Allow things to move forward, let go of what was; the past is history lost forever. And while what’s next may look like the old world, it cannot and should not be what was; transformation cannot allow that. ThisRead More →

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In: A Faded Glory
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It’s easy to miss the Freeman Station, tucked in next to a fire station and below a burn. It also seems a bit out of place, with the railroad a good distance from the station proper, almost as if the line itself was moved. But in reality, the station itself has been moved from its original station like so many before. And despite its look, Burlington Junction, as it was officially called, was once a hub of railroad activity in Burlington. During the first railway boom in Ontario, Burlington, as we know it today, did not exist; the modern downtown of Burlington was the villageRead More →

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If there is one film stock that defines my earliest experiments in photography, it is Fujifilm Superia 400. However, I shot it as a rebranded film from President’s Choice because it was cheap as chips and often came with film processing at the PhotoLab in the Loblaw’s store (Real Canadian Superstore), where I bought it from. The film ran through all my earliest cameras, including the Hi-Matic and SR-T and captured many of those early PYPS weekends where I cut my teeth on photography. Today I shoot little in the way of Colour Negative film. Still, if there’s one thing that is starting many otherRead More →

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The year, 1995, the shriek and howl of the dial-up modem sound through the library at Sam Sherratt Middle School in Milton, Ontario. For good or ill the Internet was here to stay. So with all the negativity that has been tossed around of late about the Internet and film photography the gang is here to talk about all the amazing things the Digital Age has to offer film photographers. From Scanning to Web 2.0, Internet Communities and Various Sharing platforms! Despite everything digital has done a lot of keep film photography alive and kicking well into the 21st Century and beyond. Want a subscriptionRead More →

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If you haven’t heard of Palmerston, Ontario, that is perfectly understandable. It is a small historic town tucked away in the rural areas of Wellington County. But the town owes its existence in a major form thanks to the railroad and is one of a few communities that can claim that. At the railroad’s height, Palmerston was a major centre for Grand Trunk and later Canadian National during the golden age of rail and also found a place in history as the location of one of Canada’s first vaccine farms because of the railroad. The Wellington, Grey & Bruce Railway starts during the waning daysRead More →

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This won’t be the first time that I have a Nikon camera that is Nikon in name only. Remember the Nikkorex? While not the same idea, while the Nikkorex line was contracted out to another manufacturer, the Nikon FM10 is a straight-up rebrand (with some modifications) of an existing camera. The Nikon FM10 is one of many cameras built on the Cosina CT-1 Super/CT-1G chassis and dressed up to look like a Nikon. And I’ll give Nikon and Cosina one thing, the FM10 seems a lot like a Nikon right down to the red stripe. Camera Specifications Make: Cosina Model: Nikon FM10 Type: Single LensRead More →

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I had to go back into my archives to see if I ever posted anything directly related to my 2015 trip to Europe. And yes, the images did appear in several review posts, but I never made a great post about the trip. I don’t understand why! But it probably got caught up in my poorly managed posting schedule, which I only in the past couple of years got onto the right track and had some semblance of order. But either way, I think for this Friday, I get things in order and revisit a special trip of mine with some insights into that tripRead More →

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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 →

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The year was 2005; I was in my last semester of college and starting to explore my photography seriously. My grandfather, on a lengthy trip, had asked me to housesit for him in Guelph. Having nothing much to do, I would often take long walks in the city’s downtown. And looming giant next to the central train station is a rusting hulk of a steam locomotive. While I paid little attention to the engine, CN 6167 was among the luckiest and most photographed locomotives in Canada. Locomotives are classified under many different means, name, class, motive power, and most common wheel configuration. The wheel configurationRead More →