And now for something completely different. I know I’m better known for my reviews of film-based cameras, but I have reviewed a digital camera here before, back when I got the camera that this one replaced. In fact, the Nikon D750 marks two, not three things. First, it marks a return to an SLR as my digital camera; second, it marks the return to the Nikon Digital system. And finally, a digital camera that I like using a lot. It’s not to say the a6000 was an unenjoyable camera to operate; the only complaint was that the system continued to be limited. Yes, I couldRead More →

There is an odd little feud running through the Halton region if you’re from my part of Ontario. And that feud focuses on three communities, Georgetown, Milton, and Acton. And while both Milton and Georgetown have managed to overcome some of their small town rural natures and sprawled into small cities, Acton has stayed small. And between the bitterly cold wind, the global pandemic, and the basis of living in Milton, downtown Acton also looked sad and felt that way. The history of Acton has always been tied to the art of tanning leather. The first known humans to settle in the region were theRead More →

Ever since the invention of the automobile and aeroplane, the way people moved changed rapidly. Henry Ford’s Model T put the dream of a personal car within reach; improvements in planes through the inter-war period into World War Two and the post-war period allowed long-distance travel at an even faster rate. While steam motive power continued to drive many railroad operators through the war, the rise of diesel began to reshape even the train industry. Through the war, fuel and material shortages spiked passenger train services, but even now, those were starting to decline. It became clear that the golden age of rail had comeRead More →

When it comes to camera gear there are some that have the feels, and there are others that don’t have the feels. So in this episode, the gang discusses the cameras that have amazing ergonomics that are a joy to use, others that we tolerate because the image quality is amazing! What cameras are on the table today, some are pretty obvious including the Nikon F4, Hasselblad V System, Olympus OM-2 and the Mamiya m645. And it cannot be an episode about ergonomics without including an Exakta. Want a subscription to SilverGrain Classics and are a fan of Classic Camera Revival? Visit their shop onlineRead More →

This week is a bit of a throwback, not to this project, but my first photography project! In my last year in High School, I took a Media English course that included a photography element. We learned how to process and print black & white film during the period, and the final project from that section had a photo project. I chose to work with documenting the churches in Milton. So this week, we’re visiting churches in both Oakville and Milton, not only the ones in the community centres but also a couple of rural churches. Human spirituality has been around for as long asRead More →

It has been far too long since I got together with this amazing group of people in-person since all of this started in March 2020. And while I was unable to make it out to the first meetup since our last meetup in February 2020 (at least it was the largest meetup to date). And through early 2021 there were some attempts at virtual meetups, the fact of the matter is that the TFS group is best served with in-person meetings. Thankfully with things looking far better real meetups kicked off in October with a second meetup taking place at the beginning of the month.Read More →

Being in North America and raised on Kodak and Ilford developers, I did not even know that Atomal existed, other than seeing it listed on the Massive Dev chart and just passing it by as another European developer. But when I was hunting for more Rollei developers at Freestyle, I came across Atomal 49 as an ‘other people purchased’ listing. I was excited to give this a shot, and after mixing it up, I posted in a Film Photography Chat group on Facebook and asked if anyone else had used the stuff. The response was overwhelming how many people used the stuff. However, the bestRead More →

The late 19th century brought the final push to extend out the transcontinental line. The arrival of the 20th century, the Canadian Pacific Railway was the only line that extended across Canada, at least from Vancouver to Montreal. In Ontario, Grand Trunk managed to secure itself as the big player in the province by absorbing all the competition but could not do that with Canadian Pacific finding itself against a competitor that it simply could not buy out. This was the golden age of rail travel when mighty steam locomotives travelled across the country; rail networks connected people and places, mail and cargo were easilyRead More →

Throughout most of my 52-Roll projects, I made a point that at Week 45 or thereabout, to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country, here in Canada that is called Remembrance Day and falls on the 11th of November to mark the armistice that ended the fighting on the western front. While I had initially planned to photograph the Milton Remembrance Day Parade the Sunday before the 11th, I quickly shifted to feature cenotaphs and war graves in Oakville, Milton, and Guelph due to other plans. This week there are a few items to unpack historically, but let’s startRead More →

It is always a good idea to future proof your lenses, especially when working with the Minolta manual focus cameras. I say that because, like Nikon, while the original 1958 SR-Mount is basically the same as 1977 SR-Mount, there are subtle differences, like the Nikon F-Mount. I first picked up this lens as part of a drive to get better glass for my Minolta X-7a, my second Minolta SLR. While I could go with MC variant lenses, I went with the MD variant. The reason being that if I had updated my X-7a to an X-700, I needed lenses that would work with all theRead More →