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While the construction of the canal inspired a great deal of urbanization of the Niagara Region, but not all towns came into being because of the canal. Even before the canal came to the region, the area attracted a great deal of colonization in the days during and following the American Revolution mainly by Loyalists. Officially today they’re called United Empire Loyalists, and they formed the core of the original European population in Upper Canada, created out of the Province of Quebec. Quebec had been under British occupation since the end of the French-Indian War, and the government was maintained to match that of NewRead More →

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Every so often a film stock will come up out of nowhere and surprise me, and today that film is FilmWashi “D”. Like all films that come out of FilmWashi, Washi D (as I’ll be calling it from now on) they take films out of their normal use and repurpose it for regular photographic duties. In the case of Washi D, it saw creation as a Russian surveillance film. The purpose of the film and what secrets it was designed to capture remains a mystery but because the film has the title ‘project: Sputnik’ on the label makes me think this film would be loadedRead More →

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While often seen as boring, generic, and nothing special, Mamiya cameras are a favourite among the entire CCR crew, especially their medium format offerings. Alex, James, John, and Bill are joined by a pair of amazing photographers and YouTubers Aly and Jess to discuss their favourite Mamiya cameras! Mamiya Universal Probably one of the strangest system cameras to come out of Mamiya, the Universal is the last of their Press line and the most customizable. You can shoot 120/220 roll film from 6×6 to 6×9, 2×3 sheet film, and Polaroid Type-100 (the Universal also was produced as the Polaroid 600 and 600SE). Sadly the cameraRead More →

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By 1836 the Welland in its current form remained woefully behind the times. Compared to the canal systems along the St. Lawrence River, the military Rideau Canal, and the under-construction Trent-Severn waterway, the Welland Canal remained little more than a cheap imitation to the technology of the day. Technology had moved on, and most ships now used steam power rather than sail power larger ships, especially those with side wheels and greater drafts and displacements prevented the larger modern cargo and passenger vessels from fitting through the canal. To simplify the problem, the Welland Canal had outgrown its usefulness. But the need for a canalRead More →

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If you think you’ve seen this camera reviewed before you would be right, after a fashion. The Polaroid 600 SE is a variant or derivative of the Mamiya Universal. While not an exact copy of the Universal, the 600 SE is designed to only accept Type-100 Pack Film rather than a choice of either Roll Film or Pack Film, and because of this only uses three lenses from the entire Press lineup due to the required image circle for the larger film size. Sadly it does retain much of the awkward functionality of the entire Press lineup but I figured I should give it anotherRead More →

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The province that we know of as Ontario today looked a lot different some two hundred years in the past. There were no superhighways, factory outlets, or any major population centre every hour along the road. Trips were measured in days, not hours, and unless you were wealthy and in the merchant class, you rarely left your home settlement. The major cities numbered populations in the hundreds maybe thousands if lucky. And in Upper Canada (Ontario) the major centres were York (Toronto), Niagara (Niagara-On-The-Lake), and Kingston. The first major push to bring new immigrants into the backwater of Upper Canada was underway after the Anglo-AmericanRead More →

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If I had to choose between Microphen and Perceptol, Perceptol would win every time. And it all has to do with how the developer works. If you know me, I’m a fan of the old school, not only do I shoot and develop my own film, I like older film stocks, older developers, and that classic look. And while it’s easy for me to whip up a batch of D-23, there’s just something that Perceptol does that makes it the perfect mix between new and old. If Microphen is your fast-moving friend, Perceptol is one that takes a little more time. While I wouldn’t useRead More →

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These days distance is the name of the game, but what lens can you slap on your camera, well we at CCR have come up with four options that will help you go long! Today we’re talking about telephoto lenses from the short to the long and even a couple of macro lenses thrown in for good measure! Nikon AI Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 You can’t go wrong with a classic, and the iconic Nikkor 105/2.5 is a favourite for everyone around the table. But for Bill, his choice of for the version of the 105/2.5 is the AI variant. While the original version of theRead More →

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If you mention the Welland Canal today many people will think of the massive shipping channel cutting across the Niagara Penisula, an artificial river you see from the Garden City Skyway that carries the QEW over the top the channel. Part of an elaborate and technologically advanced highway and major trade corridor from the Atlantic Ocean to the northernmost Great Lakes. The Canal has humble beginnings. Since the earliest days of human settlement in the Niagara Regions, the major transit between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie has been the Niagara River. Even the first peoples realised they required a long portage as the great falls,Read More →

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If there is a single lens within the manual focus Nikon catalogue with iconic status, it is the 105mm f/2.5. National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry used one to capture the stunning portrait of Sharbat Gula that caught the world’s attention. You may know her better as “The Afgan Girl.” It is a highly sought after, near-perfect quality lens that has changed little since its introduction. I got my copy of the lens from a member of my home church who gave me her grandfather’s press photographer kit which included the Nikon F3, a 50/1.4, 28/2.8, 105/2.5, and 135/2.8. I still have almost all those lensesRead More →