Street photography is not something for every photographer. Getting out there and taking pictures of random strangers in the street. Sure you get some people who turn away, or make a face, or even confront you about it. But for the most part, people are generally unaware. Back in August I went out and wandered up then down Queen Street in Toronto along with some fellow film photographers to capture a little slice of life on a typical Saturday afternoon in the city. Probably one of my favourite combos for shooting in the Street is my Nikon F4 and 105mm f/2 lens sure not aRead More →

I seem to have found yet another home away from home. Emmet county is up in the northern part of Michigan. I was first introduced to this beautiful part of the United States in 2012 at Photostock. Photostock, the brainchild of world-renowned photographer Bill Schwab is a gathering of photographers in his backyard. And in its early years, it was literally in his backyard, but by the time I started going, it had moved to the Birchwood Inn; this throw-back backwoods hotel would make you think you had stepped back into the 1960s. I have written about Photostock before, but this time it’s different. PhotostockRead More →

I sadly was unable to participate in the week long celebration of Instant Photography last year because I was in the Chicagoland region, but this year I went full force and worked on reducing my stock of expired Polaroid and Impossible material! I got the shooting started early over the weekend before ‘roid week so I’d have two days worth of material already stocked up. Day One – Jaite Depot Anniversary Speed Graphic – Fuji Fujinon-W 1:56/125 – Polaroid Type 79 Located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, the Jaite train depot one served the company town, the town’s surviving building now serveRead More →

Many people have heard me complain about lugging around the large format gear, a heavy tripod, lots of film holders, and all the extra gear that comes with shooting large format. But I keep on shooting it. So many ask why…so in response to Mat’s blog on the subject. And while it’s complaining, it’s nothing compared to when Mat and I drove around the Cleveland Flats in 2013, and he had the massive Sinar P2 8×10 camera. So why do I shoot it? Because the results are outstanding, I find that it disciplines me; I can go out with ten sheets of film and comeRead More →

I figured because it was TLR Tuesday I’d share some photos I took last year in the abandoned Rochester Subway. The subway has always fascinated me since I first visited it back in 2007. But on this particular trip I was armed with my trusty Rolleiflex and a roll of Kodak Panatomic-X. The main draw for the subway is the viaduct over the Erie Canal. This area is covered with some of the best graffiti art I have come across in my explorations. And it’s not just the usual garbage, this work is just that, works of art! It’s also the area with the bestRead More →

Woodward Presbyterian Church, or rather St. Curvy, has a story like many churches that once thrived in the American mid-west. Founded in 1908 with a membership of 163, it was tasked to serve the north part of the city. With the Reverend Sherman L. Divine at the helm, the church began to seek money and land to build their church. The land the church still sits on today was donated by Mrs. Tracy McGregor. The firm of Sidney Rose Badgley & William Nicklas was hired to design the church. Construction began late in 1908, and by the time the cornerstone was laid on the 1stRead More →

So why go back and revisit photos that are getting close to four years old now, I have plenty of new good content to share. However there is something to be said for taking a look back at your photographic journey, and to see where, everything changed. For me, that change really took place here, in Montreal Quebec during my vacation there in 2010. I think my muse finally woke up in Montreal, especially in old Montreal. And film started to come back to me in a big way. But not just medium, but stylistically I finally got what I was looking for in myRead More →

Back in the Summer there was a call out for unofficial FPP (Film Photography Project) meetups. As I do volunteer work for the FPP I took it upon myself to start organizing ones in Southern Ontario, but being busy I decided, hey why not just host one a season. Cross Promoting the event to APUG, and I settled on “Toronto Film Shooters Meetup” the Summer 2013 event was a good one, we took a very hot afternoon to wander around the Don Valley Brick Works. So for the fall at the suggestion of two other FPP fans in the area, Mike and John, for theRead More →

I had known about the Cheltenham Badlands for sometime but I never realized how close to me they actually where or that we had such a formation here in Ontario. (And I’ve also recently found out there’s another such formation in the province). It was almost like the opening scene in Jurassic Park. Formed on an ancient riverbed out of Queenston shale, the formation was exposed in the 1930s after soil erosion caused by poor farming techniques revealed it. The land was purchased by the Ontario Heritage trust for conversation. Although the photos don’t show it, the red coloured soil is caused by high levelsRead More →

August 19th has become known as World Photography day, as it celebrates the anniversary that France, where modern photography was born gave the secret to the world, for free for all. How about that. This year it sadly crept up on me so I had to rush to get a couple cameras into the field over the course of the work day. But I was actually really pleased with the results I got, not to mention the stares and comments about using an old Polaroid Pack Camera. Polaroid Automatic Model 250 Land Camera – Polaroid Chocolate Olympus Trip 35 – D.Zuiko 40mm f/2.8 – KodakRead More →