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The former Grand Trunk station at Belleville is unique among the surviving Grand Trunk stations along the operator’s original ‘trunk’ line. Unique in the way that it has its second-empire mansard roof intact. The only other station that can claim that is Kingston Station, which sadly today lies in ruins. Another interesting feature of the station is that it never had a telegraph bay added in the 1880s, a feature shared with the St. Mary’s Junction Station. During its original trans-colonial line, Grand Trunk Railway decided to put its first divisional point at Belleville, a small community between Toronto and Montreal. They acquired a largeRead More →

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This isn’t my first experience with Tasma film, I have shot NK-II in the past and their Type 25L. As a company, Tasma or Тасма has been producing photographic products since 1933. The name is a shortened version of Татарские светочувствительные материалы or Tatar Sensitized Materials, and they have carried that name since 1974. Originally operating under the name Film Factory No. 8, the Kazan-based factory continued operations through the entirety of the Soviet involvement in World War II and earned the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1944. Following the collapse of the USSR, the company reorganised as a private firm inRead More →

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As a follow-up to part one, where the team tackled the black & white motion picture films that have been creeping into the still photography lane, on this episode, we’re talking about the colour films that are available from the motion picture world that are becoming popular among still photographers as they are more readily available. But we are also bringing in some ringers, Bill Manning and Christina Haley from the Atlanta Film Co, to give us a breakdown and something Euphoric! The Atlanta Film Co is a collaboration between Bill Manning (formerly of the Studio C-41 1 Hour Podcast), Christian Haley (Lab Manager) andRead 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. 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! Our Topic forRead More →

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Sitting below the main downtown, the unassuming limestone structure is one of only two surviving railway structures from what was once a bustling centre of rail activity throughout the latter half of the 19th century. It is also interesting that it is the oldest continuously operated railway station in all of Ontario. Creating a standard set of stations set Grand Trunk apart from the other three railway operators in the first railway boom in Ontario. Chief Architect Francis Thompson latched onto the fundamental design ethos of British railway or wayside stations and laid out three different wayside stations, class A, which featured seven openings; classRead More →

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I seem to be developing a soft spot for cheap and cheerful SLRs from the 1990s and early 2000s. These may not be the best or most robust cameras out there, but they aren’t hard on the pocketbook, make use of existing lens systems and deliver decent images without too much fuss. Plus, they make great loaner kits for those who want to try film photography but don’t want to invest in something or worry about all the details, such as manual focus or exposure. Well, meet the EOS 3000; you could almost say that this was the entry-level SLR that perfected Canon’s entry-level SLRsRead More →

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If you’ve been in film photography for a while, you’ve seen big companies come and go. And a pile of companies were rarely seen here in North America. The iron curtain, for many years, divided the world in two, between the west and the east following the Second World War. The Cold War kept western films out of the east and eastern films out of the west. One such brand is Forte. I’ve only seen one roll of Fortepan before; I remember using it, but it’s not on my film log, so maybe I ended up giving it away. Kodak opened a photochemical plant inRead 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. 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! Our Topic forRead More →

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When I was initially planning out the project, I had not considered the Brantford VIA station. I did think of the old Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo stations, but after finding that one station had been demolished, I decided not to tempt fate and took Brantford off the map. At least until I discovered that the station inspired the construction of Guelph’s central station and marked a significant departure in the early 20th Century construction of Grand Trunk Stations. The city of Brantford refuses to pay the required bonus to have the Great Western line and a station in the town. Instead, Great Western ran furtherRead More →

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The story of Canada is filled with both myth and legend. And when it comes to the Anglo-American War of 1812, Canada has made itself look like the victor. Of course, I thought the same thing for the longest time, having learned about the tales of Isaac Brock and Laura Secord. They together single-handedly won victory for Canada over the Americans. But history is far more complex and often messy, especially when two sides claim victory; the other side often will ignore it as a footnote in a broader global conflict, and a fourth group are still angry at their treatment following the war. ButRead More →