There’s nothing better than a hike in the wood during the winter, especially when there is a decent snow cover, good sunlight and blue skies. The prior week saw fresh dumping of the white stuff on the ground, which resulted in several days worth of awesome photographic opportunities. And while I took out my new digital camera more than a film camera (because new gear). But Saturday provided Heather and me a chance to head out to one of our favourite parks. And I’m not talking about Niagara Falls, but rather Hilton Falls. One of the many parks around Milton that provides an escape fromRead More →

Consumer film, often film photographers of a certain type will turn their nose up at them, but as someone who started their film journey on consumer film processed in the local 1-hour lab, going back to review these films is a bit of a throwback. Like all modern consumer films from Kodak, Ultramax traces its heritage back to the original Kodacolor film. The original Kodacolor saw production from 1924 to 1963. In 1963, the updated Kodacolor-X increased the film speed from ASA-25 to ASA-64, both these early offerings using the C-22 process, Kodak discontinued Kodacolor-X in 1974. In 1972 Kodak released a new version, KodacolorRead More →

Before you start rage commenting, hear me out. We’re still in the grips of a major health crisis that keeps everyone apart, especially if you don’t live in the same house. So any actual photo meetups were out of the question. It has been just under a year since the last official Toronto Film Shooters meetup. And then nothing, because well the time of plague arrived that next month. I got to thinking over the Christmas holidays how to run a photo meet up when we couldn’t use our regular model. The original plan had some serious logistical support. Of course, the stay at homeRead More →

If there is one place that I have photographed a lot in the past year it’s my hometown of Milton, heck I did a whole project on the town last year. Plus the current restrictions, Milton has become a space that I have gotten to know well. But the day I went out was also the first-ever virtual Toronto Film Shooters meetup. We were only able to meet once last year, and it looks like we’ll be doing the virtual thing for the near future. Rather than let this awesome group lapse in their gathering, we went virtual. I encouraged the group to head outRead More →

If you’re of a certain age, your entire childhood was captured by a class of cameras that first showed up on the market in the late 1970s, the compact point-and-shoot. While the idea of automatic compact 35mm camera is nothing new, and the idea of the family snapshot as old as Eastman Kodak. But in the 1970s something new showed up on the market, autofocus. No longer did the photographer have to fiddle to get things in focus, autoexposure allowed for no thought to metering. The point, then press the shutter. Harkening back to the original Kodak, you press the button, we do the rest.Read More →

If you’re a member of several Facebook groups connected to the film photography community such as the Toronto Film Shooters, Negative Positives, and Large Format Photography Podcast than you will have seen today’s guest’s excellent work. Jamie Marcellus is a recent addition to the film photography community but has jumped in with both feet shooting 35mm initially but is now getting into experimental large-format work with inexpensive film, direct positive paper and even dry plate. Alex and John sit down with Jamie to discuss his love of photography and his inspiration and what he’s up to next. If you aren’t already following along in hisRead More →

Ah yes, the daily grind, and it does take many grinds, coffee that is. While many of you know me for my photography that is not my primary source of income (nor would I want it to be), I work in Information Technology at Sheridan College. Yes, I’m on campus daily to help support the small student body that learns on campus on a part-time basis and maintain the movement of technology to and from the whole campus community. While it can get lonely, it does give a rich photographic experience surprisingly. Sheridan traces its history back to a condemned high school in Brampton, Ontario.Read More →

Several years ago, when I was starting to branch out in my home film developing, I would try a lot of different, strange, and odd-ball developers. Sure I went with the basics, D-76, HC-110, Rodinal. But as I continued to listen to the Film Photography Podcast, I started to get my hands on stranger items, PMK Pyro being the first speciality developer and from there Pyrocat-HD which has become a fast favourite. But then I heard Matt talk about a developer call FA-1027. The next trip I made to New York City, I popped into B&H and got myself a bottle. Sadly I have onlyRead More →

And One of the most accessible hobbies and an art form is photography. And while some might say that photography isn’t art, that’s a subject for another issue altogether. If you’re wondering where this post came from, it was a sudden inspiration driving home from a photo trip and a series of posts that I had seen flying around some Facebook groups related to film photography. The trouble with the Internet is that everyone can spread their opinions around some are good and others are bad. But the one thing that I want to try and address in this post is the idea of gatekeeping.Read More →

Don’t let the title confuse you, Streetsville is far from being a ghost town, unlike Balaclava that came up in the last 52-Roll project I ran. Rather the Ghosts title goes more with the featured image below and the former Barber House and the ghost stories that go along with the original house and its property. I had never considered Streetsville as a place to go specifically for photography. Sure, I had been through Streetsville before for a War of 1812 reenactment during the bicentennial and when capturing a 4×5 image of the Barber house for the Acts of Confederation project. But recently over theRead More →