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Across the British Commonwealth and in Canada specifically, no other British monarch is as widely celebrated at Queen Victoria. Secondly only to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II for the length of her reign. The two queens share a lot in common beyond familial relations. Both never expected to take the throne, born Alexandria Victoria on the 24th of May 1819, daughter of Prince Edward Augustus and grand-daughter to King George III. At birth, Victoria sat fifth in the line of succession to the British throne. At only a year old, both her father and grandfather passed, leaving Victoria in the care of her over-protective mother.Read More →

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The film that started the whole Svema craze with the Film Photography Project, Svema Foto 200. Свема is a film stock that is relatively unknown here in North America unless you are of course fans of the Film Photography Podcast. The name comes from the combination of two Russian words, Светочувствительные Материалы, translated means Photosensitive Materials. While Svema collapsed when the Soviet Union died in the 1990s, another Eastern European film manufacture, Astrum, continues the legacy of Svema using some of the old machinery in a new factory in Shostka, Ukraine. Now I did try a roll or two of Foto 200 when it firstRead More →

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In a strangely ironic twist, the final of the significant three colonial railways to be completed would be the sole survivor of them all into the 20th century. And while Great Western and Northern Railway of Canada all survived past Confederation in 1867. It would be the Grand Trunk railroad that would absorb both of these before the turn of the century and then lose it all a couple of decades into the new century. Unlike Grand Trunk’s peers, the new railroad had not tried to build a line before the 1850s, chartered on the 10th of November 1852. British investors wholly-owned grand Trunk andRead More →

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Sir Francis Hincks, the proverbial third wheel in the reform movement and a figure that I knew nothing of until I started researching for this project. And while generally overshadowed by the likes of his predecessor in Robert Baldwin and his successor Sir Allan Napier MacNab as Premier of the Province of Canada his role in creating the modern province is fairly essential. The meeting of Robert Baldwin and Louis La Fontaine may have never happened if it was not for Hincks. Born the 4th of December 1807 in Cork Ireland, Francis was the youngest son of Reverend Thomas Dix Hincks. From his youth, HincksRead More →

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I had been wondering how long it had been since I had last visited the Halton County Radial Railway Museum, well it hasn’t yet been a decade since my last trip in 2011. So when I heard that a group of folks from the Toronto Film Shooters were heading to a TTC Streetcar barn open house, I had the urge to go and photograph streetcars as well. The trouble was that I had to be at church at 3 pm on Saturday to run sound for a wedding. A trip into the city would be out of the question, then I remembered that I hadRead More →

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Among those who have shot the Derev Pan line of films the favourite is Derev Pan 400, and I do agree with that. When I ran the beta tests for the film, it was Pan 400, that was my favourite. Being a 400-Speed film, I thought there would be more grain than I expected, images were super sharp, incredible tones and contrast. You can run this film through any situation and developer and get some incredible results! Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Polyester Film Speed: ASA-400, Latitude: Suspected +/- 2 Stops. Formats Avaliable: 135 (35mm) Roll 01 – Kodak D-76 I have toRead More →

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When I initially beta tested the Derev Pan films the one film that was missing from the test pack with the middle child, Derev Pan 200, so this is a brand new film for me. There aren’t many mid-range speed films on the market today, especially in black & white films. You have Rollei Superpan 200, Derev Pan 200, Svema Foto 200 plus Eastman Double-X. So I had no real understanding of what to expect. Grainery than most films in the Derev line, it presents a generally low to a mid-contrast classic look. The trade-off for the grain is that the film is sharp inRead More →

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And now for something completely different. Out of all the cameras I’ve reviewed, I can say that this is the first time I’ve reviewed a custom hand-built camera. I mean this camera doesn’t even have a name, so I have for the sake of my record keeping, named it the Francuz Cherry 66. As it is for sale and built by eBay user Francuz01, Cherry for being made from cherry wood and 66 for the fact it shoots 6×6 exposures. Now pinhole and I have a strange relationship, I initially had no desire or time or it and when I did shoot it I dislikedRead More →

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If you took a close look at Robert Baldwin as a man, it might surprise you to think of the amount of change for the good he brought to Canada in our Pre-Confederation history. And while I have encountered many exciting figures throughout this project, I took time to look at each one as a human. Each one presented not as a hero, but as a human complete with their flaws. None stood out to me more than Baldwin. Baldwin had the chance to have all the power he wanted, yet he did not wish to power for his gain but to put government powerRead More →

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Originally designed for aerial surveillance in Eastern Europe, the Derev line of films is new to the North American market thanks to the Film Photography Project. I had the honour of beta testing the film for the FPP and found that Derev Pan 100 is an excellent film for outdoor shooting on bright sunny days. Sharp with a decent touch of grain and an amazing tonality you can clearly see why this film was selected for surveillance. And while on my initial test I only worked with HC-110, I looked forward to trying the film out in various developers! Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W FilmRead More →