Some still exist when it comes to the former villages that occupied the stretch of Dundas on the former northern edge of Oakville. The village of Sixteen Hollow (alternatively Proudfoot Hollow) has vanished save for an oddly named Presbyterian Church, Knox Sixteen. George Chalmer’s established the small community in the late 1820s, a mill and tavern forming the community’s core. Being made up mainly of those who traced their heritage to Scotland, they brought with them the Presbyterian Church. These early settlers would worship at home with a saddlebag preacher, or when the Presbyterians established a congregation in Oakville would travel south when they wereRead More →

I did not think I would enjoy working with these sorts of cameras. Sort of like how I felt about the RETO Ultra Wide & Slim, the LOMO APPARAT is a simple-use camera centred around an ultra-wide angle lens. But the APPARAT has some other tricks that the RUWS does not have; first, there’s a built-in flash, and second, this camera is far bigger than RUWS. Like all Lomography cameras, it’s centred around making photography fun, abandoning the traditional ideas of sharpness and accuracy. Shoot from the hip and see what happens. But you can quickly determine the different quirks. The APPARAT gives the photographer.Read More →

A small white frame church is easy to miss; easier still is dismissing the building as a new build designed to match an older structure. But the small white church sitting on the western side of Bronte Road is original and an active church. When William Peacock first settled in the village of Palermo in 1832, at this point, a Methodist congregation was already well established. Peacock, an Anglican, would need to travel further afield to worship at a familiar church. But as the population grew, William convinced the rector at St. Luke’s in Wellington Centre to come to Palermo to celebrate mass, the firstRead More →

When it comes to magic in photography, nothing can compare to watching a wet plate develop and clear or printing in the darkroom. But a close second is developing your slide film at home. After fretting about ruining slide film by developing it at home, I decided to go for it and put in some crucial rolls from Europe. If you force yourself to do it right the first time, develop something that matters! And when I pulled off those first two rolls, I was blown away! And while they looked ugly when wet, when dried, it was magic. The Unicolor Rapid E-6 kits makeRead More →

If there is a single classic film emulsion that kept Polaroid Pack Film cameras going well after the demise of the original Polaroid company, that film is FP-100c. And while the film is no longer available today, it is the film stock that made me turn my head and start looking for Type-100 Polaroid cameras ever since receiving a ColorPack-II from the excellent Michael Raso and the Film Photography Project. FP-100c is the same film that continued the tradition of Polaroid Type-100 pack film that you shoot, then peel apart and shake it (like a Polaroid Picture) to help dry the chemistry. And to haveRead More →

Located on the historic Norval Road (Guelph Street), St. John’s United Church can trace its history to the Methodist revival of the 1840s and is the only Church to come from the Episcopal Methodist tradition project. The earliest Methodist saddlebag preachers to arrive in the area held services not in Georgetown but in the nearby settlement of Glen Williams, forming a congregation there in 1839. These Wesylian Methodists built a small wooden frame chapel in Glen Williams and served the area. Noted firebrand preacher Rev Edgerton Ryerson visited the site in 1841, preaching both in Glen Williams and in the new settlement of Georgetown; MethodistsRead More →

The gift of a Nikon F80 kickstarted my deep dive into photography and a return of film as a medium in my toolkit. With the F80 came a selection of lenses; some were good, and others were cheap. And only one of the lenses (AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D) I got with that F80 remains intact in my kit today. But there was one lens from that kit that I missed the most, the AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8D. As I mentioned in last month’s lens review, the D-Type lenses can carry a high price on the used market, but the Non-D lenses can be had forRead More →

Sitting quietly on Guelph Line, this small stone church is easily missed or thought that it is no longer an active church. But this historic church is one of the many churches along the main stretch of the former Nassagaweya Township. The first Anglican ministers began holding services through the township in 1842; these were often held in the homes of the congregant ministers or a local schoolhouse. In 1844, the congregation had grown enough to warrant the purchase of a lot from George Curry to serve the communities of Moffet, Haltonville and Campbellville communities. The lot, located at 10th Sideroad, would serve as aRead More →

If you’re thinking, wait a minute, haven’t you reviewed Ektachrome? Then the answer is yes; I’ve reviewed the re-release of Ektachrome 100. But this is something a little different, while Eastman Ektachrome Color Reversal Film 5294 was discontinued and re-introduced as a motion picture reversal stock. Reviewing Atlanta Film Co’s Euphoric 100 is probably the strangest film I’ve reviewed because I’m not reviewing it as a reversal film. Instead, I’m reviewing it as a cross-processed film using the Eastman Color Negative Rev. 2 process through a proper motion picture film lab. This is inspired (as the name of the film is) by the TV SeriesRead More →

There is nothing more essentially Canadian than maple syrup. And while Canada doesn’t have exclusive rights to this sweet and slightly sticky condiment, it certainly is wrapped up in the Canadian mythos, at least for us here in Ontario and Quebec. Plus, several American states, especially Michigan and Vermont. And through the middle of March and into April is the season where the sap starts to run, and the sugar bushes are filled with steam as maple syrup is made. And while there are many large-scale producers, there are also many spots that host festivals where you can learn about the history, the process, andRead More →