It’s been a hot minute since I had a chance to hang out with following historical reenactors in any major way. But this week, it’s a little different from my usual War of 1812/Napoleonic event. We’ve skipped ahead one hundred years and into the Great War. I had a chance to head out to The Hex, a small farm in rural Milton, for an event with a World War 1 unit representing a Swiss Regiment that defended the country’s border and helped maintain their neutrality during the conflict. During my time at school, World War One fell into my Grade 10 history class in aRead More →

Lindsay, the last bastion of civilization before the wild north of cottage country. If you could call Lindsay a “Bastion of Civilization.” I wrote that quote many many years ago now in a short story about a rather frightful drive up to a cottage. Honestly looking back, the story is terrible. But the quote, the quote has lived on and seemed to have gotten around a bit especially among friends from PYPS who are from and some still live in Lindsay, Ontario. Having spent the morning in Coboconk (which as an aside also features in that story) doing my first photo shoot in a longRead More →

The Hasselblad V-System, one that has achieved legendary status within the photographic community. I’m surprised that I actually own the original 500c, and while I don’t use it as much as I used to, it remains a popular tool in my kit. But what about going with something a little newer? The original 500c saw its initial release in 1957 and certainly has flaws, but as a system camera, it started something. While the 503cx isn’t the newest horse in the stable, it adds a pile of features that makes up a greatly improved camera system but allows the use of the older accessories. AndRead More →

There have always been certain locations that have appeared in all my projects; one of them is the city of Toronto. But that’s the weird part about running a project that relies on some freedom of movement when that freedom has been curtailed. You often have to find new locations to visit. But it took twenty-nine weeks to make it out into Toronto. But it was a weird way of going into the city. I didn’t take public transit, I went early, and I drove in, right into the core of Toronto. Something I don’t often do, because well, I don’t particularly appreciate driving inRead More →

I honestly cannot remember where I first saw St. Marys mentioned, but there’s a good chance it was on Pinterest. And it is well worth a trip with a historic downtown that I love with tonnes of historic buildings that stand a lot of railway history. While off my usual beaten track, it was well worth the detail out for a lovely stroll. Sadly I couldn’t stay for too long and missed many interesting sites in the town; I certainly hope to make it back out here for a future “On The Road” video for my YouTube channel. The area where St Marys is todayRead More →

Hamilton is an interesting city; it’s seen a lot over the course of its history, which is echoed in many buildings. The downtown core is the focus of this week, which I have spent many years wandering around and watching the ever-shifting changes from the piles of abandoned buildings to many disappearing or being reborn. While I don’t visit the downtown as much anymore with my exploring days shifting to more legal means and the number of abandoned buildings in the downtown becoming slimmer, it certainly was an eye-opening experience going back. The earliest humans to settle in this region were the Chonnonton or AttiwandaronkRead More →

Well, we made it to the halfway point! And I finally made it out to Elora, Ontario. A location I’ve wanted to include in the project since the first couple of months of 2021. But things kept getting in the way and it had to be pushed back. But I wasn’t going to let it happen again and while my client shoot had to be pushed back, I still wanted to make sure to include the historic village anyways! Of course, the day I went the weather was not exactly ideal, but I’ve never let a bit of rain or overcast skies stop me andRead More →

I’m surprised I’ve made it this far into the year without having a no theme week! Twenty-Five weeks, not bad. But the best part is that this is a no theme week not because I needed a break or something bad happened but rather one that I decided upon to help out the Embrace the Grain Podcast and their community engagement project for their Facebook group for Film of the Month. And June’s film of the month is Fomapan 100, so it saddled up nicely with the ongoing weekly project. And sure I could have used some medium format rolls I had kicking around butRead More →

When it comes to Living History museums, I have a long enjoyment of these sites. From jumping in Pioneer Puddles at Upper Canada Village to putting on musketry displays before Waterloo’s 200th. One of my favourites is Westfield outside of Hamilton, Ontario. While smaller and quieter, it has some of the oldest buildings from this part of the province! And while the museum aspect is officially closed for the time being, I learned that the site itself remains accessible and without reservations! So I took an early morning visit to avoid any major crowds and got some beautiful morning light. While every building on theRead More →

What makes this week a bit more interesting is that almost this time last year, Heather and I were on vacation and driving along the Niagara Parkway, a favourite drive for us that is perfectly safe to do even during a global pandemic (but unlike last year, the end is now very much insight). Like last year, I was shooting my Nikon FM loaded with Fomapan 100. But I learned from last year and brought a slightly longer lens and picked a different developer! Long before the arrival of the Europeans, the earliest human settlers in the Niagara Region, those of the Neutral Nation thatRead More →