While many continued to use and love the all mechanical Nikon F2 the F3 was a departure of sorts for Nikon moving towards an electronic-based camera and a very stylish one at that. Designed by the noted industrial designer Giorgetto Giugiaro who introduced the red strip that still appears on Nikon SLRs today. This is the camera that got me back into semi-automatic manual focus photography after I received it as a gift from a photojournalist with a vast collection of lenses and the MD-4 motor drive. While heavily used, this camera has seen a lot of action in the past and continues to seeRead More →

If there is an icon of Nikon’s durability and commitment to quality the Nikon FM2 is that camera. With one of the most extended production periods of any Nikon camera (1982-2001), the FM2 is a no-nonsense, mechanical camera that can take any punishment you throw at it. I picked up the FM2n originally as a gift to a friend, but quickly fell in love with the camera and promptly purchased an older FM for the friend and kept the FM2n for my own. The FM2n became a constant companion. The Dirt Make: Nikon Model: FM2n Type: 35mm, Single Lens Reflex Lens: Interchangeable, Nikon F-Mount Shutter:Read More →

I remember the first time I saw the Pentax 645; it was at Belle Art Camera in Hamilton, Ontario. It was sitting there in all its medium format beauty with the 75mm f/2.8 lens. The store employee told me all about the camera, what it did, how it worked. And I was looking to up my medium format game. The price was right, so I dropped the cash and left with a camera that would come with me on future trips, projects, and even some weddings. As a camera, the Pentax 645 is a workhorse and a working man’s camera, it has everything you wantRead More →

There are many who served in the War of 1812 that made a name for themselves, some positive and on which history smiled upon, and those whom history was not as kind to. American lawyer, politician, and hero of the American Revolution William Hull is one such men. Born in 1753 in Derby Connecticut, Hull’s goal was to become a lawyer, studying law and graduating from Harvard in 1772 and then passed the bar in 1775. The start of the American Revolutionary war brought him to join the patriot militia, quickly rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by 1785. His prowess in battle was notedRead More →

The term battle is a bit misleading. The Battle of Fort Dearborn is one of the many skirmishes that took place in the old Northwest during the course of the Anglo-American War of 1812. The Indigenous peoples who decided to take advantage of the conflict further east began a campaign against American settlers and expansion by laying siege to the series of Forts established to aid in the colonisation of the American territories established after the Northwest Indian Wars of the previous century. Some of these sieges met with success, but after the defeat of the Americans at Mackinac Island, General William Hull began toRead More →