When you first lay eyes on the Contax G series of cameras you’re going to wonder to yourself, what sort of camera are these? Are they rangefinders? Are they some kind of digital camera? A dressed-up point and shoot? Well the G Series is sort of both, well it certainly is not a digital camera. But it’s a rangefinder and a dressed-up point-and-shoot, in reality, it’s a camera that’s in a class all of its own, the Autofocus Rangefinder (AFRF). I don’t remember exactly what drew me to the G2 when I first got my hands on the camera back at the end of theRead More →

One of the more contested figured in the Anglo-American War of 1812 was the Governor General and Military commander of British North America, General George Prevost. Prevost was groomed into the military from an early age, born the 19th of May, 1767 in the province (now state) of New Jersey to a lieutenant-colonel in the British Army, Prevost attended schools in both the American colonies and England before being commissioned an ensign in the 60th Regiment of Foot, his father’s regiment, in 1779. Prevost soon rose quickly through the ranks, mostly due to his having a grandfather who was a banker in Amsterdam as aRead More →

There aren’t many cameras out there that I’ve picked up and loved right off the bat. I could probably count them all on just one hand. Oddly enough they’re all from the Nikon F series. The Nikon F2 came into my toolkit by chance and quickly earned a strong reputation for being a reliable camera in any weather and one that has been on the waiting list for a total CLA when I have the chance to send away. I can use all my manual focus lenses on it, and it doesn’t miss a beat. A constant companion on photo walks and trips, easy toRead More →

When I call the Rolleiflex 2.8F the oldest camera in my toolkit, that doesn’t mean it is oldest by age, rather oldest having been in my toolkit the longest of any other cameras. I got the camera in 2010 after buying it from the original owner. The original owner having purchased it in Germany in 1969 along with most major accessories, and since then it became a near-constant companion. And the camera saw a lot of action from trips to abandoned buildings, nature to weddings and other portrait sessions. The Rolleiflex 2.8F is my third and honestly final TLR in my kit having solidified myRead More →

Publisher, Parliamentarian, and Traitor, the strange case of Joseph Willcocks started in 1773, born in the Republic of Ireland, at the age of 27 the young man found his way to the town of York in Upper Canada. He soon found employment as the private clerk of the receiver general, Peter Russell, but it would not last, as Russell was not pleased with Willcocks’ advances towards his half-sister. But that did not stop Willcocks, who found another patron quickly in the form of the colony’s chief justice, Henry Allcock and with his influence was appointed to Home District Sheriff. However his views on the landRead More →

While most of the actions of the War of 1812 took place along the border between the Canadas and the United States, there was a series of native raids in the southern reaches of the Northwest and Indiana Territories. The native allied, stirred into action by the successes of their British Allies in the north proceeded to lay siege to several American forts such as Forts Harrison and Wayne throughout the fall of 1812. But when General William Henry Harrison took command of the Army of the Northwest following Hull’s removal after his loss at Detroit. The old hand at dealing with the native threatRead More →

Control of the lakes were key during the War of 1812 as the fastest way to move troops, equipment, and supplies was by water. Most the roads in the Canadas and the US weren’t the super highways we know today, they were nothing more than dirt roads that would easily become mud pits in the snow and rain. To maintain control of the lakes both sides maintained squadrons of ships that could keep the enemy pinned in their own bases. Unlike Lake Erie which was controlled first by the British because the US Naval Squadron had been captured in 1812 after Brock captured Detroit, andRead More →

Note, this article was originally written in 2014, I have since updated it seeing as the Toronto Film Shooters has expanded well beyond my expectations. So you want to run a photo walk? Excellent! Running and even just attending such events are really good for you as a photographer. Because often we spend so much time sitting in front of a computer or locked in a dark room, so some social interaction is a good thing! Plus you never know you might learn something. I’ve attended plenty of photo walks and have been for the past year and a bit running my own Toronto FilmRead More →

They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England’s foam –Read More →

The St. Lawrence River had remained relatively quiet during the first year of the war, in fact it was for the most part downright peaceful. Both sides were enjoying a rather healthy trade relationship. The simple fact was that most of the St. Lawrence valley was occupied by Loyalists, those who went to or were forced to move to the colony of Upper Canada following the American Revolution, and many still had family on the American side of the river. This was not going to fly in 1813, as the war escalated, raids became common. On the 6th of February, a raid lead by MajorRead More →