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While I’ve always known that Fujifilm produces chemistry for film development, I had always assumed it was primarily aimed at colour processing. Since they still manufacture (possibly) mini-lab processing systems for labs to develop C-41. But black & white chemistry? Then I received an email. A reader graciously offered to mail me some developers that were difficult to obtain in North America. I initially thought of Europe, but then a lovely package arrived from Japan and inside were two pouches of Fujifilm Microfine and two pouches of Fujifilm SPD. Well, I was touched, but Microfine was a name I had seen before on the massiveRead More →

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In: Between Darkness & Light
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All along the watchtower Princes kept the view While all the women came and went Barefoot servants, too Well, uh, outside in the cold distance A wildcat did growl Two riders were approaching And the wind began to howl, hey – All Along the Watchtower Once known as the Altraz of Ontario, Millbrook Correctional had an unsavoury reputation among prisoners, citizens, and guards. Millbrook was for the worst of the worst and for those other prisons didn’t want. Set up well outside any urban centre, this is a rare example of a mid-century jail with strange ideas on prison reform. I only made it insideRead More →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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Napoleon had been exiled, to begin with, and the first British reinforcements were starting to arrive on the other side of the Atlantic, bringing with them not only highly trained and effective troops but a steady corps of officers hand-selected by Lord Wellington to take charge and get a great deal of hurt to the Americans. One such officer, Major-General Robert Ross, was dispatched to the Imperial Fortress on Bermuda to coordinate a series of attacks along the eastern seaboard of the United States with Vice-Admiral George Cochrane to distract and pull American resources away from Upper and Lower Canada to respond to the threat.Read More →

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Through the balance of 1813, neither the Americans nor the British made any significant gains to achieve victory. The biggest issue was with the overly cautious commanders on both sides; Major-General William Henry Harrison failed to exploit the rapid retreat by the British Army after their defeat at the Battle of the Thames. He chose to establish a loose beachhead along the Detroit River. Similarly, the Americans had only briefly pushed their advantage in the Niagara region but ended up only able to maintain a small occupation force in the region bolstered by over-enthusiastic traitors. On the British side, Major-General Francis de Rottenburg had nearlyRead More →

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There’s a delightful irony in publishing this post on the 4th of July, a post celebrating Canada. I started working on this post in April after hearing about a list of the ultimate Canadian travel guides being put together by CBC Radio. Now, my travel within Canada is limited. I’ve only visited a handful of provinces. I wanted to put together a post about my seven favourite places I have visited in Canada during my various travels. Some I have visited more than others, but all seven hold a special place in my heart. These are also presented in no particular order. Stratford, Ontario IRead More →

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At the end of my 24mm f/2.8 review I asked: Do I now need to find and invest in the 20mm? Well if you’re reading this review, the answer was yes. I enjoy working with wide-angle lenses, and while I do have the lovely 17-35/2.8-4 D ultra-wide zoom, there’s something special about an ultra-wide prime lens. I started looking at getting this particular lens after I finished my 24/2.8 review for the A-Mount. The desire to add one to my A-Mount kit only increased after picking up the 14mm f/2.8D for my Nikon kit. I was always concerned about the cost of these lenses; usually,Read More →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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The western division of the British Forces in North America was in a tough spot, as was the Naval Squadron on Lake Erie. Both were starved for men, arms, and supplies. Despite several requests to their superiors, both Major-General Henry Proctor and Commodore Robert Barclay were forced to divide what little they had between them. For Proctor, the failure to dislodge or delay the army of Major-General William Henry Harrison by land left a rift between him and the Indigenous forces under the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. He had holed up at Fort Amherstburg and hung all his hopes on a naval victory on Lake Erie.Read More →

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If you have never heard of FX-37, don’t worry. I didn’t know about the developer either until I saw a post from Flic Film about it on their Instagram feed. It fits in with the plethora of other “FX” developers, some of which I have reviewed on the blog (FX-39 II and FX-2). FX-37 is the invention of noted British photographer Geoffrey Crawley to solve the problem of sharpness in T-Grained emulsions. As a developer, FX-37 is a non-solvent developer designed to maximise the sharpness of these modern emulsions but can also work with traditional cubic-grained films. Technical Details Manufacturer: Flic Film Name: Crawley’s FX-37Read More →

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The loss of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock had been keenly felt through the first part of 1813; while Major-General Henry Proctor had defended the British line in the west, the losses at York and Niagara had dealt a major blow to the British morale. It also did not help that almost every major ship-to-ship engagement had resulted in an American victory. And now with York still rebuilding and nearly the entire Niagara peninsula under American control and Chauncy back in Sacketts Harbor protecting Lake Ontario, the British needed victory to ensure that the whole of Upper Canada be preserved. Major-General Roger Hale Sheaffe was reassignedRead More →

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The Minolta Zoom 24-105mm is Minolta’s late-model elevated kit lens, released initially with the Maxxum 7. It was designed to be better than the lower spec kit lens, the 28-100mm. And you know, when you put the two lenses next to each other, the 24-105 is a far better lens and doesn’t carry a hefty price tag. In all fairness, I was not happy with the results I got from the 28-100, and my copy broke and had to be fixed with a doner lens. However, the 24-105 is only slightly better as a lens because despite being an elevated kit lens, it is stillRead More →