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By 1814, both sides were starting to tire of the war. For the Americans, they had been facing no actual movement. The Royal Navy was causing havoc on the east coast. The British held Mackinac Island, Fort Niagara, the District of Maine, and Prarie Du Chien. The Americans only held Fort Erie, having been turned back in their Niagara invasion. They were under siege and had some control of the western edge of Upper Canada but nothing beyond the settlements of Sandwich and Amherstburg. The possibility of peace negotiations had started in 1813 but were soon shut down. However, with long lines of communication betweenRead More →

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Well we made it through another year. Like every years things did not always go to plan and that’s okay. Because it’s important to be flexible, especially when this blog and other channels is not a full time job. The year was a lot of fun despite being a little chaotic. I always have hope that things will eventually calm down, but they do in fact always calm up. There was a rather unfortunate bump through the fall with a five week support staff strike that did reduce some capacity for creation, but I had the chance to play catch up through October and NovemberRead More →

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The war had ground to an unceremonious stalemate; it had not gone to plan for both the British and Americans. The Americans continued believing that the Canadians would welcome them as liberators rather than invaders and join them in an easy campaign to free them all from the shackles of the Crown and a distant parliament. The British believed that once Napoleon was safely taken care of, a series of campaigns on the eastern seaboard would help the Americans sue for peace on British terms. None of that happened. Instead, the Americans were left to command a small sliver along the Detroit River of UpperRead More →

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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 →