This past Tuesday, the Ides of March, is also Expired Film Day. So I figured I would do a post about shooting expired film along with tips/tricks that I’ve come across with shooting old/expired film stocks. While I do a majority of my shooting with fresh film stock there is a certain level of fun and intrigue when shooting with expired film stock. 1. You can Shoot Film that is no longer available fresh. There are plenty of film stocks out there that is new that you can often make behave like well loved film stock in the past but it just never will beRead More →

Wars are won often through sheer force of arms, then a treaty is signed or just a cease fire put in place controlled by the side who holds the upper hand. And while the real war continued to rage across the Atlantic Ocean, both sides began to open up a new campaign, one to end the war in the ancient Flemish town of Ghent in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (today part of Belgium). The Americans sent John Qunicy Adams, Henry Clay, James A. Bayard, and Jonathan Russell. The British party was much smaller, Vice-Admiral James the Lord Gambier, Admiral of the Red, Under SecretaryRead More →

Anyone who has been in photography for a long time will remember the legendary Kodak film, no, not Kodachrome, the other one…Panatomic-X. Panatomic-X was first released in 1933 and continued until 1987 this fine grain ASA-32 panchromatic black & white film produced a huge tonal range and allowed for even 35mm negatives to be printed extremely large without noticeable grain…and when there was grain is was very pleasing. These days you cannot find fresh film, or even another film on the market like it. Most of the film I’ve shot expired back in the 1970s but can still be shot at box speed (ASA-32). TheRead More →

When my Nikon F80 started to flake out, I needed a replacement, but in those days the Nikon F5 (my grail camera) remained financially out of reach, so I went with the one step down from the F5, the F4. The camera quickly gained my trust as the go-to 35mm camera when I headed out into the field and lasted in my collection for several years before I switched to the Nikon F5 and even then there was overlap. Despite the flaws of the early autofocus, the LCD bleed, and limitations with manual focus and AF-G lenses, the F4 became a constant companion. I knewRead 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 →

Street photography is not something for every photographer. Getting out there and taking pictures of random strangers in the street. Sure you get some people who turn away, or make a face, or even confront you about it. But for the most part, people are generally unaware. Back in August I went out and wandered up then down Queen Street in Toronto along with some fellow film photographers to capture a little slice of life on a typical Saturday afternoon in the city. Probably one of my favourite combos for shooting in the Street is my Nikon F4 and 105mm f/2 lens sure not aRead More →

While the Battle of Lake Erie was considered the greatest inland naval battle of 1813, the Battle of Plattsburg or rather Battle of Lake Champlain was the greatest inland naval battle of 1814. By fall of 1814 the British army had beaten back Napoleon and was pouring troops into North American at a rapid pace, already General Robert Ross had burning Washington DC and was marching for Baltimore, another force had captured most of what would become Maine. Yeo and Chauncy continued to chase each other around Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron had been secured under British control with the bold captures of the TigressRead More →

There’s nothing left of this fort which is a real shame, but if you consider where it was located, it really would make no sense to maintain a historic fort right in the middle of downtown Detroit, Michigan. But if you care to visit the former site, don’t let the name of the city scare you. Detroit as it stands today, shot from Windsor, Ontario For the most part, Fort Detroit has been known over its short life by three names. And while there’s nothing left the fortification was site to the first major engagement during the War of 1812. Initially established to hold theRead More →

I seem to have found yet another home away from home. Emmet county is up in the northern part of Michigan. I was first introduced to this beautiful part of the United States in 2012 at Photostock. Photostock, the brainchild of world-renowned photographer Bill Schwab is a gathering of photographers in his backyard. And in its early years, it was literally in his backyard, but by the time I started going, it had moved to the Birchwood Inn; this throw-back backwoods hotel would make you think you had stepped back into the 1960s. I have written about Photostock before, but this time it’s different. PhotostockRead More →

When war was declared in June of 1812, neither side was particular ready or wanting to go to war, they hoped that simply being at war would generate the fighting spirit among the troops. Plus with methods of communications being what they were at the time, there was a bit of a delay getting the word out, in fact the British forces stationed in Upper and Lower Canada knew about it before even the Americans did. The British had a very small force of regular troops stationed in British North America, most being concentrated at Quebec City, the Capital of the colonies, and Halifax, homeRead More →