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 →

After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Thames the stretch of western Upper Canada, some 200 miles became nothing more than a no-man’s land between the American garrison at Amhurstburg and the British stronghold at Burlington Heights. Neither side had the will or manpower to secure the area so it devolved into skirmishes between the few British Regulars still in the area along with local Militia and Native warriors still allied with the British and Canadian Population and the American raiding parties conducting economic warfare in the area, destroying crops, mills, and storehouses containing food and goods bound for the armies in theRead More →

Woodward Presbyterian Church, or rather St. Curvy, has a story like many churches that once thrived in the American mid-west. Founded in 1908 with a membership of 163, it was tasked to serve the north part of the city. With the Reverend Sherman L. Divine at the helm, the church began to seek money and land to build their church. The land the church still sits on today was donated by Mrs. Tracy McGregor. The firm of Sidney Rose Badgley & William Nicklas was hired to design the church. Construction began late in 1908, and by the time the cornerstone was laid on the 1stRead More →

So why go back and revisit photos that are getting close to four years old now, I have plenty of new good content to share. However there is something to be said for taking a look back at your photographic journey, and to see where, everything changed. For me, that change really took place here, in Montreal Quebec during my vacation there in 2010. I think my muse finally woke up in Montreal, especially in old Montreal. And film started to come back to me in a big way. But not just medium, but stylistically I finally got what I was looking for in myRead More →

Born into the American aristocracy on August 9th, 1773. Harrison was the youngest of seven children born to Benjamin Harrison V and his wife Elizabeth. He grew up on he Berkely Planation in Charles City County Virginia. He entered school at age 14 studying the classics, then entered the field of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1790, after the death of his father in 1791 leaving little funds for him to continue his studies a friend arranged for him to meet Governor Henry Lee, and within a day Harrison accepted an Ensigns commission in the United States Army and was assigned to theRead More →

How does one review a film they have only used once? Easy, when the film is something special. Eastman SO-331 High Contrast Intermediate Panchromatic Film is one of those rare cult films that have been floating around for a while. The SO in the name indicates that it is a special order emulsion. And it has developed a rather unique following among the film photography community. Back in October when I was in New York City for the PhotoPlus Expo I was handed a roll of the film by Michael Raso of the Film Photography Podcast (who got a large amount of the stock fromRead More →

Both the United States Navy and the Royal Navy knew that who ever had control of the lakes and water ways could control the battlefields on the land. The water was the fastest most effective way to move armies and supplies. On the British side the squadron on Lake Ontario was commanded by Commodore James Lucas Yeo out of the Navy Yards at Kingston. The American’s squadron out of Sacketts Harbor under Commodore Isaac Chauncey. By 1813 both sides had ships roaming Lake Ontario, many conducting raids against the other’s shore targets and small villages and ports where stores were held waiting for ships toRead More →

I had known about the Cheltenham Badlands for sometime but I never realized how close to me they actually where or that we had such a formation here in Ontario. (And I’ve also recently found out there’s another such formation in the province). It was almost like the opening scene in Jurassic Park. Formed on an ancient riverbed out of Queenston shale, the formation was exposed in the 1930s after soil erosion caused by poor farming techniques revealed it. The land was purchased by the Ontario Heritage trust for conversation. Although the photos don’t show it, the red coloured soil is caused by high levelsRead More →

I was remiss in posting about this year’s Photostock back in June! As with last year, it was a fantastic time, more so for me this year, as I stayed at the Birchwood to party it up with the group late into the night. Late nights and early mornings. Three things make Photostock great. The Place, the People, and the Community. So the photos I took reflect the first two items, the Place and the People. The third one can be shown in the photos. However, video drives the point home. This group of photographers shoots a wide range of cameras and techniques, yet weRead More →