Here we are, there is always a certain bittersweetness about completing a project. And for me, this one was an eye-opener. It challenged not only my world view but my view of my own country and our history. But that is what history is supposed to do, challenge us to learn from the past and see how we can change the future. And here is the trouble with history, we can only see it through the eyes of those who wrote it and our personal bias. And trust me, it is hard to overcome your own bias. But the biggest problem with history that isRead More →

If there is one film developer that I will always go back to and use until they cease production (which isn’t any time soon) that developer is HC-110. Released in 1962 to little fanfare, Kodak HC-110 quickly found traction as being the developer of choice of Ansel Adams and those who use the zone system extensively. Kodak HC-110 is the third black & white developer that I ever used and became my developer of choice. Personally what keeps me coming back to HC-110 is the general-purpose use, the excellent results, economy, stability, and results that it continues to give. Kodak HC-110 has never let meRead More →

I used to run with a 50mm f/1.8; I got one when I got my hands on my first Nikon autofocus camera, the F80. And you know that was a great lens if you want a cheap and fast lens go for the 50mm f/1.8. But if you need something a little speedier or want something with a large front element and don’t care too much about having that f/22 aperture, then go with the 50mm f/1.4. Now I got my first experience with the 50/1.4 with a manual focus version I got with my Nikon F3 and immediately thought this lens superior. It isn’tRead More →

The second colour motion picture film stock available from our friends at Cinestill. Like Cinestill 800T, Cinestill 50D is based on Kodak’s Vision3 50D, a slow colour film designed for outdoor work, hence the D in the name standing for daylight. The film has been pre-stripped of the remjet layer allowing for easier processing in labs and at home. Although like 800T the film is natively designed for Kodak’s ECN-2 process, that’s an expensive process, so I decided instead to go with the old standby Burlington Camera. Now I did shoot this film stock back in 2018 and had it processed C-41 and was blownRead More →

When it comes to film, one of the main reasons it hangs on is thanks to the motion picture industry. And many of the films we love today are based on these cine-films. But when it comes to using these films designed for motion pictures in our still cameras, there is a bit of extra work to be done. Sure you can just load up a roll of Eastman Double-X and develop in regular B&W developers. But the colour film, the Vision3 line, is a whole other kettle of fish. First and foremost in everyone’s mind is the remjet layer, a special carbon-based backing thatRead More →

When it comes to basic bare-bones developers, you don’t get any more simple than Kodak D-76. Kodak D-76 is the common factor between professional and student photographers and everyone in between. It’s a staple in most darkrooms, you can develop film and prints with it, and for me, it was the first developer I ever used for both film and prints. And for a while, I had stopped using Kodak D-76 in my processing, but after I started reviewing films, I got back into the stuff. The reason it gives what you expect, a baseline. It also is relatively inexpensive and economical for long termRead More →

The history of Ireland is a long, complicated, and bloody one. And it is worthy of a project of its own, and I’m sure if I lived in Ireland, I would probably be already have completed such a project. But this is a Canadian History project, yet during the mid 19th Century in a strange twist the history of Irish independence intersected with that of pre-confederation Canada. Ireland had, since the Norman invasion of 1169 been a nation under occupation. And while the ancient history of Ireland stretches out before that date, it seems like the right point to start. Further degradation of the IrishRead More →

When it comes to Kodak’s film catalogue, there are many films in it that we have never seen much of in North America. Among those, the one that confused me the most was ProImage 100. Despite the name, Kodak documents in no way claim that ProImage 100 is a professional film, but then again what makes a professional film? Maybe because it does not come in sheet film format, like Ektar and Portra? That said, I feel ProImage 100 is a great film to shoot in a professional setting, the soft contrast, excellent colour rendition, and slow speed make it a fantastic hybrid of PortraRead More →

When it comes to political change in Canadian history, there has always been two behind any major change. Robert Baldwin and Louis La Fontaine for example, and while George Brown would play a major role it would be George-Étienne Cartier who would provide political support to John A MacDonald but ensure that French-Canadien culture would not be lost. Born the 6th of September 1814 in Sainte-Antonie-sur-Richelieu in Lower Canada. Baptised with the name George in honour of King George III. But George’s family already had a long history in the new world, even claiming relation to Jacques Cartier (although there is no evidence to supportRead More →

Before we get into all this, let me start by staying Ortho Plus is not a new film, it’s just now available in different formats. Originally I shot a box of the stuff in 4×5 when it was only available in sheet format, and it was the first film that I shot that had no real rating set. In fact, most entries for developing times on the massive dev chart simply had a question mark for the ISO rating. I found that this gave me a lot more latitude when working with the film. I could rate it higher or lower depending on the situationRead More →