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When I call the Rolleiflex 2.8F the oldest camera in my toolkit, that doesn’t mean it is oldest by age, rather oldest having been in my toolkit the longest of any other cameras. I got the camera in 2010 after buying it from the original owner. The original owner having purchased it in Germany in 1969 along with most major accessories, and since then it became a near-constant companion. And the camera saw a lot of action from trips to abandoned buildings, nature to weddings and other portrait sessions. The Rolleiflex 2.8F is my third and honestly final TLR in my kit having solidified myRead More →

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Note, this article was originally written in 2014, I have since updated it seeing as the Toronto Film Shooters has expanded well beyond my expectations. So you want to run a photo walk? Excellent! Running and even just attending such events are really good for you as a photographer. Because often we spend so much time sitting in front of a computer or locked in a dark room, so some social interaction is a good thing! Plus you never know you might learn something. I’ve attended plenty of photo walks and have been for the past year and a bit running my own Toronto FilmRead More →

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The St. Lawrence River had remained relatively quiet during the first year of the war, in fact it was for the most part downright peaceful. Both sides were enjoying a rather healthy trade relationship. The simple fact was that most of the St. Lawrence valley was occupied by Loyalists, those who went to or were forced to move to the colony of Upper Canada following the American Revolution, and many still had family on the American side of the river. This was not going to fly in 1813, as the war escalated, raids became common. On the 6th of February, a raid lead by MajorRead More →

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One of the many unsung British heroes of the War of 1812, Miller Worsley the son of a clergyman was born on the 8th of July, 1791. He volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1803. The navy unlike the army at the time often promoted through merit rather than money and by 1805 he was a midshipman. While serving aboard H.M. Ship Swiftsure (74) participated in the Battle of Trafalgar. While he passed with Lieutenant’s Exam in 1810 his promotion was delayed due to a large number of officers in the Royal Navy at the time. By 1812 he was serving at the Bermuda StationRead More →

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One of two Canadian born British Officer during the War of 1812 was Charles Michael de Salaberry, born in the town on Beauport in Lower Canada (today Quebec) on the 19th of November 1778. His family having a long tradition of military service with the French and then British armies, de Salaberry joined at 14 as a gentleman volunteer in the 44th Regiment of Foot. It was too long after that a family friend, Prince Edward Augustus secured an Ensign’s commission in the 1st Battalion of the 60th Regiment of Foot. Joining the regiment in 1794, de Salaberry proved his worth, rising to the rankRead More →

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Despite having lost Lake Erie to the Americans in 1813, Commodore James Lucas Yeo was not about to let Commodore Isaac Chauncy repeat this on Lake Ontario. As such both men engaged in one of largest arms race during the war, the constant construction of ships. Yeo at the King’s navy yards in Kingston and Chauncy at Sackets Harbor. A note on the name of the title as ‘Raid on Oswgeo’ often you will find this known as Raid on Fort Oswego, this is simply not true, the main fort in the town was Fort Ontario, and was the only manned fortification in the city.Read More →

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During the War of 1812, Sackets Harbor was the major US Naval base on Lake Ontario, home base to Commodore Isaac Chauncy’s squadron and primary shipyard for the navy. In 1812 the Royal Navy had bombarded the base with little effect, but in 1813 following the American capture of Fort George. General Vincent having fallen back to Burlington Heights sent a message to Prevost and the newly appointed Commodore James Lucas Yeo that Chauncy’s entire squadron was at Niagara leaving Sackets Harbor for the most part undefended. The newly appointing commander of the Lake Ontario Squadron, Commodore James Lucas Yeo jumped at the chance, inRead More →

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Located in Oswego, New York, Fort Ontario, is one of three 18th and 19th century fortifications that were built to defend the Oswego River. Often confused and called Fort Oswego, Fort Ontario is located on the western bank of the Oswego River, while the actual Fort Oswego was located on the Eastern Bank, and stood approximately at West First and Lake Street in Oswego. The main gate of the fort Originally constructed as “Fort Six Nations” in 1755 by the French during the French and Indian War (part of the greater Seven Years War), following the French capture of the region that saw the BritishRead More →

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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 →

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Located on a sleepy treelined street in Ann Arbor Michigan in an old building is a museum, while not large, holds a piece of Americana, the Argus Museum. I was inspired by Mark O’Brien who mentioned this museum on Episode 108 of the Film Photography Podcast and decided to take a trip to visit on my way home from Ohio on the August Long Weekend. One of the neat features of the museum is where it’s located, not just Ann Arbor, but in the original buildings that the cameras were made in. That’s right, instead of demolishing or letting them fall apart (which would’ve beenRead More →