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I kept typing the title “If I left the Zoom”, which is also appropriate these days, but there’s nothing to do with Zoom this week. Instead, the title comes from the third studio album from one of my favourite bands, Jars of Clay. But like zoom, this week also has nothing to do with Jars of Clay. Instead, we’re heading to the Toronto Zoo. The Toronto Zoo is a spot I haven’t been to since my last 52-Roll project on an early date with my (then future) wife, Heather. The first Zoo in the city of Toronto was the Riverdale Zoo that opened in 1873.Read More →

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When it comes to Historic Fort York in Toronto, most people will associate with the Anglo-American War of 1812, which isn’t wrong. The fort is home to the most extensive collection of original buildings from the era and is among the oldest buildings in the city. But this week, we’re moving ahead by a century into the fort’s role during Canada’s involvement in the First World War. When Canada found itself at war in 1914, it had only served once overseas during the Second Boer War. Canada’s involvement in that colonial conflict resulted in a great deal of reform within the Militia. The Militia hadRead More →

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If there’s one thing that I have missed over the past two years, it’s a historical reenactment. And while most if not all War of 1812 events in Canada have again been cancelled, I have managed to satiate my desire for some historical reenactment and, more importantly, photography. Earlier this year I attended a small event in Milton with the 11th Swiss Rifles, a reenactment unit that portrays a typical Swiss Rifle unit during World War One. So when a larger event came up at Toronto’s historic Fort York, I jumped at the chance to see some friends, as you’ll quickly find in the hobbyRead More →

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When it comes to slide film, Fuji Sensia introduced me to the medium, but it was Astia that made me love slide film. Sitting neatly in the worlds of Velvia 100 and Provia 100, Astia is often an overlooked member of the Fujichrome family, with more people going towards Velvia for rich saturated colours or Provia for a more natural tonality. But Astia was a happy medium between the two; you get a stronger contrast than Provia and more natural colours than Velvia. Astia quickly became my go-to slide film for trips and events where I wanted the magic of slide film with a bitRead More →

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When you read the datasheet for Adox Silvermax Developer, you almost can think that this is the secret cypher key to unlock the best possible results when using Adox Silvermax film as the developer is used to unlock a secret silver reserve in Silvermax films and use it to the best photographic potential. Now I’m no language expert, especially German, but I feel that something got lost in translation. (Checks translation), okay, dormant reserves. Either way, this developer is best used with Silvermax films, as it couples with the specialised sensitiser used in that film’s production. But don’t let that stop you as the developerRead More →

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I’m a big fan of Eastman Double-X; it’s a beautiful mid-speed film that offers up amazing latitude and forgiveness along with a lovely grain structure. But for the longest time, it has only been available in 135 (35mm) format because, well, that is generally what cinematographers shoot motion pictures in. Still, it has great potential in medium format. There had been an attempt to have the film produced in 120 format but never went anywhere. At least until earlier this summer, when Cinestill put out the word, they had their BwXX in 120. BwXX is Cinestill’s Eastman Double-X branding and is the same stuff you’veRead More →

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There have always been certain locations that have appeared in all my projects; one of them is the city of Toronto. But that’s the weird part about running a project that relies on some freedom of movement when that freedom has been curtailed. You often have to find new locations to visit. But it took twenty-nine weeks to make it out into Toronto. But it was a weird way of going into the city. I didn’t take public transit, I went early, and I drove in, right into the core of Toronto. Something I don’t often do, because well, I don’t particularly appreciate driving inRead More →

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If there is one film that has achieved a little bit of a cult following these days it’s Adox Silvermax. Silvermax was the first true film to come out of the renewed Adox Fotowerks GmbH factory in Bad Sarrow, Germany and its parent company Fotoimpex. Based on a classic Agfa film, which some people think is rebadged Agfa Scala 200 (a legendary B&W reversal film), it has a higher than normal silver content and when paired with Adox Silvermax Developer presents a classic B&W look. If you were a fan of the older Adox and Efke films, then Silvermax will be your jam (I Hope).Read More →

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Much of my early years of photography were taken up with the Minolta system. From my initial gateway camera, the Hi-Matic 7s to my first SLR the SR-T 102. The next step in my journey would be some level of automation, and for that, in stepped the X-7a. A gift from a church member who was no longer using the camera gifted me the camera and a single lens. But having a set of Minolta SR lenses already, I had an excellent selection of optics. And the camera would be my first experience with a motor drive, go through some of my earliest explorations andRead More →

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When it comes to fine-grain developing, the developer that most people reach for today is Kodak Xtol. But Xtol is one of the newest developers to come out of Kodak, before Xtol if you wanted to tame that grain, you reached for Microdol-X. While I’m unsure as to when Microdol-X was first released by Kodak, I’ve found images online of the powder coming in cans rather than pouches. The logo style is that of 1935, so I’m guessing it was released at some point in the mid-1930s at the earliest. I stumbled across Microdol-X while visiting Pittsburg back in 2015, while my main goal wasRead More →