1 of 10 PAGES The PHSC E-MAIL · THE PHSC E-MAIL 2 VOL 6-3 JUNE 2006 A Photographic Visit to the Spring Fair Touring the tables by Mark Singer Set up for the Spring Fair began at

THE PHSC E-MAIL 1 VOL 6-3 JUNE 2006

T h e P H S C E - M A I LV o l u m e 6 - 3 , S u p p l e m e n t t o P h o t o g r a p h i c C a n a d i a n a , J u n e 2 0 0 6

T h e P h o t o g r a p h i c H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y o f C a n a d a

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PHSC Monthly Meetingsare held on the third Wednesday fromSeptember to June in the Gold Room,of Memorial Hall in the basement ofthe North York Central Library,5120 Yonge St., North York, Ontario. Themeeting officially begins at 8:00 p.m. butis preceded by a Buy & Sell and socialgathering from 7:00 p.m. onwards. Forinformation contact the PHSC or FelixRusso, 33 Indian Rd. Cres., Toronto, ON,M6P 2E9, Phone (416) 532-7780.

Programming Schedule:June 21st, 2006-MaryAnn Camilleri will discuss hernew book “Carte Blanche” which fea-tures Canada’s finest photographersand will tell of Canada’s first arts publish-ing house -The Magenta Foundation.

September 20th, 2006-There will be a two month layoverduring the summer while program-ming is finalized for the Fall series.Our first program will commence onWednesday, September 20th withWolfgang and Mary Ann Sell, theworld’s foremost researchers and col-lectors of View-Master products andcollectables.

Ideas for monthly programsare most welcome. Please suggestspeakers, topics and even interestinglocations to visit. Contact FelixRusso at (416) 532-7780 or e-mail to [email protected]. Supportthe team that keeps our society alive.

FOR PROGRAM UPDATESwww.phsc.ca

our E-mai l address is

[email protected] A. Carter – Webmaster

Wednesday, June 21st Meeting at 7:30 PM The speaker for our June

meeting is MaryAnn Camilleriwho recently returned to herhometown of Toronto to openMagenta Publishing.

She is a powerhouse ofenergy and imagination. In1994, while she was in her 20s,she helped found the glossyarts magazine Venue. Thatsame year, she published acollection of photographs ofdrag queens called Ladies,Please!, which opened doorsfor her in New York. After work-ing in the American metropolisfor 10 years as a publisher ofart books, Camilleri did someinvestigating and found that Canada was producing world-classartists, sculptors, architects and photographers, but there was nopublisher creating a record of their work. That led to the idea tofound Magenta, a new Canadian publishing house with a mandateto publish the best of Canada's visual arts.

Magenta recently launched its first book, Carte Blanche, which isa collection of the work of Canada's best photographers. The 300-page book includes internationally recognized names such asEdward Burtynsky, Yuri Dojc, Janieta Eyre, Angela Grauerholz, RitaLeistner, Laura Letinsky and Governor General's Award-winnerArnaud Maggs. A second project is another collection of photos fromCanada's best emerging photographers.

And while Carte Blanche is 100% Canadian, Magenta's ultimategoal is to produce both homegrown and international publications.All the profits from book sales will go toward promoting and pub-lishing the work of artists aged 13 to 25.

"The overwhelming support,” says Camilleri, “not only from theToronto-based art community but nationwide, enabled me to moveMagenta forward confidently.This community, its artists and the excit-ing future that lies ahead for Canada is the reason I knew this was afight to take on."

MaryAnn CamilleriP

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Monthly meetings are held in the Gold Room (basement) of the North York Central Library,5120 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario. Good parking – subway accessible.

THE PHSC E-MAIL 2 VOL 6-3 JUNE 2006

A Photographic Visit to the Spring Fair

Touring the tables by Mark Singer

Set up for the Spring Fair began at noon Saturday soeverything was ready when 74 tableholders arrived tooccupy 120 tables. There were 600 paid admissions ofwhom 501 used a discount coupon. Ed Warner with TonyFernandes and Win Morris took money at the front door.

Our thanks to the “security people” who made the dayrun smoothly.Tiit Kodar collected money from 16 unpaidtableholders. Thanks to Egon Kellner, Julian Morasuttiand Russ Forfar. Wayne Gilbert recruited new memberswhile Bob Lansdale was photographer and mounted thePHSC display. The policewoman provided securitypresence. I also thank Werner Dreschel.

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All the shiny black and white cameras andlenses that you ever would want too see.

From the opening at 10AM visitors crowded thetables looking for bargains and unknown gems.

Karl Wright and Randy Cole offered classicantique items. Check his web at www.intofoc.us

Cindy Motzenbecker andSam Vinegar from Michigan

John Kantymir shows goodvariety of field and folders.

Norm Daley and Pat Agnewhad Thornton Pickard Ruby.

Steve Rudd of NYC had“Charlie Tuna” and Vesta mini.

Raymond with 6x9 Linhoff and8x10 Cambo studio cameras.

The public toured the tables looking for theirfavourite piece of equipment and collectible.

Ticket dispensers and cashier were kept busyserving arrivals throughout the day.

From Montreal Renaud Therrien and FrancoisLemai displayed exceptional cine collectibles.

Bill Belier (at right) gives advice to visiting cou-ple on selecting a black folder or box camera.

The PHSC promotion booth was on hand tooffer visitors information of Society benefits.

Frank Scholler served up a variety of useableequipment at his well attended table.

Spring Fair Continued

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Willy Nassau and John Durst offer darkroomequipment from Wilfred Laurier University.

Win Morris, Ed Warner and Toni Fernandes wel-comed visitors and sold tickets at the front door.

Panorama camera display drew attention of RetaBurbank, Kimberly Findlay and Kathie Robson.

Judy Rauliuk at the Les Jones table introducesCindy Motzenbecker to photo collections.

Renaud Therrien of Montreal always surpriseswith his exhibits - a 5x7 Graflex Big Bertha.

Visitors search through photo and book collec-tions on the tables of Robert Wilson.

Hans Kotiesen had complete 8x10Rochester Opt.King camera 1895-97.

Robert Gutteridge is downsizinghis cine equipment collection.

Djuka Njegovan of Stoney Creekshowed good selection of folders.

Ansel Adams visited our showaccording to label on Lincoln Ross.

Jack Arno, as a drug store deliveryboy ca 1946, yearned for the latestBrownie Reflex with side flash. Heposted a picture on his bedroom mir-ror and bought one at the Spring Fair.

Taku Kumabe has daringly starteda new Canadian photographic mag-azine called U&I. His third issue isjust out. For details check his website at www.uandimag.com.

After the show has closed – Mark Singer, Co-ordinator for both the Spring andFall Fairs takes time out after a hectic 24 hours in which he set up the showduring Saturday, was on duty from the earliest hours of Sunday and here, ahalf hour after closing, would spend 3-4 hours having all the tables, chairs anddebris removed from the soccer playing field. Our sincere thanks to Mark!

The most comprehensive collec-tion of manuscript material relatingto William Fox Talbot's career andscholarly interests has been donatedto the British Library. The gift will, forthe first time, allow full access tomany hitherto little-studied aspectsof the work of one of the most cre-ative scientific minds of the Victorianperiod. Talbot is most widely knowntoday as the inventor of the negative-positive photographic process (theCalotype or Talbotype) and thearchive includes a unique and exten-sive collection of original prints, neg-atives and other photographic mate-rial. Previously housed in the FoxTalbot Museum at Talbot's home ofLacock Abbey, the new arrangementwill allow more researchers toaccess the collection.

By the end of last year, femalesbecame the primary user of digitalcameras in 60 percent of U.S. house-holds. Out of all the digital camerahouseholds, women purchased digi-tal cameras in 44 percent of thehouseholds. The average age of dig-ital camera purchasers and userscontinued to fall as well. Forty-fouryears was average age for primaryusers; the average age of the personthat purchased the household's digi-tal camera fell to 45. The profile ofhouseholds that obtained digitalcameras in 2005 provides an evenmore vivid picture of the shifts in pur-chaser and user profiles. The newestusers of digital cameras are 67 per-cent female and on average are 41-years-old. Furthermore, for the firsttime ever, females accounted for themajority of digital camera purchasersin 2005

Domestic demand for digitalcameras has been stalling recentlybecause of heavy market saturation.But replacement demand is beingignited by the introduction of newand improved functions, such asanti-blurring technology.

An excellent report on large for-mat digital backs is on the site forToronto’s Luminous Landscape ath t t p : / / w w w . l u m i n o u s -landscape.com/essays/back-test-ing.shtml

In the fierce fight for first place inthe digital camera market, Sonyfinally delivered its first digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.The appro-

priately named Alpha DSLR-A100, asophisticated 10.2 megapixel cam-era with built-in image stabilization,is designed to appeal to upper-endconsumers and enthusiasts who pre-fer customizable features over point-and-shoot models. With an 18-70mm zoom lens, it sells for $1,000.Additionally, Sony unveiled 19accompanying lenses that range inprice from $200 to $1400.

An erroneous story that HPPhotosmart R707 digital camerascould catch fire is corrected to readthat firmware has been issued toprevent such a hazard. If used with anon-rechargeable battery (LithiumDuracell CP-1) and connected to theAC adapter or docking station,potentially the battery could catchfire.This firmware resolves the issue.

A new Ricoh Caplio R40 compactdigital camera, features a 6.0megapixel CCD and 5.7x opticalwide zoom (equivalent to 28-160mmin 35mm camera format) in a slimbody 26-mm thin. The 6-megapixelCCD combined with Ricoh’s SmoothImaging engine enables high-speedprocessing and noise reduction,resulting in clear, high-definitionimages with faithful colour reproduc-tion. Users can select an aspect ratioof 3:2. The large 2.5” LCD allowseasy composition and increased effi-ciency. The brightness of the LCD

can be increased to maximum with asingle touch, and visibility can beadjusted for well-lit environments.Another unique feature includes theskew correction function where thealgorithm built into the camera auto-matically detects trapezoids in imagesand corrects them to rectangles.

PENTAX Corp. has introducedthe K110D, as a starter camera forbeginning digital SLR photogra-phers. The K110D is designed tocapture high-quality images withsimplified operation in a variety ofapplications, including the documen-tation of hobby scenes and thepreservation of family events. Inaddition to a sophisticated autofocussystem that rivals the performance ofhigher-grade models, the high-per-formance K110D offers such fea-tures as a bright, clear viewfinder, anextra-large, wide-view LCD monitor,and 6.1 effective megapixels.

Samsung Techwin is showingwhat appears to be its first 10 MPdigital SLR camera. At first look theSamsung GX II looks quite similar tothe 10 Megapixel Pentax digital SLR.It sends a strong signal whenSamsung showcases a high resolu-tion digital SLR camera within a yearafter announcing the agreement withPentax to co-operate and jointlydevelop new digital cameras.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX1 isthe world’s first digital camera withan image sensor in the new, 16:9wide-screen format. The cameraoffers features such as 8.4 MPimage resolution and a 4x Leicawide angle zoom lens with MEGAO.I.S optical stabiliser plus a large2.5” LCD screen. The lens featuringfocal lengths equivalent to 28 – 112mm f/2.8-4.9, is tailor-made for thecamera’s unique 8.4 Megapixelimage sensor.

Canon Inc plans to boost globalshipments by 14 percent in this fiscalyear, which is expected to give thefirm the leading share of the worldmarket. Of the firm's planned sales,more than 10 percent are expectedto be of single-lens reflex models.

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F R O M T H E N E T

For Laura Jones the April meet-ing was a return-to-the-fold as shewas the thirty-eighth member of thenewly founded PhotographicHistorical Society of Canada (1974)and served for a time as the programcoordinator. Laura was the owner/manager of the Baldwin StreetGallery for thirteen years in the1960s/70s. She lived at the galleryfor eight of those years, taking exten-sive photographs of the BaldwinStreet neighbourhood in downtownToronto with her then partner JohnPhillips. Laura continues to buybooks and images and she has pic-ture studies on all three floors of herhome. Laura belongs to the AmericanPhotographic group "Women inPhotography International" of whichthere is no Canadian equivalent.

In her talk, Laura discussed theinfluence of three Canadian womenin documentary photography.

During research, Laura learnedthat a Chinese woman invented alens for the camera obscura and theearliest mention of the effect of chlo-ride on paper was a discovery by awoman. In the 1840s a Mrs. Fond,alchemist, recorded the effect of chlo-ride of gold on paper exposed to light.

Fox Talbot's wife Constancehelped develop light sensitive papers– extensive letters note her help indeveloping her husband's images. In1839 she helped determine how toadd iodine to Talbot's process toincrease the paper's light sensitivity.During the 1841-1855 period of theDaguerreotype there were 1,750Daguerreotype studios in England ofwhich only twenty-two were operatedby women. The first Daguerreotypelandscape was recorded by AnnCook who is credited with using aprism on the Daguerreotype camerato right the image which wasreversed in the traditional camera. In1841, a Mrs. Fletcher advertised inMontreal that Daguerreotype minia-tures were available at her studio.

Laura commenced her slide pre-sentation with Geraldine Moody(1854-1945) of Ottawa. Moody trav-elled as secretary with her husbandwho did field work for the CanadianPacific Railway (CPR). During theexcursions, her husband recordedhis findings while a Mr. McLeanacted as official photographer.McLean had limited skills while Mrs.Moody was an accomplished ama-teur photographer. Her photographsbeing much better, they were select-ed to accompany the written reportssent to Prime Minister Laurier andthe CPR officials. The GlenbowMuseum in Calgary retains a cata-logue at (www.glenbow.org/).

Laura's second woman photog-rapher, Mattie Gunterman, was bornin Wisconsin in 1872. Mattie oftenincluded herself in her photographsusing a foot operated rubber ball andtube release. She was an enthusias-tic photographer in the era of theKodak and its innovative roll film.She took her Bull's Eye box camerawith her when she moved to Seattlewhere she worked as a maid, mar-

ried and had a son. Described as adelicate child, Mattie developedtuberculosis living in the dampSeattle climate and moved to theeastern part of Washington Stateeach summer. When her conditionworsened, She and her familymoved north to Thompson's Landingin the British Columbia interior, walk-ing the 600 miles snapping pho-tographs and working for food andlodging. She spent the rest of her lifein Thompson's Landing (now calledBeaton). Her images, often posedand playful, are now preserved by theVancouver Public Library (VPL)(http://www.vpl.ca/branches/LibrarySquare/spe/gunterman/overview.html).

Laura's final subject was MillieGamble (1887- 1986), born inCascumpec, Prince Edward Island(PEI). Millie became a teacher andtaught at Tryon PEI (now Albany) forseveral years. In 1919, she moved toWinnipeg where she trained as anRN (registered nurse), later returninghome to Tryon to practice. An avidamateur photographer, her pho-tographs in the period 1905 - 1920record every-day life in the Tryonarea.These photographs and relatedpapers are held by Archives PEI. Toaccess material visit their web sitehttp://www.archives.pe.ca/peiain/fondsdetail.asp?fonds=Acc2667

Laura has a long time interest indocumentary photography. In 1968,during the days of civil disobediencein America, she joined the PoorPeople's Campaign. This organiza-tion was founded in 1967 by fourindividuals including Martin LutherKing and Bobby Kennedy, the yearbefore King was assassinated.Laura participated in the 1968 marchon Washington DC (including theinevitable arrest). The photographsshe took at that time will be part of a2008 exhibit being mounted in theUS Capital to mark the 40th anniver-sary of King's death and the historicmarch on Washington. Next year herBaldwin Street images will be includ-ed in a book Dancing in the Streets,a collection of photos of the anti-warprotestors who settled in the Baldwinstreet neighbourhood during theVietnam War era.

READ THE WHOLE STORY AT WWW.PHSC.CA

Toronto Notes Reported by Robert Carter

April Meeting read complete reviews on our PHSC web site at WWW.PHSC.CA

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Take a look at our PHSC website – it is changing all the time.Web Master Robert Carter first putit to the ether airwaves in April1996 in a daring venture to put usin the forefront of modern commu-nications. It has allowed the PHSCto reach world wide with its mes-sages rather than be insular as alocal society. Now Bob has addeda new feature – a slide show of therecent Spring Fair viewed athttp://www.phsc.ca/Spring2006/index.htm.

Looking back over the past tenyears Bob recalls: “We activated ourtext-only site on April 17th, 1996.Images and more text content soonfollowed. The site became an easi-ly accessible source of informationon our programs, fairs, auctionsand other activities. When we heldmail auctions of estate collections,we included the catalogue on ourweb site along with large colourimages which were too expensiveto offer in our print media.

“At the end of 1998 I bought myfirst good digital camera, a Nikon900s. I used it at our next meetingand was able to add a page of textwith images. This evolved into writ-ing an article after each programthat I attended and adding it to theweb site complete with images.Today, 97 of the Toronto programsare listed, while 64 have individualpages of text with images.

“The Acrobat program has hadgood effects on our web site. BobLansdale found it useful to sendproofs of articles to distant authors.He realized that it could be put toanother use and in November 2001he produced the first PHSC Emailnewsletter. Its prime purpose is topromote speaker programs and atthe same time provide colourimages that were too costly to printin Photographic Canadiana. Newsitems and small features weregradually added with free distribu-tion offered to non-members toencourage attendance at PHSCevents and gain extra membership.The newsletters introduced anoth-

er section into our web site andtoday all 62 issues of E-Mails areavailable on line in PDF format.

“Another new developmentcame at the end of 2001 when wedecided to use our own registereddomain name. This allows us tomake any changes in serviceprovider transparent to our audi-ence and gives us an easier toremember web site name:www.phsc.ca. To effect thischange, we moved to Easyhostingby Look Communications which is

based in Milton Ontario. Thischange gave us the ability to trackthe number of visits to our site andover the next four years we record-ed 500,000 visits. We recentlyadded a slide show of picturestaken at last month's Spring Fairshowing a mix of cameras, vendorsand crowd shots. We presentlyoffer 101 separate HTML pages,72 Acrobat PDF pages, and over1,600 images, excluding thumb-nails and site graphics, totallingover 140 megabytes of information.

“Information is of little value if itcannot be found. Google hasevolved over the last few years asthe premier means to search theinternet. Material on our site is eas-ily found with a Google search –our site changes appear in aGoogle search within a week ortwo. Using one of the advancedsearch tools offered by Google, Ifound that forty-four other sites nowhave links to our home page.Downloads from our site exceedtwo gigabytes each month. We hadover 135,000 visits since May 1,2005 – averaging 370 per day. Ourbusiest day this past year wasMarch 22nd when we recorded 632visits.

“The site architecture remainsconservative – just HTML code andJavascript with cascading stylesheets and tables used to do pagelayout. Images are in the standardGIF and JPEG formats and can beviewed with any computer.Selected printable material is pro-vided in Acrobat PDF format toretain the desired resolution andprinted size.

“We look forward to the contin-ued evolution of our site to promotethe PHSC and provide informationto a wide audience of people inter-ested in the history of photography,and the equipment and processesused to create the images of ourworld.”

Our thanks to Bob for his dedicatedservice of ten years making ourPHSC web site one of the best.

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A new feature on the PHSC web site is aslide show of our Spring Fair. It containsthis view of Renaud Therrien of Montrealwith a 5x7 Graflex “Big Bertha” camera.

THE PHSC CELEBRATES TEN YEARS ON THE INTERNET

ROBERT CARTER 10 YEARS AS WEB MASTER

Born in Flint, Michigan in 1960 and raised inOrtonville, a small town on the outskirts of Pontiac,Marcy is the daughter of a professional artist and amail order entrepreneur who once sold electronicmosquito repellers and wingless fruit flies. She begantaking pictures as a child with a Kodak Instamatic. In1978, she moved to Seattle and pierced her nose 20years before it was cool.

Marcy has assembled quite a collection of junkcameras by visiting yard sales and flea markets. Shehas a special page illustrating 129 examples of them.Double clicking any of the small camera images leadsyou to the story of its acquisition and the adventures,foibles and successes in trying to make them work.She even includes samples of photos taken with thecameras.

“The reason I started to decorate the cameras wasI simply needed something to match my shoes – I love

shoes. I felt no longer should a girl sufferthe embarrassment of photo gear thatdoesn't match her shoes.

“When I began the Gala Edition, I had-n't considered selling the cameras. Iembellished a few cameras for myself,then began to give them as gifts and tradethem for other cameras. Soon they beganto catch on and, every now and then,someone would ask me to create a specialcamera for them. I use only the finest ofglass beads from the Czech Republic, plusrhinestones and numerous found objectsto create the final look.

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Junk Store Cameras…or what they become in the hands of an artist

Marcy Merrill of Tokeland, Washington has a mostinteresting web site which we suggest everyoneshould visit. Of special interest is the page www.mer-rillphoto.com/JunkStoreCameras.htm but there are allsorts of other interesting things to see. As Marcydescribes herself: “Although I am a professional pho-tographer, my hobby is amateur photography. A fewyears back I decided that I needed to be more round-ed in my interests, so I took up beekeeping.”

Marcy also delves into pinhole cameras(Pintoids), paint-can cameras, silly eBay photos, liq-uid emulsion on alternative surfaces, the becak, junkstore cameras and the Gala Collection of decoratedcameras. Marcy says: “My passion floats from one tothe other. I'll immerse myself in liquid emulsion for amonth, then find myself frolicking in a sea of Pintoidsthe next – all the while, running my little portrait busi-ness and happy to be doing it.”

“The most popular bodies ordered are the ArgusC3 and the Brownie Hawkeye. I like to keep eachcamera in working order. So, once the glass beadsand rhinestones and what-have-you have beenapplied, all of the buttons and knobs still turn and clickand do what they're supposed to do.The only drawbackto a Gala Edition camera as evening wear, is that thebeads and jewelry tend to snag on one's stockings.

“Each shimmering glass bead is individuallyapplied by hand one-at-a-[excruciating]-time – nosheets of beads here. On the beehive camera I builtup the sides of the box with sculpture medium to giveit a lumpy surface, then attached the beads. Mostembellishments are pieces I've had for a very longtime as well as stuff found in junk stores or acquired atyard sales. I use little in the way of paint, only in spe-cial circumstances such as the bellows on theAutographic 3A. There I painted stencils using metallicacrylic to which I glued ruby-coloured rhinestones.

“Two of the cameras I'm presently working on area Speed Graphic – applying some nifty flames, also aMiranda which I'm embellishing with glass fruit tobecome a ‘Carmen Miranda’. I do accept commis-sions if someone has a certain camera they wishtransformed into a Gala Edition camera. But I onlyaccept the assignment if I feel the camera is worthy ofsuch “‘galafication.’

“The cameras shown in the layouts start with a still-life of a pink Nikon F3 with matching shoes and blacknetting. The brilliant red Kodak Autographic 3A sitsbeside a golden Univex Model A for comparison ofsize. The bright pink box camera was a Kodak Six-16Brownie. I call it the Sweater Camera because theglass bead design was inspired by a corny sweater mymother-in-law once gave me. (Don't worry she doesn't

have a computer so she'll never seethis.) The little Beehive Box camerawas a Kodak No. 2A Brownie. I madethat cameras for myself because I alsoraise honeybees.

“On the second page under thelavender glass beads is an Argus C3with an added tiara ‘sportsfinder.’ Itmakes it easier to compose a quickshot and not poke one’s eye out withcostume jewelry. My portrait shows, inmy hair, a delicate blue HIT type cam-era created as a tiara. The last shotshows the decorated detail to the frontand back of the Autographic 3A (inclosed format) dressed with red beadsand rhinestones.”

We are all aware that fashion-conscious females knowit's the accessories that make the look. And so at longlast, here's the answer to that ever-asked question:"What camera matches these shoes?"

Best visit Marcy’s site www.JunkStoreCameras.comto find out the answer.

THE PHSC E-MAIL 8 VOL 6-3 JUNE 2006

Forget boring black-bodied photogear –the Gala collection is bothstylish and functional.

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MARCY MERRILL, MERRILL STUDIOS

Shimmering, like anevening gown…

Functional andbeautiful…

Tasteful and elegant...well, maybe not. But

you're sure to be theenvy of the press box!

Shimmering beads and a tiara sports finder…to complete the ensemble.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERWe welcome as a new National

member to the PHSC Mr. DerekDalton of 9 Jones Drive in Barrie,Ontario. Mr. Dalton is a specialist inimages. He can be contacted at705-792-0672 or via Email at [email protected].

We hope you stay long and havea wonderful experience with othercollectors in our Society.

A REMINDERPhotoHistory XIII will be held inRochester from October 20 to 22,2006 at the George Eastman House.Fifteen speakers, a Trade Show andbanquet. This symposium attractsthe top leaders in the field of photo-graphic history – it should not bemissed. Registration and hotel reser-vations are imperative at an earlydate. Get all the details and formsfrom www.tphs.org

PHOTORAMA USAVisit the Detroit area on June

24th and 25th for the annualPhotorama USA photographic show.Antique to contemporary equipment,lenses, accessories, images, books,stereo cards and literature. Runs10:00AM to 3:00PM, $6.00 entry fee.At the Clawson Troy Elks Lodge,1451 East Big Beaver Rd. & I-75, 2miles east of I-75 between John andRochester Roads, Troy, Michigan.

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PHOTOGRAPHIC CANADIANA 30-3 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2004 54 PHOTOGRAPHIC CANADIANA 30-3 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2004

changeable lenses. The normal lens is a four-element Tessardesign Hexanon or Omegon. Many of these cameras weregiven hard professional use and are near the end of their use-fulness. But if you can get one in good condition, of the threecameras, it is the best buy for the money.

The Medalist (6x9) is a beautifully constructed camerabut somewhat over-designed. In consequence, many have notsurvived in perfect working condition. But the lens is excep-tional, a Heliar type, five elements, designed for Kodak byF.E. Altman, and since Kodak were heavily into rare earthglasses at the time, it is arguably the equivalent of the Apo-Lanthar.

The Graflex XL (varying formats depending on thebacks) comes with a variety of interchangeable lenses. Of thenormal lenses, as you would expect, the Planar is the mostdesirable.

The Mamiya Press in several versions (also of varyingformats) is similar in design to the XL though possibly has amore rugged focusing system. The standard lens is the Sekor.

The two major factors affecting the sharpness of mediumformat negatives are: 1) the quality of the lens, 2) the flatnessof the film. In the cameras using rollfilm holders, the latermodified holders are essential. While my Medalist needed aprofessional repair, and the Bessa’s pressure plate neededslight adjustment, used on a tripod for landscapes, all threecameras produced sharp, clean images. All three rangefindersworked well though were hardly necessary for landscapeswhere focus could be set by depth of field scale. Viewfindersvaried from excellent on the Koni to poor on the Medalist,especially if you wear glasses.

The Bessa II’s (Color Skopar) viewfinder is just aboutadequate. Its film is transported via a red window, mildlyinconvenient but no problem if done carefully. The big advan-tage is its portability, remarkable in that for a 6x9cm nega-tive, when folded it is almost a pocket camera. The KoniOmega is heavy. Its viewfinder is excellent and it is fast andeasy to use. The lens on the Medalist, is indeed, superb, butthe camera is heavy. It has the further disadvantage of using620 film. 120 film has to be rewound. A high-priced conver-sion to 120 is available.

The Graflex XL and the Mamiya 23 are very similar infunction. Both are heavy and slightly less convenient to use

than the Koni-Omega. The Planar, as might be expected,gives excellent results, but though I did not have the opportu-nity to compare the sharpness of the Sekor lens with that ofthe Planar, the Mamiya, not withstanding, might be the betterbuy. It sells, with lens, for about half the price of the XL.

If you intend to use these cameras for other kinds of pho-tography, then their usefulness will be subject to other crite-ria. However, for landscape photography where the camera isused on a tripod and with lenses of normal focal length, andif you are prepared to sacrifice a measure of convenience foroptical excellence at a reasonable expenditure, these cameraswill produce images very close to, or as good as, contempo-rary cameras costing many thousands.

Other cameras that might also be considered, thoughbeyond the scope of this article, are the Miniature Graphictype press cameras. And if you are prepared to settle for 6x6format, the perennial f3.5 Tessar Rollei TLR, can always bedepended upon for convenience and sharp images.

This article might serve as a guide for those who alsowant to use the cameras they collect, or as in my case, collectthe cameras they want to use. S.W. ❧

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF STAN WHITE

All contemporary cameras areexpensive and medium format camerasare no exception. But there are earliercameras that might be used on a tripodfor landscape photography that wouldnot sacrifice too much in optical quali-ty. There are early cameras that mightserve as an entry into medium formatphotography for under $500 including,if necessary, a clean, lubrication andadjustment.

The Internet is a good place to start;while there is much guff talked in thechat rooms, usually there is a consensus.Three medium format cameras in partic-ular seemed to have an avid following.

They are: the Voigtlander Bessa II, the Koni Omega Rapidseries and the Kodak Medalist II. The Graflex XL too, is apossibility for around the $500 ceiling but this does not allowfor a clean, lube and adjustment. A further alternative is theMamiya Press available well within the budget. The series ofMamiya press cameras are very similar in design to the XL.

The Bessa II (6x9) owes its superiority over most foldingrollfilm cameras to its moving front standard, thereby avoid-ing the optical limitations of front-cell focusing. It was origi-nally equipped with a choice of three lenses. The Apo-Lanthar, currently trading at a price that only millionaires canafford; the Color-Heliar, a superb lens but also, if found ingood condition, over budget, and the less expensive Color-Skopar, Voigtlander’s equivalent of the Tessar and still a verygood lens.

The Koni-Omega Rapid, (6x7) which comes in six vari-ants but is essentially the same camera, has limited inter

Share your treasured collectibles with our readers. It does nothave to be a rare camera. The criteria being that it is a photo-graphic article which YOU cherish and is part of YOUR collection.Write c/o Photographic Canadiana or see me at a PHSC meeting.

A TreasureFrom My Collection...

By Bill Belier BILL BELIER

A Short Survey of Some Earlier Medium Format Cameras

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As a longtime member of PHSC andfrequent contributor of articles to our PCjournal, Stan White hardly needs to beintroduced to our readers. His consuminginterest, of course, is stereo in all itsaspects. Please review “Beyond The ThirdDimension” (PC Vol 29 No 2, Sept/Oct 03).

Apparently there is another “dimension”to Stan that has previously escaped us…Stan the camera collector! But not in thegeneral sense as he is quick to point out,“I collect certain cameras to use… andthen actually use what I collect.”

Stan’s article follows:

Kodak Medalist II, Ektar f3.5, 1946-53 Voigtländer Bessa II, Color Skopar f3.5, c1950

Graflex XL, Planar f2.8, 1965-73 Koni-Omega Rapid, Hexanon f3.5, c1965

Mamiya Universal Press (late version of Mamiya 23), Sekor f3.5, 1969

Our Society offers a full spectrum of activities andbenefits. For as little as $24.00 (National), $32.00(Toronto GTA) or $32.00 U.S. (International) youcan receive all of the benefits. Our official journal,Photographic Canadiana, brings you fascinatingphoto history stories on antique equipment and

personalities in a high quali-ty 20 page magazine.Our activities include Springand Fall photographica fairs,an Annual Auction, meet-ings with top-of-the-fieldguest speakers, live demon-strations. We offer financialgrants towards researchand publication of Canadian

photographic history. We have a web site atwww.phsc.ca and this PHSC Email newsletter.DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATION FROM THEPHSC WEB SITE AND JOIN TODAY.

PHOTOGRAPHICCANADIANA

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA– 30th Anniversary Year –

Volume 30 Number 4 January - February 2005

IDENTIFYING AN ALFRED DARLING CINE CAMERA ca 1905

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WHY NOT BE PART OF THE PHSC?

We’ll send you afree copy of ourP.C. journal if youmail your nameand address [email protected]

Photographica fairs, livedemonstrations, guestspeakers, an auctionare just some of theactivities that make join-ing a great bargain.

PHOTOGRAPHICCANADIANA

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA

Volume 31 Number 2 September - October 2005

AN ARTOTYPE PORTRAIT BY H. ROCHER OF CHICAGO c 1879

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IN CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY

PHOTOGRAPHICCANADIANA

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA

Volume 31 Number 3 November - December 2005

TOTEM POLES AT KITWANGA, B.C. 1915 BY WILLIAM. J. TOPLEY

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Coming Events

TOM BOCHSLER – INDUSTRIALIMAGES

JULY 8 TO AUG. 27, 2006Recent PHSC speaker Tom Bochslerwill hold an exhibition of his pho-tographs at the Art Gallery ofHamilton, Fischer Gallery, from July8 to August 27. Marking Tom’s 50years in professional photographythe exhibition consists of highlightsrecording Hamilton industry sincethe early 1960s.

A BUFFALO CAMERA SHOWAUGUST 20 2006

Hearthstone Manor, 333 Dick Rd.,Depew, N.Y., 14043. Over 30 tables– 8' @ $50.00 or 4' tables @ $30.00.Open 10:00AM til 3:30PM, $5.00admission. Contact 905-994-0515or [email protected]. See hisweb at www.dugwerks.com

Until January 2, 2007. The Museumof Civilization, 100 Laurier St., inGatineau welcomes you to seePETRA: Lost City of Stone. It tellsthe story of a once-thriving metropo-lis located in the forbidding desertcanyons of southern Jordan. Theexhibition includes more than 170artifacts, some of which wereunearthed only recently and arebeing shown in North America forthe first time. Forgotten by the out-side world for hundreds of years itwas "rediscovered" in 1812. Previewhistoric and educational attractionsat www.civilization.ca

For SaleBarbara McNutt is moving toVancouver and must clear out photo-graphic items left over from herfather Harold McNutt’s estate. Shehas some 50 Carousel slide trays(80 slides per). TEL: 416-225-7809

Information WantedHugh Neilson was one of the found-ing members of the Toronto CameraClub in the late 1880s. Great grand-son Denny would appreciate anygenealogical data or guidance con-cerning his ancestor. Contact Dennyat: [email protected]

WantedLorraine Monk is looking to buy aworking 4x5 camera. Contact [email protected]

For SaleA wide selection of daguerreotypesand family photo albums for sale.Contact Les Jones 416-691-1555 [email protected].

WantedSell your cameras, lenses, old pho-tographs, manuals, etc. on eBay.Registered eBay Trading Assistantwill help you. Specializing in largecollection, estate and studio liquida-tions. References available. Soldover 500 cameras on eBay and willget you top value for your treasures.Call Tom Dywanski for free evalua-tion 416-888-5828 or checkwww.planet4sale.ca

WantedEd James of Elkhorn, MN wantsRussian F.E.D. and Zorki 35mm typecameras, NO Zenits! He teachesstudents to use classic range finderand TLR cameras.” Also needed ca.1970 TLR Seagull 4 cameras, 6x6 on120 roll film, f3.5/75mm lens, X-synch shutter. Contact: Ed James,P.O. Box 69, Elkhorn, Manitoba, R0M0N0, Telephone: 204-845-2630.

Research Information WantedRichard Titus is researching photog-rapher Platt Delascus Babbitt (1823-1879) who had a gallery in London,Ontario on Ridout Street (c1850)before making his name at NiagaraFalls (c 1853). Leads on his earlytraining as a Daguerreotypist wouldbe appreciated. Contact Richard at:[email protected]

Buying or ConsignmentVintage cameras wanted by experi-enced Ebay seller. Professionallypresented with pictures and descrip-tion, ensuring real market value.Reserve or non-reserve auctionstyles. Low commission & listingfees. Contact Douglas at 905-994-0515 or [email protected]

Now on ViewVisit the web site of Steven Evans atwww.se-photo.com to view his manyphotographs from daguerreotypes topaper images. New offerings havebeen added in April.

For SaleRena Preston has issues of PHOTOCANADA for sale and would be inter-ested in hearing from anyone.Contact: [email protected]

WantedNick Graver in Rochester is appeal-ing for stereoscopes for students andFellows at GEH. They need the oldfashioned wooden hand-held scopesto view 3 1/2 by 7 inch stereo cards.Incomplete examples and parts mayhelp salvage other units. ContactNick at [email protected]

WantedNick Graver is looking for the paperboxes that post-card photo paperwas sold in. Usually 3 1/2 by 5 1/2inches the card itself came back-stamped “Correspondence here…”Contact Nick at 585-244-4818 [email protected]

Wanted SoonestPolaroid/Vivitar Instant Slide Printeror Daylab with 3 1/4 x 4 1/4” base inworking condition for Polaroid 669 or57 film. Phone 416-537-6027 orcontact [email protected]

WantedBicycle & Motorcycle photography,m e d a l s ,ephemera, stere-optics, cataloguesand all relateditems. ContactLorne Shields, atP.O. Box 87588,300 John St. PostOffice, Thornhill,ON. , L3T 7R3.Tele-phone at905-886-6911, or e-mail at [email protected]

WantedEquipment wanted by Willy Nassaufor the Wilfred Laurier University AVcollection – a large single lens reflexcamera for plates (Graflex, Mentor,Zeiss Miroflex), a good Leica (before1938), a Contaflex, a Contax I (if itcan be found), early Kodak Foldingor Box cameras before 1906 – possi-bly a Jubilee Kodak Box or BeauBrownie. Contact: 519-886-0754

THE PHSC E-MAIL 10 VOL 6-3 JUNE 2006