A Faded Glory – Milton – Grand Trunk Railway (1906-1961)

Most people would drive past a small red building sitting along Highway 25 south of the Canadian National train line running over the roadway heading into downtown from Highway 401. The red building has the appearance of a railroad station. Still, the rail line is sitting high above, and there is no way for the station even to serve the line when Canadian National operated passenger services. The building is Milton's third train station. It is not so far from its original location located on the outskirts of the downtown next to Milton's claim to fame, the P.L. Robertson factory, maker of the Robertson screw.

Today the former GTR station is home to the local chapter of the United Way. From this angle you get an excellent view of the projecting telegraph operator's bay.
Graflex Crown Graphic - Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 - Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-200 - Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100) 9:00 @ 20C

Founded in 1820, the town of Milton missed the first railroad boom in Ontario. Despite being named (over Oakville) as the seat of Halton County in 1857, the railroad had no reason to pass through the rural backwater town. It wasn't until the second boom in the post-confederation decades that the railroad arrived in Milton. The Hamilton & North-Western Railway had been chartered in 1874 to construct a line running from Hamilton's industrial sectors to Collingwood as a direct competitor to Northern Railway of Canada, formerly Ontario, Simcoe & Huron. Like many railways, Hamilton & North-Western suffered financial troubles early on, and construction ran in fits and spurts, but in 1876 had passed through Burlington and arrived in Milton. The line running right through the downtown, crossing the Sixteen Mile Creek and the Mill Pond via a simple rail bridge before pushing through reaching Barrie in 1877. At Milton, the Credit Valley Railway intersected the Hamilton & North-Western line, a bit west of Martin Street, and a watch town had to be constructed to ensure trains would not collide in the middle of town. Starting in 1879, Hamilton & North-Western began constructing simple shed type stations, including one in Milton. The Milton station sat north of Victoria and Bronte Streets intersection, close to but a bit outside of the downtown. How the station originally looked remains a mystery as there are no known photographs in its original form. But it probably had a single waiting room, station master's office and baggage room. By June 1879, Hamilton & North-Western, along with the Northern Railway of Canada, merged into a single corporation, North & North-Western Railway. The merger remained an unhappy one, but operations continued. North & North-Western remained a popular freight line but offered little to passengers. At the same time, Credit Valley had a link between Toronto and St. Thomas, with a connection there to the Canadian Southern Railway provided more popularity for passengers. But as North & North-Western pushed further north towards the promised Canadian Pacific line at Callendar, they exploited the popularity of the growing cottage industry in Muskoka. By 1886 the line hit Callendar, and two years later, exploiting the continued disagreements between managers in the operator, Grand Trunk Railway purchased the whole network.

Restored original sign-boards are an excellent touch. Although they do lack distances to the next stops like many other stations.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8DWhile heavily painted over, this exterior box is an excellent survivor of the railroad days.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D

While Grand Trunk continued to use the old Hamilton & North-Western station, the efforts of Charles Hayes in 1896 saw a series of modernizations completed on the network. Hayes did eliminate several duplications on the network and removed references to several older lines that continued to operate under their original liveries, including North & North-Western. Starting in 1900, they also began constructing new stations to replace several older ones. Despite being a low traffic line, Milton would receive a new station in 1903. A simple station with a small footprint. Constructed in the Queen Anne Revival style and board and batten construction. The new station was painted in the grey, green, and mauve colour scheme. Internally the station had a single general waiting room, station master office, which acts as a ticket office and telegrapher's bay which jutted out from the station. The rest of the station was taken up by the baggage and express room. The original station was left in place and renovated into a freight shed. Milton remained primarily an agricultural community but the increase in manufacturing, namely the opening of the P.L. Robertson plant, made heavy use of the freight options for the railroad. Grand Trunk would also construct a new bridge and update the old rails at the same time. Freight remained king; passenger service by 1904 had been reduced to two trains daily, one heading towards Barrie the other towards Hamilton. Canadian National took over operations in 1923 after Grand Trunk went bankrupt and was absorbed into the new railway operator. They maintained the status quo at Milton. In the 1950s, Canadian National painted over the Grand Trunk colours with the standard railroad red that proved popular across all operators. The low traffic on the line saw the introduction of the early Rail Diesel Cars (RDC) to run mixed passenger and freight cars on the Hamilton to Barrie Run. But as passenger traffic continued to drop, passenger services from the Milton station ceased in 1961. This was preceded by Canadian National intended to move their line through Milton outside the downtown; the town council approved the change. The change proved controversial it did result in a much quieter downtown. The Milton bypass opened to rail traffic in 1965. A majority of the downtown line was torn up with only a small section left intact and turned over to Canadian Pacific, who connected it to their line running through town. Oddly enough, if you look at a satellite view of the modern town, you can still see where the original line ran through the downtown.

A plaque thanking the financial contributions of John Tamai for the Station's preservation.
Nikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8DThe former GTR bridge over the Mill Pond, the bridge is original to the GTR and even the ties and tracks were never replaced. Today it is part of a walking trail.
Nikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20C

The original Hamilton & North-Western Station was torn down in 1971; rather than let the Grand Trunk Station meet the same fate, the town purchased the station from Canadian National and moved it out of downtown to Unity Park. Restoration costs were mainly covered by Lois and Henry Nadlin, with the heavy work being completed by inmates from the Mimico Reformatory. Rather than restore the station to Grand Trunk colours, they went with the mid-century railroad red colour. The station opened as the Milton tourist information centre in 1975. Later that year, a narrow-gauge steam locomotive was put on display. Locomotive 4103 had never served in Milton or on any major railroad. Rather the 1930 constructed Vulcan locomotive had served in quarries in the United States and Canada. After spending time at the Ontario Science Centre, it was restored in Oakville and put on display. After years of neglect, the locomotive was most likely removed in the early 2000s and moved to Iowa and restored for service on a hobby railroad in Oregon. The station itself remains today and is now home to the Milton chapter of the United Way. The park has changed names since then and is now named Chris Hadfield Park. Milton's other surviving railroad station, the original 1879 Credit Valley Station survives as a private home on Commercial Street having been moved there after being replaced by a Maxwell style station by Canadian Pacific in 1914. The Canadian Pacific Station ended up being demolished in the late 1960s. On another interesting note, a GTR station was moved to Milton from Bronte when GO Transit opened the Milton line, it has also been demolished.

The former Milton Credit Valley Railway station, today a private residence on Commercial Street.
Nikon D750 - AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D

#afadedglory #canada #canadianhistory #canadiannational #crowngraphic #eastmandoublex5222 #fppd96 #grandtrunk #hamiltonnorthwestern #history #ilfordhp5 #infrastructure #milton #nikond750 #nikonf5 #northnorthwestern #ontario #pyrocathd #railroad #railway

Foma:52 – Fifty-Two Weeks, Fifty-Two Images

Well, we've come to the end of another fifty-two roll project, and in proper form, I'm going to present my favourites from each week. Unlike previous projects, I started to build a final photo book of all my favourite images. And that I why I started working on this post at the beginning of February 2021, and each month I collected my favourites and posted them here and wrote out their pieces for the month. So that even with such a vast catalogue of images, I could quickly get the book to print. So without further delay, I give you my choices for the best of the year.

Week 01 - Royal City - The inclusion of the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate is three fold. First, it is the recognisable building in downtown Guelph, second, its towers that drew me towards the downtown during my stay. And thirdly a small tribute to my Opa who was a Roman Catholic in life, but from a different parish.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - Rollei Low Speed (1+4) 10:45 @ 24CWeek 02 - Ghosts - While Streetsville offered up a lot of excellent historical buildings, the Barber House has of all of them the best story. Which is more on the history of the property and the death of Elizabeth Comfort at the hands of Tory Thugs during the 1837 Rebellion and the ghosts that still haunt the site today.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - Adox Atomol 49 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 03 - Daily Gind - My choice for this image became clear because the idea I had was to convey the loneliness of a campus that should have been bustling with activity for start-of-term.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-400 - Acufine (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CWeek 04 - Hometown Blues - Again the choice of the image comes down to story and with Milton, there are a lot of buildings that I have connections with, but the old Court House has the best story as it secured Milton as the seat of Halton and helped catalyse the preservation of other historic buildings in town.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fompan 400 @ ASA-400 - Adox Atomal 49 (Stock) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 05 - The Falls - There's something about a hike in the Winter with snow and trees and your wife to add to the same shot you get while hiking through the woods in the winter.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - Kodak D-76 (1+1) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 06 - Erchless - The title of week six ended up being the deciding factor of which image would be chosen. In this case the Erchless manor, showing all three sections of growth between 1835-1858 and remains the ancestral home of the Oakville Chisholms.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 7:30 @ 20CWeek 07 - The Neighborhood - Picking an image for week 7 was hard, I'd walked this route many times over the past couple of years. But the pedestrian bridge over the railroad made sense as it closed the loop on the walking route.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-320 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 12:00 @ 20CWeek 08 - Still As The Grave - Despite being knee-deep in snow, I managed to visit a pair of historic cemeteries. But this photo, while far from perfect stood out, with the bare branches serving as light beams coming from the head of the statue of Jesus.
Nikon FM - Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64mm - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - FA-1027 (1+14) 8:00 @ 20CWeek 09 - By the Bay - Not often do you have a reminder of the original founding of the community, but in Burlington they have that reminder. The Joseph Brant House today is a 1937 replica of the original 18th Century home of noted Mohawk leader, Thayendanegea.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Perceptol (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CWeek 10 - Sixteen - Knox Sixteen, originally founded in 1844 as a wooden meeting house for Presbyterians in the region, it was clad in brick in 1899 and is the only surviving building from the settlement of Sixteen Hollow and remains an active congregation today.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fompan 200 @ ASA-200 - FA-1027 (1+19) 10:30 @ 20CWeek 11 - Galt - The Russian Gun, captured by the British at Sevastapol in 1855, granted to Galt in 1863. It was fired in May 1866, after three successful rounds, the fourth round went off early killing two and injuring three. It's not safe and deactivated in Queen's Square.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 12 - Distant Voices - Two of the three reconstucted Wendat Longhouses at Crawford Lake, built with the aid of indigenous people to showcase life in the area in the 15th Century.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Kodak D-76 (1+1) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 13 - By George - The Former Barber Mill that operated from 1854-1991 and was the first industrial uses of hydro electricity in 1880.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Adox Atomal 49 (Stock) 10:00 @ 20C

For this 52-Roll project, I decided to play a little bit with the available data that I have access to, thanks to tracking the entire project in an Excel spreadsheet and tailoring the spreadsheet to make it easy to analyse and turn the data into information. Some of my job tasks often involve analysing data for future decision-making, and I think this project might help determine future project targets, locations, and even film development. With everything that took place throughout 2021, I'm not surprised that most of the week's of the projects were located in my hometown of Milton. A total of eleven weeks were spent in Milton, the second-highest location count being Oakville and Toronto, also no surprise at those two numbers. Three weeks were spent in Hamilton, and an additional three weeks were shot at multiple locations. With the remaining places being 1-2 weeks. With an entire range of Nikkor manual focus lenses available, there were two top lenses from the project; at the number one spot with fourteen weeks being used is the Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 and in second place with twelve weeks the Nikkor 28mm f/3.5. This year, I allowed myself to have weeks where I brought multiple lenses; this accounted for ten weeks of the project. I used my Lomography Achromat 64mm f/2.9 lens twice this year. The lenses with the lowest counts were the 50mm f/1.8 and 200mm f/4; no surprise on the 200mm as it came into my kit late in the year and is highly specialised. Some films are easier to nail down a developer than others when it comes to Foma films. Over the year, I used seventeen different developers. The one that I used the most shouldn't come as a surprise, Ilford Ilfotec HC, at a total of eleven times. Tied in second place are Adox Rodinal (a surprise) and Adox Atomal 49, another fantastic developer who did a fine job with Fomapan 400 and Fomapan 200. Then if you break it down by film stock and developer used. The most used Developer with Fomapan 100 was a tie between Ilfotec HC and Adox Rodinal, both at five times each. Fomapan 200, a tough stock to nail down a good developer, was Ilfotec HC four times, followed by Kodak D-23. This older developer is one of the best developers for the stock. Then with Fomapan 400, the number one developer is Adox Atomal 49 at four times, and provided the best results at both the box speed of ASA-400 and at one-stop over (ASA-200) and pulled in development.

Week 14 - Upon Avon - Originally built in 1910 as the Imperial Ratten Co and one of the big five furniture factories in Stratford. Imperial became a major player in modern design through the 1950s. It closed in 2006 as Krug Furniture.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Adox Atomal 49 (Stock) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 15 - In Memorial - It's always fun to explore a new park that you pass every day. But also to find it has a far richer history than you first expected.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-160- Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CWeek 16 - The Summit - It's never fun to have movements restricted, but it does help to take on a new hiking trail at the Summit entrance for Kelso Conservation Area!
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 17 - Boston - Boston Presbyterian Church is the area's oldest congregation having been founded in 1820.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-100 - Adox FX-39 II (1+9) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 18 - End of Line - A rather unassuming house operated as a vaccine farm from 1885-1916.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Rollei Supergrain (1+15) 7:30 @ 20CWeek 20 - Sharpe's Tragedy - A Memorial to Colonel S. Sharpe - committed suicide on 25 May 1918 brought on by Post-Traumatic Stress. Least We Forget.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox FX-39 II (1+9) 7:00 @ 20CWeek 21 - Yorklands - The Main Administration building of the former Guelph Reformatory.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - FA-1027 (1+14) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 22 - Bought the Farm - The overgrown rear yard for the Historic Cattle barn at Scotsdale Farm, the barn probably dates to the 1870s.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 23 - Parkway - Looking out over Navy Island which was a shipyard, the Republic of Canada, Resort Island, and potential site for the United Nations Headquarters.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 24 - Westfield - The 1814 Log Church that once served the Six Nations Reserve.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Rollei Supergrain (1+15) 7:30 @ 20CWeek 25 - Embrace the Grain - Big B is a very special stuffed panda that has helped both Heather and I.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.8 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+79) 12:00 @ 20CWeek 26 - The Gorge - The Elora Inn & Spa is built from the original 1832 Saw, Grist, and Distillery and Elora's oldest building.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+79) 12:00 @ 20CWeek 27 - Steel City Blues - The Lister Block, my personal choice to symbolise the height, the fall, and rebirth of Hamilton's downtown core.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 60:00 @ 20C

There is a certain joy to completing this project during the ongoing global pandemic. I realised several months in that I could not always rely on the subject matter that drove previous projects. With events being cancelled and travel restricted, not to mention plenty of ongoing changes in public health guidelines, I knew that I would have to get creative in some cases. But that is what these projects are about, being creative. That meant that the entirety of this project got created right here in Ontario. And mostly local also, the furthest spot, being Petrolia, Ontario only two and a half hours away. As for reenactments and photo walks, these were mostly cancelled. And while I didn't get out to any War of 1812 related events, I did experience some World War 1 events thanks to the fine folk in the 11th Swiss Rifles. And both these events expanded my understanding of the conflict, not just in Canada's role but also the role of the Swiss, which is often missed in Canadian history textbooks. Equipment-wise, I suffered no catastrophic failures, sure a couple of glitches, but these were easily fixed at home. I also added two new lenses to my kit, the 24mm f/2.8 and 200mm f/2.8; as for lenses, I did manage to use almost every manual focus Nikon lens in my kit, save for one, the PC Nikkor 35mm f/2.8. I did consider the PC-Nikkor for one of the weeks but decided against it because lugging a tripod does make life harder. For film stocks, I'm happy with my choice of going with the three main Fomapan films and learning a bit more about their nature. The biggest is that Fomapan 400, while it still works best when shot at ASA-200, can be shot at the box speed of ASA-400, providing you develop it in the proper chemistry. I still had a hard time with Fomapan 200 but am a little closer to cracking the code on that stock; it does perform the best in classic developers like Pyro based and D-76/D-23. And, of course, Fomapan 100 remains a solid favourite. And it felt good to revitalise the project idea in my mind and certainly provided plenty of inspiration. I even think that I may return to a sheet based project in a couple of years.

Week 28 - Stone Town - St. Marys 1907 GTR station, today operated by VIA is the third and final train station completed for the town. The first station still stands a kilometer outside the community at St. Marys Junction.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-32 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 8:30 @ 20CWeek 29 - Muddy York - The Gooderham Building, an icon of Old Toronto, despite dating to 1892, it has survived against much of the urban renewal of the 1970s.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 30 - The Last Bastion - A visit to Lindsay, Ontario and finding the Victoria Park Armoury that looks totally different from all the other armouries from the era across Ontario.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Ilford Microphen (1+1) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 31 - The Swiss Connection - Members of the 11th Swiss Rifles, a Reenactment Unit portraying a Swiss rifle unit during World War 1 and their replica Maschinengewehr Modell 1900.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Ilford Microphen (1+1) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 32 - Syndenham - The Boyhood home of World War 1 Flying Ace Billy Bishop (bet you thought I was going to say Snoopy).
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 33 - Connect - Saying goodbye to a wonderful social group, group founder Susan taking in a thank you video the participants put together.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 34 - Brant's Ford - A sad memorial to the thousands of children who never left the Residential School Systems on the steps of the oldest such places in Canada.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox FX-39 II (1+9) 7:00 @ 20CWeek 35 - Smokey Hollow - The beautiful Grindstone Creek valley while it was not the shot I planned but I'm far more happy with this one.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 100 @ ASA-100 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 36 - The Quarry - Getting back to the unstated goal of trying to fit in all the Conservation Halton Parks into the project!
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 24mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Adox FX-39 II (1+9) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 37 - Break On Through (To the Other Side) - While a rather commercial looking door for a week about doors, Sunshine Donuts is an amazing local store that delivers amazing treats. It's been a constant for Heather and I through this year and the one before.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 38 - Cobblestones - The Paris Wincy Mills, a former industrial mill from 1889 that survived well into the 20th Century now is a local hub for food and vendors. Also an excellent craft brewery.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 24mm 1:2.8 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 39 - Entrenched - Lance Corporal Julius is the unit Mascot for the No. 3 Casulty Clearing Station - Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Nikon FM - Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat 1:2.9/64mm - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-50 - Kodak D-23 (Stock) 5:45 @ 20CWeek 40 - Stone City - Shoal Tower, one of four Martello towers that form the defence of Kingston. And one of only a handful of surviving towers in Canada.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 200mm 1:4 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Kodak D-23 (Stock) 7:00 @ 20C

This year has only been the second time I put together a final book on the project. The book wasn't entirely required by my original criteria, but it gives the project that last project. The saying "it's not complete until it's printed", which I don't always agree with, but makes sense in this case. While the blog posts allowed for that 'big-picture' view for each week with either an overarching theme or local history, I rarely translated that directly to the book copy. The book gave me a chance to target a specific image, picking the shot that I liked the most from the week or had an interesting story attached. Some weeks, I had to seriously trim down the entry to fit and still have the text big enough for people to read. I could explore many different parts of history that I enjoy studying, including military, railway, architecture, natural, and local histories. I covered a lot of early colonial history in Ontario and some of the darker aspects of that story. I touched on a lot of World War One history through local men who served and learned a great deal about the Swiss during the Great War. Surprisingly, despite visiting a few locations related to the War of 1812, none of those made it into the book this time around. But the biggest help to get the book moving from the start, allowing things to clip along at a good pace, so I only had a handful of things to take care of to complete the project.

Week 41 - If I Left the Zoo - Tiger Cub Milia is the most recent arrival to the Zoo and the Amur Tiger species.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 42 - All In the Details - The Steeple of Knox Presbyterian Church in Downtown Milton, Ontario. Depsite appearances, it never had bells.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 200mm 1:4 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Kodak D-23 (Stock) 7:00 @ 20CWeek 43 - Black Gold - While a shot of the original oil fields would have been more appropriate, Sunnyside Mansion, built for John Henry Fairbanks, Ontario's biggest oil baron's 1891 Victorian Mansion is a rather creepy but photogenic building in downtown Petrolia, Ontario.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-100 - Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100) 7:30 @ 20CWeek 44 - Highlands - The Wellington County Poorhouse, the oldest surviving such structures in Canada used to house men and women poor and destitute to 'fix' their moral failing through hard work. Today it is the local history museum and archives.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - Adox XT-3 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CWeek 45 - For the Fallen - A beautiful memorial to Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrea, the author of one of Canada's most notable poems of Rememberance "In Flander's Fields" installed near the Guelph Civic Museum.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 105mm 1:2.5 - New Classics EZ400 @ ASA-250 - Kodak D-23 (Stock) 7:30 @ 20CWeek 49 - Houses of Holy - St. Jude's Anglican church, a congregation that traces itself back to 1839, their current home from 1889 is one of the more difficult churches to photograph especially around the noon hour.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - New Classic EZ400 @ ASA-400 - Adox Atomal 49 (Stock) 10:00 @ 20CWeek 47 - Worth The Drive - Acton's history has always been tied to the leather industry, and today that is only continued through the Old Hide House.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - New Classic EZ400 @ ASA-200 - Adox Atomal 49 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20CWeek 48 - Danforth to Downtown - A long walk from Greektown to the downtown put me past the site of Toronto's earliest 'lost' buildings, the Simcoe's cottage grandly named "Castle Frank" now only a small historical marker.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 24mm 1:2.8 - New Classic EZ400 @ ASA-200 - Pyrocat-HD (1+1+100) 12:30 @ 20CWeek 49 - First Capital - A memorial to the Simcoes, while most memorials feature only John Graves (Upper Canada's first Lieutenant-Governors), this one also features Elizabeth, who's watercolours and diaries are key to our understanding of early life in Upper Canada.
Nikon FM - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-400 - Flic Film Black/White & Green (1+49) 13:30 @ 20CWeek 50 - Little Saxony - The stunning Puddicombe House in the New Hamburg Heritage District, originally built 1868 this Italinate Mansion is a boutique hotel, resteraunt, spa and event space since 2006.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 24mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 40 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 11:45 @ 20CWeek 51 - Rattler - A beautiful afternoon hike after a snowfall at Rattlesnake Point. And while we didn't make it too far, I'm happy with the results I did get.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 24mm 1:2.8 (Yellow-12) - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 11:00 @ 20CNikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 400 @ ASA-200 - Flic Film Black/White & Green (1+49) 12:00 @ 20C

And so dear readers, we've reached the end of another project. It was fun to dust off this project form again, and it made me glad I still had the chops to complete the task at hand. And despite everything that happened this year, I still managed to complete the project with no significant failures. If you like what you see and want a copy, you will be able to pick up this project in book form, and all the images featured here on this post are the ones that I chose for the book itself. It will be available at the end of February 2022 through Blurb. Maybe next year, I was revisiting a sheet-based project, but we'll see how the whole parenting thing goes first.

#foma52 #52roll #52rollproject #accufine #adoxatomal49 #adoxfx39ii #adoxrodinal #fomapan100 #fomapan200 #fomapan400 #fppd96 #ilfordilfotechc #ilfordperceptol #kodakd76 #nikkor #nikonfm #rolleirls

Re-Discovering Double-X

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've seen on the silver screen. And it should come as no surprise that Cinestill pulled this off; they manage to get remjet off Eastman Vision3 films and have 500T and 50D available in both 35mm and 120 formats.

An example of Double-X in 35mm developed in Kodak D-96.
Nikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 28-70mm 1:2.8D - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20C

In the past, my experience with Double-X in 35mm is that it does like other developers with excellent results. One of my favourites being Kodak D-76, but others have gotten excellent results with Rodinal and HC-110. In fact, my first time shooting Double-X and having it developed the lab ended up going with HC-110. But I feel I didn't start to see the true power of Double-X until I started developing the stock in Kodak D-96, the dedicated developer for Kodak Motion Picture Film. And again, it is thanks to Cinestill and the Film Photography Project that D96 arrived in my chemistry kit. And since then, I had adjusted my developing time to get the results I like; instead of 6.5 minutes, I develop for 6 minutes when shooting at ASA-200. But now that you can get Double-X in medium format, I felt that I could do more with the film and explore other developers I tended to avoid in 35mm.

Mamiya m645 - Mamiya-Sekor C 150mm 1:3.5 N - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 10:00 @ 20CMamiya m645 - Mamiya-Sekor C 1:2.8 f=80mm - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 10:00 @ 20CMamiya m645 - Mamiya-Sekor C 45mm 1:2.8 N - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 10:00 @ 20CMamiya m645 - Mamiya-Sekor C 1:2.8 f=80mm - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 10:00 @ 20C

The first roll I went with was Ilford Ilfotec HC, the Ilford clone of HC-110 and always a favourite developer. Rather than go with the usual Dilution B (1+31), I doubled the time and went with my standard dilution of 1+63 or Dilution H. The results were excellent, with clean tones and a much finer grain than I was expecting. Plus a good level of sharpness. It helped that I was shooting in the early morning light and using a spot meter to get accurate readings. I think this would work well in 35mm as well, and I have a couple of rolls left to try that in the future.

Hasselblad 500c - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CHasselblad 500c - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CHasselblad 500c - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CHasselblad 500c - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20C

You didn't think I would let this go without doing at least one roll in D96, and the results speak for themselves well. Again I was helped by shooting mid-morning light in an urban environment and metered with a spot meter. Everything you like about Double-X is doubled, with amazing contrast, smooth tones and tonal separation along with sharpness. The grain is still there but reduced thanks to the larger negative. And yes, it's still my favourite.

Rolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-400 - Ilford Microphen (Stock) 8:30 @ 20CRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-400 - Ilford Microphen (Stock) 8:30 @ 20CRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-400 - Ilford Microphen (Stock) 8:30 @ 20CRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-400 - Ilford Microphen (Stock) 8:30 @ 20C

I had never done with Double-X is any over, and underexposure combined with push and pull processing. And while I still haven't done any over-exposure combined with pull processing having a bottle of Microphen kicking around, I decided it was more than time to try a slight underexposure. Well, I say slight, I mean a stop to ASA-400 (a stop for me because generally, I shoot Double-X at ASA-200). Given the day had less than ideal light by this point, the results are awesome. I noticed little in the way of pushing that contrast up, but I also noticed little in the way of increase in grain, plus it's still sharp. I think the combination of Double-X and Microphen is good; the next step is to try this with 35mm and shoot at box speed.

Fujifilm GA645Zi - Super-EBC Fujinon Zoom Lens 1:4.5-6.9 f=55-90mm - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-250 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CFujifilm GA645Zi - Super-EBC Fujinon Zoom Lens 1:4.5-6.9 f=55-90mm - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-250 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CFujifilm GA645Zi - Super-EBC Fujinon Zoom Lens 1:4.5-6.9 f=55-90mm - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-250 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20CFujifilm GA645Zi - Super-EBC Fujinon Zoom Lens 1:4.5-6.9 f=55-90mm - Cinestill BwXX @ ASA-250 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 9:00 @ 20C

With so many people talking about how awesome Double-X is in Rodinal, I decided to run it through Rodinal for my last roll. Normally with a film like Double-X, I would go for a stand development method, but having a relatively short development time for a 1+50 dilution (nine minutes) might also give it a shot. What surprised me is how lovely the grain and sharpness turned out amazing. Plus finally got a decent bump in contrast even with using 1+50, although I'm sure you would have an even greater increase with a 1+25 dilution. Certainly a winning combination here. Double-X in 120, as with most Cinestill films, comes at a premium cost; they do have a process to get these films available to the public as they have to deal directly with Eastman Kodak, who manufactures the film. While it won't be a regular film in my kit, but certainly will get more rolls for special trips or occasions.

#reviews #adoxrodinal #cinestill #cinestillbwxx #coboconk #doublex #eastman5222 #eastmandoublex #eastmankodak #elora #film #fppd96 #fujifilmga645zi #hasselblad500c #ilfordilfotechc #ilfordmicrophen #mamiyam645 #milton #motionpicture #nikonf5 #ontario #rolleiflex28f #toronto

Camera Review Blog No. 132 – Nikon F-401/N4004

Am I crazy for reviewing a camera that you can have for a song? Maybe? But I'm out here to talk about a camera that many will pass over due to age and the slow autofocus speeds. But when it comes to cameras in the history of photography, the F-401 fits in a strange little niche often forgotten next to the more advanced cameras of the day and, of course, the almighty F90/N90(x/s). And while I have given away the F90, and it gets far more use with its new owner, when I saw the F-401 offered up for free, I jumped on the camera. For two reasons, the first being evident that it came up in researching the background of the F90. As a completist, I like to review cameras that would lead to the iconic cameras, proof of concepts, like the FA, leading to the modern matrix metering that we love in our Nikon SLRs today. The second being I review so few cheap-and-cheerful cameras on my blogs; I realise I need to do that more since the expensive gear is only getting more expensive as the years go on. Special thanks to Nancy again for providing this lovely camera for the review.

Camera Specifications
Make: Nikon
Model: F-401 or N4004
Type: Single Lens Reflex
Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm
Lens: Interchangeable, Nikon F-Mount
Shutter: Electromagnetic Vertical Travel Focal Plane Shutter, 1″ - 1/2000″ + Bulb
Meter: Triple Sensor Meter, EV1 ~ EV19 @ ASA-100, ASA-25 - ASA-5000
Autofocus: Nikon AM200 AF Sensor (TTL Phase Detection)
Year of Manufacture: 1987-9

Background
The 1970s had brought rapid change to the photographic industry, and Nikon decided that they would begin experimenting with an autofocus system, showing off a prototype lens in 1971. While history is vague on what happened with that lens, Nikon would continue to work with manual focus SLRs for the time being. It wasn't until the end of the decade that some of the first practical autofocus systems were released. Polaroid released their sonar-based system for their instant cameras, and Konica and Canon are releasing their passive and active autofocus system respectively in the last two years of the 1970s. Camera makers focused their earliest autofocus efforts on point-and-shoot cameras. Soon Minolta, Pentax, Chinon, and Nikon raced to build an effect autofocus SLR. Pentax came in first with the Pentax ME F in 1981. The ME F is important to this story because it used lenses with the focus motor built into the lens body and a passive TTL phase-detection system that used contrast to pick the appropriate focus point. Nikon took these two elements and built their first autofocus SLR in 1983. Using their darling professional SLR, the F3 as the foundation Nikon built a new finder that included the autofocus detection sensor, a passive TTL system. The DX-1 prism finder required a section set of batteries (AAA if I'm reading the manual correctly). The real market for autofocus would be sports and action photographers; the first (and only) two lenses released for the system were an 80mm and 200mm telephoto. Ultimately the system did not succeed and any plans for more focal lengths scrapped. In 1985 Minolta dropped the α-7000 (Dynax (Europe), Maxxum (North America)) and changed the game completely. The 7000 would set the standard for autofocus SLRs in both function and appearance. And Nikon took notice. A year later, they released their first successful autofocus SLR, the F-501 (N2020 for US markets). Unlike Minolta and Canon, learning from the F3AF, Nikon opted to maintain their historic F-Mount and put the autofocus motor inside the camera body itself. This resulted in no cross-compatibility with the F3AF, which ended up a dead-end system. The F-501 did share that same blocky, hard angle, 1980s VCR look of the 7000. The F-501 suffered from slow autofocus, and the metering system was still a 60/40 centre-weighted sensor. Nikon would release a follow-up in 1987, the F-401 (N4004), aimed at the entry-level market. The F-401 used an improved autofocus sensor module (AM200) and a triple-sensor meter (not true matrix). The F-401 would also be the first Nikon SLR to use two control dials to set the shutter speed and aperture. These dials would also be used to set the camera into AE mode or semi-automatic shutter priority, or aperture priority. And the camera also featured manual exposure mode. Nikon would take these improvements and put many into the Nikon F4 and F-801 cameras. The F-401 received a much-needed update in 1989 with the F-401x, which surprisingly saw continued production until 1998 when the Nikon F60 superseded it0.

Nikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20CNikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C

Impressions
If there's one thing the F-401 has going for, it is the camera's layout and looks. You can easily see where the design behind the later F90 comes from; gone are the sharp lines of the early 1980s. The camera is lightweight and feels good in the hand, and the controls are minimal and located in logical places. Despite its age, there's been no degradation of the rubberized coating on the camera body sections. However, the white "Nikon" script is filthy. I attempted to clean it with isopropyl alcohol but without any results. Despite being an entry-level camera, you can see some of Nikon's future design elements being tested on the F-401, notably the twin command dials for exposure control. One dial controls the lens aperture the other controls the shutter speed. The shutter release is pleasing, and the release is loud, as is the drive, which might be due to age again. While the built-in flash is visible, it does need to pop up to fire and is not that useful, but most older Nikon Speedlights (like the SB-24) work perfectly. The camera's viewfinder is a major failing in the camera; it's rather dim, even with an f/1.4 lens attached. There's also zero feedback in the viewfinder; your aperture and shutter speed are not displayed. The only indicator is when the camera hits focus.

Nikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20CNikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C

Experiences
The one thing I did not expect with this camera is frustration. While powered by standard AA batteries, I found myself reseating them to get the camera to power on and needed to remember to take the batteries out or else they would go flat. I'll chalk that up to age. Loading the film proved easy enough, with the camera automatically loading the roll without any trouble, even a thinner based film. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, even in the bright lights with a fast lens, the viewfinder proved dim and with little feedback in exposure settings. Having the pair of control wheels did make the camera operate familiarly. And while the control dials did have the appropriate labels for the settings, I much prefer that information in the viewfinder to adjust them without taking my eye away from the composition. I ended up running the camera in full AE to save myself the trouble. The metering, while not perfect, is okay. The biggest concern, if you haven't already guessed, is the autofocus. It's slow; it hunts and often misses the focus. Which made me happy I only had a twenty-four exposure roll because, by shot twenty, I was getting annoyed. But hey, this was still the early days of Nikon autofocus. And if you're wondering, yes, the camera also suffered from a light leak, but hey, when your review is going to be bad, you might as well embrace the terribleness.

Nikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20CNikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C

Optics
One of the best (one of the few) aspects of the F-401 is the optics. Nikon has an excellent line of autofocus lenses out there, and the F-401 supports almost all the lens in the autofocus line. From the original AF Nikkor line to the D-Type and G-Type lenses because the camera has the controls to adjust the aperture on the body proper. That means you need to set your lenses with an aperture ring to the camera's highest number to work. I'm unsure if manual focus lenses will work with the camera, although I'm sure they do in Aperture Priority mode. And yes, even AF-S lenses, the only ones that won't work will be the latest Nikkor lenses, the E-Type (not to be confused with the Series E) that use an electromagnetic aperture. The period-appropriate lenses for the F-401 are the AF Nikkor line.

Nikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20CNikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C

Lowdown
I can see this camera being something; if you're not wanting to spend a lot of money and have autofocus Nikon glass, then an F-401 is both a blessing and a curse. On the used market, the prices vary greatly. Some are up above the 100$ mark and are approaching even the 200$ mark; for what the camera is, I don't recommend paying over 100$ for an F-401 (both the S and X variants). On average, they run between 60-80$. Some lower, but that's a fair price, even better if they have a lens attached. Would I recommend this as a good camera? No, would I recommend it as an entry-level SLR for a new photographer or a child? Yes, providing you haven't spent too much on the camera in the first place.

Nikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20CNikon F-401 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - FPP Film Love @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C

Further Reading
Don't just take my word on the F-401/N4004, you can check out the reviews by other awesome camera reviewers!
Canny Cameras - Nikon F401 Review - The £1.50 SLR
Photographic Hardware - Nikon F-401/N4004 Review
Tinkering With Cameras - Nikon F401/N4004 Review
Low End Mac - Nikon N4004/F-401 Review

#camerareviewblogs #camera #camerareview #canada #fppd96 #fppfilmlove #gear #nikkor #nikon #nikonf401 #nikonn4004 #oakville #ontario #review

Toronto Film Shooters Meetup – Spring Virtual Meet (April 2021)

![image](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51146277893_064b422650_b.jpg" width=)

I had hoped that we could have at least met in person by this point in the year, at least in a small distant gathering. But by the middle of April, such a dream had been dashed. But that doesn't mean that we couldn't run a third virtual event. Having skipped March because it got far too busy actually to plan something out. At the end of April, the date had been set, the virtual pub setup, and time to go. I had already decided to stick close to home for the month. With the weather improving, I booked an early morning hike at Mount Nemo, one of the many conservation areas on the Niagara Escarpment. I took my Nikon FE and a 35mm lens loaded with Eastman Double-X, and my Nikon D750 with my recently acquired 28-70mm f/2.8D lens. When I arrived, I was only the third car in the parking lot. Thankfully Mount Nemo, while popular, has some more technical trails that most hikers with children avoid, but even this early, it was quiet.

Nikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8D

I ended up hiking the entire loop, a full five kilometres on the trails, which made the day much better, and I'm glad I took an early morning option as, by the time I got back, the trails were starting to fill up as was the parking lot. And the afternoon pub had a good turn out. While it's nothing like being able to fill up an entire bar, it's always good to see friends, even if it is only through a screen. The next event is planned for June; the format remains unknown as it will all depend on how things are looking in Ontario by that point.

#photography #burlington #canada #eastmandoublex #fppd96 #mountnemo #nikond750 #nikonfe #ontario #tfsm #torontofilmshooters #torontofilmshootersmeetup

Film Review Blog No. 71 – Lomography Fantome 8

![image](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50301637261_93c10bccc9_b.jpg" width=)

The original slow film offering from Lomography and one with a great name, Fantome! I had initially thought that I wouldn't jump on these right off the bat. However, after seeing some early results, I decided to give this slow offering a try. And don't let the slow speed concern you; you can quickly shoot this film handheld on bright sunny days, although unlike last months film, I did shoot a roll on a tripod to see how well it handled long exposure. Fantome 8, like Babylon 13, is a repurposed ORWO film. ORWO DP31 is a positive archival duplication film designed to produce duplicates from a master roll using an internegative film (DN21). While I have been unable to determine the actual film speed of DP31, I figure it would be around ASA-12, so again shooting it at ASA-8 is not a big stretch, with some pull in development. Like last month, given that the film is a motion picture film, I will be forgoing D-76. Instead, I'll use D-96 for the baseline. The remaining three developers are the same as the previous month. Because the film is slow, I'll use only two cameras to set the internal meters directly to ASA-8, the Nikon F5 and Minolta Maxxum 9.

Film Specs
Type: Panchromatic B&W Positive
Film Base: Polyester
Film Speed: ASA-8 (+/- one-stop latitude)
Formats Available: 135 (35mm)

Roll 01 - FPP D96
After pulling the negatives from the tank, I figured I'd end up with a high-contrast mess without any mid-tones. But after scanning them, I got a pleasant surprise. While these images have high-contrast, there are mid-tones, nothing overly smooth, but good separation. I'm also impressed that I could hand-hold the camera while working with the film using a rare sunny day for February to get all the light I needed. There is next to no grain to speak about, and the images are sharp. I noticed that while the film is listed as being panchromatic, the reds (especially in bricks) are rendered nearly if not black, so there might be a bit more ortho than pancro in Fantome. I can see why D-96 is the developer of choice according to both Lomography and ORWO. The rest of the rolls have stiff competition after seeing these results.

Nikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20C

Roll 02 - Ilford Ilfotec HC
Like Babylon, when I initially shot Fantome, I developed in Ilfotec HC using a 1+31 dilution. It proved to have a hard, harsh contrast, so that I will be developing these in 1+63. And it didn't do too much because the negatives looked about the same as the D96 ones. I think high-contrast will be the name of the game for Fantome, but we'll survive! Initially, I was unsure of the results when looking at the negatives; they looked dense. Scanning proved interesting but scanned in far better than I thought. One thing I realised in these images is that Fantome has a high sensitivity to blue light, and I've since confirmed that by looking at the DP31 datasheet. This explains why the skies are blown out and blues are rendered far lighter. And while I ended up with less in the way of mid-tones than in the previous roll, they are present. There's next to no grain, and the images are still sharp.

Nikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20C

Roll 03 - Adox Rodinal
I did not have much confidence in these negatives. They looked relatively dense when I took them out from the tank, but I could see that high sensitivity to blue light as the entire skies were blown out in several cases. These would have some higher contrast, but then again, I did develop in Rodinal. An eight-minute developing cycle in a 1+50 dilution seemed a bit short. But after scanning, I did start to see some mid-tones coming back into play. Still not my personal favourite, the contrast remains a little too high for my tastes. But, in a pinch, they aren't too bad, the grain is non-existence, but the images are still sharp. I noticed ghosting along the edges, but that could be due to scanning rather than with the exposure.

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20C

Roll 04 - Ilford Ilfosol 3
After getting my butt kicked in the past two rolls, I did not have high expectations for roll number four. I was not overly impressed with how Ilfosol 3 worked with Babylon 13, and in general, I'm not too much of a fan of Ilfosol 3, to begin with. So I was probably already setting myself up for failure and disappointment. But let's get into the good parts, these images had the finest grain of the set, with next to no grain at all appearing in the photos. But it also maintained a decent edge sharpness but lost out on overall sharpness due to the lack of tonal separation. The contrast is high, your shadows are deep black, and your highlights are all but gone. Still, when shooting in some open shade, you do get some decent tonality, far better than I got with Rodinal, which means that in a pinch, Ilfosol 3 is a better option than Rodinal, in my opinion.

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20C

Final Thoughts
While I do my best to try and find some good in any film or at least get you in the right direction for shooting a particular film stock, even if I never found that path, I honestly can say I'm not pleased with Fantome. As a positive film by nature, it is difficult to get a good line when developing as a negative. I'm sure that the Adox Scala kit might be the best way to develop Fantome. Probably the best developer for the film as a negative is D96. It seemed to be the best at controlling the contrast. It also doesn't help that as a slow film and blue-sensitive, you either need to suck up and accept that your blues will be blown out if you want to shoot this handheld or take a tripod with you and shoot under overcast conditions. It's also difficult to handle, it curls up worse than any other film I've used, and I include the original Efke KB100 in that list. It certainly is different.

Further Reading
Don't just take my word on Lomography Fantome 8. Check out these other reviews from around the Internet.
Lomography - Mastering the New Lomography Fantôme Kino
Emulsive - Lomography launches new slow B&W film - Fantome 8
35mmc - Lomography ‘Fantôme Kino’ B&W 8 ISO 35mm Film – First Frames Review

#filmreviewblogs #adoxrodinal #cambridge #canada #fantome8 #film #filmreview #fppd96 #ilfordilfosol3 #ilfordilfotechc #lomography #lomographyfantome8 #milton #minoltamaxxum9 #nikonf5 #oakville #ontario #orwo #orwodp31 #review

Film Review Blog No. 71 – Lomography Fantome 8

The original slow film offering from Lomography and one with a great name, Fantome! I had initially thought that I wouldn't jump on these right off the bat. However, after seeing some early results, I decided to give this slow offering a try. And don't let the slow speed concern you; you can quickly shoot this film handheld on bright sunny days, although unlike last months film, I did shoot a roll on a tripod to see how well it handled long exposure. Fantome 8, like Babylon 13, is a repurposed ORWO film. ORWO DP31 is a positive archival duplication film designed to produce duplicates from a master roll using an internegative film (DN21). While I have been unable to determine the actual film speed of DP31, I figure it would be around ASA-12, so again shooting it at ASA-8 is not a big stretch, with some pull in development. Like last month, given that the film is a motion picture film, I will be forgoing D-76. Instead, I'll use D-96 for the baseline. The remaining three developers are the same as the previous month. Because the film is slow, I'll use only two cameras to set the internal meters directly to ASA-8, the Nikon F5 and Minolta Maxxum 9.

Film Specs
Type: Panchromatic B&W Positive
Film Base: Polyester
Film Speed: ASA-8 (+/- one-stop latitude)
Formats Available: 135 (35mm)

Roll 01 - FPP D96
After pulling the negatives from the tank, I figured I'd end up with a high-contrast mess without any mid-tones. But after scanning them, I got a pleasant surprise. While these images have high-contrast, there are mid-tones, nothing overly smooth, but good separation. I'm also impressed that I could hand-hold the camera while working with the film using a rare sunny day for February to get all the light I needed. There is next to no grain to speak about, and the images are sharp. I noticed that while the film is listed as being panchromatic, the reds (especially in bricks) are rendered nearly if not black, so there might be a bit more ortho than pancro in Fantome. I can see why D-96 is the developer of choice according to both Lomography and ORWO. The rest of the rolls have stiff competition after seeing these results.

Nikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:30 @ 20C

Roll 02 - Ilford Ilfotec HC
Like Babylon, when I initially shot Fantome, I developed in Ilfotec HC using a 1+31 dilution. It proved to have a hard, harsh contrast, so that I will be developing these in 1+63. And it didn't do too much because the negatives looked about the same as the D96 ones. I think high-contrast will be the name of the game for Fantome, but we'll survive! Initially, I was unsure of the results when looking at the negatives; they looked dense. Scanning proved interesting but scanned in far better than I thought. One thing I realised in these images is that Fantome has a high sensitivity to blue light, and I've since confirmed that by looking at the DP31 datasheet. This explains why the skies are blown out and blues are rendered far lighter. And while I ended up with less in the way of mid-tones than in the previous roll, they are present. There's next to no grain, and the images are still sharp.

Nikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20CNikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfotec HC (1+63) 14:00 @ 20C

Roll 03 - Adox Rodinal
I did not have much confidence in these negatives. They looked relatively dense when I took them out from the tank, but I could see that high sensitivity to blue light as the entire skies were blown out in several cases. These would have some higher contrast, but then again, I did develop in Rodinal. An eight-minute developing cycle in a 1+50 dilution seemed a bit short. But after scanning, I did start to see some mid-tones coming back into play. Still not my personal favourite, the contrast remains a little too high for my tastes. But, in a pinch, they aren't too bad, the grain is non-existence, but the images are still sharp. I noticed ghosting along the edges, but that could be due to scanning rather than with the exposure.

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Konica Minolta Zoom AF 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 D - Lomography Fantôme @ ASA-8 - Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20C

Roll 04 - Ilford Ilfosol 3
After getting my butt kicked in the past two rolls, I did not have high expectations for roll number four. I was not overly impressed with how Ilfosol 3 worked with Babylon 13, and in general, I'm not too much of a fan of Ilfosol 3, to begin with. So I was probably already setting myself up for failure and disappointment. But let's get into the good parts, these images had the finest grain of the set, with next to no grain at all appearing in the photos. But it also maintained a decent edge sharpness but lost out on overall sharpness due to the lack of tonal separation. The contrast is high, your shadows are deep black, and your highlights are all but gone. Still, when shooting in some open shade, you do get some decent tonality, far better than I got with Rodinal, which means that in a pinch, Ilfosol 3 is a better option than Rodinal, in my opinion.

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20CMinolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Fantôme 8 @ ASA-8 - Ilford Ilfosol 3 (1+9) 10:30 @ 20C

Final Thoughts
While I do my best to try and find some good in any film or at least get you in the right direction for shooting a particular film stock, even if I never found that path, I honestly can say I'm not pleased with Fantome. As a positive film by nature, it is difficult to get a good line when developing as a negative. I'm sure that the Adox Scala kit might be the best way to develop Fantome. Probably the best developer for the film as a negative is D96. It seemed to be the best at controlling the contrast. It also doesn't help that as a slow film and blue-sensitive, you either need to suck up and accept that your blues will be blown out if you want to shoot this handheld or take a tripod with you and shoot under overcast conditions. It's also difficult to handle, it curls up worse than any other film I've used, and I include the original Efke KB100 in that list. It certainly is different.

Further Reading
Don't just take my word on Lomography Fantome 8. Check out these other reviews from around the Internet.
Lomography - Mastering the New Lomography Fantôme Kino
Emulsive - Lomography launches new slow B&W film - Fantome 8
35mmc - Lomography ‘Fantôme Kino’ B&W 8 ISO 35mm Film – First Frames Review

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Toronto Film Shooters Meetup – Spring Virtual Meet (April 2021)

I had hoped that we could have at least met in person by this point in the year, at least in a small distant gathering. But by the middle of April, such a dream had been dashed. But that doesn't mean that we couldn't run a third virtual event. Having skipped March because it got far too busy actually to plan something out. At the end of April, the date had been set, the virtual pub setup, and time to go. I had already decided to stick close to home for the month. With the weather improving, I booked an early morning hike at Mount Nemo, one of the many conservation areas on the Niagara Escarpment. I took my Nikon FE and a 35mm lens loaded with Eastman Double-X, and my Nikon D750 with my recently acquired 28-70mm f/2.8D lens. When I arrived, I was only the third car in the parking lot. Thankfully Mount Nemo, while popular, has some more technical trails that most hikers with children avoid, but even this early, it was quiet.

Nikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8DNikon FE - AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 - Eastman Double-X 5222 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 6:00 @ 20CNikon D750 - AF-S Nikkor 28-80mm 1:2.8D

I ended up hiking the entire loop, a full five kilometres on the trails, which made the day much better, and I'm glad I took an early morning option as, by the time I got back, the trails were starting to fill up as was the parking lot. And the afternoon pub had a good turn out. While it's nothing like being able to fill up an entire bar, it's always good to see friends, even if it is only through a screen. The next event is planned for June; the format remains unknown as it will all depend on how things are looking in Ontario by that point.

#photography #burlington #canada #eastmandoublex #fppd96 #mountnemo #nikond750 #nikonfe #ontario #tfsm #torontofilmshooters #torontofilmshootersmeetup

Foma:52 – Week 16 – The Summit

To be perfectly honest, I had a whole other location planned for this week. But as with last year, this year continues to remind me that plans mean nothing. No matter how angry you get. Thankfully I have an amazing and supportive wife who suggested I get out and go for a hike. I always feel better after getting out into the fresh air and taking photos. So I hoped onto the Halton Conservation Booking site and tried to find a spot, but getting out for a hike is almost all we can do right now. Thankfully Found a spot at the Kelso Summit. For those who don't know, the Kelso Conservation area is divided into two different sections: the main area at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment and the Summit, which is atop the escarpment. However, there is a great deal of overlap between the two sections, especially when you get out to the edge. Despite many mountain bikers, I enjoyed the trip; the going got a bit rough. But I found another route back from the Escarpment edge that offers up a few more lookout points that will be worth a return visit with a medium or even large-format camera. And you never know, by the end of the project, I will have featured all the Halton Conservation parks.

The view from the top, capturing the vista of the Niagara Escarpment.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20C

It's strange to come across a location that doesn't have much in the way of local history. But if we wanted to start somewhere it would be at the end of the last great ice age. In the retreat of the Wisconson glacier, it left behind the earliest forms of what we know as the great lakes. But it also left a massive scar running across what we know today as Niagara Escarpment. The Escarpment marked a massive and sudden shift in land height, running from the village of Queenston on the Niagara River to Tobermory on Georgian Bay. Throughout the years since its formation, the Niagara Escarpment has become a source of material and home for humans and animals. THose of the Neutral Nation would use rich sources of flint, the Carolinian forests home to deer and other animals which became sources of food and clothing. The soil perfect for growing crops, and even an ancient lake provided a window into the deep past. Many buildings were constructed from Queenston Limestone and many other quarries sprung up along the escarpment as a result. Including one that sits atop the Escarpment by the Kelso Conservation Area. The Kelso quarry was operated by Barrick Gold starting in 1958 and operated for some forty years providing much of the material used to construct the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway, better known as Highway 401. Conservation Halton began working in partnership to revitalize the old quarry in 1995. And between 2001 and 2006 the old quarry was subjected to environmental cleanup and revitalization as fish habitat and marshland creation. While it remains off-limits, I got a good view from the main train into the Kelso Summit.

The former Barrick Gold Limestone Quarry or "Kelso Quarry" now a fish habitat.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20CA sign outlining the efforts taking to transform this former industrial site.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20C

One of the biggest problems with hikes is that you tend to take the same photo repeatedly, trees. Thankfully I made a point to avoid taking those images, saving up when I reached the edge of the Escarpment. I mean, the title of this week is the Summit; I would be remiss for not including that as the featured image. I also made sure to include the Kelso Quarry, a rather nice bonus on the hike that I had no idea what it used to be or the history behind the spot. Of course, I also spotted some great details along the path, that despite having a wide-angle lens with me, I made sure to capture and include. Then another couple of shots from the summit to round things out. I actually went into this not having any pre-planned shots I wanted as the whole space was new to me. So I ended up trusting my gut on which images to include!

A rather interesting tree trunk.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20COne of many stumps found along the trails.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20C

Given the rough conditions and carrying another two cameras with me on the trip, I went simple with a single 28mm lens. No filter this week because it remained a bit overcast. And given that I was going to be shooting landscape I was glad to have that wide-angle. However, I would have liked a narrower view or a telephoto for some detailed shots in a couple of cases, especially when I got out to the edge. I shot at box speed (ASA-200) because of the overcast conditions, and I also spent some time under the canopy, so that extra speed proved helpful. For development, I went with FPP D96, while a motion picture film, I found it did an excellent job with Fomapan 400, so I dug up a development time online. The negatives looked excellent when I pulled them out of the tank.

A ski lift, part of the Glen Eden Ski park which is part of Kelso.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20COne final look out.
Nikon FM - AI Nikkor 28mm 1:3.5 - Fomapan 200 @ ASA-200 - FPP D96 (Stock) 9:00 @ 20C

Next week we're going to see if I can't shoot a single roll of 36 at a single small location and enjoy a bit of pinhole photography!

#foma52 #52roll #52rollproject #canada #fomapan200 #fppd96 #kelso #kelsoconservationarea #milton #niagaraescarpment #nikonfm #ontario