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The Toronto Camera Club, founded the same year as the first roll of film was introduced, celebrates 125 years
Wednesday September 25th 2013The building that time forgot sits on Mount Pleasant Road south of Eglinton Avenue, between Alexandre Antique Prints and Vanessa’s Nails and Spa. The façade features persimmon-coloured bricks with brown vertical vinyl siding above, an architectural style that brings to mind the song Disco Inferno. White letters read: The Toronto Camera Club.
The 1970s decor belies a much older club. The Toronto Amateur Photographic Association came together 125 years ago in 1888, the same year George Eastman introduced the first roll film camera. Club founders who gathered in the Gents Parlour at the Queen’s Hotel (now site of the Royal York Hotel) included W.B. McMurrich, a former mayor.
In 1891 the group became the Toronto Camera Club. Applicants needed a sponsor. A note from 1923 reads, “Dear Sir, Your application for membership passed with flying colours! Hope to see you any Monday evening meeting, when you may get a key to the club.”
The club waited until 1942 to admit women.
“It used to be such a formal thing, with old farty guys who were retired,” says Kathy Mills, the club archivist, as she leads a tour. “We have a much younger crowd now and a real mix of ethnicities.”
The club hopes to show off that younger crowd at the Mount Pleasant Village Harvest Fair on Saturday, inviting the public to help it celebrate its 125th birthday from 1-4 p.m.
As it evolved, the club followed the city on a slow march up from the lake. It lived at the College of Physicians & Surgeons building at Bay and Richmond Streets, then the Forum Building at Yonge and Gerrard Streets. For almost 50 years it rented space on Gould Street, now home to Ryerson University. For 10 years the club met at the YMCA on Eglinton Avenue East, before buying its current building, for $50,000, in 1965. Thanks to a Wintario grant (immortalized with a plaque in the foyer), the club renovated in 1978.
Owning a building saved the club, says Peter McClelland, a vice-president and retired realtor. “There’s lots of camera clubs and they flit around to libraries,” he says.
The club’s ground floor resembles a secular 1970s church: in a long room with a high ceiling, paneled in pine boards on a 45-degree angle, about 175 chairs face a blank white wall. The wall acts as an altar on which the club projects the work of its members. Those include photos from the club’s competitions — up to 30 a year, and the International Salon, a global competition the Toronto Camera Club has run since 1894.
The club’s 350 members pay $100 a year. This seems a small kitty to cover taxes, maintenance and bills of a club located on some of the city’s most desirable real estate. Ms. Mills explains that a number of years ago a patron donated to the club a set of prints by the photographer Ansel Adams. The club sold the prints and invested the money; the interest helps keep it afloat.
Ms. Mills leads us to the darkroom in the basement, a space the club maintains almost as a historical curiosity; everyone has switched to digital. A calendar on the darkroom wall reads February, 2002.
Glass cases on the club’s second floor display vintage cameras, including a Kodak Duaflex, Brownie Hawkeye, Rolliecord, a Voigtländer Anastigmat Skopar (a folding camera) and even a Kodak Disc 4000. Rather than dwell on the past, though, members here are always seeking to hone their craft.
“I have worked as hard at being a good photographer as at all my degrees,” says Irene Borins Ash, a social worker by day. The frequent lecturers, and other members, have helped her improve, she says.
“People are so supportive of each other. The support and the camraderie is fabulous.”
Ms. Mills, who shoots with a Nikon D90, says the club is going nowhere.
“We just chug along,” she says. “We’ll probably be here in 100 years.”
On Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Mount Pleasant Village Harvest Fair, the camera club welcomes the public from 1-4 p.m. as it celebrate its 125th birthday.
Source: National Post
Front Page, Industry News
The Toronto Camera Club, founded the same year as the first roll of film was introduced, celebrates 125 years
Wednesday September 25th 2013The building that time forgot sits on Mount Pleasant Road south of Eglinton Avenue, between Alexandre Antique Prints and Vanessa’s Nails and Spa. The façade features persimmon-coloured bricks with brown vertical vinyl siding above, an architectural style that brings to mind the song Disco Inferno. White letters read: The Toronto Camera Club.
The 1970s decor belies a much older club. The Toronto Amateur Photographic Association came together 125 years ago in 1888, the same year George Eastman introduced the first roll film camera. Club founders who gathered in the Gents Parlour at the Queen’s Hotel (now site of the Royal York Hotel) included W.B. McMurrich, a former mayor.
In 1891 the group became the Toronto Camera Club. Applicants needed a sponsor. A note from 1923 reads, “Dear Sir, Your application for membership passed with flying colours! Hope to see you any Monday evening meeting, when you may get a key to the club.”
The club waited until 1942 to admit women.
“It used to be such a formal thing, with old farty guys who were retired,” says Kathy Mills, the club archivist, as she leads a tour. “We have a much younger crowd now and a real mix of ethnicities.”
The club hopes to show off that younger crowd at the Mount Pleasant Village Harvest Fair on Saturday, inviting the public to help it celebrate its 125th birthday from 1-4 p.m.
As it evolved, the club followed the city on a slow march up from the lake. It lived at the College of Physicians & Surgeons building at Bay and Richmond Streets, then the Forum Building at Yonge and Gerrard Streets. For almost 50 years it rented space on Gould Street, now home to Ryerson University. For 10 years the club met at the YMCA on Eglinton Avenue East, before buying its current building, for $50,000, in 1965. Thanks to a Wintario grant (immortalized with a plaque in the foyer), the club renovated in 1978.
Owning a building saved the club, says Peter McClelland, a vice-president and retired realtor. “There’s lots of camera clubs and they flit around to libraries,” he says.
The club’s ground floor resembles a secular 1970s church: in a long room with a high ceiling, paneled in pine boards on a 45-degree angle, about 175 chairs face a blank white wall. The wall acts as an altar on which the club projects the work of its members. Those include photos from the club’s competitions — up to 30 a year, and the International Salon, a global competition the Toronto Camera Club has run since 1894.
The club’s 350 members pay $100 a year. This seems a small kitty to cover taxes, maintenance and bills of a club located on some of the city’s most desirable real estate. Ms. Mills explains that a number of years ago a patron donated to the club a set of prints by the photographer Ansel Adams. The club sold the prints and invested the money; the interest helps keep it afloat.
Ms. Mills leads us to the darkroom in the basement, a space the club maintains almost as a historical curiosity; everyone has switched to digital. A calendar on the darkroom wall reads February, 2002.
Glass cases on the club’s second floor display vintage cameras, including a Kodak Duaflex, Brownie Hawkeye, Rolliecord, a Voigtländer Anastigmat Skopar (a folding camera) and even a Kodak Disc 4000. Rather than dwell on the past, though, members here are always seeking to hone their craft.
“I have worked as hard at being a good photographer as at all my degrees,” says Irene Borins Ash, a social worker by day. The frequent lecturers, and other members, have helped her improve, she says.
“People are so supportive of each other. The support and the camraderie is fabulous.”
Ms. Mills, who shoots with a Nikon D90, says the club is going nowhere.
“We just chug along,” she says. “We’ll probably be here in 100 years.”
On Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Mount Pleasant Village Harvest Fair, the camera club welcomes the public from 1-4 p.m. as it celebrate its 125th birthday.
Source: National Post
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Front Page, Industry News
The Toronto Camera Club, founded the same year as the first roll of film was introduced, celebrates 125 years
Wednesday September 25th 2013The building that time forgot sits on Mount Pleasant Road south of Eglinton Avenue, between Alexandre Antique Prints and Vanessa’s Nails and Spa. The façade features persimmon-coloured bricks with brown vertical vinyl siding above, an architectural style that brings to mind the song Disco Inferno. White letters read: The Toronto Camera Club.
The 1970s decor belies a much older club. The Toronto Amateur Photographic Association came together 125 years ago in 1888, the same year George Eastman introduced the first roll film camera. Club founders who gathered in the Gents Parlour at the Queen’s Hotel (now site of the Royal York Hotel) included W.B. McMurrich, a former mayor.
In 1891 the group became the Toronto Camera Club. Applicants needed a sponsor. A note from 1923 reads, “Dear Sir, Your application for membership passed with flying colours! Hope to see you any Monday evening meeting, when you may get a key to the club.”
The club waited until 1942 to admit women.
“It used to be such a formal thing, with old farty guys who were retired,” says Kathy Mills, the club archivist, as she leads a tour. “We have a much younger crowd now and a real mix of ethnicities.”
The club hopes to show off that younger crowd at the Mount Pleasant Village Harvest Fair on Saturday, inviting the public to help it celebrate its 125th birthday from 1-4 p.m.
As it evolved, the club followed the city on a slow march up from the lake. It lived at the College of Physicians & Surgeons building at Bay and Richmond Streets, then the Forum Building at Yonge and Gerrard Streets. For almost 50 years it rented space on Gould Street, now home to Ryerson University. For 10 years the club met at the YMCA on Eglinton Avenue East, before buying its current building, for $50,000, in 1965. Thanks to a Wintario grant (immortalized with a plaque in the foyer), the club renovated in 1978.
Owning a building saved the club, says Peter McClelland, a vice-president and retired realtor. “There’s lots of camera clubs and they flit around to libraries,” he says.
The club’s ground floor resembles a secular 1970s church: in a long room with a high ceiling, paneled in pine boards on a 45-degree angle, about 175 chairs face a blank white wall. The wall acts as an altar on which the club projects the work of its members. Those include photos from the club’s competitions — up to 30 a year, and the International Salon, a global competition the Toronto Camera Club has run since 1894.
The club’s 350 members pay $100 a year. This seems a small kitty to cover taxes, maintenance and bills of a club located on some of the city’s most desirable real estate. Ms. Mills explains that a number of years ago a patron donated to the club a set of prints by the photographer Ansel Adams. The club sold the prints and invested the money; the interest helps keep it afloat.
Ms. Mills leads us to the darkroom in the basement, a space the club maintains almost as a historical curiosity; everyone has switched to digital. A calendar on the darkroom wall reads February, 2002.
Glass cases on the club’s second floor display vintage cameras, including a Kodak Duaflex, Brownie Hawkeye, Rolliecord, a Voigtländer Anastigmat Skopar (a folding camera) and even a Kodak Disc 4000. Rather than dwell on the past, though, members here are always seeking to hone their craft.
“I have worked as hard at being a good photographer as at all my degrees,” says Irene Borins Ash, a social worker by day. The frequent lecturers, and other members, have helped her improve, she says.
“People are so supportive of each other. The support and the camraderie is fabulous.”
Ms. Mills, who shoots with a Nikon D90, says the club is going nowhere.
“We just chug along,” she says. “We’ll probably be here in 100 years.”
On Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Mount Pleasant Village Harvest Fair, the camera club welcomes the public from 1-4 p.m. as it celebrate its 125th birthday.
Source: National Post
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