Wall

Yes, it's a wall. But check out all those cool old cars!

Plane

Don't know what's going on with this picture....except it's, you know, a plane.

Tracks

Don't know where, can't say when. It's a mystery.
 

Mystery Place

This shot is a total mystery. I presume dad took it in the late 1960s, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

Tree

This is our family Christmas tree circa 1969. This was a magic tree, every so often a small surprise or gift would suddenly appear on the tree, a clear sign that Santa's snitches elves were nearby and continuing in their observational duties. I'm happy to report that many incarnations later, the Christmas tree in our house continues to have this strange magical property. I'm also happy to report that some of the ornaments you see on this tree have survived into the 21st century and continue their yearly service of brightening up our current tree, and our holiday spirit.

What's Up?

So here's a mystery shot. Presumably a quiet Montréal street, probably the early 1960s. I'm not sure what prompted dad to take this shot, or what attracted him to this location.
Perhaps it was the two people in the tree.

Relic of a Lost Age

Don't see these anymore, do you?

Hallway

A hallway in a Montreal school.

On the Rocks

My father curled. Or so I've been told. Strangely enough, I have no recollection of him ever curling, or going to a curling rink to watch him curl. In fact, I don't think I've ever watched anyone curl in a rink. Curling is one great Canadian winter sport that has somehow passed me by. That said, I do know my dad curled as he had a couple of very small curling trophies that he had won. I know what you're thinking, that this is all leading up to an "A ha!" moment wherein I present newly-discovered photographic evidence that he curled. Well, no. Sorry. I think he gave up curling after his eye surgeries in the early 1960s before I was born. However, he did take some pictures of some other curlers in the late 1960s.

Light

Another of Dad's "product placement" photos.

Guy in an Office

Here's a picture Dad took of a guy in an office. I don't know who, what or why. When is probably the late 1960s.

Bannister

I'm finding many of Dad's photos are not as well documented as others. I can't tell you anything about this one, other than late 1960s. It appears to be part of a series that Dad took of a house or small apartment building. His documentation is really odd, like he's gone back to record everything after the fact, but in many cases it seems like he made no effort to sort things out before recording them. Some backyard family party pictures will be next to a school fire in the negative book, yet one last picture from the party will be hidden away on a different negative strip in another book, so it's all very mixed up. I like the shadows here, playing against the brightness of the bannister pole.

Camera Club Girls IV

Another selection of Dad's photos of models from his camera club in Montréal. It's pretty easy to understand why he was a member.

Camera Club Girls III

Another session with a model at Dad's camera club in the 1960s in Montreal.

Camera Club Girls II

Here's another assortment of pictures that Dad took of a model at a camera club meeting in the late 1960s in Montréal.

Portrait

Here's a portrait of me that my day took, late 1960s, so I am probably five or six years old. I don't remember this picture being taken at all, so no story to go with it, but it's a nice, relaxed shot.

Fire Extinguisher

The title for this one is pretty self-explanitory. It's a fire extinguisher. I have no certain idea why dad took this picture, but there some notion in the foggiest reaches of my memory that he tried briefly to make a little money on the side with photography and this may have been a "portfolio" of sorts, a demonstration of a product shot for advertising. Or he could have just had an extinguisher fetish. One thing I do remember is him working on this shot in his home darkroom. He must have developed dozens of copies of this shot, and I remembered it to this day, and was quite pleased to find the negative.

It Will Blow Your Mind

Another one of dad's trick shots. I'm not sure how he did this, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't by stuffing mom into a cannon.

Christmas Present

I remember this like it was yesterday, and not mumble mumble mumble years ago. After Christmas dinner, my grandfather pulled a big box from under the tree. What? For me? Golly, it's as big as I am!

Wired

The handsome guys of Platis Electric pose for Dad. Dad was not a professional photographer, but occasionally he must have taken some pictures as a favour for friends, or as a commission, as there are a number of pictures of the Platis trucks and offices in the collection, as well as other businesses. This would have most likely been a favour, as Tommy Platis, second from the right, was a friend of Dad's.