This article is based on and inspired by a presentation I have given several times, most recently as part of the Royal BC Museum’s International Astronomy Day celebration on April 25, 2026.
Some context and background: I worked at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory from 1986 until my retirement in 2024, including serving as Director between 2014 and 2018.
Around the time of the observatory’s centennial In 2018, I became increasingly interested in the history of the observatory and the people who worked there. That rekindled an earlier interest I had in history while also connecting naturally with my long-standing interest in photography.
Introduction
For most people in Victoria, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) is known for its iconic white dome overlooking the Saanich Peninsula.
Link to the Government of Canada web page for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.
However, in the observatory archives is a remarkable photographic record documenting the construction of one of the most important scientific instruments and facilities in early Canadian history.
When the DAO saw first light in May 1918, its 72-inch reflecting telescope was the largest in the world.
The observatory itself was largely the vision of astronomer John Stanley Plaskett, who strongly advocated for the creation of a world-class Canadian observatory and became its first director in 1917.
Less well-known is the story behind the remarkable photographic archive that documents the observatory’s construction on Little Saanich Mountain, now known as Observatory Hill.
(And even less well-known is the identity of the photographer responsible for this archive.)
The Glass Plates Documenting DAO Construction
Today, the DAO has preserved approximately 150 glass plates (most measuring 8 x 10 inches) documenting the observatory and telescope construction between 1915 and 1918.
What is striking to modern photographers is the quality of these images. The sharpness and detail captured by these early large-format photographers remain astonishing even today.
(If you are unfamiliar with photographic glass plates, the National Science and Media Museum has an excellent introductory article explaining how glass plate negatives worked and why they remained important in scientific and archival photography for so many decades.)
Preserving Glass Plates
Most of these glass plate images had previously only been scanned at moderate resolution.
To preserve the extraordinary detail contained in the glass plate negatives, the plates are digitized at 2400 dpi (dots per inch). These scans are so detailed that small sections of the image can be enlarged dramatically while still revealing sharp details that would normally go unnoticed — from distant workers on scaffolding to textures in the steelwork itself. Each scan contains so much data that the files approach 800 MB in size.
Photoshop is then used to carefully restore the images to their initial state to remove dust, scratches, and more than a century of wear.
(Editor’s Note: If you are interested in the technical side of digitizing photographic glass plates, you may also enjoy this overview from Spéos Photography School, which explains modern approaches to scanning and photographing glass negatives, including lighting, RAW workflow, restoration, and scanner setup.)
Bringing the Past Back to “Life”
What is quite exciting is that modern digital tools allow these historical photographs to be experienced in entirely new ways.
Still photographs can be subtly animated using generative AI techniques! The result gives us brief glimpses into the past.
As an example, one recently restored image showing the mirror arriving at the summit on a wagon being pulled by six sturdy horses,, was transformed into a short five-second film sequence. And to maintain historical authenticity, a white dog was added to the animation!! (This was a tribute to the dog owned by Thomas Tenant Hutchison during the construction years.)
The results are surprisingly moving: a moment from more than a century ago briefly feels alive again.
A Historical Cold Case: Who Took the Photographs?
For many years, the identity of the photographer behind these glass plate images of the construction of the observatory remained a mystery.
The breakthrough came from one particular image showing a car parked along the construction road. It faced what appears to modern viewers as the “wrong” direction.
This detail indicated the photograph had to have been taken before January 1, 1922, when Victoria officially changed from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right.
A high-resolution enlargement of the image revealed the vehicle’s license plate number: 4124.
Given the low traffic levels of the era, this was almost certainly the photographer’s own car, parked nearby while he worked with a heavy, large-format camera and tripod.
Cross-referencing the plate with early British Columbia vehicle registration records identified the owner as E. Fleming.
Further research into the 1918 Victoria City Directory confirmed the photographer was Edgar Fleming — a professional Victoria photographer whose connection to the observatory had long been forgotten.
As a historian, photographer, and longtime DAO employee, this felt very much like solving a historical cold case!
Who Was Edgar Fleming?
Born in London, England in 1859, Edgar Fleming worked for the prestigious London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company on Regent Street before emigrating to Victoria.
Together with his brother Harold, he operated the Fleming Brothers photographic studio on Government Street and became well known for portrait and documentary photography throughout British Columbia.
In 1896, Fleming joined an expedition through Vancouver Island, photographing Indigenous communities and remote wilderness landscapes. The Fleming Brothers studio also represented Victoria at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Today, many of Fleming’s photographs survive in provincial archives, but his connection to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory adds another fascinating chapter to Victoria’s photographic history.
Another Discovery in the Archives
The search for the photographer behind the construction glass plates led to Edgar Fleming. However, while exploring the DAO archives, another photographic collection also came to light.
The DAO also holds a small collection of personal photographs taken by Plaskett between 1910 and 1913. Discovered only a few years ago, these negatives and prints reveal a more personal side of the observatory’s first director — not as scientist or administrator, but as traveler and observer.
John Stanley Plaskett was an accomplished amateur photographer and Vice-President of the Toronto Camera Club before becoming a professional astronomer.
Plaskett conducted some of the earliest serious experiments in colour photography in Canada and regularly lectured on photographic techniques.
The images document trips to observatories, conferences, and travels through Europe and North America. More than a century later, many still possess the quiet observational qualities photographers appreciate today: strong composition, atmosphere, and a fascination with place.
Photography as Preservation
For photographers, the DAO archives offer more than historical curiosity.
They remind us that photography does more than document structures or events. It preserves atmosphere, human presence, craftsmanship, and ways of seeing that might otherwise disappear.
More than a century later, the photographers who stood on Observatory Hill with heavy cameras and fragile glass plates still allow us to experience the birth of one of Canada’s great scientific institutions — not only through history, but through light itself.
