John R. Connon was born in 1862 and, like his father, he developed a keen interest in photography.

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Two images of John R. Connon, aged 5, [1867]
Thomas Connon
Black and white print
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-5-0-1
Archives of Ontario, I0011665

John spent most of his life in Elora and, like his father, was a pioneer photographer and inventor of photographic equipment. The picture to the right shows him, as a young man, posing beside a stereo camera, likely in the family studio.

In 1887 John patented the panoramic camera, in which the lens rotated at a speed equal to that of the film (which went in the opposite direction). The result was a photograph that captured a very wide field of view.

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John R. Connon, [between 1860 and 1900]
John R. Connon
Glass plate negative
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-1-0-11-20
Archives of Ontario, I0011625

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Panoramic street scene in New York City, 1890
John R. Connon
Black and White Panorama
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-4-0-5
Archives of Ontario: I0011659

In 1890 John moved to New York for a year and most of the Connon panoramas in the Archives' collection were taken there.

While he was in New York John also took pictures using the first transparent film. That experience would lead to the creation of many lantern slides, some of which were hand-tinted.

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Hand-coloured image of derelict log house, [between 1880 and 1909]
Thomas or John R. Connon
Lantern Slide
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-3-0-7
Archives of Ontario, I0011559

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Hand-coloured slide of burning building near a mill, [between 1880 and 1909]
Thomas or John R. Connon
Lantern Slide
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-3-0-7
Archives of Ontario, I0011557

John returned to Elora in 1891 and would remain there.

Over the next 40 years Connon continued to experiment with a wide range of photographic techniques and formats. He also developed an intense interest in local history and in 1906 he began writing a book detailing the history of Elora.

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John R. Connon, [between 1860 and 1900]
John R. Connon
Glass plate negative
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-1-0-11-20
Archives of Ontario, I0011624

Originally titled Early History of Elora and Vicinity (later Elora) the book was completed in 1930. It was reprinted by Sir Wilfrid Laurier University in 1974.

The book contained various photographs taken by both Connon and his father, and a reference copy is available in the Reading Room at the Archives of Ontario. John R. Connon died in 1931.

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The remains of the home of Captain Smith, photographer, 1903
John R. Connon
Glass plate negative
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-1-0-8-4
Archives of Ontario, I0011480

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