I have my blog cross-post on Twitter and Facebook. This is the power of the internet – you get seen in places that twenty years ago, heck, even ten years ago, you never would have. The post I made about the Fort York branch of the Toronto Public library was found on Twitter by someone who worked there, and who re-tweeted the post with a very kind and appreciative comment. Before Twitter, what would the odds be that you take a picture of a building in a foreign country, and someone who works there would see the picture and acknowledge it? I think I owe them a print.
Category Archives: Photography
Toronto – 231 Fort York Boulevard
The building I stayed in at 231 Fort York Boulevard is a thoroughly modern 28-story high rise, composed of glass and steel. At street level, however, the architects softened the impact with a still thoroughly modern, but decidedly more organic, approach. Twisting ribbons of blackened steel, undulating concrete, and dense vegetation combine to give it an almost Antoni Gaudi feel.
A loveseat style bench, formed out of an undulation in the concrete:
A canopy formed out of steel ribbons and the branches of trees shade another larger seating area:
The building entrance is a riot of steel ribbons, twisted into organic shapes that bring to mind ocean waves and seashells:
As an architectural critic, I question the use of these shapes because they really don’t relate to the building at all – they’re found only on the street side, and only at street level. The courtyard entrance where vehicle drop-off and pickup occurs has nothing at all like this, and nowhere else at any higher level is this style repeated. None of the upper balconies have ribbon-like railings, just typical glass and steel flat planes.
As a pedestrian, though, I’m quite pleased that it exists – it certainly makes the sidewalk level more interesting and in the summertime, more pleasant!
Toronto Public Library
Just around the corner from my apartment, on Bathurst Street, there is a branch of the Toronto Public Library. As I was passing it, I saw this scene of a lone reader, sitting by the window, deeply engaged in his book. There isn’t any real “action” going on here, and the subject of the photo is actually a very small part of the total image, but I think sometimes that kind of subtlety is important and beautiful, and actually makes for a stronger image – you have to think about it a little and really examine the image.
This scene struck a chord with me as I remember doing much the same as a kid, going to the public library and finding a corner in which to curl up with a book. While I don’t go to the public library as much any more, the love of reading is still very much alive, and I have my own personal library now- over 2000 volumes and growing.
Portraits – William Quach
Two different portraits I took of my friend William, who toured me around Toronto on Sunday of my weekend visit. Both were taken at the Distillery District, one black-and-white, the other, color. I cropped the black-and-white one because there was some lens flare in the upper corner, and I think the vertical crop is not only complimentary to a portrait in general, it is flattering to the sitter.
Both images, of course, were shot on my Rolleiflex. It makes for a great environmental portraiture camera. One of these days I’m going to get the Tele-Rollei to do some tighter head shots, but for now, this is just fine. The b/w image was shot on Kodak Tri-X, and the color on Kodak Ektar 100. I’m normally brand agnostic when it comes to film – I shoot whatever produces the look I like. For a slower b/w emulsion, I’m happy with Ilford FP4+, and for a really slow emulsion, Ilford PanF. For years, until they discontinued it, I was a huge fan of Fuji Reala when it came to color. Since it went away, I’ve shot Kodak color emulsions almost exclusively, though. I used to like the super-saturated colors in Fuji slide films, but now I prefer a somewhat more subtle palette, which I get from Ektar (which is still a saturated, contrasty emulsion) or even moreso from Kodak Portra (mostly Portra 160, but the 400 and 800 also have their uses).
Toronto Ordinary Objects – CanadaPost Mailbox
Just a quick onesie to add to the Ordinary Objects series:
A pair of CanadaPost mailboxes on a street in downtown Toronto. I would have thought they were power transformers or something if it weren’t for the wrappers that say Canada Post on them. We have weird ersatz mailboxes here in the US that are green and have no slot, and are marked US Government Use Only. I’ll have to look around for one of those – THEY’re becoming extremely rare as well.
TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival
Just a few snaps of the people coming and going at the opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Normally the intersection of King and John Streets is a hustle-and-bustle with vehicular traffic. But for the opening weekend of TIFF, they blocked off King Street for six or eight blocks and turned it into an open-air street fair, with live music, performances, and activities. The restaurants lining King Street set up outdoor seating areas in the curb lane of King Street to handle the extra business.
This was taken from the window of the Tim Horton’s at King and John, looking across the intersection at the TIFF Bell Lightbox theater on the right, and above the coffee shop on the left is the Indian restaurant where I had dinner and saw Sandra Oh (my first celebrity sighting at TIFF).
McDonalds set up a free coffee booth for the opening weekend, serving up McCafe coffee and a live DJ in the coffee cup on the upper deck.
A view of the eateries along King Street. I don’t know what’s going on with the bisected Holstein coming out of the wall of the Kit Kat club, but it certainly is eye-catching.
People in line for a film screening at one of the participating theaters. While TIFF Central is the TIFF Bell Lightbox, there were perhaps a dozen theaters across downtown screening films for the festival, ranging from single screen vintage movie houses to modern multiplexes like the Lightbox and the Scotiabank theater. This queue was for one of the premieres at an old Vaudeville-era movie palace.
Toronto Public Art – Full Circle, by Peter Von Tiesenhausen
This statue has an interesting story – it has literally, as part of its creation process, completed a circuit of the periphery of Canada, thus the title. The original was a wood carving of five male figures, which was then charred in a fire, and then cast in iron. The iron casting was then loaded in the back of the artist’s own pickup truck and driven across the open plains of Canada. It took a trip across the Arctic Circle on a ship, and made landfall again before being brought to Toronto, where it now stands. In all, it was a five year, 35,000 kilometer journey. The pedestal is designed to be a bench to invite people to stop and sit.
The statue inspired someone to leave this little wire figure token between the feet of one of the figures. When I saw the statue originally, I thought it was some kind of war memorial, which may have also been what went through the mind of the person who left the figurine.
Toronto Bike Culture, Revisited
Ok- I’m getting better organized now, and here are my Toronto bike pictures. And trikes, if you count the pedicab, but it’s non-functional, so I’m not entirely sure it counts one way or the other.
The Toronto Bikeshare program gets first on the playbill. They’re quite popular and fairly ubiquitous. I don’t know that it’s any cheaper than riding the streetcars, but it certainly is better exercise.
A lone cyclist on her way downtown, early in the morning. The overhead lights for street car traffic control are lit, because another block or so ahead and the normal King Street traffic is closed off due to the opening festivities for the Toronto International Film Festival.
This bike was spotted locked to a bike stand over by the Ontario Opera Company headquarters. It had a suitably retro vibe to it, which both pairs and contrasts nicely with the brick former factory building behind it. It feels like it’s going somewhere on its own, just from the way it’s standing by itself.
Here’s a study in contrasts – the cyclist on the road bike approaching the dude with the custom chopper bicycle.
You saw this one before, but under a different heading. This bike with its multicultural basket was spotted outside the TIFF Bell Lightbox theater complex, headquarters for the Film Festival.
And two views of the pedicab, in all its rusted glory. I’m still baffled as to WHY it was where it was.
Toronto City Hall
A mini photo-essay on the Toronto City Hall. The complex is a striking example of modern architecture. I think the round structure between the two towers looks a bit like a flying saucer come to rest. Whatever you think of it, it is certainly a daring piece of architectural design for what is usually a very conservative concept.
A different view of City Hall, including the arches that span the fountain on the plaza in front. I got lucky and had a lone seagull flying just between the two towers when I released the shutter. I think that makes the image, don’t you?
The plaza in front of City Hall. They have concerts and performances on the stage all summer long, and the fountain turns into an ice rink in the winter, thus the “Snacks” and “Skates” signs on the building beside the fountain.
Toronto Streets – People
Lest you get the idea that I travel to and photograph completely depopulated urban areas, I thought I’d do a feature on people in urban areas, doing things. Part of the reason I don’t have many photos of people out in public is, believe it or not, I’m shy behind my camera. I’m working on getting better at taking people’s pictures that I don’t have a relationship with.
I saw this young man on the street, playing with his phone. I liked his look and wanted a candid shot. I think it worked.
Two young women buying gelato bars from a vintage canvas-top delivery truck. The truck is almost a scooter it’s so small. I wouldn’t want to be the ice cream vendor, having to stand stooped over under the cover all day. Unless I were Peter Dinklage, then I would fit comfortably. But if I were Peter Dinklage, I’d have better things to do with my time than selling ice cream bars. Like trying to manage the kingdom without getting killed by my sister.
I’m seeing more cities installing public plazas like this where they close off part of a street, put in plants and chairs, and turn the area into a social space for people to relax and interact. The most notable example is parts of Broadway off of Times Square and Herald Square in New York City. Here is a spot in Toronto where they’ve adopted the same idea – obviously successful, from the napping young man. You can see a tiny piece of the Scotiabank Theater in the upper left of the image, which is where I went to my international short films screening at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival).
I had shown this before, in my color series about the Distillery District. Here it is again, from a different angle, in black-and-white. The distillation sculpture draws people in and encourages interaction, both under and around it. It also makes a great focal point for the Distillery District space – you can always tell someone “meet me at the sculpture in an hour” and you won’t get lost trying to reconnect.
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