Haunted Window

Sometime around 2005 I photographed an abandoned house in Wainfleet Ontario. One of the images was of this window which I called “Haunted Window”. Later that year the PC is was using for my photography work failed and about 80 images that were not backed up (a hard lesson learned) were lost, including the original image of this window. A small jpg was still available and has been on my site www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca for quite some time. I have received quite a few requests for this print but was unable to offer it to customers as the print file was gone. I recently re-shot the window and can now offer this print to those who are interested. The new print is called “Haunted Window II”.

Roy Thomson Hall

This image of Roy Thomson Hall is a part of a collection of large images I am working on. This particular scene will be re-shot when the fountains are off. Click on the image to view a larger version.

View more pictures of Toronto on my main site

Shrine Our Lady of Lourdes Toronto

Few buildings have required as many repeat visits as the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sherbourne just south of Bloor. There was always something preventing me from photographing this building. A car parked out front, a banner across the pillars, the lights not on behind the pillars etc. The lights being on in this case is essential as the undercover and doors fall in very dark shadows early in the morning without them on. The second image below shows the dome.

 More pictures of Toronto on my main website.

Sunnyside Pavilion Toronto

The Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion in Toronto can be seen from Lakeshore Drive. A favourite place for many Toronto residents to spend some time at the lakes edge and at the pool. With its wonderful architecture and facilities, Sunnyside is also a popular location for weddings and events. I believe this building was constructed in the late 1800′s. This photograph required a fair amount of thought during the composition process as the structure is quite wide and there is a limited amount of space in front of it. Click on the above image to see a larger version.

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Strong Back Lighting

I suppose this image would be considered an abstract with its crossing lines and strong backlighting from the sun. Taken on King Street here in Toronto.

I set out to get a photograph of the ladder on top of Roy Thomson hall. (below) It seems that some other items made their way into the picture as well.

Duotone Photography Prints

Part of the process I use in creating my black and white prints is creating a duotone file of the image I’m working with. The above photograph of the Quantex Technologies building shows what the image looks like in duotone. The original photograph had full detail in the trees that surround the building and as I frequently do I use a technique call burning which darkens the selected area. Burning to make parts of the photograph darker and dodging to make them lighter is a process that is used in the dark room while developing film. With digital images the process while different is similar in nature. While I don’t use Photoshop to manipulate images I do use the features that emulate the tools used in a dark room.

Three Pillars

Union Station Statue Toronto

This statue, located at Toronto’s Union Station is passed by millions of people every year. The photograph was taken as the sun was coming up to catch the mood of this Toronto icon. This photo is available as a 16 x 20 print. Larger sizes are available upon request.

www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca

Department of Household Science Building

As I have in other photographs with people in them, this image was composed and then I simply waited until the scene unfolds as I had envisioned it for the building. The right combination of no other people, no cars, lighting, which changes frequently during the waiting period and timing of the moving subject all contribute to the resulting photograph. In this case the wait time was about 45 minutes which seems to be typical.

If you’re walking around Toronto early in the morning and you catch the scent of pipe tobacco, take a look around, it may be me just waiting. -AB-

www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca

Gardiner Museum Toronto

The Gardiner Museum in Toronto.

Seaton Butcher Shop on Queen Street

The Seaton Butcher Shop on Queen Street is one of my favourite store fronts in Toronto. It’s one of those locations that I have thought about photographing for years but for what ever reason never got around to it. This image will be posted on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca soon. -AB-

Osgoode Hall

Osgoode Hall is a wonderful building that I have admired for years. In this photograph which was taken just before 6am the lights shining on the windows behind the pillars worked to my advantage as they would otherwise be shaded at that time of the morning. This print is available in a square format and a wider format. The wider version can be viewed on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca

Below is a photograph of the sculpture at Trinity Square in Toronto. I will be shooting again at this location in the next month or so.

Ryerson Athletics Toronto

The Ryerson Athletics building entrance is a prime example of a hidden treasure of Toronto architecture. Unless you have attended Ryerson University you would probably not be aware of this unique structure which quietly sits almost a stones throw from Toronto’s bustling Yonge Dundas square. I stumbled upon this location in the summer of 2010 while observing the Egerton Ryerson statue (below).

Yonge And King

The busy corner of Yonge and King sits quiet early in the morning.

This image and others can be seen on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca

Saint James And Tower

This photograph, “Saint James and Tower” will be posted on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca soon. -AB-

Todmorden Mills

The Todmorden Mills smoke stack can be seen from the Don Valley Parkway and is a Toronto landmark. This well know structure is surrounded by old buildings and pathways frequented by residents and visitors alike.

Canadian Bank of Commerce

Two years ago I photographed this building but at that time it had a City of Toronto garbage container in front with an advertisement for a real estate company on it. In my view the container ruined the look of this classic bank structure. Last summer (2010) this building was covered with scaffolding while repairs to the front of the building were being done. I know this because I stopped by numerous times to see if the work had been completed. I was pleased to see that this year the work has been completed and the garbage container is gone (at least for now) which created an ideal opportunity to once again photograph this great building on King Street in Toronto.

This image will be offered as a square print in different sizes and will soon be added to the gallery on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca -AB-

Behind Canada Life Building

This photograph will be re shot in the next couple weeks with a ladder so I can get a little higher then the trees. In doing this more of the bridge will show. Also there are some spots of snow showing on the ground. Weather permitting I should be able to get the final image within a week.

Your Favourite Building In Toronto

University Of Toronto

Early spring is the ideal time of year for photographing urban architecture. The deciduous trees still have no leaves so scenes where the trees leaves block part of a building during the summer are open and easier to photograph. The image above called “U of T Walking” is a prime example (click on image to enlarge). There is a short window of 2 or 3 weeks where there is no snow and no leaves so the question here is “What is your favourite building in Toronto”. There are so many hidden architecture treasures within this city and I would love to have some feed back and suggestions that I can add to my list of potential locations.

The person who submits the best location suggestion (decided by me) will receive the first print at no cost.

Visit the Contact page on my site or call me at 1-866-771-ANDY (2639).

I look forward to hearing from you. -AB-

Shooting Black and White Landscapes

For years I would drive around the countryside looking for scenes suitable for creating an attractive photograph. Unlike my architecture photography which I prefer to shoot early in the morning as the morning light and lack of people are best suited for that type of photography my landscape work was done at all hours of the day. I would drive around Ontario sunroof open, windows down with a sense of creative adventure frequently pulling over to investigate a potential scene to photograph. Sadly about 80 top-level prints from this time were lost in what I call “A Digital Disaster”. fortunately the above image named “Tall Sky Tree” was not on the hard drive that failed. Maybe this summer I will venture out into the countryside and seek out some new places to photograph…yeah I think I will.

 (Click on the image to view a larger size.)

Modern Architecture In Toronto

Modern architecture in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was the primary subject for my collection called “The Zen Metropolis”. This series of over 25 prints was completed a couple of years ago and represents a time when I was obsessed with modern architectural lines and how they merge to create a peaceful image. The above print is The Zen Metropolis #17. The building is located at York University.

Bank Of Upper Canada Building On Adelaide

Adelaide is a one way street that cuts though downtown Toronto to one of the major north south arteries called the DVP. The Bank Of Upper Canada Building is just around the bend in the road at George Street. One of this buildings neighbours is Toronto’s first Post Office which is just a couple doors east.

MaRS Building on College Street Toronto

Back in August I wrote on this blog regarding the MaRS building and some issues I had with the hydro lines within the image. The above photograph was shot from a new (Canadian made) Featherlite telescoping ladder I purchased. Combined with a bracket mounting system this new apparatus allows me to get approximately 14 feet in the air. The higher elevation greatly reduces in fact minimizes the impact of the wires which are still part of the scene.

A special  thanks to Megan MacLean, a student at Sheridan College Applied Photography for assisting on the shoot.

Simcoe Hall Doors

 

University of Toronto

Rosedale Valley Road Bridge

Many people in Toronto may not know where this bridge is located. Those who are familiar with Rosedale Valley Road know a drive down this winding road can be a quiet escape from the city.

Below is a soft focus photograph of the doors leading into Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto.

Street Cars In Toronto

Recently I posted regarding the difficulty of photographing buildings in Toronto on streets serviced with street cars. The street car lines do create issues while photographing some buildings. During that writing I thought of the old “Can’t beat em join em” saying and hence I will start adding some street car scenes to my collection of Toronto Architecture. Timing is everything with these shots and there is a lot of waiting around for a scene to unfold.

Pillars And Clock

Big Planters On The DVP

There’s something I like about these large planters on the DVP. They are actually called “The Elevated Wetlands” and were created by artist Noel Harding. This photograph was taken in 2006 and has been a popular print.

Street Car Lines And Hydro Wires

Street car lines and hydro wires are a challenge when photographing urban architecture. The image above of the MARS building on College shows how these lines can adversely affect the look of an image if they are not positioned in a pleasing manner. While taking this photograph I tried to line up the street car line to the upper horizontal ledge of the building while keeping the rest of the composition in mind. While on location that seemed to be a reasonable solution but once I saw the image I knew it wasn’t quite right. What needs to happen here is the street car line should be lined up with the lower or middle horizontal line. To do this I will need to be elevated about 10 feet using a ladder with my tripod mounted on the side. I believe the end result will minimize the street car lines and pull the cross street line lower to a less intrusive position. Some may say, well why don’t you just use Photoshop to eliminate the wires and save all the bother. I don’t work that way! When you purchase one of my prints the image is as seen and has not been manipulated. If this photograph had no street car lines you would know that it was a manipulated image and I feel that takes away from the authentic feel of an architecture photograph. Look for the revised version of this photograph in the coming weeks.

Reflections Number 6

Here is a new edition to my Reflections series. This image was taken at Yonge and King showing the escalator going to the concourse and faintly showing the hanging sculpture within the same building while the street scene unfolds in the reflection. While I was photographing this scene a nice woman came up to me and asked what I was doing. I explained and we had a 10 minute chat about various things including photography. I enjoy these interactions with people who are curious about my work.

Sometimes I stumble upon the neatest things while walking the streets of Toronto. This clock is on the side of the PJ O’Brien Irish Pub. Many people may say well everyone knows about that clock, well I didn’t. Send me your unique location ideas through my website www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca