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

New Gallery On BlackandWhitePhotography.ca

There is a new gallery on my main website BlackandWhitePhotography.ca

It’s actually similar to the previous one but it has been extended for easier browsing through the images. Remember you can click on the smaller image to enlarge it. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the next set of gallery images.

No post would be complete without an image. Below is the bridge across Mount Pleasant in Toronto.

AGO Toronto

The Art Gallery of Ontario on Dundas in Toronto has a unique glass shielded front. I have tried several time to photograph the front view but there are many hydro and street car wires that left the image cluttered. At some point, with a lift unit like a Skyjack I will get a photograph of the front without the wires. This view is from the east side.

Another interesting sculpture shown below is on Bloor Street.

Canada Life Bridge

Ernst & Young Tower

Balance And Light

The image above is of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal which is part of the ROM. This is not a finished image but it’s close to what I want to get from this site. I want the morning light to be shinning from behind the scene as it is here but with a more balanced sky. The other flaw is the construction cones and signs lining the streets. Frequently multiple attempts are needed to get the exact look and feel of a photograph. I suspect several more trips will be needed on this one.

Creating a balance within the image is important as well. The image below has a slight imbalance due to the building on the left but I think the overall look still works. As in the ROM shot strong light from above gives a fresh and striking look.

In a similar style image with strong light coming from behind the scene, the photo below of the Graphic Arts Building allows the center building to be the dominant part of the image. The girl running past the building gives the image a human aspect and adds percpective. This is a finished image and will be posted on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca soon.

The Forgotten Image

Sometimes when I get home after shooting life gets in the way of reviewing the photographs taken during the days outing. I usually download the photographs to an archive folder and then review them right away. Frequently the review comes later and sometimes it never happens at all. I remember fussing with the timing of the flags in this shot sometime during the summer of 2009 but the images from that day were just stored in a folder and not looked at. In the morning I sometimes go through older photographs deleting ones that I don’t want to keep, in the interest of storage space. Recently I stumbled across this photograph that had not been reviewed during my morning coffee working on my photography work. I have named it “Two Friends” related to our friendly relations with our neighbours to the south.

Royal York Hotel Toronto

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Glass Reflections

Toronto Old City Hall Clock Tower

In a previous post I had shown an image of the clock tower which I have changed to the above image called “Clock Tower Walking”. This photograph will be posted on the main site soon.

Panoramic Images

I will be adding panoramic images to my collection of work during the coming months. AB

150 King West

Sometimes when I want to re-shoot a photo for what ever reason I forget where the building is. With this image the right side of the address is blown out which I should have noticed when I was taking the shot but didn’t, so I will need to go back and re-shoot it again sometime. I don’t think I’ll have a problem figuring out where it is…

West Side Of The ROM

The ROM has fantastic architectural windows which sometimes get forgotten or over powered by the Crystal design at the front.

Monster

Massey Hall

Years ago I worked in the sound and staging industry. One of the first shows I worked was Van Morrison at Massey Hall. Just before the show started I was placed side stage and told if anything went wrong with the stage gear the company I was working for provided I was to fix it. I spent the entire show praying that nothing would go wrong as I had no clue what to do if it did. Over the next 5 years I worked many shows at Massey Hall but the first one is the one I remember most.

Limited Edition Prints

Reflections #5 is now posted on www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca As with the other images in the “Reflections” series this print is offered as a limited edition of 25. Reflections #5 is offered as a square print 15×15.

Direct Energy Center

The Direct Energy Center is another great structure on the CNE grounds. Much newer than most of the buildings that surround it.

Ricoh Coliseum

Ricoh Coliseum is located on the CNE grounds and can be seen from the Gardiner Expressway.

New Version Of City Windows

Years ago I shot this location using a smaller digital camera. I have recieved many requests for large scale prints of this image and have never been able to provide them as the original image could not be enlarged. I recently went back to the location and captured this new version which can be enlarged to up to 60 x 40 inches. This photograph will be added to www.BlackandWhitePhotography.ca soon.

Walking U of T

The University of Toronto’s architecture has such a wide range of styles. I always find it a pleasure to wander it’s campuses looking for photographs.

University of Toronto

This spring I will be shooting more of the University of Toronto and will create a new gallery on www.blackandwhitephotography.ca