This year, Victoria Day fireworks were presented on Sunday, May 23rd at Ontario Place. I picked a vantage point at the east end of Coronation Park, a setting that provided a foreground of silhoutted sailboats and colorful reflections on the surface of the water to accent and give context to the fireworks display taking place in the sky above.
Sunday, I spent the day at the Henry’s photo show. Highlights include seeing a presentation by Deeanne Fitxmaurice, Pullitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, formerly with the San Francisco Chronicle, buying some graduated neutral density filters and an iPhone Gorrillapod, and checking out a Canon 7D outfitted with a follow focus rig on a rail.
Deeanne is a really good photographer but a great photojournalist because she is a keen and sensitive observer of people with a knack for forming relationships of trust. She’s very likeable. She won her Pullitzer Prize for covering the story of a young boy, Saleh, who was injured in Iraq when he picked up a ball on a playground that turned out to be a bomb. His older brother was killed trying to protect him by identifying that it was a bomb and trying to take it away from him. His father, Rahim, brought him to the local doctor, who said he would die; to the city doctor, who said he would die; to the American military doctor, who said he could only be saved in the US; and, finally, brought him to the US to save his life.
Saleh received life-saving surgery in Oakland where Deeanne met him. Over several weeks, after gaining their trust, Deeanne documented the courage and love of Rahim and Saleh. Meanwhile, in Iraq, Saleh’s mother and siblings faced their own challenges. Their neighbours, seeing how Rahim had been able to take Saleh to the US for treatment, assumed that could only mean that Rahim must be an American spy. They ransacked the home and drove Saleh’s mother and siblings into hiding. Rahim and Saleh obtained asylum in the US, thanks in part to Deeanne’s newspaper coverage, clippings of which had been attached to their application for asylum. Then, they managed to arrange to have the family brought out of Iraq safely, transported to the US and reunited.
It was a very touching story. It left me with a renewed sense of the power and importance of photography and inspired me to shoot these sunset photos later that evening.
Toronto is a city of condo development. I don’t know why, or whether it is good or bad. The cranes are everywhere, towering over neighbourhoods that previously only had faraway views of the CN Tower to make them feel small. They make me think of Half Life 2 or War of the Worlds for the long legged machines that stride over the buildings below.
This crane is building Cube Lofts in “Little Italy.” Very nice.
Crane Over College
The Toronto Shooters Club had another great photo walk this past Monday, April 26. This time out, the gang explored Yorkville. Among the many inspiring subjects were urban scenes, architecture, sculpture, people and pets. You can see my set in my Flickr photostream.
As the photo walk drew towards a close, I realized that we were soon to be in for a decent sunset and started to wonder where I could get to in time that might be worth setting up the tripod and trying for an HDR of the spring sunset. I remembered having recently walked from Castle Frank Station along Bloor Street toward Parliament Street.
Although many may not realize it, that stretch of Bloor is on a bridge which spans the Rosedale Valley and the Rosedale Valley Road. Living in Toronto, we think of Bloor Street as running east/west, which it mostly does, but here it actually runs from northeast to southwest. So, stopping halfway along, you can look almost due west straight along the valley with the road running down the middle. As an added bonus, the subway also crosses the valley on a bridge, and, it’s covered, and curves gently from southwesterly to westerly as you look towards the west. Anyway, that’s a lot of words, you probably already skipped ahead to see all of this in the fairly successful HDR I managed to make from the view. Hope you like it.
Rosedale Valley Road Sunset
Tobermory. The Bruce Peninsula. Flowerpot Island. Dunk’s Bay.
If these are just names, not memories for you, then you are really missing out. This is a beautiful part of the world.
I had never been there before but my sister and her husband bought a cottage right in Tobermory just above the Little Tub harbour a few weeks ago. They very generously offered to host us there for Thanksgiving. So, we went.
I did a little research in advance and saw that Ethan Meleg and Janusz Wrobel have done some awesome photography there. So, though humbled, I was hoping for inspiration too. I don’t think I have outdone either of those two great photographers, but I hope you enjoy some of the views that I experienced on my inaugural, but definitely not last, trip to Tobermory.
Big Tub Lighthouse
See Through Point
Flowerpot Island Lighthouse
Flowerpots on Flowerpot Island
Dawn over Dunk's Bay
Still exploring the suburban architecture and environment plus beautiful summer skies in Kingston.
Beautiful sky over suburban homes in Kingston
I was in Kingston yesterday and shot this image from an overpass.
Pretty sky in the suburbs of Kingston
That reminded me of an image I made while in Kingston earlier this summer. This image was made of a view looking east towards Kingston from a country road about 10km west of the city.
Hydro towers stretch to the horizon like marching men
