Street Shots

hool: 4th Apr 2006 - 18:32 GMT

good to see other toronto street work. be very careful about photographing the people at the corner of bathurst and queen. if you do shoot there, watch your back. a few of them, on the wrong day, will react violently.

the man in the fourth photo spends a lot of time at yonge and college. he's blind and also has a condition that i guess would be tourette's syndrome. he bellows and shrieks for hours on end, very loudly, often profanities. he sounds like he's being attacked. his cries echo for many blocks through the tall buildings and are very disconcerting to people who are unfamiliar with the source. he is very well spoken and thoughtful when conversing with another person.

the reflections in the evening/late afternoon at queen and yonge are always magic. art photo studio is closed due to retirement.

grange: 4th Apr 2006 - 18:39 GMT

I like the second one . Nice composition of B&W and young pics and older people ...Well Done

urbanghost: 4th Apr 2006 - 20:48 GMT

thanks grange and thanks hool for the heads up about that intersection. You sound like you really know the city well, which i'm aware of by checking out your site and seeing how much ground you cover. i'm also aware of the dangers in that area. Sometimes, however, you just can't resist taking the shot when you see it. i saw the bottle tipped towards the heavens, the women in the background with the dangling cig and santa hat. i would have kicked myself for not doing it. if there's anything that frustrated me about street photography, it's not taking a shot due to hesitation/fear and then cursing myslef later. I guess i'll roll the dice. Actually after i took that one, the guy with the eye trained on me somewhat threatened me with the bottle, and i kind of joked about it to ease the tension saying, 'i was trying to get a pic of santa clause'. for some reason i'm drawn to these so called risky areas..i guess it's the adrenaline rush. i probably inhereted it from my father who used to drive me through getos during vacations in florida when the beach got boring. as for the blind guy, i know his story well. i've spoke to him a few times and there was a large article about him in the newspaper about 1 year ago. apparently he was once a succesful real estate agent before suffering some sort of breakdown. he wasn't always blind either, he apparently lost his sight from repeatedly hitting himself in the eyes. when i hear his shrieks and outbursts of profanity, it really gives me goosebumps. on this day, however, he looked very calm, almost basking in the sunlight. I wasn't even particularly interested in him that day, it could have been anyone. I was most intrigued by the light on that day and the dramatic shadows etc. he just happened to be standing in the perfect spot, even somewhat symbolically between two great constrasts of light and dark. i really love that photo studio for the old time pics still on display. the two people in the photo seem like they are also posing, frozen in time like the pics in the window display. anyways thanks for the interest. peace.

jeeff: 5th Apr 2006 - 02:41 GMT

i used to work at the beer store at markham & queen, near photo 1. ahh the memories.. of having beer bottles chucked at my head.

jack: 6th Apr 2006 - 15:54 GMT

how we find humanity on the downside so fascinating. its as if were saying it could be one of us and it is in many ways in the small things we do that makes us realize were at the bottom now or were lost now or this is life and i'm stuck in it. but we can climb out of it and some of these people revel in it or just find themselves a part of that lifestyle and try to find their rankings in it.

Stéphane: 7th Jul 2006 - 02:59 GMT

Hey There. I live above the Art Photo Studio. The people you happened to photograph in front of the window are the owner (the man in the wheelchair) and his neice.