Colour 2020-2021
Gallery 2021-2022
This gallery consists mainly of photographs from 2021 to 2022 taken in Toronto and on travels to Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, Cuba and Germany. I had fun with photography in this period, as I got a new camera body and started to travel more after the COVID quarantines ended. Our trip to Berlin, Germany was a highlight, and gave me a chance to explore the city and its museums while my spouse attended a conference there. I like the mix in this gallery, which includes both large-scale images with a lot of detail and cartoon-like images with limited detail and bright colours.
Gallery 2020-2021
This gallery features images that were shot in Toronto in 2020 and 2021, and two earlier ones from 2008 and 2019. The images share good light and muted colours, with a tendency toward white as a key element (2. Moon Over East York, 6. Ball?, 19. White Car, etc.). Several images feature interesting colour casts (4. Conch on a Light Background, 8. Michael Garron Hospital, and 14. Car Park) or parallel lines (17. Car Wash, 20. Zebra, and 23. Tennis). Many of the images are narrowly focused on a scene or object or otherwise have a feeling of constraint—probably because they were shot during the COVID-19 quarantine, usually close to my home.
Gallery 2019-2020
Most of the photographs in this gallery date to the COVID-19 quarantine in early 2020. During this period, I took long walks to explore the nooks and crannies of my neighbourhood and brought along my camera. In many places, I found bushes, weeds and trees growing wildly, as people stayed indoors. Some photographs feature the theme of nature reclaiming the city (23. I Can’t Get Used to This Lifestyle and 24. Seeds). I also decided to feature some looser, more imperfect photographs, on the theory that imperfection has charms worth exploring (see 4. Cardinal, 17. Little Disasters, and 18. Macarons). Finally, I spent time looking through old photographs and incorporated some that I felt complemented this gallery (5. Vertical Blur and 15. Less Cities, More Moving People)..
Gallery 2018-2019
This gallery features photographs from 2017 to 2019 that were shot in and around Toronto and on trips to Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba, Florida and Malta. Architecture and geometric shapes are common themes, including 6. Vanishing Point and 21. Western Geometry. Several photographs depict tourist attractions, or conditions in foreign places, not always happily: see, for example, 5. Tourists at Gatorland and 23. Montreal. Somewhat inexplicably, several key images depict statuary of various types, ranging from the whimsical (7. Lawn Statues) to the more serious (13. Dark Queen).
Gallery 2017-2018
This gallery features (mostly) photographs from 2017 and 2018 taken in and around Toronto and on trips to Alberta and Malta. There’s a good mix of downbeat and upbeat images: see 16. Royal Bank Plaza and 24. R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant as examples of the former, and 5. Dog at Lake Ontario and 22. Purple Daisy as examples of the latter. I'm also proud of the landscape images, including 3. Near Vienna and 15. Photographing the Geese.
I had fun creating matched pairs of images throughout this gallery. 6. Repairs and Alterations, Part 1 and 7. Repairs and Alterations, Part 2 show the same store window. 8. Nurse and 9. Union Station Walkway, Looking South-East have different subjects, but share a similar colour palette. And 13. Valletta Parade and 14. On Parade both feature motion-blurred parade marchers.
Gallery 2016-2017
This gallery came together in the Spring and Summer of 2017, with most of its images taken with a new camera (a Canon Rebel T6s) and a new lens (a Canon 24-70 mm zoon). I made a conscious effort to capture transitory events and more complicated subject matter. Images of this sort include 1. Bird, Building and Sky, 17. On Ramp to the Gardiner, and 20. New World Order. Many of the images share a particular colour palette of light to dark gray: for example, the paw in 2. Fritz the Cat’s Stereo, the windows in 4. TD North Tower, and the sky in 11. Sven of the North. About a quarter of the images also feature reflections or reflective surfaces: for example, 8. Dentist's Chair and 24. Reflected Garage.
A number of environmental factors contributed to this gallery. The new camera meant that I used new software to develop RAW files, and this may have had some effect on the tones that appear in most of the images. The period during which I put this gallery together overlapped with the period during which I ripped many of my old CDs to MP3s, meaning I played a lot of music, some of which seeped into the spaces between the images. Toronto had a wet spring and summer, with frequent rainstorms; this often meant interesting light and cloud formations. Finally, I spent some time reading about two of my favourite photographers (Jay Maisel and John Hedgecoe), which provided me with some ideas to try out on my own.
Gallery 2015-2016
This gallery contains photographs taken in 2015 and 2016, supplemented by a few older photographs from 2007 and 2008. It seems more relaxed to me than many of the other galleries, with a nice flow between different types of photographs and subjects. It also contains some of my favourite shots to date, including 1. Reading in Toronto, 6. Harsh Sky, and 18. Elephant.
Gallery 2014-2015
Most of the images in this gallery were taken in Toronto and on our summer vacation to Manitoba and Alberta in August 2015. I've also thrown in a few older photographs and one newer photograph that I thought were a good fit. With some exceptions, this gallery features summer themes, often with warm and hazy colours. There are also several strong photographs featuring blue water or blue skies, including 2. Sunday Morning, Lake Ontario, 8. Far Away, So Close, and 16. Wing.
Gallery 2013-2014
This gallery consists of photographs from 2014 and other years, notably 2006 and 2015 (I decided that I wouldn’t be strictly tied to the 2013-2014 timeframe). I started the gallery with a set of photographs that I took in 2014 just after the snowbanks melted (5. Back Alley Car, 13. Out and 14 Cutlass Ciera). I then added photographs from trips within Ontario and to Manitoba, Alberta, and Florida. Finally, I mixed in some newer and older photographs from around Toronto.
If I wanted to add a second title to this gallery, I would call it “The Future Happens Anyway” after NQ Arbuckle's excellent 2014 album. There is a retro-futuristic theme to many of the images (for example, 8. Pedestrian Overpass or 20. Balance); they pose the question of whether the present has lived up to past expectations. Sadly, the answer is, I think, mostly no.
After a break of a few years, I started printing some of my photographs at large size again in early 2015. This had an effect on the images in this gallery, as I tried to pick images with good detail and a good range of tones, and spent more time working on them in Photoshop.
Gallery 2012-2013
This gallery features photographs taken in 2013 in Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta, with my Canon Rebel T3i and 17-40 mm lens. I probably spent fewer days taking photographs in 2013 than earlier years, but had better luck finding nice light and interesting subjects. Some of the images remind me of the high-contrast images that I took with my old point and shoot camera when I was first getting into digital photography (see Gallery 2005-2006).
The images were processed in Photoshop’s RAW image editor and then tweaked in Photoshop itself. Often, I found myself lightening the image and then bringing down its highlights in the RAW image editor. This gives many of the images a characteristic look that I liked.
Gallery 2011-2012
Most of the images in this gallery were taken in the summer and fall of 2012, with my Rebel Xsi (recently deceased) and its replacement, the Rebel T3i. The images were taken at locations in or near Toronto, Niagara Falls, Marmora and Havelock in Ontario, and Castor and Drumheller in Alberta.
Gallery 2010-2011
Almost all of the images in this gallery were taken in 2011, which was a good year for me. The images emphasize strong lines and geometric shapes, as in the curving lines of two condominiums (6. Condominiums) or the straight lines of a ship’s hull (13. Hull Section).
They also feature large structures arranged in a toy-like fashion: see, for example, the TD Centre as a collection of building blocks (3. TD Centre in Fog) or a freighter on the waterfront photographed so that it resembles a model ship (9. Cinnamon at the Sugar Refinery).
In addition to Toronto locations, this gallery features photographs taken in or near Marmora, Havelock, Moira Lake and Sandbanks Provincial Park in Ontario; Winnipeg and the Whiteshell area of Manitoba; and Castor and Drumheller in Alberta.
Gallery 2009-2010
This gallery consists of photographs mostly taken in 2009 and 2010 in the Greater Toronto Area and on trips to Alberta, Manitoba, Florida, Kingston in Ontario, and Buffalo in New York. It contrasts images of the natural with images of the man-made, generally with the man-made a little worse for wear. It also includes several images featuring movement or moving subjects (2. Avalanche, 8. The Zipper, 23. Running in Buffalo, and 24. Phoenix), along with a variety of more static images.
Gallery 2008-2009
This gallery evolved over time, with the first version assembled in late 2009, and the final version completed in early 2011. One of the main themes is reflective surfaces, with several images featuring reflections on metal, glass, chrome or water: see 5. Wheel, 8. Glass Truck, 12. Crane, and 24 Red River and Clouds. Many of the remaining images were selected based on the quality of light
Gallery 2007-2008
Most of the photographs in this gallery were taken in 2008, either with my Rebel XSi, or its predecessor, the Rebel XT, and usually with my 17-40 mm zoom lens. I like the sense of simplicity that is a strong feature of many of these images – as I’ve continued to think about photography, I’ve come to value the importance of a clean style and simple arrangement within the image. After I finished assembling these images, I noticed that a theme of water runs through several of them: a row boat, a beach, a pier, a mermaid, etc.
Gallery 2006-2007
This gallery is made up of photographs taken with my Canon Rebel XT, mostly with a 35 mm or 17-40 mm zoom lens. While my earlier photographs tend to confine themselves to relatively small objects or areas, I made a conscious attempt to try to photograph bigger things. “Think big, think big,” I would mutter to myself.
During this period, I purchased two wide format printers,* so that I could print images as large as 13 x 19 inches. This made me examine my “keeper” photographs more carefully, as flaws that were virtually invisible at 8x10 were more noticeable at larger sizes.
I like the gentle tones and colours used in many of the images in this gallery. I made a conscious effort to take a more subtle approach compared with the high contrast and bright colours of my earlier photographs.
* Much to the chagrin of my spouse. Foolishly, I didn’t consult with her before the purchase of the second wide format printer, and even my son (who was along for the ride) knew I was doing something wrong. “Daddy, you’re going to get in trouble,” he told me. He was right.
Gallery 2005-2006
The pictures in this gallery were taken with my trusty Canon Powershot A80 (since deceased) and my Canon Rebel XT with a 18-55 mm zoom and 35 mm and 50 mm fixed lenses. Most were shot as JPEGs and adjusted in Picassa, a surprisingly good image manipulation program then available from Google.
The images represent the first phase of my experiment with digital photography, and show a fair degree of consistency both in their general approach and tone. With only a few exceptions, they were photographed from one to six feet from the subject, and feature simple composition, bright colours and high contrast.