Making Eye Statements: Blog Post - 1 December 2019: Toronto Textures, Part 1

A change of pace from last week’s photos.

Regular readers of this blog already know that I love photographing Toronto. I find it an exuberant source of photographic inspiration and delight. Last week, I took advantage of a clear day on the calendar – and delightfully warm, sunny weather – to take the train to Toronto for a day of walking and photography. Instead of photographing people, which is often my preoccupation in Toronto, I explored the city’s textures and shapes.

From Union Station, I walked up Spadina Avenue through Chinatown to the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, just north of College Street. Then I wandered through the UofT campus, visited the Gardiner Ceramic Museum, and checked out the competitive high-end shopping in Yorkville. The walking tour then looped down Bay Street to the Eaton Centre, then back to Union Station in the early evening to catch my train home – six hours and 24,129 steps later. What a feast for the eyes! I’m grateful for sturdy walking shoes and dependable feet. My knees, however, took a few days to recover.

This week and next, I’ll feature photos from these Toronto wanderings.

A few words about my fascination with abstracts and textures: this form of photography usually doesn’t require a knowledge of the photograph’s context to be appreciated. The images could come from virtually any urban North American environment. They are, nonetheless, downtown Toronto moments recorded on my leisurely stroll. The city clashed and clanged around me while I remained calm, simply recording what I saw. Such a privilege. Thank you, Toronto – once again, you have rewarded me with your quirky beauty and peculiarity.

I hope you enjoy the photos.