It has been said that music is the heartbeat of the universe. There is no denying its magic, and its force in the world. I took these photos in Toronto in the 1980s. They show people making music in everyday situations, giving the city a soundtrack.
.
.
These are some things I saw today, taking a load of garbage to the local landfill. It’s always fun to take a little road trip–it doesn’t matter how far (the landfill is about 15 km from my home.) And it makes the photos look a bit better when there is a sunny sky.
In the community of Cogmagun, there is this tiny house. I don’t think anyone lives there year round, maybe just in the summer. I take a photo of it just about every time I pass by. It reminds me of the house of folk artist Maude Lewis that is on display in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
This rag-tag collection of signs caught my eye. I’m interested in the Stanley Airport which operated as a pilot training center during World War II. My mother grew up in the small community of Stanley and went to see movies at the base as a ten year old. When I was a boy in the 1960s it housed a parachute training school and I loved to watch the parachutists floating in the sky like dandelion seeds.
There was a very high tide in the Herbert River today. This part of the world has some of the world’s highest tides with tide water flowing in from the Bay of Fundy and filling all the connected rivers. This is a popular place for tourists to watch the tidal bore.
On my way home, crossing the Kennetcook River where I took more high tide photos. I love this view, looking up the hill with the utility pole in the middle of the road. It was a good day for getting things done, and getting a few photos–things I saw today.
Nathan Phillips Square is a large city square in downtown Toronto (12 acres) that is the home of Toronto City Hall. It is a place of numerous activities–skating rink, farmers’market, concerts, demonstrations. There is often lots going on here, but at other times it is eerily empty.
It is a place that I rarely went to for an event; I was usually just passing through. So my photos are usually just little glimpses of what was happening there. Looking back at my contact sheets from the 1980s it seems that I passed through Nathan Phillips Square a few times a year. It was a good place for photos–lots of open space, interesting architectural details, plenty of concrete, and human activity.
These photos were just random moments at the time, but mean a lot more to me now as I rediscover the past life of my 20s. It reminds me that life is short and we must Carpe diem— “sieze the day.” For me, having a camera in my hand at all times helped me remember, You only get to do this once. We have to take time and see it, as clearly as we can.
.
.
.
.
In my younger days when the moon was full, I used turn off the headlights and drive the silver road. Naturally, I did this on quiet country roads where there wasn’t much traffic, and I drove slowly. I loved the silver glow of the road and how it was like driving in a dream world. I might still be doing it now except for the fact that most cars in Canada have daytime running lights–it is impossible to turn off the headlights completely.
I also enjoy the silver road in my photographs. These photos are usually taken in the winter when the road is wet, and the sun is shining directly over the road. It looks like a river of silver light and reminds me of a line from My Favorite Things – “silver white winters that melt into spring.”
My motivation for writing this post comes from Sarah Harmer song I have stuck in my head–Silver Road. It’s from the movie Men with Brooms (2002) and features accompaniment by The Tragically Hip.
“I’ll be way down a silver road I’ll go
Where the moon has it lit up
Turn off your headlights and go slowly
I don’t want it to let up”
I have been a fan of her music since her 1999 album You Were Here but until a few weeks ago had not heard the song, or seen the video (I hardly ever watch them.) Seeing her perform at Stanfest in 2009 was one of my all time concert highlights. I think this beautiful melodic song really matches the mood of driving at night with the headlights off, and hope my photos do, too.
.
.
I’ve always been amazed at how images, like words, can convey so much emotion. I have always thought of black and white photography as an abstract medium and colour photography as a psychological medium. American photographer Elliot Erwitt said, “With colour you describe; with black and white you interpret.” If it’s true that colour appeals to our emotion and leaves less to our imagination, then it makes sense for us to be judicious in using it.
This can have a lot to do with how the photo is framed—how much of a particular colour, or colours to leave in or crop out. When I view a scene, then, I look for ways to combine colours–for me, it’s about balance. Sometimes a tiny splash of red is enough to counteract a sea of green, or a little orange goes well with a lot of blue. There are no hard and fast rules here, but the conscious combining of colour is something to keep in mind when you’re out taking photos.
On Instagram there are dozens of filters to choose from, each giving the image a certain look, but it seems the most-used Instagram filter is “normal”–that is, roughly the colours our eye sees. And that’s good news for an old-school guy (like me) who believes that colour is something to be observed, not added with a filter.