Category: <span>Photography</span>

Published September 17, 2022 by

Coffee Shop, Toronto, 1980 – 2022_09_17

Coffee Shop
Coffee Shop, Carlton Street, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

It was my friend Bill Knetsch who introduced me to the wonders of coffee in the fall of 1980. Before that I had been a tea drinker, but there was something about relaxing with a coffee and doughnut, that couldn’t be beat. After a marathon printing session in the Ryerson darkrooms, Bill and I would hit up a local coffee shop such as the Donut Castle on Church Street. At 1:00 am the place would be crawling with all manner of characters–cab drivers, cops, prostitutes, night owls, students, partiers, etc. But is was the lure of coffee that brought us together!

According to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, good coffee is: “Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.”

Photography

1980s Coffee Shop film photography street photography Toronto

Published September 16, 2022 by

Easy Chair – 2022_09_16

Easy Chair
Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

I’ve always been interested in discarded items left by the curb, waiting to be taken to the landfill, or scooped up by a new owner.

Whoo-ee, are we gonna fly?Down into the easy chair

– “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” by Bob Dylan

Photography

Brooklyn discarded furniture easy chair new topographics Nova Scotia photography

Published September 15, 2022 by

On the Corner, Toronto, 1982 – 2022_09_15

Toronto
Carlton and Yonge, Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

It’s Throwback Thursday (#TBT), and today I’m going back 40 years to a time when many business names had not yet become acronyms. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was not yet CIBC, and Kentucky Fried Chicken was not yet KFC. I spent a lot of time on Carlton street in those days. I lived a little further east near Sherbourne Street, and would see concerts and hockey games at Maple Leaf Gardens, and movies at the Carlton Cinema.

This photo appeals to me in several ways, but most of all because of what the mixed lighting sources do to the colour.  The mixture of neon, fluorescent, and daylight really bring the scene alive. Also, I love Laura Secord chocolate!

Colour Photography

#tbt 1980s Ektacolor II film photography Toronto

Published September 14, 2022 by

Window Reflection, Halifax, Nova Scotia – 2022_09_14

window reflection
Window Reflection, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2022 – © Avard Woolaver

I took this window reflection yesterday in Halifax with my recently purchased Canon D5 Mark II. It is an older camera (from 2009) but is in good condition. Using an unfamiliar camera (and lens) really changes how we see things and how we photograph them.

For the past few years I have been mostly using my phone to take photos. I have gotten used to framing scenes using the screen, held out at arms length. Looking through a viewfinder, and using a 50mm lens, gave me such a sense of joy and freedom. And it seemed that different details caught my eye. There is so much to be learned about perception.

Photography

Halifax photography window reflection Wish You Were Here

Published September 13, 2022 by

Laundry Day, Montreal, 1984 – 2022_09_13

laundry
Laundry Day, Montreal, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

I’ve heard that line drying of laundry still takes place in Montreal, though it’s not as prevalent as in the 1980s. In Canada, the rules for line drying seem to vary from city to city, with condos probably never allowing it. In rural areas, nobody cares if you hang your clothes out to dry. If you look at the world in terms of a carbon footprint, it should be encouraged everywhere.

This photo was shot on Kodachrome 64 using a Konica T4 camera, with a 28mm lens.

Photography

1980s Kodachrome laundry Montreal social landscape