Category: <span>Toronto</span>

Published February 15, 2019 by

Memories of Cabbagetown, Toronto

Carlton Street, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

This photo was taken in Toronto, near the corner of Carlton and Parliament, in 1982. The area is known as Cabbagetown and was my neighborhood during my first two years in the city. I’d moved to Toronto to study photography at Ryerson, and I found myself inundated with new images and experiences. Whenever you’re plunked down in a wholly changed environment, there’s lots of space to create new memories.

My apartment was tiny, basically a 12 x 15 room with a fridge and stove, no counter and no kitchen sink. Dishes had to be washed in the bathroom sink. The walls were 1960s era wood paneling, and filled with cockroaches. A window left open allowed easy access for squirrels–one day I came home to discover they had chewed up my prized Bose speakers. It wasn’t exactly a palace, but the rent was only $175 a month, and it was close to school.

177 Carlton Street, Toronto, 1980, Cabbagetown,
177 Carlton Street, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

I felt at home living in the neighborhood. It was a bit run down but never seemed threatening or dangerous. Having moved from rural Nova Scotia, it was a good place for me to start exploring the streets with my camera. When I look back of my photos from this time, I find I can remember taking so many of these shots. And, of course, there are many others I have no recollection of taking, pictures from places I can’t remember being and sometimes can’t even identify. Moments fly past us, noticed or unnoticed, all with their particular shadings of beauty and uniqueness.

Carlton and Bleecker, Toronto, 1980, Cabbagetown,
Carlton and Bleecker, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

Cabbagetown got its name from reports in the 1870s that Irish immigrants were digging up their front lawns to plant cabbages. The area is known for its large number of preserved Victorian era houses, and also for its numerous homeless shelters and drop-in centres–apparently the highest concentration in Canada. Gentrification began in the 1970s and these days it isn’t so run down and scruffy.

Gerrard and Ontario, Toronto, 1981, Cabbagetown
Gerrard and Ontario, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

Because its so close to the downtown core, Cabbagetown has long attracted urban professionals as well as writers and artists. Famous residents include Robbie Robertson, Avril Lavigne, and Al Purdy.

Parliament Street, Toronto, 1980, Cabbagetown,
Parliament Street, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Photography Toronto

1980 Cabbagetown Toronto

Published February 8, 2019 by

No Money Down – Toronto (1980-1986)

No Money Down – Toronto (1980-1986) documents the city of Toronto, Canada, in the 1980s. It is a follow-up to my first book: Toronto Flashback (1980-1986).

From the introduction: These photos were taken in the early days of my twenty years in Toronto. I’d just moved there to study photography at Ryerson, and I found myself inundated with new images and experiences. Whenever you’re plunked down in a wholly changed environment, there’s lots of space to create new memories. Leafing back through my archived slides while pulling together this book, I found I could remember taking so many of these shots. And, of course, there were many others I had no recollection of taking, pictures from places I couldn’t remember being and sometimes couldn’t even identify. Moments fly past us, noticed or unnoticed, all with their particular shadings of beauty and uniqueness.

When I look back on that time, everyday routines and unforgettable events are all mixed up together. I lived in a gritty neighbourhood near the school and spent hours walking around downtown Toronto with my camera. I was simultaneously watching and participating in the life of this new city. I had french fries at least once a day, usually at a diner, usually late at night. Squirrels got into my apartment through an open window and chewed my prized Bose speakers to shreds.

Our Ryerson professors gave us assignments like photographing shadows, or reflections, or exploring the use of the frame; this guidance helped me walk the pavements with intention and with something to learn each day. I carried a Konica SLR at first, and later a tiny Rollei 35S; they were my constant companions. Being frugal with film was important to me, since I was on a student budget–usually I shot just one or two frames of a scene. Most of the photos in this book were one-offs.

In those years, walking with my camera gave me a way of getting to know this new city at the same time I was getting to know myself and honing my skills as a photographer. My shyness faded. Toronto became a place I felt at home. I lived there for years–I got married, had children, and felt completely a part of things.

Looking back now at the photos I spent my precious film on back then, so much comes back to me about dropped into a new environment. We use our creative tools as extensions of ourselves; they help us understand and define our place in the world. 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.

No Money Down is available through Blurb Books.

Keele and St. Clair, Toronto, 1982, No Money Down,
No Money Down, Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging photo book Photography Toronto

No Money Down Toronto

Published February 4, 2019 by

Reflections of Kensington Market

Kensington Market, Toronto, 1983, reflections, street photography, mirror,
Kensington Market, Toronto, 1983 © Avard Woolaver

Reflections create another layer of reality in a photo. It can be like gazing into an alternate world, or listening to the layered sound in a Brian Eno recording.

When I was a boy I would walk around the house looking down into a mirror. The reflections of the ceiling created a whole new space to walk in. Several years later when I first picked up a camera, I was drawn once again to layered images found in mirrors, windows, and water.

This photo was taken in Kensington Market, Toronto, in 1983. I often associate photos with songs and this one brings to mind Reflections by Diana Ross and the Supremes. The way life used to be.

Blogging Photography Toronto

1983 Kensington Market reflections street photography Toronto

Published February 2, 2019 by

Remember Summer

Cherry beach, Toronto, 1982, remember summer,
Cherry Beach, Toronto, 1982 © Avard Woolaver

With the winter season upon us and frigid temperatures outside, it’s nice to remember summer and those hot sunny days at the beach. I choose to remember summer with this photo of Cherry Beach in Toronto, taken in 1982. Sooner than we know it, it will be here.

Blogging Photography Toronto

Avard Woolaver Cherry Beach remember summer

Published December 10, 2018 by

Payphones, Toronto, 1982

Avard Woolaver, Toronto, payphones, 1982, colour,
Toronto, Ontario, 1982 © Avard Woolaver

Payphones used to be everywhere. When I did street photography in Toronto in the eighties, I didn’t go out of my way to photograph them. Yet, they appear in so many of my shots. I remember my first answering machine from the mid-eighties–I could actually get my messages remotely from a payphone with the aid of a little beeper. My, times have changed!

Photography Toronto

1982 Avard Woolaver payphones Toronto