Tag: <span>music</span>

Published March 4, 2023 by

It’s an honour to have my photos in the City of Toronto Archives – 2023_03_04

It’s all too beautiful, Yonge and Queen, Toronto, 1997 – © Avard Woolaver

Recently 700 of my photos (digital images) were added to the City of Toronto Archives. It’s a real honour, and a good feeling, knowing that my 1980s street photos will be kept for future generations. Many thanks to Michele Dale, the supervisor of collection management and standards at the City of Toronto Archives, for seeing the merit in my work.

The above photo is one of my favourites from the archives collection.
In those days I worked near Queen and River. I’d ride my bicycle home along Queen Street and sometimes stop in at Tower Records, put on the headphones and listen to Summer Side of Life by Gordon Lightfoot. I’d be transported into a beautiful musical world.

When look at this photo, I think about light, and life, and the miracle of just being alive and being able to experiencing things. I also think about Toronto music: “Lost Together” by Blue Rodeo, “Spirit of Radio” by Rush, “Lovers In A Dangerous Time” by Bruce Cockburn, “Bobcaygeon” by The Tragically Hip; songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, or Neil Young. These are songs that run through my mind when I look at this photo and think about that time in my life. I’m nostalgic for those Toronto days.

Here is a link to the collection.  (Fonds 620; Avard Woolaver fonds) Scroll down and click: “browse,” and you can see the photos. I think they represent my strongest work, and there are several that have never been published previously. Hope you enjoy them!

 

 

History Photography

1980s Avard Woolaver fonds City of Toronto Archives film photography music Toronto

Published December 8, 2021 by

Toronto Hi-Fi – a camera full of film and a head full of songs

Toronto-Hi-Fi

My latest self-published photo book is titled Toronto Hi-Fi – available through Blurb Books.

Music has accompanied me wherever I’ve lived. When I moved to Toronto in 1980 to study photography at Ryerson, naturally my stereo system came with me. I had bought it three years earlier in Halifax–my first proper stereo with hi-fi sound. With an Akai 60 watt-per-channel amp, Dual turntable, Akai reel-to-reel, and Bose 301 speakers, it was my pride and joy.

The purchase of this stereo in 1977 coincided with the dawn of my interest in photography. I learned to process and print black and white film in the Camera Club at Acadia University and was instantly hooked. My newfound fascination with Lee Friedlander, Robert Frank, and Elliott Erwitt paralleled my discovery of John Coltrane, Howlin’ Wolf, and the Allman Brothers.

Throughout the years these two interests have remained intertwined–walking around with film (or a memory card) in my camera, and songs in my head.

The Toronto Hi-Fi photo seen below, and on the front cover, was taken before I moved Toronto. I had flown up in August 1980 to find an apartment and shot it on my first night in the city; it’s one of my very first Toronto photos.

Toronto Hi-Fi
Photographs by Avard Woolaver
Hardcover, 42 pages; 89 b&w photos
20 x 25 cm / 8 x 10 in.

Toronto Hi-Fi
Yonge Street, Toronto, 1980 – © Avard Woolaver

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Toronto Hi-Fi
My Hi-Fi stereo, Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

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Toronto Hi-Fi
Bus Stop, Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

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Toronto Hi-Fi
Parliament Street, Toronto, 1981 – © Avard Woolaver

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Keele Street, Toronto, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

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View from Toronto Camera, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

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Self-Portrait (One), Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

Photography

Avard Woolaver black and white music photo book photography Toronto Toronto Hi-Fi

Published February 24, 2019 by

Music is the heartbeat

Malta Band Club, Toronto, 1985, music,
Malta Band Club, Toronto, 1985 – © Avard Woolaver

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.

The Shuffle Demons, Toronto, 1984, music,
The Shuffle Demons, Toronto, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

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Allan Gardens, Toronto, 1985, music,
Allan Gardens, Toronto, 1985 – © Avard Woolaver

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Brunswick House, Toronto, 1984, music,
Brunswick House, Toronto, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

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music photography street photography Toronto

Published February 20, 2019 by

Driving down the silver road

Wentworth Creek, Nova Scotia, 2018, silver road
Wentworth Creek, Nova Scotia, 2018 — © Avard Woolaver

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.

Wentworth Creek, Nova Scotia, 2018, silver road,
Sweets Corner, Nova Scotia, 2016 — © Avard Woolaver

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Newport, Corner, Nova Scotia, 2016, silver road,
Newport Corner, Nova Scotia, 2016 — © Avard Woolaver

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Ellershouse, Nova Scotia, 2013, silver road,
Ellershouse, Nova Scotia, 2013 — © Avard Woolaver

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music photography Sarah Harmer silver road The Tragically Hip

Published October 28, 2017 by

Photos Remind Me of Songs

Avard Woolaver, songs, music, Good Day Sunshine,
Good Day Sunshine          © Avard Woolaver

Photos Remind Me of Songs (Day 28 of 31)

Certain photos are so much like certain songs, and often in ways that are personal and probably not apparent to other people. If you’re in need of inspiration in taking photos, my experience has been that this can be one way to find it again.

The relationship may be obvious (a bright cloudless day brings to mind the Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky”), but frequently the connection is oblique. A thicket of branches may bring to mind John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” A wave splashing could make you think of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound; a steady line of trees might remind you of the beat of a Chuck Berry song.

Another aspect of the music/photography pairing, for me, is that there’s often music going on in my head when I’m taking photos; I’ve found that often plays into the kinds of shots I take. A photograph can seem staccato, or dreamy, or lush and sweeping.

Music and photography have so much in common and share so many of the same attributes: repetition, rhythm, texture, form. It’s a fun challenge to try to reproduce what you hear using what’s in front of you visually, and it strengthens our creative muscles to when we experiment in these ways.

(For the month of October 2017, I’m participating in the 31 Days bloggers’ challenge. You can find out about it here, and check out the interesting work other bloggers are posting.)

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31 Days Avard Woolaver music songs