photography Archives - Page 11 of 17

Published March 10, 2019 by avardw

Toronto’s High Park in the 1980s

Grenadier Pond, High Park, Toronto, 1983, — Grenadier Pond, High Park, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

During my twenty years living in Toronto, I twice had an apartment near High Park. For a guy like me who grew up on a farm in Nova Scotia, the park was like an oasis–a refuge from the traffic and concrete of the city.

The area of the park is 400 acres, about a third of which is oak savannah – lightly forested grassland where oaks are the dominant trees. The photo below shows the savannah area in the fall.

I enjoyed High Park year round–jogging, cycling, skating, cross country skiing, baseball practice. And often I would carry a camera and take some photos. It was always fun to check out the animals at the little zoo, of have a meal at the Grenadier Restaurant. Some of my best memories were of watching plays in the summer. A highlight was John Gray’s Rock and Roll featuring the incomparable Frank MacKay. (MacKay died this past week–a much loved singer and actor in Nova Scotia.)

Here are a few photos of my wanderings in High Park in the 1980s.

High Park, Toronto, 1983, — High Park, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

High Park, Toronto, 1984, — High Park, Toronto, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

High Park, Toronto, 1985, — High Park, Toronto, 1985 – © Avard Woolaver

High Park, Toronto, 1981 – © Avard Woolaver

High Park, Toronto, 1982, — High Park, Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Photography Toronto

film photography High Park photography Toronto

Published March 7, 2019 by avardw

Toronto streets in the 1980s

Dundas and Victoria, Toronto, 1982, Toronto streets, — Dundas and Victoria, Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

I enjoyed capturing the Toronto streets in the 1980s. It was liberating to walk around with a camera and find that special moment when time and place come together. The time when the yellow van is stopped near the yellow hydrant, or when the boy is crossing Lake Devo on his BMX bike. The rhythm of the city was something I could feel, it was like listening to an urban symphony.

I was in my twenties then with few commitments or responsibilities. Life is much different now at 60, with a family, and living in rural Nova Scotia. I may never again have the opportunity to roam the Toronto streets with a camera like I did in the 1980s. It reminds me that life is short, and helps me remember, You only get to do this once. We have to take time and see it, as clearly as we can.

Photos in this post are from the book Toronto Days – available through Blurb Books and Amazon.

Lake Devo, Toronto, 1981, Toronto streets, — Lake Devo, Toronto, 1981 – © Avard Woolaver

Eastern Avenue, Toronto, 1983, Toronto streets, — Eastern Avenue, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

Dundas and Keele, Toronto, 1983, Toronto streets, — Dundas West and Keele, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

Yonge Street, Toronto, 1981 – © Avard Woolaver, Toronto streets, — Yonge Street, Toronto, 1985 – © Avard Woolaver

Queen and Bathurst, Toronto, 1983, Toronto streets, — Queen and Bathurst, Toronto, 1983 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Photography Toronto

1980s photography street photography Toronto Toronto streets

Published March 5, 2019 by avardw

Changing colour into black and white

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 2019, black and white, — Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 2019 – © Avard Woolaver

Although I’m not a big fan of digital manipulation and do almost none to my images, I make an exception when I convert colour images to black and white. To my eye, some scenes just look better in monochrome.

I have always thought of black and white photography as an abstract medium and colour photography as a psychological medium. American photographer Elliott Erwitt said, “With colour you describe; with black and white you interpret.” So, there is more left to the imagination and perhaps more attention paid to graphic details.

When I first heard the version of Kodachrome on Simon and Garfunkel’s The Concert in Central Park, I realized that the lyrics had been changed from the original. According to Songfacts Simon sometimes sings the line “Everything looks worse in black and white” as “Everything looks better in black and white.” He changes it a lot, and claims he can’t remember which way he wrote it.” Neither is better, just a different view of the world.

I used to shoot my digital monochrome images using the b&w mode on my camera until I saw a documentary on Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama. He was going over images on the computer with his assistant and telling him which ones he wanted to be converted to black and white. I started shooting everything in colour and doing the conversions later–it leaves more options. If it’s good enough for Daido Moriyama, it’s good enough for me!

Here are some recent photos that I have converted.

Wentworth Creek, Nova Scotia, 2019, black and white, — Wentworth Creek, Nova Scotia, 2019 – © Avard Woolaver

Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2019 – © Avard Woolaver

Newport, Nova Scotia, 2019, black and white, — Newport, Nova Scotia, 2019 – © Avard Woolaver

Black and White Photography

black and white conversion monochrome photography

Published March 2, 2019 by avardw

Getting back to the 50 mm lens

Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2019, habit, 50 mm lens, — Windsor, Nova Scotia, 2019 – © Avard Woolaver

Photographers can be creatures of habit–returning to the same locations again and again, seeking out the same golden light, and even habitually using the same gear. But sometimes it’s good to change it up.

Yesterday my trusty kit zoom broke down. It’s practically the only lens I’ve used for the past several years. Its range is roughly 28mm – 85mm–convenient and versatile. I was forced to bring out my 50 mm lens that I use as a back up. It took me back to my early days doing street photography in Toronto using a Rollei 35S. That camera has a fixed 40mm lens.

The 50mm lens was the lens that came with SLR film cameras. Boomers will remember this well. Many people who didn’t get into photography seriously never used another lens. It is said to cover the visual range that the eye normally sees. Apparently it was the lens that Cartier-Bresson used for his pioneering street photographs.

Rather than being limiting, I found the 50mm lens to be unexpectedly liberating. It made me view scenes in a different way, and take photos in a different way. A welcome change for an old-timer like me.

Newport, Nova Scotia, 2019, habit, 50 mm lens, — Newport, Nova Scotia, 2019 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Photography

50 mm lens photography

Published February 27, 2019 by avardw

Photo series: Wish You Were Here

Kentville, Nova Scotia, 2012, Wish You Were Here, — Kentville, Nova Scotia, 2012 – © Avard Woolaver

When I was a teenage boy in the mid-Seventies, living in rural Nova Scotia, I spent hours studying the album covers created by Hipgnosis, the London-based design group. This was before I grew interested in photography, but, as LPs like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” or “Ummagumma” played on the turntable, I scrutinized the covers, trying to penetrate the mysteries of the evocative, layered visual compositions. My “Wish You Were Here” is an ongoing photographic project that’s been in the works for several years. I aim to capture images that have a sense of the surreal yet are readily seen in everyday life. Additionally, I try to capture the sense of whimsy and humour that I liked about those album covers. The images come about through observation, rather than with Photoshop or other manipulations. For me, that’s an important aspect of the project–there’s no manipulation of the image. Reflections, juxtaposition, and scale all come into play.

More photos in the series can be seen in the book Wish You Were Here – available through Blurb Books.