I love looking at the people on the TTC (and since I have a one hour plus commute to work each day, I have plenty of time to look!).
Today’s image was taken on Sunday morning on the TTC. It’s been awhile since I have seen so much of the pain and weariness that life holds for some people etched on a person’s face.
One more image from this past weekend’s shoot with Jennifer. As I think I’ve mentioned before, my strong preference for portraits is close-up: I am captivated by the human landscape of the face. I have to force myself to at least some of the time take a few steps back and attempt a portrait that is as much about the background as it is the subject. Guildwood Park in Toronto has a lot of great backgrounds to use, and as soon as I saw this sculpture, I knew that it would be perfect for a non-close-up image.
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm f2.8 lens, Tri-X @ E.I. 800, developed in Diafine 3+3. negative scanned, and post-processed using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2)
While on a shoot with a model this past weekend I took this image, while the model was arranging her hair. I love all the lovely lines in High Park in Toronto!
Dani is a dancer and for the concept in this photo shoot we combined the idea of dance poses with the outdoor setting of High Park.
I don’t think I’ve posted a portrait shot completely from the back before, but this one works for me; the subject Tiffany is a very creative person, and as such was able to integrate herself easily into the formal style of this section of High Park in Toronto.
A wavy fence in High Park really caught my eye, and I had to work it into a portrait!
Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Rebecca Zur, in a park near Yonge St. / St. Clair Ave. in Central Toronto. Twenty minutes before the shoot was to begin, the heavens opened and there was a brief but intense sun-shower. Afterwards, the sun stayed out, and the air remained quite damp and steamy, but the light took on a soft, diffuse and magical quality, which made it perfect for the shoot/ (I was melting in the humidity, but that doesn’t matter :-)) . I shot Polaroid, digital and conventional film for this shoot, and I have chosen one digital and one Polaroid for today’s post, as the looks are quite different, but equally valid.
I really like the smile I on this street musician; it makes me smile back 🙂
(Polaroid 100 Land Camera, Fuji FP-100C Instant colour film, scan of reclaimed negative)
Today’s image in Kensington Market was taken with my Yashica Mat LM 120 format Twin Lens Reflex camera. On one hand it was quite inexpensive, and has an amazing lens. On the other hand, the shutter/film advance mechanism is balky, so that the film advance often sticks until I jiggle the camera or mutter incantations. This is the one camera I have where keeping a headless chicken in the camera bag (to wave in front of the stuck film advance; when all else fails there is always voodoo).
I swear that in a past life this camera was a cat (Will I work? Yes. No. Yes. No. ….)
More expressions, this time from Natasha Henderson, a Toronto comedian and actress, whose strong personality and presence made for a lively and fun photo session combining a retro film noir look with poking fun at old attitudes regarding the role of women. Natasha’s enthusiasm was great, and as a result she created a memorable character!
See Natasha in action on Youtube. She is the host of Comedy Thursdays at the Starving Artist in Toronto.
My Third Eye 