Posts Tagged ‘camera’

hanging out at Queens Park

Posted: September 28, 2019 in events, locations, people
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Today was Climate Strike day…  a Friday where there were rallys and protests to call for action on climate change across Canada and around the world.   Here in Toronto Queens Park was the gathering spot.
at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a group of young people with their home made protest signs, some on brown cardboard, and one on pink bristol board,

By 11 a.m. the park in front of the parliament buildings was quite full and people were congregating all down University Avenue as well.   I wandered (pushed my way?) through the crowd while we waited for some speeches (that almost no one could hear) to finish before the walk part of the day started.   These are some of the signs that I saw and some of the people that I talked to.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a young girl holds a homemade sign that says save are trees, two other girls are with her

two people in costume, one a bee and one a fox (badger?). They have a yellow sign that says If we die we will take you with us. Act now. at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September

below: All eyes on the camera man.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a group of school kids holding protest signs that they've made, but keeping their eyes on a man with a large TV camera

below: People Act Now It’s Critical, PANIC

5 kids, each with a sign. Together they spell panic. each letter is in red on a green circle. The boy holding the C at the end is sitting on the ground

The best thing I heard this morning was one boy who said, “It’s not socialism, it’s a better kind of capitalism”.

 

below: Holding a sign that she made herself.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a girl holds a poster placard that she made herself, it says save our and then it has a picture of the Earth

below: Respect your mother.   There were lots of references to Mother Earth.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a young boy sits on the grass between two women. Behind him is girl with a sign on her back that says Respect your Mother

below: The turtles are only the beginning

a girl has her face showing through a square hole cut out of a piece of white bristol board, sign saying that the turtles are just the beginning, her face is part of the turtle body

below: Change is coming wether you like it or not.  We need real change.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, three girls with pale blue signs, Change is coming,

below: Being interviewed as she holds her climate danger rating sign.

a woman is being interviewed for television, at a climate change protest,

below: Standing with the trees, and partially under the pines.

standing under some pine trees is a woman who is holding up a sign that says standing with the trees

below: Make Ontario Greta again.

a man holds a spiral bound sketch book on which he's written Make Ontario Greta again.

a young girl in a pink jacket stands between a woman with a walker and a man in a plaid shirt and green hat. She is holding a hand drawn protest sign

Roses are dying,
violets are too.
Save our planet,
we’re counting on you.

below: We want a green future

two little girls holding a bristol board protest sign that says we want a green future

below: Every single use item is a time bomb

in front of Queens Park, lots of people in front, crowded out to the street, south side, on road, a woman is sitting on the shoulders of another woman while holding a sign that says each single use item is a time bomb

below: Taking cues from Kermit the Frog, it ain’t easy being green.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a middle age woman dressed all in light green, pants,jacket, and hat, and holding a sign with a picture of Kermit the frog that says It ain't easy being green but we must

below: Continuing with the colour theme… All that glitters is not gold.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a young man dressed in gold and holding a sign that says All that glitters is not gold

below: A common theme today was, “The Earth is hotter than”.  In this case, I think that’s a Korean boy band?  K-Pop? Or something like that?

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, an Asian woman with a sign that says the earth is getting hotter than. At the bottom of the sign are pictures of a Korean boy band.

below: More “hotter than” – this time an imaginary boyfriend.  How can you not smile at that?

three people holding three placards, one says The earth is hotter than my imaginary boyfriend. also one says Change is coming whether you like it or not.

below: Look me in the eye, from up above.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, a girl is on her parent's shoulder. she is holding a yellow sign that says look me in the eye

below: Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone, plus Clean Energy = New Jobs

climate strike, rally for action on climate change at Queens Park, group of people, adults and kids on University Ave

below: Our world is melting

climate strike, rally for action on climate change at Queens Park, a group by the trees in the park, two signs, one with a bear on it and words about melting ice. The other is being held by a woman who is on another person's shoulders

below: Fight climate change or die frying

below: Another theme kept appearing today was an anti fossil fuel stance.  “In 2018 Canada spent 3.3 billion on fossil fuel subsidies”

a young girl holds a carboard sign that has a picture of of a peace sign made with a picture of the Earth

below: This is why we can’t have nice things.

at the climate strike rally at Queens Park on a sunny morning in September, group of young people, including a woman with a cardboard sign that says This is why we can't have nice things

below: Why should I study neuro when we’re all going to die?

climate strike, rally for action on climate change at Queens Park, a young woman with a blue sign poses for a photo being taken by a friend

Another post with more photos from the climate strike are immediately below this page.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Posted: November 19, 2018 in events, people
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Santa Claus Parade 2018

a girl with a red hat with red reindeer ears stands on the street on a parade route, a group of policemen is in the background.

The 114th annual Santa Claus parade filled the streets with lots of fun and excitement.

two young boys on the sidewalk enthusiastic cheering for the parade

Floats, clowns, and hundreds of characters in costumes.

a clown in red polka dot clothes and bright red wig, smiles as she stands beside a float at Santa Claus parade with a large Carlton Bear, the Toronto Maple Leafs mascot

And people, lots of people!

a clown with bright orange hair and a multi coloured outfit, in front of a crowd outside

a man poses in an instagram frame that is being held by two clowns with bright orange hair

a father holds a toddler son in his arms, outside, beside the street, with crowds watching parade, winter, warm coats and hats

a clown in polka dot outfit and red wig bends down to high five with kids on the sidewalk who are watching the parade

a clown with a bright red nose walks in a parade, in front of people dressed as snowmen with red scarves and black belts, clown has a chequered outfit on, in primary colours plus green

three people involved with the Santa Claus parade pose for a picture. A woman in a red cardinal costume, a girl with a light blue wig holding an oversized gingerbread cookie with white icing, and another girl in a shiny blue and orange outfit

a man in a fuzzy grey animal costume waves to the crowd on the sidewalk at the Santa Claus parade

two girls sitting together on a float at the Santa Claus parade, shiny green and purple costumes

a group of people on the sidewalk watching a parade, kids in front on chairs and under blankets, parents behind standing.

young woman with rainbow wig, and bright coloured clothes, clown in a parade

3 girls dressed as clowns with rainbow wigs, and big red noses.

girl with hat with shiny red reindeer ears, also sunglasses

a girl in red and white striped hat and outfit, and red mitts, sits on a float in the Santa Claus parade and waves to the crowd

a man dressed as a tin soldier walks in a parade, waving to the crowd wearing white gloves & red uniform

three kids sitting on the kerb reach out a hand to shake the hands of a clown wearing white gloves

two women are dressed as flowers in terra cotta flower pots, walking down the street in a parade, followed by some people dressed in black and yellow bumble bee costumes

a woman leans back in a golf cart, marshall & crowd control, before the start of a parade,

a kid's head is in the middle of a red petal flower

two girls waving to the crowd as they walk in a parade, white gloves, turquoise outfits, shiny star shaped crowns on their heads

a child in red glasses is inside a bacon costume.

man in straw cowboy hat, red and white bandana, yellow shirt and cow print vest, smiles and holds hand up at shoulder level

a young girl in a red and white outfit holds a pole that is part of a large Chines dragon, she is watching the others with poles

clowns in purple and green outfits and many colours in their wigs, walking in Santa Claus parade

a male clown in pink wig and pink and yellow ruffle collar, large floppy blue hat and lots of make-up on his face

two girls on a float at the Santa Claus parade, dressed in shiny blue clothes with fuzzy white furry trim, smiling and looking at the camera

two camera men with large video cameras filming the Santa Claus parade

older man with grey hair, beard & moustache, and slightly balding, talks to another clown in a bright yellow wig

man's face, wearing sunglasses in the middle of an orange and yellow flower, part of Santa Claus parade

woman with long black hair, smiling, in a parade, wearing a red and white costume with ivy on the hat and a cape

a woman with long black hair stands waiting for her turn in the parade, wearing a shiny blue and gold costume and holding an oversized replica of a gingerbread cookie shaped like a Christmas tree with green frosting and red frosting

man dressed as Santa Claus in a parade

And of course, Santa Claus at the end of the parade sitting in his sleigh with toys and Christmas surprises.  The star of the parade, the person everyone came to see.

Santa Claus stands in his sleigh that is being pulled by reindeer on the top of a float in the Santa Claus parade.

Halloween on Church, 2018

Posted: November 2, 2018 in events, people
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It was the last night of October, the rain had stopped earlier in the evening, and Church Street was closed between Gloucester and Wood streets.  It was ‘Halloween on Church’, an annual street party filled with costumes on display wanting to be seen and other people wanting to see and take pictures.   These photos represent only a small selection of what there was to be seen that night (obviously!).

below: A one night stand to remember

a person at a Halloween costume dressed as a one night stand, table up to neck, a clock, and a picture on a frame on the table, or rather, the night stand

below: Glowing red and green

two women pose with three people wearing oversized skulls on their heads, with lights inside that make the eyes appear bright, two red eyed skulls and one with green eyes

below: Japanese ghouls, dressed to kill?

two women in elaborate embroidered red silk kimonos, one with a parasol too, one with a make up gash on her cheek

below: White man on keyboard.

man in black tux with white cloth overhis face plays a keyboard that he has around his neck

man dressed in a dress that is made of yellow police caution tape, also wearing a police cap. Posing with a woman who is also wearing a poilce hat

below: A group of people went as the 3D Toronto sign.

a group of people pose for a photo. Each is holding a 3D letter and together they spell Toronto, a miniature copy of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square.

below: More playing with lights, this time as stick people.

two people in jogging suits with hoods, with lights down the front so it looks like stick people

Church Street, Halloween party, a couple in costumes suitable for day of the dead celebrations, juxtapositioned with a man holding a baby

a man in an elaborate gold embellished old fashioned scuba diving mask with glittery gold coloured rays emanating from it

two people standing under a clear umbrella with little lights dangling from it, one person has a black mask on and a costume like the invincible movie character

couple posing for pictures at the corner of Church and Wood, both are dressed in Halloween costumes, night time,

below: Looking at instagram in a new light, from a different point of view.

a photographer has made it look like he's a live instagram photo

below: With a doll and a lit candle

a man in a black and white striped shirt is holding a doll and a lit candle

below: With a doll and a dog.

A woman in long braids holds a green fabric doll and a small dog in her arms. Her face is covered with makeup that makes her look like a skull with large black eyes, a black nose and a mouth with notches (stitches?)

below: This one is for Jude, something about wanting to take this one home with her…..

a topless man leans against a concrete pole to pose for a photo. He has a large tattoo that covers most of his right arm. He is wearing a rubber mask with rabbit ears and a bandana over his face as well as large goggles.

below: With pale pink hair, a shimmering dress, and a big smile

a person with a pale pink wig and shimmering fabric dress

three people in big long haired wigs, one red head and two blondes

below: Crossing light sabres with Darth Vader.

a woman crosses light sabres with darth vader, hallowwen party on Church St. in Toronto

below: Kermit only has eyes for Miss Piggy….. or else!

two people in costume, one as a life sized Kermit the Frog and the other as Miss Piggy, both from The Muppets

the morning after

Posted: April 24, 2018 in general Toronto
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Yonge Street was quiet this morning

camera, and lights on tripods abeside Yonge Street, yellow police tape blocking the street, police car in the background, no traffic

 

In a small park near the SE corner of Yonge & Finch,

in many languages but with one voice,

a memorial wall to those who lost their life, or who were injured,

in yesterday’s tragedy.

 

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, condolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the wall

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, condolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the wall

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, condolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the memorial wall

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, concolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the wall , people, reporters, and photographers standing in front, a man is writing a message

a woman is writing condolences messages on bristol board that has been taped to a stone wall

There were many reporters with their cameramen at the site this morning.  It was rumoured that Mayor John Tory was coming.  I had an appointment, which is why I was in the area, so I couldn’t stay.  As it turned out, both Tory and Kathleen Wynne (Ontario Premier) paid the memorial wall a visit.

ice

Posted: February 27, 2017 in events
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This past weekend was the 5th annual Bloor Yorkville Icefest.
It’s an event that features ice sculptures in the park at Cumberland and Bellair.

The theme this year was Canada 150, as 2017 is Canada’s 150th birthday.

a group of people sit and stand on a large rock behind an ice sculpture of a maple leaf with the words Canada 150 under it, all carved in ice.

below: Sculptures in an enclosure (i.e. no one gets close enough to touch).  The Parliament building in Ottawa is on the left with a very tall RCMP Mountie standing beside it.  I’m not sure who the sculpture in the middle is supposed to represent.   On the right, a large 1867, the year of Confederation, on top of a large 2017.

people standing on a large rock to look at ice sculptures of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, a tall RCMP mountie and the numbers 1867 2017 .

below: A number of artists worked on their sculptures as part of the festival.  This mountie and beaver had  just been completed before I arrived.

an ice sculpture of a mountie and a beaver has just been finished. The tools used by the artist are lying around on the ground below the sculpture.

below:  A large chunk of ice gets cut into smaller cubes.   Each cube contains a small toy that had been frozen in the ice.  For $2 you could buy an ice cube and smash it to liberate the toy.

a man is using a chainsaw to cut a chunk of ice into smaller cubes. Small toys have been frozen into the ice. Other people are watching, especially two kids.

Don’t miss the sign in the background!

below: Complete with spelling mistake. Charlottetown is spelled wrong.
Also, the term Newfie is included? Apparently it’s no longer an insult to call someone a Newfie.

a young woman in black coat and brown tuque stands beside a block of ice that has the names of some of Canada's cities carved into it.

below: The warm temperatures were making some of the thinner pieces more fragile than usual.   The little ‘knobs’ on this replica of the Taj Mahal were barely hanging on.  Luckily the temperatures dropped enough that most of the sculptures survived.

a woman is standing behind an ice sculpture of the taj mahal.

people at the Bloor Yorkville Icefest

a girl in a bright pink jacket stands behind a podium built of ice and in front of a wall made of ice. Both have curvy lines and swirls carved into them.

an ice sculpture of a face, perhaps a man weraing a hat with a black hat band?, crowd scene in the background, a woman's face on the left side of the photo.

a ice sculpture of a mountie standing at attention and saluting, light by pink and red lights,

a young man stands behind an ice sculpture to pose for a picture, one hand up with peace sign of two fingers, a young woman is looking at him from the other side of the sculpture

a coouple stand on a set of stairs behind an ice sculpture to have their picture taken.

#blooryorkville | #icefest17

nuit rose

Posted: June 28, 2016 in events, people
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Nuit Rose,
a festival of queer art and performance

On Saturday night events were held at a number of venues that were concentrated in two locations, along Queen St. West and in the Church-Wellesley village area.  I hung out around two parks in the village, Norman Jewison Park which runs east of Yonge and Barbara Hall Park on Church street.  In hindsight, I wish I had had more time, or had been more organized, to get to more of the events.

Red Pepper Spectacle Arts led a Light Parade that started at Norman Jewison park.    A small contingent, most wearing or carrying a light-emitting object, walked through the park, along and then back down Church Street.  From the  – sparklers, glow sticks

people walking in a night time parade for nuit rose, down Church St., one man is holding up a light stick, a woman is holding a sparkler, other people have lanterns and glow sticks.

to the more elaborate

Two guys in drag with lights all over their costume, holding large fans

a man holding a large pole with a bird head on the top of it, with rainbow coloured fabric, meant to be the bird's wings.

below: and an eagle on stilts

A woman in a flowing costume with eagle head, up on stilts, in a night time parade for nuit rose

below: Note to self: for night time parades take more photos at the start of the parade because once people start moving it’s more difficult to get them in focus!

people walking in a parade, glow sticks, some costumes, a woman with pink butterfly wings

a paper lantern in the shape of a floating flower, out of focus

below: Where else would you be able to sit on a unicorn and get your picture taken?

two people sitting on unicorns to have their picture taken with a person in a red wig hamming it up in front of them, nuit rose, night time.

A young man is sitting on a pink unicorn

below: And after a unicorn pose, have your photo taken standing with a well-lit couple.

a man with lights in his shirt poses beside two statues that light up

below: 360 degrees by Iain Downie, 360 stars, 60 in each of the six Pride colours in the garden.

under a tree in a park, with roses in the background, many coloured 3D stick shapes that have been covered with yarn, lie on the ground.

a group of people stand around a stage watching a dance performance

below: Dance performance, ‘By Chance’ by Janessa Pudwell and Tanya Svazas Cronin.

We pass by hundreds of people on a daily basis who we may never see again. Sometimes we share a glance that lasts a bit longer. This piece is about the relationships that could be created if we acted on those glances. These are the fleeting chances, exchanged through our eyes that will never be fully realized. Instead these people may only appear once in our lives as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.”

two women performing a dance on a stage., one is seated and the other is standing, some people are sitting beside the stage and watching the show.

Dancers performing in front of a video playing on a screen, night time performance, some of the dancers are partly blurry

blog_dancers_line

blog_dancers_line_close_up

dancers performing in front a screen that's showing a video, night time, nuit rose performance

a hand holding a camera, two dancers out of focus in the background.

#nuitrose | #nuitroseTO | #nuitrosetoronto

Frank Kovac lane

Posted: June 8, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Frank Kovac Lane is a short alley just south of Christie subway station.  Some of the garage doors were painted with murals in past years and, as usual, there were plenty of tags.  Recently, the lane was the scene of a community mural painting session thanks to the 4th Toronto Rangers (Girl Guides), StreetARToronto,  artist Nick Sweetman, and some local residents.  Now some of the tags are gone and more importantly, some more garage doors are home to bright and cheerful murals.  A few of them are included here.

below: At the north end of the lane is this large, colourful mural by Nick Sweetman.
Two large blue bears have found a plethora of honey.  Will the bees share?

large mural by Nick Sweetman on a wall in Frank Kovac Lane, two very large blue bears are eating honey from honeycombs while a few large bees buzz around.

part of a large mural by Nick Sweetman on a wall in Frank Kovac Lane, two very large blue bears are eating honey from honeycombs while a few large bees buzz around - close up of one bear's face

below: The new murals continue the animal theme, “Urban Wildlife”, starting with this fox.

garage door in an alley painted with a mural of a fox head beside a bicycle wheel with trilliums growing up in front of it.

below: A common Toronto animal, a raccoon, beside a red fire hydrant.

view in an alley, a lavendar coloured door. to the left of the door is a garage door painted with a mural of a raccoon and a red fire hydrant.

below: A blue jay eyes some blueberries.

mural on a pale yellow garage door of a blue jay sitting on hydro wires, also a bunch of wild blueberries is in the image

below: Several monster faces have lived in this alley for a while and they still remain.
This one looks like he needs a hair cut.

garage door painted with a monster face, big mouth and teeth, orange nose, in tones of blue, grey and orange, ivy is growing over the top of the garage and it looks like green hair.

three garages in a row in an alley, all painted with a large monster face

a skinny blue graffiti figure on the edge of a garage, between two garage doors with stylized and abstract faces painted on them. One is black and green and the other is black and white

An old garage and concrete fence with a door in it. The fence is cracked above the door. The door is painted black with bright colour scribbles, the garage door has a black and white mural on it

a painting in grey tones of a young boy in old fashioned shorts and long sleeved top, standing.

below: This graffiti is actually on Harbord Street but I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it
– a camera and an “oh snap”

Above Guan's auto service shop, a graffiti on an upper storey wall, a small camera and turquoise lettering and words in pink that say Oh snap. Above that is a red billboard for Bud and Burger

And the band played on

Posted: August 10, 2013 in events
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The original plan was to visit Dundas Square for their 10th birthday party.  Love it or hate it, Dundas Square is now ten years old.   Maybe one day I’ll call it by it’s proper name, Yonge Dundas Square.  I was going to do a blog post on the events of the evening.

The official party was to start at 7:00.  One of the opening acts was the Lemon Bucket Orkestra; their website describes them as a balkan klezmer gypsy party punk superband.  During the last song that they played, they moved through the square towards the stage.

And this is where I changed course.  Most people made room for the musicians, moved out of their way.    But not one “photographer”.   He stood his ground; he got up close and personal photos on his phone.   My focus shifted from the music to the man in the middle.

Was he intrusive?  Should he have moved?

 

If you want to know more about the Lemon Bucket Orkestra:  http://www.lemonbucket.com/

 

man with an iphone standing in front of the Lemon Bucket Orkestra as they walk through Dundas Square.

first photo

man taking pictures of a group of musicians, a drummer, a clarinet player, some violins and a flugelhorn

second photo

third photo

third photo

man is standing in the middle of a group of musicians, the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, as it walks through Dundas Square.

last photo

 

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