Posts Tagged ‘College Park’

photos at College Park

Posted: May 13, 2025 in events, galleries
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I went to College Park in search of a CONTACT Photography Festival exhibit.  To me, College Park has always been a place where people pass through on their way to somewhere else.  If they linger it’s to grab a bite to eat from the food court or from the grocery store.

lower level of college park, outside glass wall of grocery store

I’ve never spent much time looking around inside so I wandered around a bit. I couldn’t find any space/place where there might be a photo exhibit.

a chair sits behind a translucent blue glass wall, escalator and the reflection of that escalator in the background

coming to the top of an escalator to an atrium where the walls are glass

I found a small group of paintings by Divyani Chandorkar in a small, out of the way corner by an elevator. Interesting, but not what I was after.

painting of a nature scene by Divyani Chandorkar, a sunset or sunrise over water

After a chat with a security guard and a little more walking around, I discovered that the photos were being displayed outside!  They are in a public space immediately south of the College Park building- between the College Park and Aura buildings.  Here, they become part of the environment.

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photo of a couple standing facing each other with arms wrapped around each other

Photo by Hikari Creatives (aka Winson Sun) who specialize in wedding and engagement photos.

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The exhibit is presented by the Downtown Yonge BIA and Aden Camera.

photo by Nim Mendoza of a bright orange building, night time, there is a group of young people walking past it, outside

by Nim Mendoza

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picture photograph on display as part of contact photography festival, night city scene, by Aidan Samuels, cars on a street

by Aidan Samuels

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photo of lower part of man's body, wearing dark pants, holding a purple skateboard, by Nim Mendoza

by Nim Mendoza

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This large bunny and butterfly were there too!

large blue sculpture of a rabbit in the foreground, and a butterfly with open wings in the background

Other photographers involved in the show: Rob Burns, Maryn Western, and Eden Schwinghamer.

public park space behind College Park and beside Aura building, people sitting on benches,

There’s always something

Posted: May 29, 2019 in general Toronto, old buildings, people
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Something new or something different.
And for sure, something’s changed.

below: Too cool for school. Dundas Square.

a young boy in sunglasses stands on one foot in front of a water fountain at Dundas square

sitting by the water at Dundas square, a mother and two kids, an older man in a hat is nearby

a man stands in dundas square, with a rolling suitcase in one hand

two men sit beside a store window with female mannequins in summer clothes, another man is walking past

below: The north east corner of Victoria and Lombard (looking north on Victoria).

downtown buildings

below: This building is on the north west corner of Victoria and Richmond.  It is the Confederation Life building, constructed in 1892.   According to Wikipedia, afire gutted the top floor of the building and destroyed the roof in June 1981 but the rest of the structure remained intact.

the top corner of an old red brick building with a green roof, with a new glass building behind it

below: A 1912 picture of the Confederation Life Building.  Photo source

vintage photo from 1912 postcard of the confederation life building at the corner of Victoria and Richmond streets. built 1892, large red brick building with ornate roofline

three buildings joined together, one red brick, one beige stucco and one a purplish brown. A small tree grows in front of them. Four windows.

below: Fran’s restaurant at the corner of Victoria and Shuter – a Toronto institution.

scaffolding around the building with an orange Frans sign on it - Frans restaurant at Shuter and Victoria streets

below: And just a bit farther north on Victoria is the Senator which is even older than Fran’s.  That’s a lot of food!

large mural on the side of the Senator restaurant, a man in glasses holds a steaming cup of coffee with plates of food in front of him, by his shoulder, bacon and eggs with toast as well as a plate with a sandwich and a side of salad. A third plate has a piece of chocolate cake

below: Signs on Victoria Street including a marvelous old Green P Parking sign.

signs, senator restaurant, public parking, and an old green _ parking sign

below: Protest poster with a message for Prime Minister Trudeau.  Will you compensate us for the mercury crisis?

large black and white poster on an empty building with plywood covering doors and windows.

below: Breaking my habit of not photographing people sleeping on the streets – it was the large green frog pillow that made me chuckle and reach for my camera.

a person is sleeping on their back on the sidewalk. Their head is on a large green frog pillow

below: And speaking of frogs, a group of them have appeared at College Park.   A group of frogs is called an army… but if these are actually toads then a group of toads is a knot.   Hmm…. frogs prefer water while toads live on land.  There are also differences in their eggs, tongues and teeth but the most noticeable difference is in their eyes.  Frogs have round eyes that bulge out.  Toads eyes are more oval and don’t bulge.  Conclusion – these are frogs searching for water.

two bronze sculptures of frogs in a park

Bronze sculpture of a large frog with a water pond (no water in it) behind it

below: Looking north on Yonge street towards Alexander.  The very tall building is at Yonge & Bloor.

looking north on yonge street towards alexander and bloor. tall buildings, old buildings, cranes, traffic

below: More Yonge Street.  Another juxtaposition of old and new; the opportunities for this kind of image are becoming commonplace.  Also,  I could probably take pictures on Yonge every day and still miss some of the changes.

a variety of ages of buildings on Yonge street from those built in the 1800s to modern glass buildings.

below: Plaid, paw prints, and pink

people at an intersection, a woman in a red and black plaid jacket and pink shoes

below: One is happier than the others.

a man and a young girl look out the window of a TTC streetcar with a poster on the side advertising Aladdin movie

below: Dundas Street, just west of University Ave., looking towards Simcoe and St. Patrick streets.

a cyclist with an otange shirt sits on his bike while looking at his phone. He's stopped behind an orange and black striped construction cone on the side of a street

below: North side of Dundas street, just west of Bay.

downton buildings with a construction zone

below: Who doesn’t like bacon?  I prefer mine a bit crispier.

a woman is dressed in a bacon costume and standing on the sidewalk on Dundas Street giving out flyers

a couple crosses a street by a streetcar, an Asian man and a woman in a teal head scarf

“Days go running and hiding
The weeks are going slippy and sliding
Years leave quicker every time they come”
from “When We Were Young” by Passenger