Posts Tagged ‘people’

dyke march 2017

Posted: June 25, 2017 in events, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

person with rainbow face paint, rainbow rimmed sunglasses and a rainbow flag draped over her back

It’s Pride weekend here in Toronto with its many activities including the usual parades.  Yesterday was the Dyke March.

people walking in the dyke march, colourful clothes, floral shorts, polka dot top, sailor hat, flags, beads,

a woman is on another person's shoulders so she's above the crowd walking in the dyke march. She is holding a sign that says happy pride

a mother leans over her young daughter who is sitting in front of her on a bike, Small rainbow flag is on the handlebars

below: As in previous year, the motorcyclists led the parade.

dykes on bikes motorcyclists at the start of the parade, dyke march, at Yonge and Bloor

a small white dog with a little hat on its head, head resting on person's shoulder.

leather pants and belt, with a person's hand on bum (with black fingernails). harness on top with nothing under it, partially bare back

waiting for the dyke march to begin, two people by their motorcycle, one is in leather shorts and has angel wings made of rainbow coloured feathers

laughing women holding up a banner in support of trans people

people walking in the dyke march. one is holding a young girl who is wearing a pink dress, one is bare breasted

torso from the side of a person in a lacy black bra with a large tattoo on upper and lower arm. Upper arm tattoo is a woman's head with the words live deliciously written under it

a volunteer wearing a yellow tshirt stands in the middle of yonge street facing the dyke march parade that has stopped just up the street, people are lining the sidewalks to watch the march

a woman drummer, She is wearing a tshirt that says no a la homofobia. walking in dyke march

a muslim woman in a black head scarf takes pictures on her phone at a dyke march. a woman in a bikini top is clapping as she walks toward the camera

dykes on bikes stop in the parade for a photo op. one woman is topless with a bicycle painted on her chest.

a young woman in the dyke marching is holding up a sign that says Humber, we are proud

two women, in profile, watching the dyke march on yonge street, pink sunglasses

long haired woman holding rainbow flag, wearing sunglasses

a middel aged man in a tie dyed shirt with a big happy face in the middle of it, stands by a police car as he watches the dyke march

a group of people sittingo n the sidewalk on Yonge street as they watch the Dyke March. One woman is topless, two women are on cellphones

people on roller blades at the start of the dyke march. a woman holds a sign that says my pride includes the police

a woman in rainbow scarf, and police hat, holds a sign that says thanks first responders

women in a dyke march, one is holding a sign that says kittens against trump

three women walking together in the dyke march

a young man with a flower garland in his hair (paper flowers)

a couple - one is a purple wig and sunglasses and the other in a straw hat with sparkles glued to her face in the shape of a thin beard

Pearson Airside tour

Posted: June 23, 2017 in locations, transportation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Something a little different, a change from streets and alleys.   Sometimes the GTAA (Greater Toronto Aviation Authority) runs “behind the scenes” tours of Pearson airport, tours that take you by bus out onto the tarmac for an up close and personal view of the aircraft.  I had the opportunity to take part in one of these tours this week.

I’m not an authority on types of airplanes – not since my son was little and we used to spend time identifying airplanes in books and at Heathrow airport.  ‘Concorde’ was one of his early words as it was often parked at the edge of the airport near the motorway.  Extra trivia – did you know the Russians had their version of the Concorde?  It was the Tupolev T-144, a prototype of which flew 2 months before the Concorde (in Dec of 1968).   The story of the T-144 is not the biggest success story.  One of them crashed at the 1973 Paris Air Show and only 55 passenger flights were made before the plane was relegated to cargo flights.

Back to the present –

below: One of the stars of the show was this large Emirates airline Airbus 380.  It flies in and out Pearson three times a week.  Here it has already unloaded its passengers and been moved to the holding area away from the gates.

emirates airlines Airbus A380 parked at Pearson airport, front door open with stairway as crew is cleaning the airplane , trucks and carts beside it.

below: In case you’ve ever wondered what happens after you flush an airplane toilet (and even if such thoughts have never crossed your mind!).   Sorry about the reflections – sometimes we had to take pictures through the bus window.

truck with the words lavatory waste is parked beside a large aircraft that has just unloaded

below: The Airbus 380 has a wingspan of 80 metres.

wing and one engine of an airbus A380 with another Air Canada jet on the runway in the background

below: Refueling a Boeing 787 Dreamliner – with its curved wing dominating the photo.

a large Air Canada plane being refueled

below: The view out the front window as we drove past the gates of Terminal 1.

looking through the front window of a bus as it drives on the tarmac behind aiplanes parked at gates

below: A smaller pink airplane, WOW airline from Iceland, taxis to a gate.

pink airplane from Wow airlines taxis to a gate at the airport

below: There’s a lot of room under an airplane!  A Luthansa 747 named Dresden.  It seems that Lufthansa has named their airplanes after places in Germany.

the back of a large airplane is in the top part of the photo, service trucks and other airplanes in the background are in the lower part.

below: Planes and service vehicles at Terminal 3

view of a large airplane from the back, parked at a gate at airport

below: The large yellow cable supplies electrical power to the aircraft when it’s not running.  C-GGOK is a De Haviland Dash 8-400 turbo twinprop airplane that was scheduled to leave for YQB (Quebec City) shortly after this picture was taken.

large yellow cable connects the back underside of a small airplane, an electrical connection while the airplane is not running its engines

a young man waving, a luggage cart at an airport

below: Our group, our bus, and puffy white clouds.

a group of people in orange safety vests standing by a bus parked on the tarmac at an airport. Many of them are taking pictures, an Air Canada Rouge aircraft is parked behind.

Tomorrow it’s back to the streets!

going to the dogs

Posted: June 19, 2017 in locations, nature, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

The facelift of Berczy Park has been completed and although the park only reopened a short time ago, it has already become a popular spot.

a photographer is taking engagement pictures of an Asian young couple as they sit on the edge of the fountain at Berczy park. The fountain features sculptures of dogs that spout water into the fountain. A young boy is also sitting on the edge of the fountain. He is looking forlornly at the photographer, looks like he's feeling left out.

The highlight of the park is the refurbished fountain.  Sculptures of dogs big and small spout water into the fountain – or maybe they’re drinking from the fountain?  There is one cat that sits quietly on the base of the sculpture seemingly unaware of the canine antics.

the new fountain in Berczy park, many sculptures of dogs that are spouting water into the fountain

Three boys playing with the water spouting out of a dog's (sculpture) mouth and into a fountain. One is spraying the other while a third watches

two little kids playing in a fountain, a young girl and a young boy. The boy is spraying water while the girl watches

Besides the fountain, there is new landscaping, trees, plants, and benches.

mural of windows and facadde on the back of the flatiron building with the redesigned Berczy park planting and benched in front of it

This sculpture was a feature of the original park but it’s been moved to a different location.   It is the work of Almuth Lukenhaus-Lackey.

sculpture of a family - father, mother and child in a park, with new garden plantings around it, hostas mostly

The plaque by this sculpture says “This sculpture was donated by the Electrical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada Inc., with the financial assistance of The Consumers’ Gas Company Limited and the The Council of Metropolitan Toronto, in memory of Johan Albrecht Ulrich Moll, better known as William Berczy, born December 10, 1744 in Wallerstein Germany. He was co-founder of York (Toronto) in 1794 when John Graves Simcoe was Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. His younger son, Charles Albert Berczy, was the first president of The Consumers’ Gas Company, from 1847 to 1856, and Postmaster of Toronto. His older son, William Bent Berczy was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and like his father and mother, a gifted painter.”

I only spent a short time at the park on the weekend but I’m sure that I’ll be back!

water water everywhere

Posted: June 18, 2017 in landmarks, locations, nature
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
5

Lake Ontario is still higher than normal and one of the areas of the city most affected by this is Centre Island.   All of the islands have been flooded to some extent but the low lying Centre Island was the worst hit.

below: Sandbags along the shoreline by the Ward’s Island ferry dock.

sandbags along the shoreline by the Ward's Island ferry dock.

below: Sandbags in the water too.

three small trees are in the water, with sandbags at their bases, most of the sandbags are covered by water. on the shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto skyline is in the background

below: Ward’s Island beach

an empty lifeguard station on a flooded beach. it is in the water of Lake Ontario and is surrounded by water

Although the water level has gone down a bit since early May, large sections of Centre Island are still flooded.   The ferries to Centre Island and Hanlons Point are not running and the Centreville amusement park is closed.

below: The Centreville train tracks are under water.

a sign says danger stay off the bridge, sign is sitting in a pond of water caused by clooding of Centre Island, train tracks from the amusement park train ride are partially under water too

below: Waiting for the next train arriving on platform one. The train is late and it may be a long wait.

large white boats in the shapes of swans are stored on shore, beside a train track and station for the Centreville amusement park. It looks like the swans are waiting for a train

below: Making the bees go round!

a young woman site in a child's amusement park ride where the seats are the shape of bumblebees. her hands are in the air. Another woman is pushing the bee to make it go around like it would if the ride were were operating

below: The ducks are happy!  So are the geese, swans, and other wildlife (if you can call them wild!).   Carp have been seen spawning in the flooded areas.

a male mallard duck stands in a puddle of water outside a building with an open door and a red set of stairs.

yellow fire hydrant in a pond created by flooding. buildings of the amusement park, centreville, are in the background

two blue benches back to back in a flooded section of a park, lots of trees also in the water, reflections, another bench in the background.

picnic tables are stacked in piles beside the water, willow trees and a red maple are also in the picture

picnic tables in a flooded section of a park

below: This is the view across to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club which is on its own island. Two chairs hang overhead.  In the background is the Toronto skyline.

view across channel towards island yacht club and then the Toronto skyline beyond,

below: The constantly changing Toronto Skyline as it is today.

a few shrubs along the flooded shoreline of Centre Island in the foreground with the Toronto skyline across the Inner Channel, CN Tower, Rogers Centre and many condos and office towers.

below: Waiting for the water to recede.  The Centre Island website says that the amusement park and all facilities (food vendors, washrooms, etc) are closed until further notice.

three muskoka chairs sitting in a line, a blue, yellow and pink chair. trees and grass behind them

stickers on a pole. One is a photo of an eye and eyebrow and the other is a drawing of a very pink face with crooked nose and open mouth with teeth showing.

laid back catching rays

Posted: June 8, 2017 in nature, people, waterfront
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Yesterday afternoon was perfect for a stroll along the boardwalk.  I hadn’t been in that part of the city since the flooding occurred earlier in the spring.  The lake levels are still high but that doesn’t prevent people from enjoying the sun and sand.

at the beach, a woman with a large yellow hat and red top lies under a red, orange and yellow striped umbrella, lake and sky in the background

below: Party time behind the fence! This scene caught my eye because of the positioning of the chairs behind the fence (part of the beach is closed after the flooding). It wasn’t until I looked at the picture on my computer that I saw the LCBO bag between two of the chairs and the can of Palm Bay on one of arm rests.

three Muskoka chairs, red, blue, and yellow, on the beach with the tops of three heads showing, a dog lies in the sand beside them, Lake Ontario in the background. An LCBO bag between two of the chairs. A large thermos mug on the armrest of one chair and a can of Palm Bay vodka drink on the arm of another. An orange plastice fence is in front of them because that part of the beach is closed because of high water levels

below: The lifeguards are now manning some of the stations.   Because of the flooding, there is a pool behind the lifeguard where there was once beach.

lifeguard at Woodbine Beach, the beach is flooded so that there is also water behind the lifeguard. two chairs, one yellow and one green, sit in the flooded part

below: The remnants of sandbags ebb and flow with the waves.   Grounded.   Just enough sand to keep them from floating away.

the remains of ornage and yellow sandbags on a beach, some sand still in them so they don't float away.

a woman with red hair lies under a blue and white umbrella on the beach by Lake Ontario

a man sits on a red Muskoka chair in the flooded part of Woodbine beach. A red and yellow flag flies behind him.

below: The high water levels have encroached on the dog park.

flooded beach, fences in water, remains of orange temporary fence, a tree in the water

a man is lying on his back on Kew Beach, by Lake Ontario, a Canada goose is swimming by.

a woman sits on top of a picnic table onthe beach because the sand comes up to the level of the seats, lake and rocks in the background.

below: Look! An aerial view of Stonehenge! LOL.  And with that smile (I hope!)…  and with sand between my toes and in my sandals, I’ll leave you for another day.

a ring of pebbles in the sand on a beach

diversity and solidarity at Nathan Phillips

Posted: June 5, 2017 in events, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Nathan Phillips Square, Saturday June 3

lookng down from the upper level, people at a protest rally at Nathan Phillips square, Toronto flag in the foreground

It was the Centre for Social Justice rally for diversity, strength, and solidarity.  It was an opportunity for people of all religions, races, and orientations to come together and renounce divisions and hate.

people at a protest rally, two people have a bandanas over their faces

below: “First they came for the Muslims, and I spoke out – because I am a Jew”

two men talking at a protest rally. one holds a sign that says First they came for the muslims and I spoke up because i'm a Jew

below: “Freedom of speech is not freedom to hate”

a protest sign in the shape and design of a Canadian flag on the red stripes are words that say Freedom of Speech is not Freedom to hate

below: “Salaam aleikum – Peace be with you”

a woman in a priests collar on, holding a sign that says salaam aleikum peace be with you, being photographed and filmed by TV cameras

below: “Refugees welcome”

people walking in a protest, a large red and white banner in the background, a woman holding a sign that says refugees welcome with a photo of refugees on it

below: “We support our Muslim neighbours and friends.”

people at a protest rally, one is holding a sign that says We support our Muslim neighbours and friends

below: “Toronto against Fascism”

a group of people with red and black bandanas over their faces, holding a banner that says Toronto agaist fascism

a woman with a megaphone at a protest rally, with a red and white banner behind her

sunny days

Posted: June 4, 2017 in general Toronto, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

This morning’s blog post is a mixed up mashed up collection of some of the pictures that I have taken in the past few days. The theme running through the post is “sunny days and people making the most of it.”  It seems like an appropriate subject for a grey morning!

below: #duckman, one of the many ‘performers’ outside the Eaton Centre on Yonge Street.

a young Japanese man is dressed in a yellow body suit, seated on a stool on the sidewalk on Yonge Street, he is playing the drums - actually 5 empty plastic upside down buckets, with #duckman written on the buckets

below: The beginnings of a new mural on Queen Street West.

motorcycle in the foreground, a man painting a white outline of a rose as part of a mural on the side of Canada Convenience store on Queen West, a few people watching him paint

below: This weekend was the annual Riverdale ArtWalk at Jimmie Simpson Park and Community Center.

a man stands holding up a painting (bottom of painting is resting on the ground), more painting displayed on the wall behind him, at the outdoor Riverdale Artwalk art show and sale

below: Dancing to the drums of Venice and Kevin who are playing as past of an event to raise money to fight sickle cell disease.

a young woman dancers at the bottom of the stage steps at nathan phillips, two people are beating drums on the satge

below: Four singers – they’ve just finished performing on the stage at Yonge Dundas Square as part of the DesiFEST celebrations.

four female singers are smiling, they've just finished a song, performing at Yonge Dundas square as part of Desifest, all 4 are of South Asian descent

below: A sign of the times.

a blackboard sign on the sidewalk in front of Brioche restaurant that says we serve Covfefe. People walking on the sidewalk,

below: It wasn’t just the people who were dressed for summer.

two little white dogs on a leach, both have pink and white frilly dresses on.

below: Gardening season has begun!  The vacant lot beside Nick Sweetman’s mural has been turned into a Garden Centre.

garden plants for sale, outdoors, in front of a large mural, bees, by Nick, on Queen st east

a front yard with gardening supplies, and pots of plants on the front steps

below: With their backs to the windows … but it looks like they’re dressed for summer

two mannequins with their backs to two windows, both dressed in red clothes

people riding down the escalator at the Eaton Centre, a large screen is playing a slideshow of summer pictures as part of an advertising campaign.

a mother helps her young daughter reach down and touch the water in the fountain at Nathan Phillips square

early June version, Graffiti Alley

Posted: June 2, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

people walking down Graffiti Alley on a sunny afternoon

I found myself on a sunny Friday afternoon with time to spare.  I haven’t walked Graffiti Alley in the warmth for quite a few months so off we went, hunting for new things, forgotten things, and special ‘are they still there?’ things.

below: Vitality at 505 “It’s showtime baby girl, own it”

street art painting of a black woman's head, short hair, eyes closed, also on the door is the word vitality and the number 505

below: I guess that it’s painful to have your face stuck on a wall.

a dark grey three 3D rendition of a man's face. He looks like he's in pain.

below: Some black line drawn figures on top of text street art.

two figures, drawn abstractly with black marker on top of orange street art,

a drawing of a large eye on top of pink and green street art

on top of pink and green abstract swirly street art, a drawing in black marker of a hand, with a face (eye and mouth) coming out of the back of the hand.

below: Arty strings by lek_gold

a man on a lddder, a car parked, multi coloured strings used to make art by stretching it between nails on an outside wall.

below: This little giraffe has aged well.

a small stencil of a giraffe stands at the bottom corner of a wall

below: It looks like he has a strawberry beard and I’ll assume that that’s a can of spray paint in his hand, not a can of shaving cream!

street art painting on a garage door, turquoise background, a man standing with a spray paint can in his hand, awkeardly drawn, simplistic, man with only one eye and a large beard that looks like a strawberry

below: A yellow monster rises from the barrels.

behind a red van and two green metal barrels, a yellow monster street art painting on a wall

below: I didn’t touch it.  I just took a picture of it.

street art in blues and greys over whish someone has written in blue marker, don't touch this.

below: Anyone seen a guy running around in his underwear?

a pair of blue jeans are lying on the ground at the foot of a wall that has pink and green street art on it.

water bound and rising high

Posted: May 29, 2017 in galleries, people, public art, waterfront
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

The water levels in Lake Ontario are higher than normal this spring – some beaches are under water and a large percent of the Toronto Islands are flooded.  In front of the Power Plant Art Gallery the water level is even with with the concrete walkway… but not high enough to deter people from enjoying the waterfront this past weekend.

a young couple sits by the waterfront, on a stone bench. He has his arm around her. There is yellow caution tape behind them because the water level in Lake Ontario is high.

It seems appropriate that the artwork on the exterior wall (facing the lake) of the Power Plant features an image of water – white crested waves on a large lake.  The piece is “Bound, Hupfield 2017” by Maria Hupfield; it is 19 feet high and 31 feet wide.   The central image is a seascape painted by the artist’s mother, Peggy Miller, many years ago.  It is being wrapped (unwrapped?) with grey felt-like material.
Is it a treasured artwork that is being readied for storage?
Is it a painful memory that is being covered up to be forgotten?
Is it a family heirloom that is being brought out for someone to admire?

a large art installation on the south exterior wall of the Power Plant contemporary art gallery, with a small tree in front of it.

a girl sits on the rail between the walkway on the waterfront and the water while she reaches a hand out towards a duck. Her mother and younger sister watch.

a mother crouches down beside a young child who is wearing a helmet and is on a scooter, the mother is waving at the Kajama as it docks, the Kajama is a boat with sails that gives tourists rides on Lake Ontario

If you are interested in more information about Maria Hupfield, check the CONTACT website.

“Objects contain meanings beyond their materiality, meanings that we bring to them or receive from them. Objects are the result of an action, entail a trace of a human gesture, and trigger reactions and memories. They have the potential to be read collectively or personally. In her artistic practice, Maria Hupfield reveals the interrelational potential triggered by objects between humans or cultural environments.”

Not heroes, black and white.

Posted: May 28, 2017 in galleries, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

I was away for most of the month of May so I missed a lot of the annual Contact Photography Festival.  In the few days that I had to catch up, I visited a few of the exhibits.  One of these was ‘Nous ne somme pas des heros’ (We are not heroes) by Valerie Blass at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place.

two large cubes constructed from pieces of photos of different people in different positions sit in the middle of Brookfield Place, under the glass arched roof.

Blass arranged people in sculpture-like poses and then photographed them from different angles.  The photographs were then cut into sections, glued on blocks,  and then the ‘sculptures’ were re-assembled.

a large stack of blocks with black and white photos of people on them by Valerie Blass.

The subjects of the sculptures are anonymous.  Their “bodies fold inward, their differences intertwine and merge into single entities” (source).

photographs of the back of a person with another person sitting on his shoulders, upper person is leaning forward with head down, the blocks on which the photos are printed are in the walkway at Brookfield Place

bottom part of photos by Valerie Blass on a block at Brookfield Place as part of Scotiabank Contact photography festival, feet. Also the feet of people walking past.

Older Entries
Newer Entries