We only had about an hour to shoot but Mirian Njoh and I made the most of it, walking and shooting mostly on Queen West West near Ossington in downtown Toronto.
I met Marian in the spring of 2014 at an art event. She had a very striking look, strong features and was very kind, I knew I wanted to work with her. She's actually a professional stylist that does great work, collaborating with some of Toronto's best. Here's some of what we came up with.
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Original leather goods since 1973...
I spent an early afternoon on an exclusive tour of @rootscanada's state-of-the-art leather factory in #Toronto. It was an incredible look into the old-world craftsmanship that has been prevalent for three generations. Karl Kowalewski, the son of the man who started it all, gave us a look into their family tradition, the passion of leather-making and the company's goods that have become proudly ingrained in our Canadian heritage. #RootsCanada
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“I really enjoyed documenting the combination of artists, creative lighting and the joy that only a summer night can bring.”
A packed Dundas Square / @tahaphoto
For North by North East or #NXNE2014 I was approached by MiO Canada to document my experience at the festival through a photographers lens. I felt the acts involved were all quite talented so my moments would naturally come. Night shots can be tricky since you don‘t have natural light to warm and balance things up so I really enjoyed the challenge of timing the artists and the lighting set up to create a certain mood.
A good example of that happened on the MiO Squirtcar while shooting the band Wintersleep. Great lighting in a tiny space along with the band‘s energy. Perfect mix.
Wintersleep / @tahaphoto
Wintersleep / @tahaphoto
I took in a soulful set at the MiO House by Montreal native Jacques Greene. It‘s a beautiful thing to watch someone in their element transform a rather stiff crowd into waves of positive energy. #MakeitOriginal
MiO HOUSE
#MakeitOriginal
Tommy Cruise / @tahaphoto
Trap beats x EDM is the M.O. for Montreal beat-maker Tommy Kruise. His Toronto following was out in full force and he didn‘t disappoint with a set of infectious bass lines and catchy hooks. Crowd participation continually hit a peak point when Mr. Kruise made eye contact. Overall, the energy was great to witness. #MakeitOriginal
I‘ll be honest, this was the first I was hearing of A$AP Twelvy but I really like his confidence and energy. You could tell that his goal was to live up to the A$AP name. I felt that just off his energy alone he succeeded. #MakeitOriginal
Technology, people and pursuit to document every second… #MakeitOriginal
It was a busy week covering #NXNE2014 but I learned a lot about my own city, so thanks again to MiO Canada for the opportunity. Toronto loves to host parties (festivals) and music is still the great connector that can bring us all together.
Over the last few years I've been documenting Toronto, the good, bad and ugly. Yet over that same period of time I haven't posted much of the "ugly". But why? Was I afraid to post what I truly saw? Did I feel guilt for taking pictures of the less fortunate? Or was I simply more interested in posting happier, cooler photos of the city? I think it was a combination of all three.
Hard to shoot, harder to ignore. This is also #Toronto.
Surviving one day at a time. Taken in front of the city’s oldest Presbyterian Church (Queen & Carlaw Est.1877) • This is also #Toronto.
Then yesterday I was on my instagram feed and felt annoyed, frustrated, angry at how similar a lot of Toronto photographers had become. Sunsets, silhouettes, rooftops, snowfalls, ice, architecture, cleanliness. That's it?! That's the entire Toronto experience?
So into my photo library I went , searching for those exact images that I had abandoned so many time before. I chose 3 images from one street, Queen.
Queen at Bay... This is also #Toronto.
Though these are just a few snapshots, I hope, going forward to paint a more realistic picture of the city I truly love.
