Heritage Toronto's Architectural Photography Tour

This evening, Teena and I enjoyed an Architectural Photography Tour for its members put on by Heritage Toronto.

See the city through fresh eyes as we focus our discussion on how composition and light can help you get the best building shots for your personal portfolio or Instagram page. Please bring a camera (DSLR or phone) that you are comfortable using.

So what does Heritage Toronto do?

We celebrate and commemorate our city’s rich heritage and the diverse stories of its people, places, and events – both to make sense of our present and to inform the future. Our Vision To be the recognized voice of Toronto’s heritage stories.

We met at the new fountain at Berzcy Park. It's a fabulous fountain opened in 2018 and was nominated in the 2018 Heritage Awards. 

Vik Pahwa to the left (sorry I caught you, Vik, with your face covered) would give us ideas on what to look for in a scene, plus angles and suggestions on how to shoot architecture. At each location, Katelyn would give us background history of the area. Both were excellent and approachable.

The Flatiron Building is one of the most famous buildings in Toronto. It was built by George Gooderham in 1891, a decade before the one in New York. I didn't know that when George passed away in 1905, he was listed as the wealthiest person in Ontario and the taxes collected on his estate took Ontario out of a deficit.

An older section of Front Street.

Berzcey Park is named after William Berzcey who was a co-founder with John Graves Simcoe of Toronto. This work of art honours him.

St. James Cathedral, was opened on June 19, 1853. It's hard to get a good picture of it. Lots of detail to shoot on the building. I'll return another time.

10 Toronto St is the home of Toronto's seventh post office which opened in 1853 and is a national historic site. It's best known as being the head office of E.P. Taylor's Argus Corp and the downfall of Conrad Black.

I always wondered why the back of the building had curved walls. Back then, horse and carriages were used to transport the mail and the building's rear walls were rounded to allow them easy access to the rear of the building for loading and unloading.

We went to Commerce Court. I loved the carvings in the back wall.

Much of the courtyard will disappear due to a new tower being built. It's a shame as I enjoyed many lunches here in the sunshine when I worked at King and Bay. There's a beautiful fountain in the middle of the square with elephants approaching for a drink.

Photography of architectural shapes can be interesting.

The 14 story Concourse Building is now almost lost with the new EY tower plunked on top.

Resting cows in the park at the TD Centre.

I managed to capture the moon over this building which is having the heavy granite tiles removed.

I love trying to shoot photos of our city's old and new together. This would have been a much better shot of the "L" building and Union Station if this guy's head wasn't in it.

I really enjoyed the walk and learned quite a bit on what to look for in shooting a city. Along the way, I also learned much about our city's history which I was unaware of. I plan to return to each of these sites and others in the city to take my time and focus on each individually.

The next tour for this event is on October 6, 2019, at 1:30pm. An afternoon instead of evening walk. As I'm retired, I plan to be there to take better shots in afternoon light.

A Walk Through Confederation Beach Park

My friend, Tom, had suggested going on a walk through Confederation Beach Park in Hamilton to visit the Hamilton and Scourge National Historic Site. Yesterday, Tom, Malcolm and I did just that. Along the way, we saw some interesting sites.

Here are some photos I took along the way.

A Visit to the Hamilton & Scourge National Historic Site

In a park on the banks of Lake Ontario is a memorial to two U.S. schooners, the Hamilton and Scourge, which sunk during a sudden gale during the night of August 8, 1813. The Hamilton and Scourge National Historic Site sits on Hamilton Beach in Confederation Beach Park in Hamilton.

The schooners were part of a larger American fleet which had been in a cat and mouse game with the British fleet. The loss by either fleet would give the other total control over Lake Ontario and likely total victory in the War of 1812. Both fleet commanders, James Yeo for the British and Issac Chauncy for the U.S., were aware of the consequences and both were cautious in engaging the other without complete control of the wind. It was the wind, though, which did the Hamilton and Scourge in.

Just off the shores of this site is where the two ships went down when a fierce storm struck the fleet. The ships now lie 90 metres (300 ft) below the surface and 450 metres apart (1500 ft).

72 men were on board when the ships went down. 53 of them died. Many years later, Ned Myers, a volunteer sailor aboard the Scourge, told his story to James Fenimore Cooper, author of Last of the Mohicans, who reprinted it in his story, A Life Before The Mast. It's a little long to reprint here but is only a few minutes of very worthwhile, terrifying reading.

In the park, there are memorial tombstones for each of those who lost their life. Crew members of the Scourge are in the area to the left of the flags, those of the Hamilton on the right.

It's a wonderful tribute to those who lost their life in such a terrible time. If you're walking the trail through the park, please take a moment to visit.

"Speaking of Democracy" Exhibit at Queens Park, Toronto

I read in this past weekend's paper that there is an exhibit on this week at Queens Park called Speaking of Democracy.

“Speaking of Democracy” features 28 quotations about the roots of, threats to, and promise of democracy. People quoted include Her Majesty the Queen, David Frum, George Orwell, Vandana Shiva, Jennifer Welsh, and Malala Yousafzai.

The exhibit was launched by The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, who also put on the exhibit. In her tweet about she launch, she states:

Thank you to all who joined us as we launched #SpeakingofDemocracy. Democracy is a gift that requires sustained commitment. We must not be complacent observers of the changes around us. May the words on the walls inspire all who see them to think, reflect, question and act."

The displays were on the walls of three gorgeous rooms in the Lieutenant Governors Wing.

Some quotes made me think.

There were beautiful old ornaments everywhere.

The quote below is quite true. These leaders have no idea of how their decisions affect the middle and lower classes ... no idea!

The quote below is from Malala Yousafzai. In 2012, she was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking up for the rights of girls to receive an education. Fortunately, she survived and became the youngest at 17 to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her words speak volumes.

Walking into the next room.

So true and our world's becoming a mess.

Churchill claims he was quoting somebody else but the world, rightfully so, attributes it to him. Whoever did say it, they said it well. It goes along with another quote I saw on the wall saying democracy is always a work in progress.

Are we seeing those weaknesses today?

Some more of the interior.

I saw a sword in one of the rooms and asked if it was the same sword as is in the two paintings on the right. It was!

The swords of Ontario's first two Sergeant-at-Arms.

I was thrilled to see this. It's the original mace of Upper Canada which was taken as a prize when the Americans attacked Toronto, then York, in 1813. It was finally returned in 1934.

It was a thoughtful display. I'm so glad I had the time to see it and wish it could be on display longer for others to see and think about.