St. James Cathedral, Toronto
The site where the present cathedral of St. James sits has had church buildings present, going back to 1807 shortly after the Town of York was established. The first wooden building was ransacked by the Americans during the War of 1812, and was eventually replaced by a stone structure in 1833. After a fire in 1849, the present cathedral was built and it is magnificent both inside and out. It also allows visitors unlike many churches which open only for services.
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Trinity Commons
Trinity College in Toronto is a federated college of the University of Toronto which includes an Anglican Divinity school. This is the central commons area of the main building.
I had rented a Canon 14mm f/2.8 lens for the weekend and it found it to be very interesting to use on architectural subjects.In particular, it seemed very sharp to the corners and did not suffer from a lot of barrel distortion.
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Toronto's Old City Hall
In 1899 Toronto’s third city hall was built, a gorgeous building in grays and browns. When the present city hall, number four, was built, the old city hall might have been torn down. The Eatons Mall is behind it, and there were plans to demolish the old building. With the help of concerned citizens, it was declared a National Historic Site in 1989, and is presently used as a courthouse.
Toronto's Old City Hall
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Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto
In downtown Toronto, the Hockey Hall of Fame can be found at the corner of Yonge and Front Streets, at the site of a former bank building. It receives over 300,000 visitors per year.
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The Crystal by Michael Lee-Chin
An addition to the Royal Ontario Museum (The ROM) in Toronto, called the Crystal was designed by Michael Lee-Chin. It has been very controversial with critics objecting to the modern design which has been added to building which is otherwise very classic looking. When you get in close to the addition, even underneath it, it can be very beautiful, with interesting lines, color and reflections. From a distance, I find it less appealing with the new portion looking a bit jammed on and out of place with the older structure.
The Crystal
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Morning in Toronto
A couple of times a year, I like to make a trip to the center of Toronto to photograph some cityscapes. I try to go early on a Sunday, when there are less people, cars, and noise. In fact, instead of thousands of people, that part of the city can be almost deserted at that time.
Sometimes less is more with an image as well. I liked this image of a fountain in Toronto with the glass towers in the background but parts of it were too detailed and a distraction. There was a great amount of detail in the concrete, ripples in the water, small details that gave a busy look to the image. By processing the image to reduce this detail, I think it gave it a more peaceful atmosphere which I preferred.
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I spent the day in Toronto photographing buildings in the city center. Its amazing how devoid of people it is in the early Sunday morning. This image is from a wonderful shopping arcade on Front St. beside the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Red-tailed Hawk
Southern Ontario is a primary wintering location for Red-tailed Hawks like this juvenile bird
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Winter Mallards
Perhaps it is my Canadian heritage, but I love the look of winter ducks in lightly falling snow.
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Mute Swan in flight
There are three species of White Swans normally to be found in Ontario. The Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus, the Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, and the Mute Swan, Cygnus olor shown in the image. While the first two are native to North America, the Mute Swan, Cygnus olor, was introduced from Eurasia and has thrived here.
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