How to Disappear Completely...

Michael the Barber

2009-11-13T10:29:00.001-05:00

Michael the Barber, originally uploaded by Christos Tsirbas.

Michael's Barber Shop is a fixture at the north-west corner of Church and Wellesley.

Pedestrian

2009-11-12T00:52:00.001-05:00

Pedestrian, originally uploaded by Christos Tsirbas.

Walking south on Church Street at a brisk pace, i set my camera to manual focus and the distance scale on my 50mm to roughly 5 feet. Perhaps I like this picture because the fellow walking toward me looks kind of like Gerard Butler in 300.

Random Act of Kindness

2009-11-11T13:18:00.001-05:00

Random Act of Kindness, originally uploaded by Christos Tsirbas.

This elderly gentleman required assistance to disembark from his cab. With a smile and a gesture, he enlisted the fellow in leather to help him out. This moment was a reminder that civility, courtesy and respect continue to thrive in an urban environment

Rearview Mirror

2009-11-10T16:39:00.001-05:00

Rearview Mirror, originally uploaded by Christos Tsirbas.

The red of the starter offers a counterpoint to the black and silver tones of this classic cruiser parked outside a cycle shop on Yonge Street.

Graffiti Artists at Work

2009-11-09T13:55:00.001-05:00

In an alley behind the north side of Queen Street, I stumbled across a group of graffiti artists crating a mural with spray cans. I spent a couple of minutes photographing the group and marvelling at the efficiency and skill with which they worked. As you can see in this image, one young man is working from a scrap of paper, transferring what he sees to the larger-than-life artwork in progress.

Coffee Lover

2009-11-08T22:26:00.002-05:00

Wandered down to Queen Street West for the first time in months on this glorious Sunday afternoon and decided to do some street shooting. This gentleman was sitting on the stoop of a walk-up enjoying a cup of coffee from the franchise next door.

Closing Time at the AGO

2009-10-29T10:19:00.004-04:00

A museum patron or possibly an employee waits under the awning of the Frank Gehry-designed Art Gallery of Ontario last Sunday afternoon. This was snapped with my iPhone, converted to black and white with Photoshop Mobile then adjusted in Adobe Lightroom.

These Apples are Delicious ...

2009-10-21T10:41:00.003-04:00

and in season too. Snapped with my iPhone at MacMillan Orchards
outside Toronto over the weekend. The great thing about Apple's
wundergadget is that nobody notices me snapping pictures with it
because they're distracted by the bulky DSLR hanging from my neck.

2009-10-20T11:45:00.001-04:00

Waist-level shot of dogs walking their humans along Toronto's Cherry Beach.

Filling the Well

2009-07-27T13:09:00.001-04:00

As creators we sometimes forget that we are also consumers of others' creative output. Indeed, we all started out as admirers of the work of our favourite artists and in aspiring to be like them we too embraced creativity as a way of life.

But all too often, when we are in the midst of an extended or otherwise demanding project, we forget to balance output with input. That is, we are so focused on finishing a work in progress that we forget to make time to take in the work of others.

This can often lead to creative burnout.

Creativity expert Julia Cameron suggests that our creative reserves are like a well that needs to be replenished by rain. To maintain the creative energy we put out, we need to restock it with the creative output of others. She calls this filling the well and it's as simple as taking an afternoon off for a gallery crawl or a movie.

Too often we forget that we draw inspiration from the work of others–not just the works that have influenced us but anything that entertains, delights or even challenges us. If you find yourself in the midst of a project that's stalling, the best thing you can do may be to simply take some time off and enjoy some art. Your output will be the better for it.

Obsolete Tech

2009-07-26T02:54:00.001-04:00

A few years back, independently owned telephone booths were a hot
business opportunity. Hundreds of them sprung up overnight but now
most are battered derelict, victims of vandalism and the ubiquity of
cell phones.

Political Correctness Goes Down the Hole

2009-06-19T09:15:00.003-04:00

Dreaming

2009-06-18T18:30:00.002-04:00

Multiple exposure using the coloured flash on a Holga 120 CFN

Windows

2009-06-18T13:43:00.002-04:00

Not a photograph but a poem I wrote to accompany a series of John's images:

windows

open wide
lean out
look around
take in the world
and smile

shut the curtains
lean back
imagine
what’s outside
make a plan
stick to it

you
are
here

Violinist

2009-05-10T23:45:00.003-04:00

I snapped this young man rehearsing for a public dance perfomance just off Trinity Square in the Distillery District. This was one of those moments of perfect. The colour harmony is pure chance. He happened to be wearing a green army-surplus jacket and his skin tone and the colour of his violin happened to mesh perfectly with the brick background in the fading sunlight.

Mission Control

2009-04-28T10:50:00.003-04:00

It's not all play. The fabulous life of a freelance writer/photographer also involves mundane (and much-feared) administrative tasks. On this rainy day I've spent a good chunk of the morning on the phone and online taking care of things like domain-name renewals, invitations to our upcoming photography shows Industrial Symphony and Heavy Water, equipment rentals, restaurant reservations (for an entirely different event) and bill payments.

This is the perfect time to look back to a brighter day. A few weeks back I snapped this observation tower on Cherry Street that looks out over Lake Ontario. I love its design. The staircase is also the support pillar and this reminds me of the sci-fi inspired structures I used to scribble in the margins of my notebooks as a child.

Cherry Street Bridge

2009-04-27T11:32:00.004-04:00

It's a gorgeous day here in Toronto and it will be a balmy 27 degrees Celsius, which would be a fine temperature in mid-July but it's way too hot for the end of April. But hey kids, there's no such thing as global warming, it's just a commie myth designed to guilt you out of your God-given right to consume. Here's some detail from the Cherry Street Bridge taken on a similar (but much cooler) sunny day, a few weeks back.

When Spring Rolls Around...

2009-04-23T09:01:00.002-04:00

My thoughts turn to motorcycles. In an ideal world (i.e. free of pollution and road rage), this BMW 1150 GS would be my transportation of choice. I would like nothing more than to spend long lazy days exploring the twisting back roads of this and other continents.

Where Have I Been?

2009-04-22T23:08:00.004-04:00

These past twenty days, I've been to Montreal twice (for Marillion Weekend and Greek Orthodox Easter), taken close to 900 photographs for my upcoming Industrial Symphony exhibition, written web copy, ad copy, artist statements, researched the documentary I'm writing, attended an Artscape tenants' meeting and even had time to socialize . Where I haven't been is Buffalo to see the Dead (who still rock despite the absence of Jerry Garcia) or the inside of a cinema. So, here's a completely random shot that has nothing to do with any of the above:

Taken in Mexico, this young man had a Socrates quote tatooed on his right shoulder and the smoking baby from Van Halen's 1984 album cover on his left. Talk about cultural range! I believe his name is Jordan but I could be wrong. (This is why one should always complete a trip diary while one is travelling and not two months after the fact.)

Deplaning

2009-04-08T10:54:00.002-04:00

Landing at San Juan International Airport in Los Cabos, Mexico in early February was quite the experience. Not only did we go from cold grey skies to a sunny tropical clime, but we also deplaned on the tarmac, which I'd never done before. Being so close to a row a airliners absolutely thrilled me, after all, I'm a kid when it comes to machines that go fast. I snapped this shot of our jet as we were entering the terminal and scanned it from film. I just love how shiny the plane is. I realize I'm being silly, but so what? Airplanes are just plain cool.

These Boots were Made for Walking...

2009-03-25T11:07:00.004-04:00

I made this picture a couple of summers ago at a Queen Street West shop/gallery. Art? Footwear? A little bit of both? You tell me...

Go, Joe!

2009-03-24T13:51:00.002-04:00

Just for fun (and because action figures don't protest when you spend too much time lighting and posing them), I took some shots of a G.I. Joe this afternoon resulting in this formal portrait of an action figure....

Dress Accordingly

2009-03-19T11:01:00.003-04:00

This helpful sign in a College Street bike shop cheerfully enforces the local dress code.

Talking Business

2009-03-18T22:40:00.001-04:00

The proprietors of a Queen Street West coffee/sandwich bar have a chat about the day's business.

Smoking on Humber Bay

2009-03-17T10:50:00.003-04:00

Hanging out and smoking on these boulders seems to be a popular pastime. This is one of two groups that stopped by to chill on the rocks while we were walking the dog along Humber Bay on Sunday.