Darklight Over

Somehow I will always end up back at Union Station. No matter what happens, when I run out of ideas of what to photograph, I end up at Union Station. I sit down on one of the benches and think, I try to figure out what could be the best angle to shoot a picture at. Sometimes I come up with nothing, for the most part I can always find something. In this case, I was looking for the washroom, upon entering into the main area a brilliant light was shining through the window. I had to capture this person walking within the light, like they were coming out of the shadows. 

Back to the world of abandonment in Toronto, we have this house. It is situated in the east end, near where the Don Jail used to be. When I first seen this house it was blue, looked the same, and less green. Now after time has past, things have grown a fair amount. I wonder what is in the inside, is everything moldy? Is there a body inside? Is there even floors? Why is it still there? I guess because it's attached in a row house setting. These little gems show up all over Toronto, you just have to look.

On thing about the big city, is that we have a lot of windows surrounded by metal and beams. The modern is everywhere, Sunlife Financial is just another one of those buildings. It's huge and tall, probably took place of some older structure that was there for years. One thing about the magic hour is getting outside and grabbing the photo when you can see it happening. 

Going though most of the important photos so far, and giving them some life with events that happened throughout my life. I have enjoyed writing this blog. I did get out some major emotions here, happy and sad. I hope you all enjoyed everything. However, this is going to be my last post for now. I may come up with a new blog or turn this one into a book, we will have to see. It was fun, have a wonderful life my friends.

Lamps, Bricks, Faces And Darklight

I'm glad I took this picture, at the time I didn't know just how important it would be, but now I see. When the shot was taken we hadn't heard anything as to what was happening to this bookstore. I wouldn't have thought anything about it. The original thought I had in my head when I took the shot, was that I loved how the sunshine was setting perfectly on my favourite store. 

And then......

This. I'm going back one more time tomorrow and gathering the last of the pictures that I can take of this torture. I'll never forget the many times I would visit the bookstore, not even thinking of its demise. Twisted metal and shattered bricks, lights dangle and ceiling tiles sway in the wind.

Another old shot. This was taken on Yonge Street, I think it was just north of St. Clair Avenue. Just past the gates of an apartment building, there was a small garden with a fountain. I'm glad I decided to investigate, or I wouldn't have found this. The perfect old fountain with the cutest little face on it. One day I will go back and re-shoot this. For now, you have this beauty.

Look at the lights, they are a hidden beauty. I loved that they were lining the shot as is. The lovely trees all in bloom in the background at sunset, and the lit lamps getting ready for the night to come. I took this one while walking down near the waterfront in the west, near the Humber River. Keep this image in mind when you are having a bad day, the green in the shot will keep your spirits happy and light.

Westbound Darklight

This is how it is, everything is going westbound. There is this strong sense of safety for me in the west end, my body naturally goes there for strength. I guess this is why I live in the west end of Toronto. Comfort is near Highpark for me. Plus I have been headed that way for years, I grew up in Mississauga, which is west. Even when I decided to move out on my own, I stayed in Etobicoke. Mind you, I did move back home again, not that it was that far away. So when I get on the subway, for the most part, I'm headed west on the way home. 

Yes we have The Worlds Biggest Bookstore again. It still breaks my heart. In fact, I've gone back many times to photograph more and more of the demolition. I probably will go back one more time, I think I will get one more chance to photograph destruction. I keep thinking of all the wonderful times that I used to spend in the store, I would take hours, sometimes my Mom would be waiting for me to meet her at her work and I would take so long looking for the right book and she would have to call me, "Brenna, are you almost done in the bookstore? I would like to go home!". I miss it so much.

The light, so much light. When you walk in the concourse (PATH) for so long in your day, the sudden flash of light is blinding. I was walking from First Canadian Place to TD Centre underground and seen this thing called sunlight. Hahahah!! In a sense it made for a great shot, with some blurring and softness, this happened.  

For some reason, this is my mind as of this moment. Shredded to the branches of its leaves and preparing for a dark winter. I'm not ready for this one, my emotions are really off right now, and I'm not looking forward to X-Mas. Don't ask. This year, I'm going to be stronger, and more prepared. As for now, the depression is kicking my butt, and my medication is working overtime. In the long run, I will overcome this in the New Year.

Crystal Ball Flowers

Which way is the right way to look at this? Well, from anywhere really. I wanted to give the photo a surreal look. You really don't know which quad is the right one to be looking at, and it connects almost flawlessly. This is taken in the Crystal Ball Room in the King Edward Hotel. Open Doors Toronto gave me so many chances to get into places I never knew were there. In this case I knew this place existed, I just wasn't sure that we were going there, shouldn't have had my music on I guess. So when we got up to the ball room my jaw fell flat open, "I know where we are" I said out loud, talking to myself. Everyone just smiled at me, hehehe! I photographed this one to death. In fact I just sat there for a long time, at one point, looking at all the peeling paint on the walls, checking out the antiqueness of everything.

I wanted to show the loneness of this one person walking down into the grass. Mind you, there is plenty of people in the field if you look closely. This park is near Broadview Avenue just south of Broadview Station, on the Danforth. Eastside is not really my thing, however, once in a while I will go over there for a walk. I'm not about to let a perfect picture just float by. The Colour Splash effect was added to take away from the City of Toronto in the background. I needed you to see it, but not all at once. What was more important was the grass and that person enjoying his afternoon.

Have you ever liked the look of a TTC streetcar looking you right in the eye. The beast of a transit vehicle making it's way slowly but with so much power. TTC obsessed here, I know. Hey, I'm not the only one, there are plenty of us Transit Geeks out there. Whenever I see a transit vehicle I always see a big, powerful force. One mean looking piece of metal, and it's beautiful all at the same time.

Here is some Cherry Blossoms for you, a lovely looking tree. At this certain time in the spring, around late April, early March, these trees start to blossom and the park is full of beauty. The park is High Park, in the westend of Toronto. I do go there a fair number of times, just never enough. I hope this photo brightens your day.

Sunlight In The Darklight

One beautiful flower, found in the convenience store near my house. The owners like to carry very fancy flowers that you can buy all year round. This one was in the window and had just a bit of sunlight on it, which is what made the shot perfect. I decided that I was going to quad the photo, put into four divisions. It makes the plant look bigger and helps it stand out more brilliant for the photograph. I always loved pictures like this, where there is something of beautiful colour set in the middle of darkness. Pure Darklight. 

This one had to be taken. Everyday on the way home, I would see this shot in my head, at Osgoode Subway Station. It actually turned out perfectly, as I had my smartphone out and ready to shoot, this lady walked by at just the right moment. There will never be a shortage of TTC photography from me. There is way too many opportunities to get the best photo every single day. Mind you, the editing is getting better as we go along, I did take this shot with a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Only 8 mega pixels to deal with. Now with the Note 4, 16 mega pixels makes for better quality. Oops the techie nerd just came out. 

Buses, they are my favourite thing. In fact, I was so excited last night that I got to ride on one of the newer articulated buses for the first time, love them. The one above isn't one of those, but still a TTC bus none the less. I took this one while my Mom and I were on our way home from work one evening. I get this feel good feeling when the bus is riding into the sunset, that magic hour sunlight always gives me a positive feeling. Nothing can go wrong, plus I was one my way home from work to relax. Always a bonus.

Speaking of sunsets that give a positive feeling, here is another one. Taken at Yonge Street and College Street. I went out for a photo adventure and pow, perfect photo moment. Never let the sunlight get away from you, even in the winter there is always a perfect moment to pull out your smartphone or camera and get pictures like this that you will never forget. I love my city.

Abandoned Broken Stuff

This one really hurts, World's Biggest Bookstore was my favourite store, I spent many hours looking through many rows of books. I would visit at least once a week, and then out of nowhere, they decided to close this beautiful store. I guess with the rise of eBook purchases is putting physical bookstores all over the world out of business. I knew the building was sitting there empty for the longest time, I just didn't know that they were going to demolish it. So when I found out a couple of days ago, I had to go there and see for myself. My heart split in two. I just stood there looking at the sight that you see above. The shelving units are still in the building, some shredded in the rubble. I know that I don't have much of a choice as to what happens to this building, but I know how much of a landmark that it used to be in this city. So I say this here, bye bye World's Biggest Bookstore, I'll miss you. I'm sure most of Toronto will miss you. Who knows what they are going to build in your place, condos or restaurants. Lets just hope they decide to keep the BMV that is beside it. 

One thing about Toronto is that there is no shortage of broken glass. I shot a picture every time that I get the chance when I get lucky enough to find them. This shot is actually side ways. There is an entrance going into Bay Subway Station, on the TTC, from the underground. I was just getting off the 6 Bay Bus and heading into the subway station where this doorway is located, and boom, broken glass. Of course I'm going to stop immediately and take this photograph. I actually had the chance to edit on the way home. 

On Peter Street, near Richmond Street West, there is an abandoned house. Just one house that is in the middle of random Peter Street. I'm not sure if in fact that it is still there, as I took this one a while ago. The house is beautiful, old, and still standing. Even after many club nights, and who knows what happening around it. Since it is right in the middle of the Club District. I'm surprised that there wasn't any broken windows, I guess the house was safe with all the Police Officers surrounding it. You can feel that it had many owners, there must be so many stories, if the walls could talk. Then I heard that it became a boarding house that went downhill. I still would love to see what it looks like on the inside. I think the city should keep these abandoned houses, maybe protect them under some sort of barriers, as a reminder that we did have some lovely homes in the city. Not all this modern looking stuff. Not that there is anything wrong with the modern stuff, I actually enjoy the mix of old and new. That is what Toronto is all about. Building love. 

Shreaded Bricks and The Future

This shot you see before you was taken on the Monday after the G20 took place in Toronto 2010. I had school that morning and, well, this is what I walked into that morning. My school was located in College Park, right in the middle of chaos. Most of the windows were busted out everywhere you went. The Tim Hortons on the left, the Starbucks straight ahead. I never left home that whole weekend, mostly because I had major homework to do. For the most part, I didn't want to be caught up in the riot that was happening in my city. I do have to say that that Monday was more peaceful and everyone was respectful of the other person next to them. We should always respect the person next to us no matter what. That morning I had to find coffee else where, luckily there is a Tim Hortons inside as well.

One frosty afternoon we have here in this above photo. I took this one from my bedroom window, looking at the steam coming from that chimney. I love how all the houses look from the backyards, they show parts that they don't want the front yard viewers to see. All the rough parts of the house, all the ad-ons that the 1960's brought. It is hard to believe that most of these houses were built in the early 1900's. Before that this was farm country, in fact that farm house is two doors down from my house. 

That wall is crumbling, OK so it was a demolition. This was an elderly hospital/home. They built a new one next door and decided to flatten this wonderful piece of architecture. Since I like the look of abandoned buildings and homes, this works. I liked how the sunlight was perfectly hitting the brick, in focus, and the sky and branches were just out of focus. Toronto just keeps ripping down old buildings and replacing them with new ones, I don't like that. I just found out recently that they demolished The Worlds Biggest Bookstore. That was my favourite store, I didn't even know it was going down. I was wrong, I think they want to build more condos there, or restaurants. Who knows. My city keeps changing and I don't like it. I'm one for keeping things the same, having that retro feeling. 

The Darklight View

The reason that I edited this photo as such, is because I wanted to show how most people view their days. You may pick up some things in a very sharp and vivid way, but most of life flies by in a blur. When we are on our way to and from work, we are in tunnel vision. We mostly focus only on the important things that need attention, like not getting hit by a bus. I admit that for the most part on my way to work I'm in tunnel vision. So what I try to do is pay attention to everything that I can, even though I may be half asleep. Coffee loading, please wait...! After that point I do notice most things, as most photographers do. Especially being a Massage Therapist, I do need to pay attention to what is happening to my clients. If they are in too much pain, I can tell just by how they are reacting to the pain, flinching. 

I would say at least three times a week I see this on my way to work in the morning. Seems almost like it's on repeat. I have taken this one shot many times before and edited many time before. So this time I through a twist into it. Train coming in, southbound at Bloor Station. Heading towards the unknown of the days events. Really, most of us have no idea as to what we are going to see in the day, besides that usual stuff that we do all the time. So this photo represents the future unknown, and I am happy about that. Plus the Fragment App is an awesome App. 

On Friday I did a Massage Therapy Mobile, which means that I go to the place in which requires massage to be done. In this case it was a tall office building, I went to the twenty-ninth floor. Sometimes I get a treat when I do these mobiles. Usually I work in the underground concourse level, so I don't get to see much of the outside environment. So yes, this is a treat for me. In between massages, on this Staff Spa Day, I got to look out the window and take pictures of things I normally don't get to see. I was extremely happy that it was a sunny day, and that I had a view of the Skydome (Rogers Centre for those that don't know it as the Skydome) and the sun's reflection off Lake Ontario. It was a beautiful sight. In fact, through most of the massages I couldn't keep my eyes off the window. It's a good thing that I do most of my work through touch, so I was able to look. It was a very beautiful, modern office. Take the chance when you get it to photograph everything that you can get your lens on!

Rusty Halls In Buildings

These stairs have seen a lot, they are many years old. Just off of Dufferin Street near King Street, actually just south of there, there is this bridge which leads you over into the Exhibition grounds. Trains run underneath the bridge and these steps used to be where you could pick up the GO Train. I remember doing this when I was a kid and my Mom and I were headed home from going to the Ex. We were loaded up with our winnings from the games we played and tired from all the rides we went on. Moving on, this staircase is still there, hidden but findable. I squeezed through the fence and decided to get as many photos as I could. This was the best one. All the rust and the depth of field, oh and that chipped paint. 

The dreaded hallway shot. Everyone does it, so naturally I had to do it, but with my twist. I was staying with someone at the Grand Hotel for a staycation. On one trip up to the roof for a smoke this caught my eye, and my lens. So glad I brought the beast (AKA, my Nikon). What you see here is a normal average hall, but it needed to look creepy. Here you have it, hallway, with creepy. It would be interesting to find out whether this Hotel is actually haunted.

Never miss a moment to catch the creepy, haunted shot. Casa Loma looks haunted no matter how you look at it. I would have to bring my pendulum with me one day and see if it gives me signals as to whether the building is covered in spiritual or supernatural activity. I could use my EMF reader as well, hmmm now I may need to make a trip there real soon. The shot above was taken to show that this building can look very massive and powerful. I mean from a distance it looks beautiful, it stands out from everything, and it always make you wonder what really happened there. I never get bored of visiting here, in fact I usually go at least once a year. Seems like that time is coming soon. Toronto is full of older buildings that I would love to photograph. Which is why I love Doors Open Toronto, it gives you the opportunity to go see things that you walk be everyday but never get the chance to photograph all the fine details. 

Ceiling Trees In The Sky

Taken one morning in the Fall, it didn't snow just yet. I stepped out my door to head to work and seen the shot that I had wanted to take for six or so years. This tree is something that I needed to photograph one day, but I needed it to look exactly like this. There was never the right light or the right amount of leaves left on the tree or the colour of the leaves for that matter. So here it is, and it was well worth the wait. I wanted to give it that toy camera effect and it needed to be darkened to give the Darklight effect. None the less I'm happy it turned out.

I have a fascination with clouds, who would have thought that? Haha! There can be colour involved, and most of the time there is, but this time it called for a black and white effect. As much as there needs to be colour, there needs to be shades of darkness to even it out. Life if like that, ups and downs, happy and sad. This is why my photography is bipolar most of the time. Not all part of my life are happy and not all parts are sad. We all have many ranges of emotions, both males and females. I just like to express my emotions with photography and art. 

The ceiling is in Yorkdale Mall, near the Hudson Bay store, formerly The Bay. I must say that I have always loved this ceiling since I was a child. It brings back those memories of sitting by a fountain that used to be there many years ago. I also remember there being this long winding staircase on the outside of the store that lead you up to the restaurant that used to be on the second floor. My family used to take me to that restaurant many times. They also took me to the other one that used to be on the second floor of Eaton's. Anyone remember that one? I sure as hell do. The one in Eaton's was cool, because you could hang your head over and have an amazing view of the mall. Or what Yorkdale used to look like. Still sad about that one, but I understand that things need to change with the times. Did you know that Yorkdale Mall used to have a Dominion (Metro) grocery store? Not a lot of people know that. I think they closed it before I was born, my Mom told me about that one. 

Getting back to the photo, I always thought that the design was so original of the ceiling, however there used to be different light fixtures up there. I was going to go black and white on this one, but something told me that giving the shot colour would explain my feeling much better.

Darklight Windows

If you really want to know what depression looks like, this would be it. There is light, you can almost feel it. Look right there on the wall. However, everything else that surrounds it is darkness, even myself. I decided one day that I was going to take this self portrait to show how I really felt during moments of bad bouts of depression. Here it is folks. Instead of making this a bad thing, I made it into art instead. Darklight at its best. This is mostly what I see when the darkness takes hold. Even medication can't prevent it completely, it just helps level things off. For that matter, I'm glad the medication doesn't space me out, that way I'm still in touch with reality.

The window we have here is actually sitting on an abandoned motel in Niagara Falls. I did take this last summer upon my visit there. For some reason I have to go to this motel every time, I need to see if it has changed any since the last time. I peeked into this window and all I could see was a bathroom with peeling paint, smelly mold and broken tiles. I wanted to go in, I craved the abandoned. Of course, I didn't get in, so I photoged the thing to death. I did get into the kitchen area of the main hall, in which I will need to edit one day. The broken glass was perfect in all ways of the imperfect that this is. If that made sense. I never claimed to make sense.

Look a hidden video, A New Drug, by Digitalism. I was listening to it as I was typing, came on Itunes.

I've always been obsessed with this building on Dupont Street. It looks transparent. I know that it is a storage for the artsy store beside it, but I still see it as being a lone building. Its own characteristics, and broken glass. Everyday on the way home I look for it, a standard part. On this particular day of photo fun, I was standing right there (obviously). The reflection is what made me take the shot, however it needed more, an HDR filter. That was it, my vision, in photo form. Welcome to my mind!!

Subways Stations And Flowers

Look it's St. Clair Subway Station. This little bridge type pathway that over hangs the trains coming in has always fascinated me since I moved to Toronto. I never photographed it until last Saturday. So on my way to The Occult Shoppe I grabbed this moment. It was perfect too, because there was a train just leaving the station, so I was able to get that fade of motion from that train. I love going to occult bookstores, because when you walk in all you smell is incense. I did find some interesting reads as well. There are many books about Wicca and other Pagan religions. And if you want candles, well this is your place.

This was a shot that I took yesterday on my lunch break. At Scotia Plaza there are planters all over the place which still have flowers galore in them. Mostly Fall time flowers, but with the colder temperature coming in they do start to die off. In turn, I was able to capture that. By giving it the sepia feel it kind of looks old fashion and Fall like. Almost like the shot was taken many years ago, but sharper. Thank Samsung for that folks.

Now we move on to Bloor Subway Station. I see this almost every morning on my way to work. But on Monday morning I actually stopped to snap it. These lights here seem so bright, only because I'm not quite awake yet, I guess. Walking past them almost feels like you are moving through some eerie kind of movie, or is it just me who feels that way? I guess the fact that I'm listening to weird creepy music doesn't help. Hahahah! I also wanted to point out that I'm very happy that the TTC is now installing Wi-Fi in most of its busy subway stations, this does come in handy when they are having a train delay. Out pops my Smartphone and a Facebooking and an Instagramming I shall go. 

Union Bridge Night

Union Station is changing, I'm not sure why everything needs to change so much, unless it was falling apart than I do understand. I hope they don't change the old parts of the building that much. The above picture was taken at Union Station on the TTC platform. The new part of the subway platform. The newness looks nice, but I preferred how the station used to look, having that platform in the middle of the incoming trains. Hopefully Metrolinx knows what they are doing. 

The picture you see above was taken on the bridge called the Bloor-Danforth Viaduct. The bridge was completed in 1915, and has held strong there ever since, the only problem with it was the amount of suicides that would occur on that bridge. For many years men and women would jump to their death, for whatever reason they had to do so. Not really the right thing to do, but happened none the less. These suicide protection borders went up as a way to prevent things from happening, and has done a great job. Except for the fact that people just use another bridge not too far away from there to complete the job. Or they just jump in front of the subway. I with people would think things through first and find a reason for living, life can be made better if they just try to make it better. Only the person themselves has to work on that. As for this protector, it is beautiful in its design and made a perfect photo opp. 

On Saturday night I was out and about shopping and looking for things to photograph. I always wanted to shoot the city looking west from east of Yonge Street. I also wanted to test my new Smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Note 4) out to see how well it did with night photography. Not so bad I must say. Still a bit blotchy with noise, but better. With some editing I made it better. One thing about walking around the city of Toronto at night is all the gorgeous lights. I usually end up just looking up staring at them, but this time I wanted you to see it too. The night is when I feel alive, when I feel happy. The fact that it was chilly out, not my favourite, but still.  

City Halls And Chinatown

I don't think there is a wrong way to take a picture of New City Hall in Toronto. The architecture is beautiful with all those angles and curves. I do love this view of it the most with the setting sun shining on it just at the right time in the evening. I could spend all day taking photos here, and then go across the street to take photos of Old City Hall. It has gargoyles, just saying. 

This is what I would like right now. The warm summer sun shining down on the beach, or the warm summer sun shining down on anything for that matter. I was aiming for a sky shot here, but I wanted to include the land as well. Just a very thin line of the beach, for the fact that it was there. This one photo makes me feel good, since it is cold out at this present moment. I hope all you guys feel the same way while looking at this, knowing in your mind that winter is not forever, that summer will be back. 

Another favourite area of mine in Toronto is Chinatown. Who wouldn't love Chinatown? Food that tastes great and authentic, no chicken balls around here. What I love the most about Spadina and Dundas is all the little shops that sell random little trinkets for everyone. I found a decent sized crystal ball here for $40.00. That is hard to find anywhere else in the city. Mind you it is made of glass, but still does it's purpose of helping to read the future. They also sell semi precious stones for a fair price, which is normally expensive at all the new age stores in this city. Most important to me? Walking down the street and feeling the culture of Chinatown. All the smells, sights, fruits and vegetables. You name it you can find it, at a cheaper price too. I find that you can locate electronic devices too that you would normally not find in a typical mall. So when I see the above photograph it makes me feel positive about life. 

Dark Building Plants

There is so much Darklight right here, the mix was right with the plant and the cloudy sky in the background. On one of my walks down Dupont Street, I decided to make a turn going north up one of the side streets to find this Nursery. The plants and flowers were all displayed outside as usual and there was a water fountain out there as well. Here I have shot the plant as the main character in this photo, with darkness creeping in from all angles. This sky was the perfect mix of cloud and sky, what made everything turn out so well was that the clouds were showing a storm coming in. I love thunderstorms. They actually make me giddy. Heheheheh!!! During the summer, my Mom and I sit outside on the back porch and watch the storm coming in when we can. All the lighting and thunder, with the perfect depressing music makes for the perfect cocktail of bliss in my world. 

This building here is located on Edward Street, near University Avenue. I love the way that it looks from all angles. On the east side of the building there is a door that sits right in the middle up high. I wouldn't want to go thought that door to find that there is a long drop to the bottom. Why put a door there to begin with, who know. It's there just to make people like me wonder and come up with ideas in their heads. 

How many dark areas are there in Union Station. So many it's not funny. No matter which way you point your camera there is something that you can photograph. Since this is one of the early photos from when I just started, there is a grainy feel to the photo, but if you can just look past all that you can see what I was trying to say here. These walls hold so much sadness from so many people, for many reasons and situations. But, looking at the window with all the light coming in, there is still hope for anything you feel down about. Just follow the light, but don't ignore the dark, because it will lead you to the light. No matter what, never give up, there is always something to look forward to if you are looking.