Fire Glass Tag

A couple years back there was a fire in one of the stores near my house. You could smell the smoke everywhere, all the neighbours were out to see what was happening, and sirens were sounding all over the place. This is not normal in my hood, OK so the sirens are, but the actual fire part is not. So I grabbed my Nikon and started shooting. As I walked down the alley in behind my house and all the other houses on my block I could smell the smoke getting worse. The good part about everything is that the fire didn't spread that far, it stayed mostly in the basement. The Butcher Shop was toast though. A couple months later the Butcher Shop moved across the street and they have been going strong ever since. Another good thing is that once the renovations were done, we get to enjoy the nice BBQ restaurant that moved in there. So life moved on in a good way. The reason why I took the above shot was because of the sunflowers. Even with all that smoke in the background, those flowers are still standing proud, they are still shining in the sun. 

Next up is a blast from the past as well. Shortly after Sam The Record Man closed its doors, there was remains from inside the store left outside in the back alley. I know it was not safe to be back there, but I could not help myself. This display case was sitting there all shattered with broken glass, giving the feeling of sadness for the passing of a great music store. I do miss Sam's, but we all must move on and enjoy the now. I also took the shot because I love the look of broken glass, or the sense of abandoned with broken glass. I know, I know, I should go visit Detroit. One day. For now there is so much abandoned things in Toronto, you just have to look.

Graffiti is another one of my loves. Now I'm not talking about tagging a building with your street name, I mean real art that you see on the side of a building, that someone put their heart and soul into. I guess you could say that the shot I took above is tagging, however I decided to give it a twist. I made a major edit to it, giving the tag my heart and soul. Turning crap into something meaningful. I guess the reason I like shooting things that are broken, is because in my head I'm broken. I want to fix the broken Darklight with feeling and emotion. My Darklight is my happiness. 

And it's video time. Why Should I Cry, by Avia. The weirdest video I've seen in a while, but the song is awesome.