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In early 2016 I felt a strong need to photographically explore a 15-block area in Toronto, known as the Financial District. I wanted to better understand the environment where 250,000 people worked and commuted each workday, in its unique Canadian context. In particular, I wanted to understand the people who worked in this district, the characteristics of our society reflected in this influx of working people, and the nature of Canada’s largest financial district.
Toronto’s financial district, a concentrated 15 block urban area consisting of the tallest buildings and highest urban density in Canada, is a critical driver of the Canadian economy. It is the headquarters for all of Canada’s big six banks and is the second largest financial district in North America after New York City. Further it is the eight largest financial districts in the world after such cities as: London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Zurich. Toronto’s financial district contains the highest concentration of workers in the country, most being employed in the financial and insurance industries.
The importance and distinct nature of this highly concentrated district to Canada and the mass movement of people in and out of the district daily intrigued me as a photographer. It is a unique phenomenon to the Canadian culture, one that hasn’t been extensively photographed. I set out with a camera in early 2016 to capture the district and the people that inhabited it during the workweek. Having photographed for over 40 years, I was however new to the genre of street photography, the style in which I wanted to photograph this project. Workshops with two master photographers and an extensive study of the history of photography had shown me the importance of including people in my photographs. Making photographs of people on the street seems simplistic, as it is easy to capture people walking in a busy urban area. Yet the reality of this form of photography is that it is difficult and extremely challenging to obtain good photographs. Candid moments that capture emotion, humour and unique gestures, are moments in time difficult to find and almost impossible to photograph successfully.
The more time I have spent photographing and strolling in this district the more familiar the area has become resulting in better photographs. Capturing the true character of this 15-block area, has involved making photographs of the commuters, people walking, taking breaks and interacting. Support workers and financial workers. Photographing in the lobbies, through the windows, on the streets and back alleys. Walking, exploring and keen observation have conceded many interesting moments, some compelling, while others just part of ordinary life, yet all genuine and real. Undeniably what I love most about candid street photography is the moments shared that are part of everyday life, unfiltered and seen by me, the casual observer.
Toronto’s financial district, a concentrated 15 block urban area consisting of the tallest buildings and highest urban density in Canada, is a critical driver of the Canadian economy. It is the headquarters for all of Canada’s big six banks and is the second largest financial district in North America after New York City. Further it is the eight largest financial districts in the world after such cities as: London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Zurich. Toronto’s financial district contains the highest concentration of workers in the country, most being employed in the financial and insurance industries.
The importance and distinct nature of this highly concentrated district to Canada and the mass movement of people in and out of the district daily intrigued me as a photographer. It is a unique phenomenon to the Canadian culture, one that hasn’t been extensively photographed. I set out with a camera in early 2016 to capture the district and the people that inhabited it during the workweek. Having photographed for over 40 years, I was however new to the genre of street photography, the style in which I wanted to photograph this project. Workshops with two master photographers and an extensive study of the history of photography had shown me the importance of including people in my photographs. Making photographs of people on the street seems simplistic, as it is easy to capture people walking in a busy urban area. Yet the reality of this form of photography is that it is difficult and extremely challenging to obtain good photographs. Candid moments that capture emotion, humour and unique gestures, are moments in time difficult to find and almost impossible to photograph successfully.
The more time I have spent photographing and strolling in this district the more familiar the area has become resulting in better photographs. Capturing the true character of this 15-block area, has involved making photographs of the commuters, people walking, taking breaks and interacting. Support workers and financial workers. Photographing in the lobbies, through the windows, on the streets and back alleys. Walking, exploring and keen observation have conceded many interesting moments, some compelling, while others just part of ordinary life, yet all genuine and real. Undeniably what I love most about candid street photography is the moments shared that are part of everyday life, unfiltered and seen by me, the casual observer.
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39 imagesToronto is the largest financial center in Canada and the second largest in North America, after New York City. At the peak of commuting it was estimated 250,000 people came into and out of the financial district on a daily basis. By using documentary, still photography, my goal with this project was to experience as many aspects of the commuter life as possible and understand how it felt, to work and temporarily exist in the realm of tall office buildings. In a Canadian context the existence of a concentrated financial district and the related influx of daily workers is unique. In particular the temporary nature of humanity inhabiting the workday office buildings, surrounding streets and courtyards. By documenting the nature of this unique phenomenon, my hope was to preserve a pictorial history, reflecting the current times -
30 imagesOver the many years of making photographs, I have had the privilege of working for 25 corporate, government and not for profit clients. This has given me a variety of experience ranging from interior lighting to fast moving action photography. In all of these assignments I have learned much about the process of making successful photographs and about myself. I want to thank all of my clients for the opportunities they have given me. The photographs in this gallery are a small sampling of some of the work I have made while on commission. -
26 imagesTorontonians is a series of candid documentary photographs of people on the streets of Toronto. It is an unexpected series of photographs that took shape during my financial district series, Transitory Inhabitants. It came into being because of m wider ranging walks through the bigger downtown area of Toronto, outside of the financial district. On these walks I began to accumulate photographs of interesting people either on there own or interacting and moving with others. More and more of these candid photographs were made over the time frame from 2016 to 2023. I decided to create this series in colour and to conscientiously step back from subjects in order to capture more of the surrounding streets. This move to colour was a much-needed challenge as it forced me to work harder and change my way of seeing. Up to this point I had been working and thinking in largely a black and white context. -
27 imagesA Canadian Bystander is a long-term series documenting the places and people I have encountered in my travels across Canada. It is ongoing and continuously evolving out of my archives and from new excursions and experiences. To even attempt to successfully document a large country like Canada, a diversity of subject matter needs to be photographed and revealed. From pristine landscapes to small towns and urban locations – a variety of diversity helps give a more accurate story of Canada. The ultimate goal is to show what Canada looks like during my time. In Bystander 1 the photographs are from the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Egan Chute Provincial Park, Fundy National Park, Lucy Maude Montgomery Land Trust, Nelson and the West Kootenays, Tadoussac and the Saguenay River, a day with the Skyhawks and lastly, Tofino and Clayoquot Sound. The provinces these locations represent are Alberta, Ontario (2), New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia (2), and Quebec. -
8 imagesThe waves crash against the shore with an intensity that feels raw and powerful, their force magnified by the cold bite of winter. As the water smashes into the solid, but temporary ice landforms, shards of ice explode into the air, scattering like glass splinters caught in the wind. A fast shutter speed and a cautious footing allows me to capture this ever changing and extremely rare event. Each wave is like a violent breath of the lake, pushing forward with a fierce, frosty determination. The sound is sharp—an urgent crack of breaking ice followed by the relentless thunder of water hitting solid ice. Finding an event like this is rare as the offshore ice must be agglomerate. The edge of the ice sheet is being broken by waves and the resulting ice pieces (agglomerates) drift along the shoreline, accumulating on the edge of the more solid ice. The second component that makes this event rare is a strong easterly wind that creates the wave motion to push the agglomerate ice against the ice cliffs with force. And lastly, there is the technical challenge of capturing and stopping the motion of the ice and getting into a good, safe position on the melting cliffs. -
11 imagesThe warmth of the mourning sun, as its golden rays spreading over the dew drenched meadows of farm fields is a gentle, persistent embrace. The sun is neither harsh nor overpowering but rather comforting. Making photographs with my camera into this brilliant warmth is something I have always attempted. It’s the kind of sun that makes you pause, close your eyes, and feel the connection to the land—a reminder of nature’s rhythm and how everything, in its own time, flourishes under its care. It essentially represents the joy of being alive. What makes these photographs interesting to me is the challenge of pointing the camera into the direct sun. The results can be mixed depending on the time of year. When they work, they echo the beauty of creation and give a warm and joyful feeling. -
13 imagesThe ice cliffs along the lake stand like towering sculptures, carved by the relentless dance of wind, water, and waves. Each one is unique, shaped by nature's slow, patient hands, their surfaces rippled and jagged where the wind has worn away the edges. Walking on these cliffs is exciting yet dangerous as cleats are necessary, as is treading carefully in the usual bitter cold of the season. The cliffs stand as frozen sentinels, quiet yet ever-changing, a stunning convergence of nature’s forces frozen in a moment of pure, crystalline beauty. As climate change results in warmer winters. These interactions with ice cliffs are getting rarer. Over the last 10-year period only three years have provided cliffs that stand out, making the subject a more difficult one to find and photograph