161. Reflecting on Toronto
On street photography in large and small cities
I’m now back in Dunedin, New Zealand, after spending six weeks in Canada, mostly in Toronto and the surrounding area. I arrived in the cool days of spring and left just before summer temperatures climbed to uncomfortable levels, as they did in Europe and the UK. I was there on June 21, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere — the shortest day of the year in New Zealand.
A string of fine days preceded my arrival in Dunedin. The rain set in soon after I landed, making the days wet as well as cold and dark. Still, I was happy to be home and back on familiar territory. Midwinter in New Zealand isn’t nearly as cold and inhospitable as it is in North America, and the days will get longer and warmer with each passing week.
The difference in the weather is not the only adjustment I will have to make. While Toronto has a population of about 3.3 million, Dunedin has just over 130,000. That means the practice of street photography is very different here. Crowds are rare, the city centre is much smaller and less dense, and the pace of life is slower. People are seen as individuals or part of small groups rather than as a mass or flow of humanity. The scale of everything is smaller. Notable buildings and architectural details stand out. Things are more specific, differentiated, singular, and set apart. There are fewer layers and less compression. It’s quieter, with pockets of stillness. Change is slower. The pressure is off.
The significant differences in the size, speed, and complexity of a small city compared to a larger one change more than the visual appearance of a place — they affect the mindset of the people there, and the photographer who records their daily activities. The resulting images, if they are true reflections of the people and place, will have a very different mood and meaning.
Spotlight
The Art of Street Photography, a new book by Joshua K. Jackson & Sean Tucker was published in June. It won’t be available in my part of the world until September, so I haven’t seen a copy yet. The book promotes street photography as a form of subjective creative expression rather than an objective practice of documentation. As the review below argues, it’s a successful collaboration by two well-respected street photographers.
What do you think?
I invite you to leave a comment below.
This is a very interesting collection where you found one place and continued to work it. Some seem outside looking in while others are inside looking out. Your interpretation offers wonderful street photography. LOve the white dog and its walker.
I’m inspired because I often think because I live in a resort tourist area without the dynamics of a large city like New York and we lack interesting people. Not in your photos. You show that there’s potential in a small town too.
I like the dotted windows you used in your reflection shots, it provides a fun texture. Nice captures!