This photograph is from a series of images related to the Rousseau Site (see two posts previous) in west Toronto. Standing on the shores of the Humber River looking north, Toronto's native beauty becomes rediscovered.
If you have a moment, please follow this link and vote for my photoblog in this years' Canadian Weblog Awards. There is no registration required, just a simple click.
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (not the famous author)arrived on the shores of the Humber River in the late 1700s. His arrival sparked the birth of the first permanent European settlement in Toronto.
Today, the site is marked by a lonely plaque and is nearly lost among the tall grasses and weeds. You wouldn't know it from the photo but just south of this location cars and trucks roar by on the overhead highway.
Today's guest photographer is Coeli Smith. Coeli wrote," I call it "beauty restored"... I took the pic a few years ago. I had a beautiful gerbera daisy and it was starting to wilt and die so I pulled all the petals off & threw them in a pile and just like that it was alive , beautiful & interesting again.
Great job and thanks for sending me your photograph.
If you would like me to post one of your photographs for Friday Photography at Where'd that bug go? , send your images to jeff@jeffdavidsonphotography.ca.
A southern sky usually conjures images of tropical blue skies. If you live in Toronto and you're looking south from Ward's Island in November, here's your reality.
I was working on Ward's Island yesterday. The ferry ride across was invigorating in the brisk November winds. The views of the city are absolutely wonderful in the even fall light.
I was peeking through the old, rusted fence at an ancient wire factory north of my home when I shot this.
I've posted several shots from the Chilean Patagonia. I never grow tired of re-visiting it's beauty in my memories.
Yes....I messed with this photo alot. It's a wet morning here in Toronto and I've been avoiding settling down to work. Photoshop is addictive. Btw, it's the Millenium Eye in Londontown.
This style of hat, known as a "chupalla" is very popular with farmers all over southern Chile. They lend an air of nobility to those who don them... at least they do in Chile. Sadly, they become a fashion tragedy when well-intentioned tourists bring them home and decide to wear them to the mall.
I've forgotten which bridge I stood upon when I took this shot of the Thames River in London. I"m sure I could figure it out but it's Monday morning..
I recently posted a shot of my 5 yr old son busy with the camera. Today's featured photograph was taken by my son Max. I didn't touch the image in anyway. He said he liked the way the colours of the ball looked on the green bench. Fair enough.
Max enjoys reading the comments left here. If you have a moment to leave one, I know he would be happy to hear what you have to say.
This is Paul Buchanan, singer/songwriter and founding member of the east coast band The Flat Fifth. Click here to hear some of their music. Wish I Didn't Know Now is a personal favourite.
The photo was shot at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
photo by Jeff Davidson © Jeff Davidson Photography 2009
I'm pleased to announce that I will be providing all the photography for Mayor David Miller's book Witness to a City:David Miller's Toronto.I'm honoured to have the opportunity to work with Mayor Miller, his co-writer Douglas Arrowsmith and Cormorant publisher Marc Côté on this unique project.
CORMORANT BOOKS
CORMORANT BOOKS ACQUIRES BOOK BY
TORONTO MAYOR DAVID MILLER
Cormorant Books has further enhanced its reputation for publishing essential Toronto literature by acquiring the rights to Witness to a City: David Miller’s Toronto. Since becoming mayor in 2003, David Miller has met thousands of people from all walks of life, many of whom have come here from all parts of the world to make their home in Toronto. He has listened to so many inspiring stories of how Toronto - the city itself and its people - play a pivotal role in enabling one another to overcome loss and hardships, to discover their own power, and to take action for the greater public good.
In Witness to a City, Miller compiles some of the most powerful and inspirational of these stories to articulate his vision of Toronto: a 21st century city that shows the world how different cultures can live, work and dream together as one community. “Cormorant Books is honoured to publish Witness to a City,” said Publisher Marc Côté . “It’s the first book, in my memory, by a sitting Toronto mayor and we’re very fortunate to have signed it up. What I like most about the book is that it’s quintessentially Toronto, but can be read across Canada and abroad because its message is universal. “David Miller has been the rarest of mayors: one who not only takes action on behalf of the people in his city, but one who really listens to them and remembers their stories.”
Cormorant Books is fully Canadian-owned and Canadian-controlled; it is based in Toronto. The books it publishes are printed on post-consumer recycled paper, and all printed in Canada. In 2008 and 2009 Cormorant was awarded the Libris Award for Small Press of the Year by the Canadian Booksellers Association.
“I love this city and have always wished Torontonians could see it through my eyes,” Miller said. “That’s what I want this book to be about: the extraordinary place where so many remarkable things happen each and every day. “There are so many stories to be told: Stories of incredible accomplishment, stories of joy, stories of sorrow and sadness, too. They are stories that people deserve to hear so they can better understand and appreciate the city we all love. After all, they are our stories.”
Like many Torontonians, David Miller immigrated to Canada. He and his mother arrived from England in 1967 and moved to Toronto in 1981. Miller received a degree in economics from Harvard University and a law degree from the University of Toronto. Before running for public office, he was a partner at the Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis, where he specialized in employment and immigration law and shareholder rights. Miller and his wife, lawyer Jill Arthur, are the parents of two children.
Miller will be writing Witness to a City with Douglas Arrowsmith and the book will feature original photographs by Toronto photographer Jeff Davidson. It will be published in June 2010.
Douglas Arrowsmith is a Gemini award-winning documentary producer and director. His film Deadline Iraq was seen in over 80 countries and was nominated in Canada for the Donald Brittain award for best social/political documentary. His latest works include a film about UK songwriting maverick Stephen Duffy and a feature length biopic about Canadian songwriter Ron Sexsmith. He has a Ph.D. in Social & Political Thought, and is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program in Documentary Media at Ryerson University.
Jeff Davidson was raised in small town Ontario and attended the University of Western Ontario and George Brown College. Jeff returned to school in 2001 to further develop a life-long passion for photography and has been working full-time as an independent photographer since 2004.
David Miller was elected Toronto’s 63rd mayor in November 2003 and was re-elected in November 2006 with nearly 60% of the popular vote and a mandate to make Toronto a city of prosperity, livability and opportunity for all. One of the proudest of his many accomplishments as Mayor was securing a New Deal for Cities with senior orders of government. The New Deal has provided Toronto with new powers, money, and respect from the provincial and federal governments. In addition, Miller has been one of the dominant voices speaking in support of a national urban agenda - including a national transit strategy.
It is thanks to David Miller’s leadership that Toronto has the most ambitious transit expansion plan in North America. Transit City will bring Light Rail Transit to communities across Toronto and secure the city’s transit future for a generation. At the same time, it will create long-term sustainable employment for Torontonians and safeguard our environment.
With Miller as mayor, Toronto has been reinvesting in the city’s neighbourhoods through initiatives like the Community Safety Plan, the Clean and Beautiful City Initiative, rejuvenation of parks and public spaces, and through ongoing revitalization of the waterfront. Mayor Miller has also worked to make Toronto a world-leading city on environmental issues and on June 4, 2008 he was appointed chair of the influential C40 Group of World Cities leading the fight against Climate Change.
These positive changes have inspired a new sense of civic pride, responsibility and belonging among Torontonians.
For more information contact:
Laura Houlihan
Publicist, Cormorant Books Inc.
l.houlihan@cormorantbooks.com
T: 416-929-4957 | F: 416-929-3596
Pictured here is a shot I took last February of Grey's Glacier at a point where it meets Lago Gris or Grey Lake in the Chilean Patagonia.
..."masses of ice in the Patagonia are melting in larger proportions and in much higher alpine zones than in any other part of the world, including Alaska and the Himalayas. Glacier ice accounts for around 75 percent of the world’s fresh water."
I shot this during a walk in the park last weekend. The last burst of fruit as frost turns everything to mush.
I've got loads of shots from the last trip to Chile and whenever I come across one that takes me back to the moment, I have to post it. If you've been to my blog before, you'll recognize this from a series of photos from the Chilean Patagonia. The Towers of the Paine or Las Torres Del Paine are to the right of the mountain. If you haven't been here before,scroll down. There are several more shots from my travels in Chile.
My father-in-law and good friend Carlos Freire has a piece of land near his home town of Los Angeles in Southern Chile. Last time there, we happened to arrive during harvest time. I didn't do anything with a pitch fork but I was happy to harvest the crazy skies they get down there.
Oddly, the only thing I remember about this moment was that I spent it in Paris and that is good enough for me.
The shores of Grenadier Pond in Toronto's High Park are rife with wildlife. Sounds from the Gardiner Expressway, only a minute south of here, are inaudible. Beyond the trees across the pond is a busy residential neighbourhood. There is quiet in the city if you seek it.
Here's a view of a glacier ice field from Lago Gris in the Chilean Patagonia. The ice begins in the centre of the image where the lake appears to rise a metre or so.
I shot this from the shore of a glacier lake in the Patagonia but similiar scenes can be found all over the world. As far away as I was from home at that moment, I suddenly felt connected to the place I'm from.
This image follows up the previous picture of the Magellanic penguins I photographed near Punta Arenas, Chile. The rough ground shown here as you look out to the Strait of Magellan is typical of the preferred nesting spots for the species.
We visited a penguin colony near Punta Arenas beside the Strait of Magellan. The species is known as the Magellanic penguin. Although there are millions along the coast of Chile and Argentina, they are considered threatened due to large oil spills and climate change. Climate change has shifted the fish populations that they eat and has forced the Magellanic penguins to swim farther to fish. This species builds it's nests under bushes and in burrows under the ground.
Angelmó, a part of the Chilean city of Puerto Montt, is known for it's arts and crafts and it's excellent local seafood dishes. I've been here a few times and it always seems to be raining. This suits me just fine. Fishing boats look much better in the rain anyway.
I rode the ferris wheel with my 5 year old son at the Ex ( an annual fair and exhibition held in Toronto every August for those who don't know ). While stuck at the top, as old passengers disembarked and new riders took their places, I had a chance to take a few shots. We were facing east so I had a great view of the Toronto skyline.
I'm on a roll with my stuff from the last trip. Here's another look at the view from southern Chile. If all goes as planned,I'm heading to Easter Island next March.
I shot this from the back of a boat on Lago Gris in the Chilean Patagonia. You can make out the life boat trailing behind and the glacier wall in the background is far larger than as suggested by the photo. The boat trip to get here was pretty intense. The lake is long and narrow and at one end, the waves are massive. At least 10 of my fellow travelers got seasick. Once you get around the bend in the lake, the water calms down and you are able to get spectacular up close views of the glacier at the other end of the lake.
2 of the crew members board the dingy and go off to get a small amount of glacier ice floating in the lake. The ice is put to good use. My fellow travelers and I enjoyed a glass of whiskey chilled by glacier ice.
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