Getting Down Low in Toronto

One thing I have learned after years of photo walking around Toronto is that sometimes the best way to find a new photograph is to change my point of view. This time, I’m going right down to ground level.

My setup is my Sony a5000 with the little Sony 16mm f/2.8 pancake lens. What makes this setup especially fun is that I have two different converters that fit onto the 16mm lens — my Sony fisheye converter and my Sony wide-angle converter.

Depending on what I find on the streets of Toronto, I can switch between them and get two completely different looks.

The other important part of my experiment is my Platypod Ultra. Instead of carrying a regular tripod, I can mount my Sony a5000 on the Platypod and put the camera just a few inches off the sidewalk.

Suddenly Toronto looks completely different.

Two Converters, Two Ways of Seeing Toronto

The wide-angle converter is going to be great when I want a really wide view of the street while keeping things looking fairly natural. I can photograph buildings, laneways, streetcar tracks and sidewalks from an angle we normally don't see.

Then I can put on the fisheye converter when I want to have some fun.

The fisheye exaggerates everything. Put something close to the camera and it can become huge while the rest of Toronto seems to wrap around it.

A fire hydrant could look enormous. Streetcar tracks could curve through the picture. A bicycle wheel could tower over the camera. Even a simple manhole cover could become the main subject of the photograph.

Instead of trying to eliminate the fisheye distortion, I'm going to use it as part of the photograph.

The a5000 Has the Perfect Screen for This

One of the reasons my Sony a5000 is perfect for this project is its tilting LCD screen.

When the camera is sitting almost flat on the sidewalk on my Platypod, I don't have to lie down on the ground to see what I'm photographing. I can tilt the screen up, look down and compose my shot.

I can even set up the photograph and wait for somebody to walk into the right place.

It becomes a little photographic trap.

Photographing the Toronto We Walk Over

I'm going to start looking for the things we normally walk right past: streetcar rails, manhole covers, puddles, painted road markings, curbs, construction equipment, bicycles, old lane ways, interesting shadows and anything else that might look completely different from ground level.

After years of photographing Toronto, this gives me another way of exploring the same city.

That's also why I still enjoy using cameras like my Sony a5000. I don't always need a new camera to come up with a new photography project.

Sometimes I just need my Sony a5000, 16mm f/2.8 lens, fisheye converter, wide-angle converter and Platypod Ultra.

Put the camera on the ground, flip up the screen and see what Toronto looks like from down there.

Same Toronto. Same Bob. Two converters. A completely different point of view.

And there's still one very important rule:

Before I walk away, make sure my Sony a5000 isn't still sitting in the middle of the sidewalk! 

 

Bob's 1860's Fan Expo

On Saturday, Bob headed down to Fan Expo in Toronto with his camera, expecting to photograph superheroes, wizards, video-game characters, and some of the most creative costumes you can find anywhere in the city.

But this year Bob decided to try something different.

Instead of making his Fan Expo photos look bright, colourful, and modern, Bob decided to send everyone back about 150 years.

Fan Expo Meets the Tintype

Bob has always liked experimenting with photography, and after looking at his pictures from Saturday, he wondered what these modern-day cos players would look like if they had walked into a photographer's studio in the 1800's.

So Bob started turning his Fan Expo portraits into tintype-style photographs.

The colour disappeared. The backgrounds were simplified and blended away. In their place came sepia and dark metallic tones, scratches, faded edges, uneven textures and those wonderful imperfections that make an old photograph look as though it has survived for generations.

Suddenly, Fan Expo looked very different.

A colourful fantasy character looked like someone photographed in 1870. A wizard carrying a staff looked completely at home in an antique photograph. Elaborate costumes started looking like clothing from some strange alternative Victorian world.

Even the fellow wearing the eBay wizard hat looked like he might have been selling things online during the American Civil War — although Bob is fairly certain the Wi-Fi wasn't very good in 1865.

The Costumes Were Perfect for It

What surprised Bob was just how well cosplay works with the tintype look.

Fan Expo costumes are filled with interesting fabrics, hats, armour, masks, capes, hairstyles and props. When you remove the colour, you begin noticing all those details differently.

Instead of the colour grabbing your attention, you notice the person's expression. You notice the texture of the clothing. You notice the shape of a helmet, the folds in a cape or the details in a handmade costume.

Some of Bob's photographs almost stopped looking like Fan Expo photographs altogether.

They began looking like portraits discovered in an old box in somebody's attic.

Of course, finding a 150-year-old photograph of a fantasy warrior, an anime character or a mysterious masked creature would probably raise a few historical questions.

Old Photography Meets New Photography

There is something funny about using today's technology to imitate one of photography's oldest processes.

Real tintype photography required a metal plate, chemicals, careful preparation and a photographer who really knew what they were doing. Bob just needed his digital camera, his photographs and modern editing tools.

But the idea behind both is still very similar.

You find an interesting person, you put a camera in front of them, and you try to make a portrait that people will want to look at.

That's what Bob enjoys most about photographing events like Fan Expo.

The costumes are great, but it is still the people inside the costumes who make the photographs.

Bob's 1860s Fan Expo

By the time Bob finished working on the pictures, Saturday's trip to Fan Expo had become something completely different.

It wasn't quite Toronto in 2026 anymore.

It was more like Fan Expo Toronto — 1866 Edition.

Looking through the finished photographs, Bob could imagine an old photographer standing behind a giant wooden camera saying:

"Please remain perfectly still, Mr. Wizard. This exposure may take several minutes."

For Bob, that's part of the fun of photography. You can photograph something one way and then discover an entirely different story hiding inside the same picture.

Saturday Bob went to Fan Expo with a digital camera.

He came home with photographs that looked like they had been sitting in a Toronto family album for more than a century.

Not bad for a Saturday photo walk — and Bob didn't even have to carry around a box of glass plates and dangerous chemicals.

 

Bob’s Search for the Perfect Root Beer Float in Southampton

When Bob goes camping, there are a few things he expects: fresh air, a camera close at hand, a good walk through town—and, apparently, a root beer float.

While camping near Southampton, Ontario, Bob decided to head into town for a little exploring. It was one of those beautiful summer days with a deep blue sky, perfect for wandering around with a camera and seeing what Southampton had to offer.

Of course, Bob being Bob, the trip quickly turned into a photo walk.

He photographed the old brick buildings downtown, including the Walker House, people crossing the street, an old classic car cruising through town, and some of Southampton's beautiful older homes. One house even had a pair of bright blue decorative bicycles sitting under the trees. That is exactly the sort of little detail Bob likes finding when he's walking with his camera.

Eventually the walk took him toward the beach and the blue waters of Lake Huron. Southampton certainly wasn't making it difficult to find photographs.

But there was still one important mission.

Bob wanted a root beer float.

After walking around town in the summer sunshine, a big cold glass of root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream floating on top sounded pretty good. Bob started looking around, convinced that somewhere in a summer beach town there had to be a root beer float waiting for him.

Apparently not.

Bob searched, but the great Southampton root beer float remained elusive.

So Bob did what every experienced camper and photographer eventually learns to do: adapt to the situation.

He settled for a lemonade.

It wasn't the root beer float he had imagined, but on a warm summer day after walking around Southampton taking photographs, a cold lemonade wasn't exactly a hardship.

And maybe that is what these little camping trips are really about. You head out looking for one thing and discover a bunch of other things along the way. Bob didn't find his root beer float, but he found old buildings, interesting streets, a classic car, beautiful houses, a quiet beach and another collection of photographs to bring home.

The lemonade disappeared pretty quickly.

But the search for the root beer float?

That mission isn't over yet.

There is always the next camping trip.  

Bob’s Camping Adventures: Waiting for the Storm at MacGregor Point

One of the things Bob loves about camping is that you never really know what kind of day Mother Nature is going to give you.

On this camping trip to MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Bob headed down to the beach expecting to spend some time beside Lake Huron, take a few photographs and enjoy the scenery. Instead, he discovered something much more interesting coming across the lake.

A storm was on its way.

The sky over Lake Huron was incredible. A huge wall of dark blue-grey clouds stretched from one side of the horizon to the other. Above it were lighter clouds, while below it the lake remained surprisingly calm. It almost looked as though someone had drawn a line across the sky.

Most people probably see clouds like these and think, Maybe it's time to head back to the campsite.

Bob thinks, This could make some great photos.

So Bob sat at the beach and waited.

There is something special about watching a storm approach across a big body of water. You can see the weather coming long before it reaches you. There are no buildings blocking the view and no busy Toronto streets competing for your attention. There is just the rocky shoreline, the water and that enormous sky.

And Bob had his camera.

As he waited, Bob walked around the beach photographing the storm from different positions. The rocks, driftwood and plants along the shoreline gave each picture a different foreground, but the star of every photograph was that sky.

One photograph even included another person standing alone on the rocky beach looking toward the water. That tiny figure really shows just how enormous the approaching weather system appeared.

Sometimes the Best Camping Weather Is Bad Weather

Sunny days are wonderful for camping, but they aren't always the most interesting days for photography.

A storm changes everything.

The colour of the lake changes. The light becomes softer. The clouds develop layers and texture. Ordinary rocks and driftwood suddenly become part of a much more dramatic landscape.

Bob has spent years walking around Toronto looking for interesting moments to photograph. Camping gives him the chance to do exactly the same thing somewhere completely different. Instead of streetcars, laneways and people on city streets, Bob can photograph beaches, forests, rocks, water and weather.

The idea is still the same:

Go for a walk, carry a camera and see what happens.

Sitting and Waiting

Photography can sometimes be about patience.

You don't always have to chase the photograph.

Sometimes you find the right place, sit down and let the photograph come to you.

That was Bob's afternoon at MacGregor Point. Sitting beside Lake Huron, watching the dark clouds slowly build across the horizon and wondering exactly when the storm was finally going to arrive.

There are certainly worse ways to spend a camping afternoon.

Of course, there is one important part of storm photography that Bob remembers:

Take the pictures while the storm is over the lake — and know when it's time to get back to the campsite!

Another camping trip, another photo walk, and another reminder that some of the best photographs happen when the weather doesn't cooperate.

Bob wasn't waiting for the storm to go away. He was waiting for the storm to become a photograph.

 

Bob the Lane way Historian: 15 Years and 1,000 Photos of Toronto

Some people photograph Toronto’s skyline. Others photograph the CN Tower, streetcars, neighbourhoods and famous buildings.

Bob photographs the places behind all of them — Toronto’s lane ways.

For the past 15 years, I have been walking Toronto with a camera and photographing its back lanes and alleys. What began as another subject to photograph on my walks slowly turned into something much bigger. My Flickr album now contains more than 1,000 photographs of Toronto lane ways.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t just taking pictures anymore.

I was becoming a historian of Toronto’s lane ways.

The Other Side of Toronto

Lane ways show a completely different side of the city.

The front of a house or building is usually designed to be seen. The lane way is different. That's where you find old garages, wooden fences, hydro poles, tangled wires, garbage bins, loading docks, fire escapes and walls covered with graffiti.

Some lane ways are colourful and filled with murals. Others are purely practical. Some look almost forgotten.

And then there are Toronto's seasons.

I've photographed lane ways buried in snow, wet from spring rain and baking under the summer sun. I've seen old garages disappear and new ones replace them. Murals come and go. Buildings are renovated. Fences change. Condos rise at the end of lanes that once looked completely different.

A single photograph might not seem historically important when I take it.

Fifteen years later, it can be.

1,000 Photos Become a Historical Record

That is what makes reaching 1,000 lane ways photographs on Flickr special to me.

One photo of an alley is a photograph.

Ten photos are a collection.

A thousand photographs taken over 15 years start becoming a visual record of Toronto.

The photos don't necessarily show the Toronto that appears on postcards. They show the everyday city—the places people walk past without giving them a second thought.

Years from now, somebody might look at one of my photographs and notice an old garage that has disappeared, a building that was torn down, a mural that only lasted a summer or even the way hydro and telephone wires once filled the sky above Toronto's back lanes.

Things that seem ordinary today can become history surprisingly quickly.

You Never Know You're Photographing History

One of the things photography has taught me is that you don't always know which photographs will become important.

When I press the shutter, I'm usually thinking about composition, lines, colours, light and what caught my eye.

I'm not thinking, This photograph will be historically interesting someday.

But that's exactly why these pictures matter.

Toronto is constantly rebuilding itself. The big changes get photographed by everybody. The little changes often don't.

That's where my camera comes in.

For 15 years, I've been wandering into the lanes, pointing my camera down them and recording what was there on that particular day.

Bob's Toronto Is Behind the Buildings

After more than 1,000 photographs, I still haven't run out of lane ways.

That's one of the great things about Toronto. Turn off a busy street, walk behind a row of buildings and suddenly there's another Toronto waiting for you.

There might be graffiti on a garage door, an old brick wall, a strange collection of wires, a perfectly placed garbage bin or simply a long empty lane disappearing into the distance.

To most people, it's just the back way into the garage.

To a photographer, it's a story.

And after 15 years and more than 1,000 photographs, I think I've earned another title besides photographer and photo walker:

Bob — Historian of Toronto's Lane ways.

The best part?

The project isn't finished.

As long as Toronto keeps changing, I'll keep walking the lane ways with my camera.

Because today's ordinary Toronto is tomorrow's history.

Lane Way Album

 

There are a lot of things Bob likes to photograph on his Toronto photo walks—people, old buildings, fire trucks, construction workers and all the little things that make the city interesting. But one subject has kept catching his eye over the years: Toronto’s laneways.

Whenever Bob is out on a photo walk, he is always looking down the next laneway.

You never really know what you are going to find.

Some laneways are clean and colourful. Others have old garages, weathered fences, graffiti, garbage bins, bicycles and cars squeezed into tiny parking spaces. In the winter they can be covered in snow and ice, while in the summer they can almost disappear behind trees and gardens.

They aren't usually the Toronto you see on postcards.

That is exactly why Bob likes photographing them.

Over the years, Bob started putting his laneway photographs into a collection on Flickr. One photo became ten. Ten became a hundred. Bob just kept walking, exploring and taking pictures.

And now Bob has reached a milestone:

1,000 Toronto laneway photos!

When Bob started taking these pictures, he wasn't thinking about reaching 1,000. He was simply documenting what he saw while walking around Toronto with his camera.

But when you put 1,000 photographs together, they become something more.

They are a photographic record of another side of Toronto.

Laneways change. Garages get torn down. New houses and laneway suites are built. Graffiti disappears under a fresh coat of paint. Old fences are replaced. Businesses close. Trees grow. Even the garbage bins seem to move around every time Bob comes back.

A photograph that seems ordinary today might become interesting ten or twenty years from now.

That is one of the things Bob has learned from years of photo walking. You don't always have to search for the spectacular photograph. Sometimes you just have to photograph what is there.

Toronto's laneways are part of the city too.

They are the back doors, garages, shortcuts and working spaces behind the streets that everybody knows. Walking through them can show you a completely different Toronto from the one you see from a car, streetcar or subway.

Reaching 1,000 laneway photographs also says something about photo walking itself.

Bob has spent years walking Toronto with a camera, turning down streets simply because they looked interesting and wandering into laneways just to see where they went. Each photograph represents another little piece of those walks.

So is Bob finished photographing Toronto's laneways now that he has reached 1,000?

Not a chance.

There is always another laneway around the next corner.

And Bob still has a camera.

 

A Photo Walk That Helps Toronto’s Economy

Sometimes when I lead a Toronto Photo Walk, I think about all the photographs we are going to take, the streets we are going to explore and the people we are going to meet. But after leading our latest walk, I started thinking about something else: we are also putting money back into Toronto’s economy.

We started the morning at a local coffee shop. More than 25 people showed up to begin the walk. That is a pretty good crowd to suddenly walk through the door looking for coffee, tea, breakfast or a snack!

For a coffee shop, having 25-plus customers arrive together can mean a nice little boost in business. There are drinks being made, food being sold and employees working behind the counter. It may not seem like a huge economic event, but multiply that kind of activity across Toronto every weekend and it starts to add up.

Then we headed out with our cameras.

One of the things I have always enjoyed about leading Toronto Photo Walks is that we don't just photograph Toronto—we explore Toronto. We walk along streets that some of us might otherwise never visit. We notice old buildings, new construction, neighbourhood stores, signs, people and all the little details that make Toronto interesting.

And photographers have a habit of coming back.

Someone sees an interesting restaurant and thinks, I should try that place sometime. Someone else discovers a store they didn't know existed. Another person finds a neighbourhood they want to photograph again.

That is another way a photo walk can help the city.

Eventually, as every good Toronto Photo Walk should, we arrived at the pub.

Twenty people came into the pub for lunch.

Now think about that from the pub owner's point of view. Twenty people ordering lunches, soft drinks, coffee and, for some of us, a beer. There are servers taking orders, cooks preparing meals and suppliers providing the food and beverages.

That spending doesn't simply stop at the cash register. It becomes part of the much larger Toronto hospitality economy.

The City of Toronto says food services alone account for thousands of jobs supported by visitor spending. Toronto's visitor economy welcomed 28.2 million visitors in 2025, who spent $9.1 billion and generated about $13.5 billion in total economic impact.

Of course, our little photo walk isn't responsible for billions of dollars!

But it works on the same basic principle.

People get out of their homes. They take transit or drive into a neighbourhood. They buy coffee. They walk around. They discover businesses. They stop for lunch. They may buy something along the way, and they may return another day.

Even coffee shops can act as neighbourhood anchors, connecting customers with other nearby businesses. Research released in 2026 found that Toronto businesses often share regular customers with neighbouring businesses, illustrating how spending can spread through a local commercial area.

So when I looked at our group photo and thought about 25-plus people starting at the coffee shop and 20 people finishing at the pub, I realized that Toronto Photo Walks are about more than photography.

We are supporting local businesses.

We are bringing people into Toronto neighbourhoods.

We are helping restaurants, pubs and coffee shops.

We are discovering places that we may return to later.

And along the way, we are making friends and photographing our city.

I have always said that one of the best ways to discover Toronto is to put a camera around your neck and start walking.

Now I can add one more thing:

Every time we do it, we're putting a little something back into the city we're photographing.

Not bad for a bunch of people walking around Toronto with cameras.

And naturally, we finished at the pub. Some Toronto Photo Walk traditions are too important to change.

 

I don’t want any of my cameras to feel lonely.

I have quite a few old Sony cameras sitting around the house. Some people might look at them and wonder why I still keep them, never mind why I still take them out and use them.

My answer is pretty simple: I don’t want any of my cameras to feel lonely.

Over the years I have collected Sony cameras like the NEX-3, a3000, a5000 and a6000. They are all getting old by digital-camera standards, but every one of them still takes pictures. So why should they spend the rest of their lives sitting on a shelf?

I like to rotate them.

One day I might take the little NEX-3 downtown. Another day the a3000 gets to come along. Then it might be the a5000 or a6000. It is almost like taking a different old friend along on my photo walk.

Every camera also makes me photograph a little differently.

The NEX-3 reminds me how simple photography can be. The a3000 has that traditional camera shape and feels completely different in my hands. The a5000 is small and easy to carry around Toronto. The a6000 is still a great little camera when I want something a bit more capable.

Do newer cameras have better auto focus, more megapixels and all sorts of new technology? Of course they do.

But that doesn't mean my old cameras suddenly forgot how to take photographs.

That is one of the things I enjoy about photography. I don't have to own the newest camera to enjoy walking around Toronto looking for an interesting person, building, reflection or little piece of everyday life.

Sometimes taking out an old camera is actually more fun. There isn't the pressure of carrying around an expensive new piece of equipment. I already know the camera. I know its little quirks. I can just walk, look around and take pictures.

And there is something else about using old cameras.

They have memories attached to them.

When I pick up one of these cameras, I can remember some of the places it has been with me and some of the photographs I have taken with it. A camera eventually becomes more than a collection of electronics. It becomes part of your photography story.

So I refuse to let one camera become the favourite while all the others sit forgotten on the shelf.

When I look at my collection, I sometimes imagine them saying:

"Hey Bob, you took the a6000 out last week. When is it my turn?"

Don't worry.

Everybody gets a turn.

As long as my old Sony cameras keep working, I'll keep taking them on photo walks. They may be old. They may not have the latest technology.

But they are certainly not going to be lonely.

 

Bob Finds the Camera Club Model

You never know what you’re going to find when you walk into a camera store in Toronto.

I was wandering around the store looking at cameras—especially some of the older digital cameras—when I suddenly spotted somebody who looked ready for the next camera club photo shoot.

There he was: the Camera Club Model.

This guy was prepared for everything.

He had a Canon DSLR hanging from his shoulder, a little compact digital camera around his neck, another old camera hanging from his vest, a camera bag, photographer’s vest, beads, and even a Buffalo Sabres toque. Then, just to make sure he didn’t miss anything, he had what looked like a small action camera mounted right on his head.

I had to laugh.

Most photographers spend a lot of time deciding which camera to take with them. This fellow apparently solved the problem by taking all of them.

Looking at him also reminded me just how much photography has changed. Hanging around his neck were cameras from different generations, from little compact digital cameras to a DSLR. Today everybody talks about the newest mirrorless camera, autofocus systems, huge megapixel counts and the latest lenses.

But here was a reminder that photographers have been taking interesting pictures with all kinds of cameras for years.

Of course, being Bob, I couldn't walk past without taking a photo.

Maybe our camera club has finally found the perfect model. He doesn't move, he doesn't complain, he can hold the same pose all day, and best of all, he brings his own cameras!

The only problem might be getting him out of the camera store for a photo walk.

Just another unexpected find while Bob goes looking around the camera stores of Toronto.

 

Bob’s Camera Store Treasure Hunt

There is something about walking into a real camera store that still gets me excited.

On my latest visit, I wasn’t really interested in finding the newest camera with the most megapixels, the fastest auto focus, or the latest AI features. Bob was on a treasure hunt for old Sony digital cameras.

And a camera store filled with used equipment is a pretty good place to go hunting.

The walls and counters were packed with cameras and lenses. There were newer Sony, Canon and Fuji film cameras sitting beside equipment that had already lived a photographic life with somebody else. There were shelves of lenses, flashes, studio lights, camera bags and even colourful old camera straps hanging from the ceiling.

But I kept looking for the older digital cameras.

One shelf really caught my attention. Sitting in a row were those little compact digital cameras that almost everybody seemed to have before smartphones took over. Some of them probably haven't taken a picture in years.

Today people might look at them and wonder why anybody would want one.

I look at them and wonder what kind of pictures I could take with one.

That is the fun of old digital cameras.

They don't have to be perfect. They don't need 40 or 60 megapixels. They don't need incredible autofocus or a computer inside them deciding what the photograph should look like. Sometimes an old Sony with a small sensor and a few simple controls is all you need to have some fun.

I already know that from using my older Sony cameras. There is something enjoyable about taking an old camera downtown and seeing what it can still do.

Then I found another section that really took me back in time.

There was film everywhere — Kodak, Ilford and all kinds of different black-and-white and colour films. Nearby were developing chemicals, filters and other darkroom supplies. It was a reminder that photography existed long before memory cards and computer screens.

And then there was the pile of really old cameras.

Now that was a photograph waiting to happen.

Old movie cameras, box cameras, rangefinders, flashes and cameras from generations ago were all mixed together. Looking at that pile made me think about how many different ways people have made photographs over the years.

Photography keeps changing.

Film gave way to digital. Compact digital cameras gave way to smartphones. Mirrorless cameras became the big thing. Now cameras are getting smarter and smarter.

But that doesn't mean the old cameras suddenly stopped being cameras.

An old Sony digital camera can still take a photograph.

And sometimes having limitations makes photography more interesting. Instead of worrying about having the newest equipment, you start looking harder at the light, the people and the story in front of you.

So while everybody else might be looking through the glass case at the latest expensive camera, don't be surprised if you find Bob over in the used section.

I'll be looking at some forgotten little Sony camera and thinking:

"I wonder what Toronto would look like through that?"

That might be the best part about visiting a camera store.

You never know when somebody else's old camera might become Bob's next photographic adventure.