For more than a decade, Bob has been wandering through the hidden arteries of Toronto — not the bustling main streets or the postcard landmarks, but the narrow lane ways tucked between old brick houses, small garages, and overgrown fences. What started as a small side project has quietly grown into something much larger — a visual archive of the city’s backstreets and changing character.
At the start of this year, Bob had just over 800 lane ways of photos. Now, as the year winds down, his collection has passed 900. Each one captures a different kind of urban poetry — cracked pavement, graffiti-covered walls, vines climbing red brick, or a lone figure walking toward the city’s glass towers in the distance.
“Every lane way has its own rhythm,” Bob likes to say. “Some are silent and forgotten. Others buzz with delivery trucks, murals, and morning light bouncing off the buildings.”
Bob doesn’t rush these shots. He often revisits the same alleys years later, finding new textures or signs of transformation. A fresh mural might bloom where a blank wall once stood. A tree might stretch higher, a new condo might cast longer shadows.
To Bob, these lane ways are where Toronto reveals its soul — a blend of old grit and new energy. They’re places where you can still see the bones of the past city, framed by the glass reflections of what it’s becoming.
His goal for next year? To cross the 1,000 mark — not for numbers’ sake, but as a way to document one thousand small stories of how Toronto evolves behind the scenes.
Maybe someday there’ll be a gallery show or a book called “The Backstreets of Toronto.” But for now, Bob’s happy walking these quiet paths, camera in hand, capturing what most people never stop to notice.
My Toronto lane way album on Flickr.
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