Bob at Yonge–Dundas Square: A Protest With a Lot to Say (and Bob Still Trying to Figure It Out)

Bob went out for a normal photo walk. You know, the usual plan: wander around Yonge–Dundas Square, take a few street photos, maybe catch a skateboard trick, a costumed character, or someone arguing with a digital billboard.

Instead, Bob walked straight into a full-on demonstration.

Flags were waving. People were chanting. Hand-made signs were everywhere. Snowbanks were doing double duty as protest barricades. And Bob, camera in hand, did what Bob always does — started photographing first and trying to understand later.

That’s kind of Bob’s process.

At first glance, it felt like several protests had decided to carpool and meet at the same corner. Canadian flags. Anti-government signs. References to democracy. Anger aimed in multiple directions. Bob stood across the street, zoomed out wide, and thought: Okay… this is going to take a minute.

Some signs were very clear. Big bold letters. Strong opinions. No subtlety whatsoever. Others were more mysterious, the kind of signs that make you tilt your head, squint, and reread them three times while pretending you totally get it. Bob did not totally get it.

That’s when Bob realized something important:
Sometimes street photography isn’t about knowing the full story — it’s about documenting the moment as it exists.

People were passionate. That much was obvious. They weren’t there for a casual stroll or a TikTok trend. They were cold, standing in the snow, holding signs, waving flags, and making sure they were seen. Whether Bob agreed, disagreed, or was completely confused wasn’t really the point. The point was that this was Toronto, right now, and this was part of the street.

Bob moved closer. Changed angles. Shot wide to show the scale, then tighter to catch expressions, signs, and the contrast between protesters and the giant glowing ads overhead telling everyone to buy shoes or skip winter in Orlando.

That contrast hit Bob the hardest.

Below: people shouting about democracy.
Above: billboards shouting about vacations, phones, and credit cards.
Same corner. Same moment. Completely different worlds.

By the time Bob packed it in, he still wasn’t 100% sure what the single unified message of the protest was. And honestly? That’s okay. Bob wasn’t there to solve politics. Bob was there to record the city breathing — loudly, messily, and sometimes confusingly.

Street photography doesn’t always give you clean answers. Sometimes it just gives you questions, frozen in time, framed by snowbanks and skyscrapers.

And at Yonge–Dundas Square that day, there were plenty of both.

Bob walked away thinking the same thing he always does after moments like this:

You don’t have to understand everything you photograph. You just have to be there when it happens.