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Black and White Architectural Photography

 I live in Toronto Ontario Canada so it stands to reason that my architecture photography consists of mainly Toronto photos. Within Toronto there are many buildings that lend themselves to photo art but seeing that Toronto is so spread out it can require some travel to find these hidden treasures. I find that black and white photography lends itself to architecture photography and adds a neat feel to architecture prints. A building with unique lines and design is usually what I search for and I try to envision the finished print while I'm taking the photos. When I find a building I feel would make a good fine art print I don't photograph the entire building, instead I choose portions of a structure to shoot with the intent of showing the building as a piece of art. Some structures possess a festival of lines that merge and depart in the most wonderful ways creating a Zen like quality hence the title for my architectural photography project "The Zen Metropolis". I suppose that creative photography as an art can be interpreted in many different ways. It is my hope that my black and white architectural photographs will be viewed as a documentary of the creative and sometimes abstract visions of the architects who designed these pieces of artwork that surround us in our daily lives.

Information on Commissioned Black and White Prints

Do you live in a high rise in Toronto? If you do click here

Royal York

Gardiner Museum

79 Yonge

 ACC Wall

The Zen Metropolis #9

The Art of Black and White
Why would a photographer create a black and white photograph when there is the option of color? It's an interesting question and one that the photographers and collectors of fine art photography ask themselves to ensure they are working in the best suited genre. Black and white photographs hold a completely different look and feel then a color image. A color image shows all the tones that the human eye is accustomed to processing where as a black and white image leaves the color out and the tonal range is left for the viewer to process and fill in the blanks. This "filling in the blanks" is what creates the personal interpretation of a black and white photo. Photographs with the right mix of content create an intriguing and unique artistic experience for the person who is viewing the print. Various lighting and photographic techniques will also allow photographers the freedom of expression that will enhance the viewing experience of someone who owns or is looking to purchase a print.  -AB-

Chasing The Toronto Wrecking Ball
A Lesson In Procrastination

Anyone who lives in or around Toronto is more than familiar with the ongoing destruction of old buildings and landmarks with historical significance. This trend started many years ago with a reckless disregard for buildings that not only hold our history within their walls but a visual reminder that Toronto is in fact older than than it's towering condos.  As a photographer based in Toronto I have frequently found locations that look like a potential photo opportunity only to come back some time later and see that it is gone or stripped down to accommodate some vision the City of Toronto planners have. One such case that really bothered me was the Bata Shoe Headquarters on Wynford Dr. which I really liked and planned to shoot for, well to be honest..for years. For one reason or another I never got around to shooting the Bata building on Wynford.  I have always loved this building with it's simple clean design. Not only did this building house the incredible success story of Thomas Bata and his internationally successful company Bata Shoes it could have stood as a reminder to us today and in the future all of this great mans achievements. There is a wonderful Bata Museum on Bloor Street for those who are interested. Anyway the circumstances surrounding the Bata building now stands as a reminder that procrastination when shooting architecture in Toronto can cause you to miss the shot and the building. OK I have that off my chest. Thanks for reading my rant. For those not familiar with the building here is a video from YouTube of the Bata demolition  . -AB-

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