Toronto Shooters Club

May 3rd Photo Walk – West Toronto Railpath Park

Apr 292010

I know this wasn’t in the poll, but we’ve talked about it on previous photo walks, and I think it’s perfect timing to venture along the West Toronto Railpath Park. This is a fascinating part of Toronto that is more than worthy of our attention. It is a project of Evergreen, a national non-profit organization with the important mission of greening our cities, and Community Bicycle Network. If Evergreen rings a bell it’s llikely because we’ve explored another of their projects, the Brick Works, on a previous photo walk.

We’ll start our walk at the current south end of the path, located at Dundas and Sterling. Here is a Google Map of the intersection.

Here is a Google Street View of the intersection the entrance is just to the left in this image which shows the path leading down to the Railpath itself as it was under construction last summer. Click on the little square icon in the top right corner of the Street View to view it full screen. You can then pan around and zoom to get a sense of the area.

West Toronto Railpath Entrance at Dundas & Sterling

So, to get there, either head west on the Dundas streetcar, pass Lansdowne, and get off at the Sterling stop or, from the subway, take the Lansdowne bus south and get off at College and walk west, up onto the bridge until you get to Sterling. We’ll gather at the northwest corner of Sterling and Dundas, before heading down the path.

The Community Bicycle Network has a more complete map of the Railpath on their Railpath website. There is also a website administered by Friends of West Toronto Railpath. They have a Flickr photostream with photos of the railpath.

Brick Works Photo Walk

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Apr 142010

The Toronto Shooters Club’s second photo walk was held on Monday, April 12th from 5:45pm until about sunset. The group of four; Meghan, Ted, Kristen and Roman, set out from Castle Frank to head for Craigleigh Park and the Milkman’s Lane. We had a great map, courtesy of the Evergreen Brick Works website, but still weren’t sure exactly where to find the trail. Some friendly Rosedale dog walkers in Craigleigh Park happily directed us to the entrance.

Once into the wooded ravine trail, photo opportunities presented themselves immediately and we all had our cameras ready and shooting. Slanting early evening sunlight filtered through the sparse foliage of early spring, making for some medium contrast, softly lit scenes. Initially, natural subjects plus some scenes with walking, cycling or jogging folk were plentiful. A bit later, some early spring wildflowers and urban features like rusty fences presented some shallow depth of field, closer up compositional opportunities.

Coming around the bend adjacent to the one of the Don Valley highway system ramps, the group had the chance to capture some views of urban features, including highways, apartments, lighting, wiring, fences and highway maintenance structures. A little further on, dramatic skies featuring jet trails and cloud formations presented themselves. This gave rise to the first of several discussions of settings and exposure principles.

Pressing on, we passed through a more heavily wooded path and soon approached the Brick Works site. The brick buildings, paver stone walkways, ponds and various types of birds and vegatation provided so many possibilities that the group broke up as we each pursued our individual inspirations. Having each explored a number of the many photographic possibilities for the better part of a half hour, Roman was inspired to climb a steep hill just as we had gradually drifted closer together, and we all flocked along behind.

Great thing we did too; we were all presently treated to the awesome views provided from the Governor’s Bridge Lookout. To the northwest, the namesake of the Lookout, the Governor’s Bridge which carries Governor’s Road as it traverses the Moore Park Ravine ravine between Rosedale and the neighbourhood of Governor’s Bridge was visible through the trees. To the west, the ponds were laid out before us with the setting sun and dramatic clouds beyond the tree lined edge of the valley. To the south, in the foreground lay the buildings of the Brick Works, currently under construction towards eventual restoration. Further beyond to the south lay the somewhat distant skyline, featuring the CN Tower and tall buildings of the downtown core. To the south east, the Prince Edward Viaduct was fully visible along with sections of the Don Valley Parkway system.

Here we remained, shooting contentedly and occasionally discussing various technical and artistic points until the sun began to set. After a brief discussion which concluded with the sad realization that heavy clouds at the horizon would prevent any decent golden hour shots from developing, we decided to head off. Another great photo walk! Wish you could have been there with us!

Next Photo Walk – Toronto Brick Works

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Apr 012010

On Monday, April 12th, the intrepid photographers of the Toronto Shooters Club tackle the Don Valley Brick Works.

According to the Wikipedia; “The Don Valley Brick Works is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario. Currently the buildings sit mostly unused while the quarry has been converted into a city park which includes a series of naturalized ponds. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided bricks used to construct many well-known Toronto landmarks, such as Casa Loma, Osgoode Hall, Massey Hall, and the Ontario Legislature. The buildings are currently undergoing restoration, courtesy of Evergreen, a national charity dedicated to restoring nature in urban environments.”

Let’s plan to gather at Castle Frank station at 5:45 pm. The Weather Network is calling for a high of 19C – should be nice!

To get into the Brick Works area via Milkman’s Run on foot:

From the Bloor–Danforth Subway and South Rosedale
25 to 30 minutes, with a relatively gradual descent into the valley.

Directions

From Castle Frank Subway Station, follow Castle Frank Road north, past Hawthorne Gardens.
Head west on Elm Avenue to South Drive. Head north, past the entrance to Cragleigh gardens. The entrance to the Milkman’s Run trail is on the right.
Follow the trail downhill to the Beltline Trail. Continue east, following the signs for Moore Park Ravine, all the way to Evergreen Brick Works.

Note: Ignore all the little paths down the slope. Be patient! Watch for a maintained trail with a sign at the top of it.