City
Rooftopping Toronto: King and Yonge, Down and Out
There is nothing quite as mesmerizing as gazing down at the vibrant night city from quiet heights in the center of Toronto's business district. The vantage point from King and Yonge astounds me; not because of its frenzy, but because of its silent lull.
We are a generation that has grown up familiar with time-lapse style images of vast cityscapes, but nothing is quite as moving as witnessing it first hand.
It was an artistic movement in the early 1980s which brought this kind of imagery to the forefront, confronting urbanites with visuals which made them see their built environment as they had never seen it before (Think: 'Koyaanisqatsi').
I have been able to gain access to this vantage point at several times of day, but the most stunning is still night-time; the vast eastward shadows cast during daylight by the bank towers is quite powerful, but the vanishing point perspective truncated by smog is no match for the endless sea of lights stretching up Yonge St., and westward along King St.
In the same manner that street portraiture decontextualizes the individual and gives one a personal (if somewhat unnatural) perspective, a far removed vision of the city has the ability to make the background the foreground, creating an event out of the ordinary.
Below is the complete set of snaps from this spectacular vantage point:
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Stunning views! I love the shot in the Flickr slideshow that looks down on the Flatiron building, and the one that looks like you're on glass floor - or are my eyes deceiving me?
Great vantage point, agreed. Now if only you'd stop messing about with whatever "processing" is going on with your various images, they could actually be enjoyed (some of the more overwrought/jarring examples on your blog are pretty awesomely mangled).
'Um' - thank you for the criticism; I am not sure which blog of mine you are referring to; the one linked to in this post belongs to a friend of mine.
Jonathan.
You're the best, Jonathan. Keep on truckin'
Ya, Jonathan. You da best.
Well, the lack of clear photo attributions gave me the impression they were all yours.
Are you saying blursurfing.com doesn't have 'adequate' photos?
The photos in the article are mine - those on b.surfing are not-
Jonathan.
ps. my initial response saying the 'blog' shots aren't mine are my link in the piece from the phrase 'street portraiture'- on here, every photo I use is my own (of course)...
Jonathan.
Beautiful photography!