The Toronto Portraits - Sabryn Rock

Okay, you're a friend of some blogTO staff member so you've been chosen for a Toronto Portrait. We need to find a door for you to stand in. No, it doesn't matter that you can't tell what neighbourhood that is...that makes it hipper and camp! Um, don't look at the camera - just look off into the distance like you're so over the scene. NO, smiling is NOT ALLOWED. We have to make sure the photo is really generic and has nothing to do with what you do or else people will think we're Torontoist or something. Act really bored like the young, dynamic Torontonian you are!

Ok, let's get into this for a moment...

1. The first time I met Sabryn was this week, when I interviewed her and did the photoshoot.

2. She is smiling.

3. Would you like her to be holding laughing and crying masks, to portray that she's an actor?

What's with all the backlash on Toronto Portraits? I personally find them entertaining.

OMG! I don't know why but she seems like a really cool person that I would want to know! There's something about her that appeals to me.

This is the first time here that I actually think this girl really got something in her. And she's in Evil Dead, too which is totally awesome!

b the w, I love her name, too Heh heh. :o)

@ Steve

It's the corner of Grace and College. Now take off your cranky pants.

Awful portraits, amateurish and makes the subject look terrible.

Please at least hire a competent photograph for this series.

Zack and Steve - what's with the negativity. Contructive criticism/comments would be much more useful. Steve - if you don't like who we're profiling, please suggest some other candidates for us to take a look at.

Zack - Obviously you have high standards. Let me check if Annie Liebowitz is available.

The second picture is really gorgeous, I don't know what all this fuss is about.

Also,I really like hearing from the featured person in their own words, especially hearing from somebody new to the city and their views on our arts community.

The quality and subject choices don't match the pretentiousness. Even the name The Toronto Portraits is eye rollingly lame. I feel bad because the people in the photos are probably really nice but this whole series is unflattering and it just feels like a bunch of friends taking pictures of each other in doorways. Let me guess - this girl knows Chandler Levack, who know the person before, who knows the person before... And this is supposed to be shot in a different Toronto neighborhood but the backgrounds are just generic walls and stuff. None of it is useful or interesting to Torontonians at large

I don't know, I don't really see neighbourhoods as just iconic buildings and civic landmarks. I think a picture set at an old phone booth or a residential alley can say as much about Little Italy as if I took the picture with the CHIN building in the background. The neighbourhood expresses itself in subtle ways as well; the light reflections on the wet road in the first shot, for instance, is coming from the marquee of the Royal.

Great profile! She is very beautiful and obviously has a ton of talent to offer to this city. YOU GO GIRL!

That's my sister! And yes, she is awesome and someone worth getting to know. As for the photography, it's great, don't let these negative nancies bring what you're doing down, i think it's tasteful and well done. They almost look like film stills, which I think is really cool.

Steve - blogTO is not intended to be a mainstream publication like, say, the Toronto Star or cityTV. Our mandate is not for all our posts to appeal to all of Toronto. Some posts on this site will hopefully interest you, and others won't. If we went totally mainstream we'd be profiling Karen Kain, Richard Florida and all the other well known Toronto dwellers that get repeatedly covered in the mainstream press.

Just because you wish to be different from mainstream media does not mean you should also adhere to low standards.

For example the second picture, close up of the face is clearly distorted and unflattering. the crop is too close and its a terrible picture which makes a beautful woman look ugly.

Perhaps you guys need to try more amateur photographers who are willing to do it for free instead of sticking with the current photographer who clearly has no idea what his doing (i checked his website as well). You have a large flicker pool, that's the best place to find someone else or try other photographers.

I can't wait every Friday for Toronto Portraits because they were hilariously pretentious. I remember the first two losers: Some film club geek at UofT looking into the distance with film wrapped around his head. And then some hipster chick. That being said, the past three portraits have been good. And low and behold, we finally get a non-white, I'm too cool, person this time. Much respect to this talented lady making it work as an actress in Canada. But I have to agree with some of the comments. All these portrait photos look the same and make the subject seem pretentious, even though they are probably really cool people. At least this latest one likes to smile. And I agree about the close up photo. U made a beautiful girl look less flattering with that pic. Can't wait for next weeks portrait!

I have to agree with Steve and Trey. The photographs are nice in terms of exposure, composition, color, etc, but what you have them doing is so hilariously bad. They all have the exact same pretentious look on their face. Why not let some of their personality shine through? Why so serious? They look so stiff and unnatural, who wraps film around their head??

Also, as a suggestion why not do profiles of people in Toronto that we might actually recognize who have interesting stories. I don't mean people like Kathryn Humphreys, but maybe the guy in Trinity Bellwoods Park that does puppet shows, or the singing TTC streetcar driver, or Zanta, or the busker at Dundas station in the prison jumpsuit, or the hotdog stand guy at Spadina and Queen, or the driver of that truck that looks like it has some sort of medieval torture device on the back, etc, etc. . . .

pic #2 is so lucious & gorgeous- there's such depth and mystery in her expression. beautiful.

pic #1 came out really saturated and candy-coloured in my RSS feed, interesting to see a more sepia-toned version of it here. i like it, but i think i preferred the more vibrant version- did you re-post the pic?

given some of the comments here, maybe it would make sense to begin a blogTO practice of explaining how people are chosen for these profiles- or of opening the pool to submissions from readers? in these comments, i smell sour grapes on some people's breath, but i admit that often when i read alt publications i too wonder how the story subjects were chosen.

I agree with many of the above posts. The pictures (while technically alright) are terrible portraits.

The subject matter, well how exactly DO they get chosen? Some transparency is in order here. Because I don't find any of them to be very interesting.

Why do people have to be so critical? If you do not like this sites content then here is a piece of advice don't look! I think this portrait idea is a wonderful! Are you jealous because no one is ringing your phone to ask you to be the photographer or subject? Maybe it's because people can feel your negative energy from miles away, work on yourself before you criticize others for putting themselves out there.

How I bet if you were asked to be involved how the tables would turn, and you would all of a sudden love the idea, and sing it's praises!

Just shut up, sit back, and stop criticizing.

there are two kinds of people in Toronto.

Those who do, and those who whine. And methinks that the difference is only amplified by the blogosphere.

There's this idea online that the content you take in somehow owes something, that these photos and these profiles are supposed to know your standards and live up to them, and that it's your god given right to demand quality and deride what is currently there.

Well folks, Your favorite websites owe you quality content as much as you owe them your undivided attention. In short. Ya don't like it, don't read it. It's the age old question, If you don't like these profiles, why are you reading them?

If blogTO is your most favorite website of all time, and you're not happy with the turn it takes with these profiles, well, there's tonnes of other great stories and what not, read that. OR maybe make suggestions or provide contacts for who you would like to see. Even better, go contact these people yourself, take their pictures ask them the questions you have for them, then send it in here.

See if it'll get published.

I had no clue there's this guy in Trinity Bellwoods who does puppet shows. So seriously, Cliftonp, next time you see this dude, chat him up and see if he'd be down for a profile, I'd be interested in reading it. Does he only do it on the weekends?

Anyhow, it's really easy to piss on something, and to make generic judgments on folks

It's cheap

And I can't say that I'm above any of that myself.

Like a lot of people, I've done a lot of eye-rolling and headshaking over queen w hipsters, the holier-than-thou college st. crowd, folks from the beaches, and just about anybody else that believes that you're a "Pretentious Torontonian" unless you're sharing a dive flat in the west end with a couple of aimless weirdos where everyone gathers together over a draught and forgets to ask themselves why they ever thought a 4yr general arts degree SHOULD guarantee them a job after school...

Phew! Where was I again? Oh yeah, judgements and criticisms.

I've snapped the odd judgement at folks, and I'll probably do it again. But I think it's honestly, because I'm not part of them. I may not like how or where they party, and we may not have a lot in common, but there's something that fires up the jealousies in seeing other people be part of something and enjoying themselves, especially when you're not.

So far, we've seen people profiled here who are doing things. Maybe not the things you specifically are interested in, but in time, I'm sure blogTO will find someone ya like.

and as for blogTO, they're doing something in attempting these profiles, and continuing them amid all this scorn and criticism. I'm sure they're a team of individuals who fight, argue, work, party and create, and that it's as difficult at times to be a part of as it is to be a member of any of our families. But once again, they're doing something.

Do'ers and whiners Toronto, which one are ya?

My guess is, that if you're treating these profiles like a 2nd year photo critique at OCAD, you've made it clear where you fall.

ticked (above me) hit it right on the money. Why don't you haters stop hating and actually go DO something? Want some suggestions for what to DO?: Stop reading Toronto Portraits. Go find your own people to profile. Go start your own blog.

You negative people are total bummers. You're seriously bumming me out. Why are you so negative? You have absolutely no reason to hate on others, especially on something as uncontroversial as Toronto Portraits. You are creating a controversy over nothing.

You negative people are also entitled to NOTHING. blogTO doesn't owe you an explanation for the subjects they choose. If you don't like the content and choices, then why don't you contribute to blogTO yourself? They openly invite people to contribute, so why don't you? Or go start your own blog!

Does the New York Times owe you an explanation for what they do? Does it have to be transparent? blogTO and New York Times are completely different entities, but the fact remains: If you don't like it, don't read it.

Go start your own blog.

Chill out. Total bummers.

the people here who are overly critical and spiteful are very insecure

She sounds pretty cool and her story is pretty interesting. That 'I'd rather dance' thing sounds like a good idea.

I like the portraits so far. If anything it's just nice to see people being involved in something that they enjoy and giving it their best shot.

If you don't like 'em, don't read 'em. Clicking the back button is even easier then posting a negative comment.

Here's a link to anyone interested in contributing a Toronto profile or other post to blogTO:

http://blogto.com/getpublished/