Liberty Village Toronto

Perched high atop his throne

Although blogTO runs a photo of the day at the bottom of the page throughout the week, once in while I catch an image in our Flickr stream in the middle of the day that I think deserves a closer look as well. Such was the case today when I was cruising through the pool and came across the above capture from contributor Jen Tse.

Not only is it a cool snap in its own right, but insofar as I've somehow taken to writing about washrooms on a regular basis, the title serves as a clever little reminder of the perilous position of that porta-potty that occupies the centre-right of the frame. How confident would the user be, I wonder, taking his throne on a windy day?

Rationally speaking, I'm quite sure that thing is stable enough, but it still looks like it'd make for a nerve-wracking experience.

But, as I say, even without the toilet-talk, it's still a captivating image. The wide angle lens and townhouse development on the edge of Liberty Village gives the whole thing a subtle tilt shift feel, though a closer looks reveals that this technique was not in fact employed.

Here's Jen's take on the shot:

"As I've dabbled in rooftop photography, I've found that the gift of a higher vantage point is all in the perspective. Not only are you able to see more in a quantitative sense, covering more distance with your eyes, but you are also able to see more of what you already see -- in other words, how height can alienate, redefine, and add something more to the familiar. Something like a portable toilet on a construction site seems obvious, right? Of course workers need to answer nature's call while working atop an unfinished building. But at first glance, this scene was jarring to me. What is that doing there? A precariously placed potty, indeed."

And for those trying to place the building, the capture below should help you get, um...situated.

Great work, Jen!

King West Toronto

Photos by Jen Tse in the blogTO Flickr pool.


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