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An Unseasonably Warm November

Posted on November 6, 2015October 16, 2022 by David Barker

At a time when the weather should be cold and dull, a streak of bright warm weather comes as a boon to street photographers. People are out being people, doing all the varied things that people do, maybe with more gusto (desperation?) because they know it can’t last. Here is a selection of photos to mark the week that has come and gone:

Hunting for vinyl at Kops Records on Bloor St. W.
Hunting for vinyl at Kops Records on Bloor St. W.
Skateboarding at Alexandra Park
Skateboarding at Alexandra Park
Talking God with proselytes
Talking God with proselytes

I see these people everywhere. I could be wrong, but I think they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses. They’re always careful to stand close to the curb so that they fall within the road allowance. Standing on public land, they have a Charter-guaranteed right to be there (freedom of expression) and shop owners can’t make them leave. Fortunately for me, I enjoy the same right and am free to take their photo while they’re standing on that public land. Lucky me.

#whatsvictorupto - street art at Bathurst & Dundas
whatsvictorupto – street art at Bathurst & Dundas

I see sidewalk art in this style all over the place with the hashtag #whatsvictorupto but, until this week, I’ve never caught the artist in the act of creating his work. I tend to think of art more as an event than as a static object. I like to witness the process. In the same way, I take a great deal of satisfaction from the moment of capture that comes with the release of the shutter. The event is at least as important as the result.

Take-down at Church & Bloor
Take-down at Church & Bloor

No day is complete without a shoplifter take down. I was passing by as an undercover security guy had a young man pressed against a pole and was clicking on the handcuffs. There was almost no time to respond and it was getting dark, so most of my shots were too blurry, but this one worked. I find it curious for two reasons. First, the shoplifter is wearing what I presume to be prayer beads around his right wrist. This raises questions about the man’s spiritual life, his attitudes to personal possessions, possible feelings of disenfranchisement. Maybe he’s a victim of late capitalism. Maybe theft is resistance. The second curiosity is the person facing the man in handcuffs. I was focusing on the handcuffs, so the person’s face is blurred. He’s a shadowy figure with his hood up. He adds a note of mystery or foreboding to the image.

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