A Day In the City

Just a nice solo wander in Toronto

There’s something wonderful about having a day to explore and practice photography. On the Saturday of the August long weekend, I took the chance to head into Toronto to do just that! And then went and celebrated a good friend’s upcoming marriage through a rather fun but low-key (thankfully) Bachelor’s Party. I wanted to get at least three rolls in, so I packed up three cameras (Pentax MZ-S, Nikon F65, and Nikon D750), three rolls of film (Kentmere 200, Ilford HP5+, and Ilford Delta 100) and caught a train from Oakville. The one thing I did differently is that I didn’t walk the entire route; instead, I switched between walking and taking transit to allow for some fast travel to areas where I wanted to photograph in more detail.

I caught the GO train out from the main Oakville Station. Loading up my F65 with Delta 100 for this first part of my day. I got off at Union Station before hopping a subway up to King Street.

Nikon F65 - AF Nikkor 20mm 1:2.8D - Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 - Fujifilm SPD (Stock) 5:00 @ 20C

Now the plan had been to get on a streetcar and travel across to St. James’ Cathedral, but the tracks were under construction, so I ended up walking to Parliament. At this point, I realised that I still had a lot of time to kill before turning myself back towards Downtown Camera. So I ended up wandering out to the Distillery District to get a coffee from Balzac’s before making my way back up to Queen via King and through Moss Park.

Pentax MZ-S - SMC Pentax-FA 1:1.8 31mm Limited - Kentmere 200 @ ASA-200 - Ilford Microphen (1+3) 8:45 @ 20C (Constant Rotation)

After stopping by Downtown Camera to pick up a few rolls of film and a pouch of Microphen, I switched to the Pentax MZ-S with the 31mm f/1.8 lens and a roll of Kentmere 200. I wanted to catch a streetcar, but they were not running too well that day, so I had to stick closer. So I ended up shooting the whole roll in a small section of Yonge Street (basically between Queen and Dundas). I ended up meeting up with the guys and shot the roll through downtown. While not my first choice, anything like this is subject to the requirements of the service.

Nikon D750 - AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8

Throughout this trip, I was also working with the D750, which I had the 60mm f/2.8 Micro lens mounted on for something a little different. I met up with the gang at the hotel and took the MZ-S out with the 43mm f/1.9 lens and a couple of rolls of HP5+, which I rated at ASA-1600.

Pentax MZ-S - SMC Pentax-FA 1:1.9 43mm Limited - Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-1600 - Fujifilm SPD (1+1) 13:30 @ 20C (Constant Rotation)

I’ve only recently gotten into cocktails (I’m still a big fan of craft beer), and Tiki is one genre I've never explored. I’ve done the classics, but not much in the way of Tiki. For those who are unfamiliar, Tiki is a post-war (WWII) cultural phenomenon that originated in the South Pacific and was introduced to the United States, representing the American view of Pacific culture. The main influences are mainly from Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian art and entertainment.

Pentax MZ-S - SMC Pentax-FA 1:1.9 43mm Limited - Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-1600 - Fujifilm SPD (1+1) 13:30 @ 20C (Constant Rotation)

While almost every roll I shot on the trip was for future review, it was enjoyable to approach it with nearly no expectations and a loose plan. These are great for just relaxing and enjoying the process. You can see all the photos over on Flickr!