Bill Smith's Photography

Toronto likes to think they get hammered with a snowstorm, no, they don't. Toronto does create a lot of slush however, much to the joy of local dry cleaners. Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ai 50 f1.4 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400, pushed to 1600, Xtol stock.

Mark loved the RC Harris Filtration Plant in the Beaches, and the skies sort of cleared off a bit. It was sort of whirlwind due to time constraints so no aimless wandering around the neighbhourhood. Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ai 50 f1.4 lens Film: Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600. Xtol stock.

The Distillery District mid week during a February in a by Toronto standards snowstorm is quiet taking on a very different vibe than in high season. There were more people clearing snow than visiting, and a good 60% of the boutiques were closed. I know Mark O'Brien had a ball with his visit. Getting here is less painful than it used to be with the Cherry St.-Dufferin 514 streetcar. As a place to live, the Distillery-Canary-West Donlands is still off the beaten track a bit. Granted I visited in the middle of by Toronto standards snowstorm (yes Southern Ontario residents are weather wimps). I'll have to come back mid week during the spring to see what the difference is. Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ai 50 f1.4 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600, Xtol stock.

What do you do when you have a fellow photography podcaster roll into town for a few days? Head out for a photowalk. Mark, Nancy and I rolled east on a diverted 504 King St. (thank you sub trerranian electrical vault fire). I haven't been to the Distillery District in ages, it would be interesting to explore it during a snowstorm (by Toronto standards). I chose my combination of pushed to 1600 ISO Kodak Tri-X processed in Xtol stock and I got fabulous results. The camera of choice was my black Nikon FM, my chrome FM developed a shutter issue and needs a date with the repair tech. What ever you do when shooting in the snow, don't meter on the snow unless you like it to turn out grey. Always aim for a wall, a car, someone's jacket for a meter reading.

Mark O'Brien of the Film Photography Podcast was in Toronto for a few days and we met up for a photo walk with fellow local photographer Nancy Urquhart Bueler, with our luck we got hit with some snow the day of. The game plan was hit the east end of the city for the Distillery District and later on the R.C. Harris Filtration Plant in the Beaches. Mark hails from Ann Arbour Michigan, so the weather wasn't anything exotic and we made due, granted our trip eastward was hampered by a fire in a Hydro (electrical) vault at King and Yonge Sts. We slowly made it where we wanted to go. I really like shooting in snowstorms. Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ai 50 f1.4 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600, processed in Xtol stock.

Kosmo Mono 100 rocks even at the end of a winter's day. Camera: Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko MC 50 f1.8 lens. Film: Kosmo Mono 100, Rodinal 1+50.

First off I love Kosmo Mono 100, and personally think it shines in Rodinal 1+50 for 7.5 minutes at 68f/20c. We had a mid winter thaw, it wasn't great for skiing and some friends thought it would be cool to hike into the bottom of Websters Falls in Dundas. I haven't been there in years, dug out the 49mm ND filters and went with my Olympus OM-2n, I wanted decent metering and give Kosmo Mono 100 a workout. Well, we didn't make it to Webster's Falls. The trails in Spencer Gorge were very icy to the point in some stretches we would be taking our personal safety in our hands. We photographed what we saw on the way and turned right around. The idea of a shattered pelvis being the best case scenario along with trashed camera gear gave us a collective, "Nope, we're not risking our ass for the shot." Kosmo Mono 100 shined even when the lighting went on the flat side and loves Zuiko glass. Kosmo Foto is getting more in February and a lot more later in the spring...

Creeping up on rush hour, the windchill is starting to bite and you just want to get home.. Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ai 50 f2 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600 and processd in Xtol stock.