Canada

Toronto summer solstice sunrise. A lone paddle boarder takes a moment on the peaceful open water of Lake Ontario to witness a breathtaking sunrise behind the CN Tower and the Toronto skyline. What an incredible way to greet the day and the season.

Blue hour reflects on January ice in bold and vibrant Toronto

Face-to-face with Toronto's Gooderham Flatiron Building dividing Front Street from Wellington, and old Toronto from new.

Gooderham Flatron Building at the height of Toronto's first major snowfall of the year.

Canada's one and only Niagara Falls just minutes before the sun crested the horizon.

A gentle snowfall coats the streets surrounding the Gooderham Flatiron Building in Toronto where people are rushing home to shelter from the forecasted heavy snow in the coming hour.

A silent glimpse into Old Toronto when the snow has slowed to a gentle fall, and the twilight is welcomed with lamplight. The Gooderham Flatiron Building with the atypically empty streets of a city in pandemic times.

I've waited years for a once-in-a-century snowfall like this to take this photo. The Gooderham Flatiron Building has been photographed in so many ways but I've always wanted to shoot it in blinding snow to create this snow globe effect. And after 4 hours on location in gusty winds and freezing temps during the last big storm, the heavy flakes began to drop just as the street lights came on, and I hadn't been this excited to see snow since I was a little boy with a toboggan. And now for hot chocolate! :D

The St. Lawrence Market District is one of the best preserved architectural areas of Toronto, and by far, the crown jewel of this historical site is the Gooderham Flatiron Building seen here in its 131st winter.

Walloped with back-to-back snowstorms in a single week, Toronto streets haven't been this buried since 1999. The park bench, though, is noticeably clear as a frequent rest stop for the unfortunate folks who call this street "home". In fact, as I lay in this snow bank to capture this view of our iconic Flatiron Building, a compassionate woman approached me to make sure I was alright. Gotta love this city! :D

Driving home late one night, I was taken aback by the solitude of the Queen Street Bridge with almost no traffic except the occasional streetcar. It was very quiet and still with a light mist following a warm summer rain, and I couldn't help but notice the early 20th Century industrial-age feel of the scene, and had to juxtapose it with the 21st Century LED lighting of the new Toronto streetcars. Winner of Architecture Category 1 Runner-Up in 2021 500px Neil Dankoff Photography Competition.

Toronto gold in panoramic reflection. As the sun sets behind the Toronto skyline on this scorching hot summer evening, the Toronto skyline lights up for the approaching night in a sea of golden glimmer, and casts a shimmering reflection across the Toronto Harbour.

A hot summer evening in Toronto, and the sun is illuminating the warm harbour haze from behind the skyline to produce the most amazing graduated colours. Toronto Skyline Summer Sunset is one of those magic moments you capture when you venture to the Toronto Harbour on a mid-summer evening just as the sun drops behind the skyline to meld its orange and yellow glow with the sliver of blue left in the sky to produce this purple haze in the atmosphere for just a few minutes. Photographers and tourists were gathered here in droves until the sun disappeared, but I knew to hold on a while longer, because this is when the magic happens!

A field of tall wheat buried in two feet of snow, and a long-forgotten homestead time forgot, while the elements of nature slowly reclaim for the soil from which it was made.

Full moon rising over the Leuty Lifeguard Station, one of Toronto’s most iconic landmarks since 1920. This photo of "the Station" was taken not long after Toronto's Beach Residents celebrated its 100th year anniversary with a plaque commemorating the milestone, as well as safeguarding it as an official historic treasure. Lifeguards based here are credited with saving more than 6,000 lives, and it continues its service still today. In fact, two former lifeguards have been friends of mine and of my family for many years, one of whom raised the funds needed to save and restore the old Leuty, and the other who has recently purchased a copy of this print.

While in the small town of Uxbridge, Ontario, photographing a friend's horses, I drove through town where I came across the old rail yard and this train car abandoned at the end of its useful life. Grey and weathered with age, it spoke to me of a vibrant history well-travelled, and meaningful memories for the thousands of passenger it carried.

Witnessing the last great sunset of November 2020 from a pier's eye view.

A dramatic sky encroaching on the Toronto skyline in the twilight of this most turbulent year in our city.

Once upon a time, there was a farm on this spot. The farming family and their livestock must have seen this view of the Milky Way a thousand times, but now all that remains is this lone silo standing like a monument to the farm and the people it served under this incredible night sky.

Scenic treasures of history pepper the backroads of Central Ontario. Driving the main freeway fron Toronto to Barrie, I caught a glimpse in the distance of this abandoned woodshed-looking structure on the way north somewhere near Pinkerton, Ontario, so I made it a mission to find this place travelling the sideroads on my way back home. After many wrong turns and a hike through wilderness unknown, I was thrilled to finally come upon this long-forgotten homestead. Likely one of many family homes left behind by the development of the 10-lane highway that now runs through this beautiful and peaceful landscape.

There's nothing in the world quite like the majesty of the Toronto skyline in a mid-summer sunset

Snowy Night on New Year's Day. The twinkling lights in the window of the boutique at the Broadview Hotel, and the fleeting Queen Street streetcar passing by, gave me a quiet reflection and peace of mind that everything is going to be alright.

As the second full moon of October rose in the sky above our Prince Edward County cottage farmview, the sun was just setting behind me to create this magical glow on the autumn trees. It felt like nature's version of street lights turning on to signal our time to go home for dinner.

On this rare occasion of a second full moon appearing in the same calendar month, and here on Halloween, no less, I had to stake my claim or it with the enchanted old silo on our cottage resort in Prince Edward County.

Bicycle at the boat house was taken during the final sunset of Spring 2020; a Spring no one in the world will soon forget. And thanks to a child who left their bicycle on this pathway, I found a positive forecast for the first day of summer... signs of life! I’ve taken many photos of this boat house, but this is my new fav by far.

The Flatiron Building in downtown Toronto attracts tourists from all over the world. Its unique juxtaposition with the skyscraper backdrop showcases this building as a live glimpse into Toronto's history.

The Guild Inn Estate has been a treasure of Toronto since the early 1900's, and with the added historic collection of rescued facades and ruins of various demolished downtown Toronto buildings such as bank buildings, the old Toronto Star building and the Granite Club, the grounds are spectacular, as well. Fun fact: My great grandmother on my mother’s side, Nancy Robertson, was head laundress there for about 37 years. Her name was really Agnes but nicknamed Nancy, and my mother, Diann Haist, a famous... 
View More fine artist herself, didn’t know these details until Spencer Clark, who owned the Guild Inn until 1978 and ran it until 1984, attended one of my mother's exhibitions and told her all about the grandmother she never knew, even though she had been going there for years.

The train has passed, the streets are clear, and the silence is music as snowflakes begin to fall gently on this peaceful day Unionville.

Tourists enjoying the bright, sunny day befitting Springtime in Toronto on this November afternoon at the Gooderham Flatiron Building.

Twilight has a soothing effect for people, even in the city; but with scarcely a soul in sight because of the pandemic lockdown, it can feel a little eerie, as well. And as we settle in our homes for a long winter's nap during this second total lockdown beginning one minute past midnight, I wish everyone good health, safety, and peace until we can meet again in the streets. Sweet dreams, Toronto.

Driving home late the one night, I was taken by the solitude of the Queen Street Bridge with almost no traffic except the occasional streetcar. It was very quiet and still with a light mist following a warm summer rain, and I couldn't help but notice the early 20th Century industrial-age feel of the scene, and had to juxtapose it with the 21st Century LED lighting of the new Toronto streetcars. I hope you like it as much I do.

The first Super Moon of our year in lockdown presented itself as an irresistible backdrop for the iconic, and beautifully restored Broadview Hotel in Toronto's Riverside neighbourhood.

The historic Roadhouse Train Yard in Toronto, is also home to The Steam Whistle Brewing Company. This is one of the many classic juxtapositions between 19th Century and 21st Century architecture found throughout the city.

Turret roof of the now-iconic Broadview Hotel, Toronto, originally built in 1891 and completely restored in 2017. This is the highest peak of what was the tallest building east of the Don River when it was built, and on this night, the full moon cast a spotlight on the newly-quarried Canadian slate as its shining new crown.