TORONTO WORKSHOP
AUGUST 25-27 2019
DAY 1
8am- Eight of us head out to Toronto, only six come back, hahaha I’m just kidding, (spoiler alert) we all make it back safe. We leave Cleveland on time, donuts in hand. We ran in to an issue even before we left with transport but quickly figure it out. Big thanks to my dude Johnny C for coming in clutch. The roads were clear the whole way to the border, I mean it is a Sunday morning after all. We are kind of concerned that we will have issues at the border, we have 8 photographers and all of our gear, our ages range from 25 to 80. If you don’t know us we make up an odd bunch. We made it through with flying colors. We make a quick stop at JJ’s on The Dock Eatery about 30 miles outside of the city for lunch, we push on. Food was great, everyone is happy.
4:30pm- We hit up Museum Station on the Transit for some quick photography before we hit dinner and then the Sunset for Epic Skyline views. We got 29 minutes in before the nicest police tell us we can not photograph one of the most shot places in Toronto, it was fine. We moved on.
5:30pm- Dinner time! We head right across from the hotel to The Old Spaghetti Factory so we feast like Kings and Queens before heading out for a sunset session of the skyline.
7:30pm- We escape dinner just in time to find parking and get down to Polson Pier, where we will end up for sunset and the first part of blue hour, the best time of day to shoot!
The colors in the sky were just unbelievable that night
After we get back to the hotel most of us head back out in to the city and do a little street photography and some cityscapes, A few stay in and get some rest.
It’s close to midnight, time for lights out. We have a big day tomorrow.
Day 2
6:30am- We head across from our lodging at the Novotel to Eggspectation, it’s highly rated and I’m looking forward to it. It’s Monday morning, we walk in and there’s only one other table seated in the whole place. I don’t think they normally have a big crowd on a Monday, one waitress and one person in the kitchen. We have studio time booked at 9am across town, we should be fine. After 10-15 minutes of no service we make the group call to head elsewhere. We go to the buffet at our hotel. A bit pricey, but amazing, we’re back on track.
8:55am- It’s studio time at Neon Demon Studio, the main part of the 3 day Workshop! It’s finally here, I’ve waited almost a year to shoot here. I started out by previously emailing 10 modeling agencies in Toronto, I am quickly reminding that it is a top tier International city and models are going to come at a premium. Now what do I do, we can’t afford these prices for 2 models at 4 hours each? I’ve got it! I search the studios Instagram page and reach out to 20 models who have been tagged in their photos and photos tagged with the studio and BOOM, we get the 2 perfect models.
9:00am- We find parking and go meet Jon, the studio owner. This place is amazing, we don’t know where to begin. Over 40 neon signs and they all can be configured along with music via an ipad. Our models meet us shortly after we arrive and waste no time in getting busy with the workshop
Click the pictures below to scroll through them
1:00pm- We head back to the hotel and break for lunch and a bit of R&R. The 4 guys head across the street for wings and then go do some scouting for evening shots, the girls head to the spa and the 2 that I was worried about petering out before the rest, end up walking the city, hitting the market and church. God bless Bob and his wife Nancy, he’s 82 and out-walking us all.
5:00pm- Time to hit the streets before dinner. We hop on a transit car and ride a few stops towards City Centre. Everyone splits up and puts to use what they’ve been taught so far, we agree to meet back in 90 minutes. I become obsessed with shooting the street cars and busses while trying to do some daytime long exposure.
6:30pm- We head to Yonge-Dundas Square which is called the Times Square of Toronto to get some Epic blue hour shots before we head to Jack Astors for dinner. Again, we all part ways to put to use what we’ve learned so far. This Square is crazy, it’s so crowded yet challenging to shoot. I love it!
9:30pm- Dinner at Jack Astors, I think we are all relieved to sit down for a minute, rest and gather our thoughts. Food is amazing, yet again. Someone orders the World’s Most Ridiculously Small Brownie, it lives up to its name, but I remember it was tasty. We find the train back towards the hotel and make a few stops snapping shots along the way, it’s getting late and we have an early morning again with some more photography on our last morning in Toronto.
Day 3
7:00am- Sunrise gets rained out, we change up the plans a bit, no big deal.
8:30am- We hit the road and stop at Tim Hortons for some Breakfast on the way to Niagara Falls. Canadian Tim Hortons is 1000% better than the ones in America, I don’t get it. We get to Niagara around 11am, overcast and misty, great conditions for some long exposure, we quickly get to work with our ND filters for some silky water shots.
1:00pm- We head home. We head home with full SD cards, great memories, new techniques and most importantly some new friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better group for this workshop. I would do it again in a second!
If you missed out on this workshop check out the next one we have in San Francisco. You don’t want to miss that one!
DEDICATED TO
BOB KEKELIK
1939-11/2019
May you Rest in Peace my friend!
Bob unfortunately passed 3 short months after the workshop. I am glad to have spent those 3 days with him