High Park Cherry Blossoms

One of my favourite times to be in the west end of Toronto is late spring.  That's because every year in May, the High Park cherry blossom trees spring to life.  The Sakura trees were given to Toronto on behalf of the Japanese, for Toronto's support during World War Two.  The short-lived flowering season brings many people to the park, myself included!  I was able to visit twice this year, when the buds were just popping up, and then later when the trees were in full bloom.  Here are some of my favourite shots:

View more photos at Superflash Photography on Facebook.

And here are some of my previous years' photographs of the cherry blossoms in High Park: 2012, 2010.

High Park Cherry Blossoms: 2012

One of my favourite signs of spring in Toronto is when the High Park cherry blossoms come out to play.  The first time I went to see them was in 2010 - but now that I've moved into the High Park area of the city, I've made it tradition to go every year.  This year, the weather was kind of iffy.  The weekend called for rain, and most of the week was a bit chilly.  I ended up going on a warm, but windy mid-week night, and I was surprised at the amount of people that were at the park that night.  Without further ado... here's some beauty to bask in:

    

  

  

There's more pics up here - and if you're not a fan of Superflash Photography on Facebook, you can join here!

Portraits: K&S - maternity session

This is probably the quickest I've ever turned around a photo session!  Mom-to-be, K, contacted me on a Tuesday, we shot the photos on Friday, and by Wednesday they had their photos in hand!  *Phew!*

I think it's mostly because K & her husband, S, were a breeze to work with.  Just look at these two - so happy and positively glowing with the impending arrival of their bundle of joy.  They asked for some simple shots, using nature as the backdrop, with no props or gimmicks.  I was happy to deliver:

While we were out shooting, we stumbled upon a lovely, big tree, that seemed to have a little surprise of it's own... ;)

K & S - I wish you all the best in the upcoming weeks!  

Autumn in Toronto

Autumn is my favourite time of year.  And Toronto is an absolutely beautiful place to live at this time of year.  It definitely takes on a majestic quality, with all the leaves showing off their lovely colours.  Back in the spring, I showed you what High Park looked like with the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  Now here's my neighbourhood in October.

 

More pics? Right this way!

Spring has Sprung: The High Park Cherry Blossoms!

One of the certain signs of spring in Toronto is the blooming cherry blossoms in High Park. The trees were a gift from Japan to Toronto in 1959, and were planted in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese-Canadians following the Second World War.

Before this year, I had never seen them in person. The flowers only last for a very short time, before they blow away and turn into the summer leaves.

Last weekend, I packed up my camera gear, met up with a friend, and headed down to High Park to appreciate the blossoms first-hand, for the first time. (Unfortunately, I think 90% of the city had the same idea... it was packed!)

I am very pleased with the results! Here's a few of my favourite shots:

For more of my photos from that day, check out Cherry Blossoms on Flickr.
What are the signs of spring in your neck of the woods?

Happy Earth Day!

So, today was Earth Day. All around me, people were doing things to the contrary of what Earth Day is supposed to inspire. Like using the world as their ashtray. I was very annoyed. I guess it just hasn't caught on (even though it's been around since the '70s... I guess Hallmark hasn't found a good way to capitalize on it, so there's no sense in promoting it). I really don't get the sense of entitlement that some people seem to have. They think the world owes them something, and that they don't have to give back. Sorry, life just doesn't work that way.

Or maybe it does, if you're blissfully ignorant.

But seriously. I mean, I'm not all 'love mother Earth, hippie chick' ... but it's fairly obvious that throughout my generation, and the generations before, we have been doing some serious damage to the world. The fact that I got a sunburn today (in APRIL. In TORONTO), and gasoline is now up to $1.20 a LITRE has got to say something about the current state of the world.

In any case. Today, I chose to spend my Earth day seeing some of the best of what nature has to offer. I took a stroll through High Park... just me, my camera, my iPod and my Starbucks iced white mocha (in my own mug that I brought from home). It was absolutely lovely. There were tonnes of people out. I was stopped by a lady and her daughter who asked me what I was taking a picture of, and we chatted for a while. It was really nice to be alone, but still feel like part of a community. I haven't really been feeling much love for Toronto lately, but being in High Park definitely perked me up a bit.

Here's the pictures: