Kevin Steele

A panoramic street view showcases a series of retail storefronts in 2003 and 2006, revealing changes in businesses and facades, underlining urban transformation.

Three Blocks of Queen West (Gladstone to Lisgar),
Summer 2003 & Spring 2006

Assembling this comparison and selecting other Queen W pictures, for a May 2006 group show, was when my photo activity narrowed in focus and escalated to a real project.

The entire collage is 26k px wide & could be printed 8’ tall and still be 300 ppi. Larger prints will be available online for custom order.

If you are a Parkdale retailer who would carry this poster, DM me. If you are interested in displaying a version in your shop or window, let me know!

Panoramic collage showing the front of both sides of Queen Street West in Parkdale, Toronto. It is a contiguous collage that has been divided into segments and stacked on eleven lines.

All of Queen St W in Parkdale, July 2015

Work in progress.

It was a puzzle to work out a composition that keeps most of the blocks on single lines. Now that I can see all the pieces together, I can fix the things that jump out.

When I’m done, I plan to make 18x24” posters/prints available.

I knew nothing of this.

Panoramic cityscape with modern and historic buildings under a bright blue sky. Both sides of a rail underpass are shown, and angled glimpses of a traffic tunnel.

Queen from Noble to Gladstone, July 31, 2015

Assembled today.

I’d already shot 10 blocks, power & storage were low, and it was rush hour. I got just enough to cover the span, but made odd choices.

I can't say I planned it, but I love how this segment turned out.

Stitched panoramic image of a city street lined with brick buildings. Storefronts include a pharmacy, coffee shop, and various retail outlets. Trees line the sidewalk under a bright, cloudy sky.

Queen St W from Macdonnell to Lansdowne, July 31, 2015

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY, I shot all of Queen in Parkdale. I am assembling these blocks right now.

This is the self-contained block version, but I am also building longer contiguous stretches connected by views up each street.

I hope one day to find a pile of remaindered copies available for pennies and walk away empty-handed.

Phone lock screen featuring a black and white graphic of a cat on a card board box lightly labeled “one cat”

This is Xena (1997-2008). She was a great cat. I’ve used a version of this picture as my lockscreen on every iPhone I have had.

#caturday

Upward view of a streetlight pole with electrical wires crossing horizontally against a pale, overcast sky.

Looking up at a utility pole with circular attachments and cables against a cloudy sky

Upward view of a streetlight pole with electrical wires crossing horizontally against a pale, overcast sky.

View from below of two utility poles with wires and transformers against an overcast sky.

Look up, July 2005

Looking up at a utility pole with circular attachments and cables against a cloudy sky

View from below of two utility poles with wires and transformers against an overcast sky.

Upward view of a streetlight pole with electrical wires crossing horizontally against a pale, overcast sky.

View from below of two utility poles with wires and transformers against an overcast sky.

Look up, July 2005

Low-angle view of a tall wooden utility pole with wires extending outward against a cloudy sky.

Low-angle view of a tall wooden utility pole with wires extending outward against a cloudy sky.

Looking up at a utility pole with circular attachments and cables against a cloudy sky

Upward view of a streetlight pole with electrical wires crossing horizontally against a pale, overcast sky.

Look up, July 2005

Upward view of two tall utility poles with interconnected power lines against a cloudy sky.

Upward view of two tall utility poles with interconnected power lines against a cloudy sky, conveying an industrial, structured feel.

Low-angle view of a tall wooden utility pole with wires extending outward against a cloudy sky.

Upward view of two tall utility poles with interconnected power lines against a cloudy sky. One appears to be reaching towards the other.

Before I settled on Queen West as my main subject, I would take my camera out and give myself creative exercises.

The last week in July, 20 years ago, I gave myself a straight-upward assignment: Look up.

Look up, July 2005

Colourful urban street view with old brick buildings. A row of three-story Victorian buildings with third-floor dormers ends at a two-story flat-roofed building. Purple and green facades house shops; bicycles parked out front. Clear blue sky. Vibrant.

978 to 970 Queen St W, Nov 2010

Closeup of a sleeping calico cat, her head tucked under a front leg.

A tabby with white legs and face is curled on a red quilt, her back legs stretched out, but still pointing near her head.

Closeup of a great tabby, looking towards the camera, laying on the edge of a red quilt, her head on the striped sheet that peels out from the quilt.

Checking in with the #cats. The girls have all been sleeping in my room, surrounding me in a triangle of feline energy.

Coleco, Charlie & Keke

Book cover showing four streetscapes. Beside the book, a set of 6 postcards showing various shop fronts.

Mailbag.
Loving this book of changing landscapes, @kevinsteele.bsky.social
Welcome to Hamilton, home of #disappearinglandscapes

Thank you and thank you!

Row of colorful brick storefronts on a sunny street, featuring a crocheted cafe, a "For Sale" sign, and a bicycle against a window display.

1050, 1048 & 1046 Queen St W, Nov 2010

I can think my way to the idea that film is more true, that it's an actual record made by original light, whereas digital is only measurements, but I can't live there.

And who would I be kidding? I've made only things I can make with my computer since 1989.

Street view of a row of buildings with ground floor storefronts. Signs for a spa and a shop are visible. People walk by, and two bikes are parked nearby. Sunny day.

646 & 644 Queen St W, Nov 2010

I have access to my catalogue again after 3+ weeks! I opened it to this nice November morning, when I shot about four rolls of 36 worth of digital.

My project only exists because of digital. That eclipses any thoughts I might have about film versus digital.

A grey tabby sleeps on top of a buckling Amazon box, her arm hanging over the side, pointing towards the big smile trademark which echos the expression on the cat’s face.

My brother & I got our stuff yesterday and schlepped it upstairs, with some help from a friend when we were running low on steam.

It doesn’t take many books and comics for it to seem like too many when you’re moving.

Much unpacking to do but moving is done!

My cat, Keke, only moments ago:

Street view of a two-story building with signage in English and Chinese, Offering braised chicken and an "All U Can Eat Buffet." Trees and a streetlamp decorate the scene.

214 King St E, Hamilton. Ont.

Two parking meters sharing a single post are installed on a sidewalk but set back from the curb, close to a brick wall.

Mary Street Meters, downtown Hamilton.

Red shopfront with yellow sign, promising noodle and dumpling, singular. The bottom half of the display window shows a number of dishes and their prices. Above this menu a man can be seen eating at a window seat.

220 King St E, Hamilton, Ont.

This city is full of the storefronts & cityscapes that I like to shoot,

It will take a while to decide what my constraints are here. It was liberating to mostly confine myself to Queen West in Toronto, after taking pictures all over the city.

#photography

I didn't do much of a food tour when
I visited last August. I have not had a roti in over eight years.

Something else to look forward to!

And Mackerel on King was close to Gandhi.

You rock! Thanks!

A the story brick building on a street corner, with a view down a commercial block of similar sized buildings. An older neon sign runs up the corner of the second and third floors that says hotel heartbreak. At ground level is a hero burgers outlet.

This picture was almost exactly 20 years ago, July 16, 2005, and shows the sign, four shops down the street.

In my main catalog is a picture of the front.

I’m sure I have a picture of it, about six shops East of Palmerston, but I never went inside.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this 162 page full colour book with 800+ photos is a pile of novels worth!

I moved back to Ontario to complete my book series. Moving is expensive! I want to sell these last books!

Normally $40, 15% off at checkout with coupon code MOVINGDAY

#photography

Precision is good.

Words that mean different things to different people are great for people who want to avoid actually spelling things out, like people who use woke to mean “progressivism that’s gone too far for my liking”