I took a trip to Toronto Island on Tuesday. Ferry access to the island has been shut off do to the municipal workers strike in Toronto. The only way to get to the island is to catch a ride with a private water taxi.

Normally swarmed with people, on the hottest day of the year so far it was deserted.

Toronto Island, Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Toronto Island, Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

Toronto Island, Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

Toronto Island, Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

Last week I did an assigned project for the Avenue section in the Post.

We brought in three holocaust survivors that have recently published their memoirs. I did a video interview with each one of them and shot some portraits.

It ran in the Avenue section on Monday (June 15, 2009) and the videos are still online.

The videos can be viewed here.

Paul-Henri Rips

Alex Levin

Renate Krakauer

No, this blog is not dead. It may have seemed like it due to the lack of posts (a month of no posts- I know) but I like to think that it was on a blog vacation. It has a nice sun burn and is fully rested, ready for posting.

What has happened in the last month in my life? A lot.

Two weekends ago was the wrap up of my Contact show. We had a party on Friday, which was a great time. A lot of people came to check out the work and the performances. We had great food and the wine was flowing, great time overall. Thanks for everyone that made it out; it is great to get the support on this project.

I have also continued to work on my skinhead story in Ontario. I am planning to put more time into the project and see what I can develop it into.

I have also started working on a personal essay, looking at inequality during the recession.

Other then that, lots of daily assignments and I have been boxing in my evenings. My first sparring match resulted in a bloody nose and me realizing that boxing is not as easy as it looks. Lots more work to do there.

Northbuck dance crew performs at the Street Dance Academy in Toronto, Friday May 29. These guys were the subjects of my story.

Portrait of me at my Contact closing party.

Pete McLeod, a Red Bull air race pilot, a Canadian and the youngest competitor to compete in the Red Bull Air Race, poses for a photo at the Toronto City Centre Airport, Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

Murray Reesor, 82 years old, feeds cows on his farm property on Steeles Ave East, Thursday, June 11, 2009. Ressor has lived on his farm all of his life.

A slide from my essay "Where is the recession?"

Archaeologist Ronald Williamson poses for a photo in the Don Jail, in Toronto, Ont. Tuesday, June 9, 2009. Williamson was the head of a dig that uncovered bodies that were buried behind the Don Jail.

Matthew von Teichman, President of Life Choices, an organic food company, poses for a photo in Toronto, Ont. Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

Jordan

Emily

I hung out with some friends on the weekend and rode (well I didn’t ride to much,) during the annual Toronto ICC BMX Street Jam.

BMX was what initially drew me into photography. I have been riding since grade school and my friends on their bikes were the first subjects in my photography. I bugged my mom until she would teach me how to use her cool SLR camera then begged some more to let me take it in my backpack as we rode around the city and through fields.

I haven’t been riding very much since I moved to Toronto, an injury last summer and a busy life has seen my BMX collecting dust. Adversely I have not really shot bmx photos in the last year or two. This weekend was a great, pedaling around and enjoy the atmosphere that I grew up in.