Rija's Photo Blog

meet a carribana fan. kieth collects whistles, $5 each. he’s got about 7. and is hoping to go back to carribana next year and get more. he’s shy.

so i learned how to make black and whites, the proper way. and now i might actually do black and white in my final images. here is grant again, he was one of my first photographs of this street series (sept 15 post). and i have to say, im okay with this.

seelim, i don’t know if im spelling his name correctly, was hilarious with his first pose. i walked by him at first and he kept talking to me as i was walking. sort of muttering, please… so i went back and asked if i could take his picture, and he said sure and totally burst into this huge expansive pose. he was smiling and sort of muttering. he sort of reminded me of galum… maybe i shouldn’t say that?

ron hails from windsor, on. he’s here for the week complete with his collection of tattoos. a unigoat; a syringe and the number 13 1/2. he says a unigoat is a goat and unicorn, symbolizing good and evil in us all. very gestalt of him. the syringe is from his 4 years on speed. he got clean in at brentwood in Windsor. it took him 4 months or maybe 16 months? on his cheek the number 13 1/2 is reminding him of his unwitting involvement in a bank robbery back in the late 80′s. thirteen is the number of jurors + judge at his trial. and 1/2 represents his 50/50 chance outcome. he spent 11 months in prison, for his part in the crime.

i ran into steve on saturday evening. he says he’s normally by the ferry docks. he plays the harmonica. he’s a kind of concerned about the coming winter. he was very enthusiastic about playing his harmonica for me. he told me that he had a job before, but it paid only $3 an hour and then his boss accused him of theft. for some reason i really felt bad for steve. i sort of felt he should be home in a nice warm bed somewhere.

from communist bulgaria in the 1940′s. peter came here with his son. his son has since grow up, gotten married and gone back to bulgaria. he says he’s 85, never spent a day in the hospital. peter did pull out his false teeth to show me that he’d had dental work. every day he can be found on the same park bench. and on rainy days in the bottom level in the eaton centre. he asked if i could bring him back a picture. or maybe he wanted all my pictures so he could sell them on the street for me. I didn’t fully understand that final directive. he still bikes!

when i met jimmy boy, he didn’t seem to be in a good place. and as i was talking to him he brought out this necklace that he was cradling. he kept positioning so i could see it. i thought he wanted me to take a picture of his artwork. i asked him if he made it. jimmy boy then proceeded to tell me about his friend that had been electrocuted two weeks earlier. the necklace belonged to that friend. he was very gruff, noting that the actions hadn’t been the brightest. it was obvious that he was lost and consumed by the accidental death of his long time friend.