Beyond 200 feet of My House™

Carmine at St. Andrew’s Church.

2026, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Fujifilm GF 45mm f/2.8 R WR, Fujifilm GFX 100SII, Inspiration, Portrait, Print, Street

I met Carmine today, but only because of what happened a week ago.

Let me explain.

I had stood in front of this church last weekend debating whether I should enter, but decided against it for fear of intruding and being chased away. When I returned home I looked up St. Andrew’s online and saw how lovely it was inside, so of course regretted my decision.

Today I found myself there again, and this time I noticed a sign by the front steps advertising a free concert. Well that gave me all the reason I needed to enter. I was happy I did.  When I stepped inside, I saw this tranquil scene of a man playing acoustic guitar, alone, at the front of the church.  He was preparing for his concert.  The sound was simply beautiful.  Without really thinking, I walked down the main aisle toward him, closing the distance between us.  I got within a few steps before he stopped playing; he looked up, quizzically, at which point I awkwardly said “Hi, would it be okay for me to take your portrait?”. He said yes, and the result is here.

Thanks Carmine.

—Peter.

 

When Harry Met Beth.

2025, Beyond 200 feet of My House™, Favourite, Fujifilm GFX 100SII, Inspiration, Mitakon 65mm f/1.4, Print

I was trying to achieve a vintage look with this photo, and I believe I was at least partially successful as a result of 3 things:

(1) The way the image was processed (muted colours, less contrast),

(2) The moment caught, in which there are no pedestrians or passing vehicles (pretty rare in a metropolis like Toronto), and

(3) The fact that this stretch of Eglinton hasn’t – yet – been overtaken by towering buildings (the storefronts have more human-friendly proportions that don’t overshadow life on the street and that speak to a by-gone era.

—Peter.