It’s true what they say that the air by the water feels different. This secluded area by Lake Ontario is one of my favourite discoveries this summer. I love sitting here and listening to the water lapping by the rocks and watching the waves meet the shore. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot some ducks with their ducklings nearby. If you’re even luckier, you’ll see a lovely sunset reflected off the water.
A calm scene by Lake Ontario. This place is so serene and so calming, I love being here. There’s always a good photograph or video to come out of any visit here. Check out my Instagram Reels for stunning videos from this day!
Here are some beautiful peonies from the backyard. After getting shots of them as is, I wanted to play around with water droplets on their petals. So for that, I filled a spray bottle with water and ventured back into the backyard. I sprayed water around four or five times with a fine mist for the desired effect. Too much and the water droplets pooled together and fell right off the petal. I’m quite happy with the results!
An almost summer sunset at Polson Pier in Toronto. This is one of my favourite spots for taking photos of the Toronto skyline, especially during sunset.
A moody spring day in Toronto, Canada. We headed down to the beach for a little bit for some fresh air. Soon after, we headed to Polson Pier so I could take some skyline shots with the storm clouds in the background. As we were driving there, the clouds looked particularly angry with lots of movement. By the time I got there and was ready to shoot, they had mellowed down a bit, which was a little disappointing. Since summer is just starting, I’m hoping to catch some angry storm clouds soon!
These are all old photographs that I went back and reworked into infrared inspired images. I think at this point, I’ve exhausted all older photos that would work well with this edit and where I ended up liking the final result. With the greenery of summer, I’m hoping for some new images soon!
Born and raised in Toronto and somehow, I’ve never seen the lake frozen over. Granted it’s only frozen near the harbour and the ice is nowhere near thick enough to skate on (despite what some people are doing on Instagram…), but it’s still such a beautiful sight. I don’t even know what I was expecting to see when I went to visit Polson Pier in person but I was still blown away. When we visited, it was only my mom and I. It was such a nice day, and we were able to enjoy some sunlight and nature while enjoying the views of the city. She also enjoyed throwing some chunks of ice overboard. I almost wish I could visit every day just to soak in the sights before it inevitably all melts.
We visited Cherry Beach after and the whole beach was frozen over! Instead of sand, we were met with very slippery ice and huge chunks of it. Honestly, us Torontonians are so lucky to have places like these in our own backyard.
My first photos of 2021! They’re just a little bit gloomy but I couldn’t resist capturing the pretty raindrops hanging on for dear life on some of those tree branches.
A few days after Toronto got its fair share of snow, I decided to venture out to the Scarborough Bluffs in the hopes of finding some stunning scenes. It was great timing on my part as the weather warmed up in the next few days after that and most of the beautiful snow had melted.
Up top, it was frigidly cold. My fingers nearly froze taking just by taking a few photos. Honestly though, it was 100% worth it. A little while later, we made our way down to Bluffers Park below. I didn’t want to waste too much time up top as we would be losing light soon and I knew the trek to the beach was a longer one, even with the car. The pathway there was covered in snow (obviously) but there was a bunch of ice from a ton of foot travel. It’s best to give yourself a lot of time and to take it slow because wiping out there does not sound ideal.
But when we finally emerged on to the beach, man oh man was the view worth it. The sun was starting to set and its orange light was glittering on the water’s waves. During the summer, the sun is hidden behind the landscape so it was quite a treat to see it this time. I wanted to stay for the complete sunset but unfortunately, that would require us staying for another hour or so. The cold wasn’t an issue down by the beach but it was too long of a wait for us. Hopefully on my next visit, I’ll be able to catch one of those stunning sunsets that everyone talks about for days later!
So, not only did I want to take photos at Brickworks during winter, I got to do that AND do it on Christmas after a snowstorm the night before! This may sound super cheesy, but it really felt like being inside a winter wonderland, or a snow globe after all the shaken snow settled. The snow clung to the trees in a way that doesn’t always happen and the atmosphere was silent. The only sounds in the air was distant chatter and the crunching of snow underneath your feet.
Since this year has been very different, we decided to do something different. Other families had the same idea but luckily, it wasn’t super crowded and people stuck to themselves or their group. I think it’s safe to say that absolutely everyone was in awe at the beauty of nature around them.
I hope that I’ll be able to visit again after another snowstorm. And let’s be frank, in Toronto another snowstorm is guaranteed. I only wish that I’ll be able to get there soon enough before all that fresh snow gets stepped on.
Gina Staios Photography 