Toronto Pride Parade Photo Essay

Written by David Morris

A brief introduction - I recently met David Morris on a trip to Toronto. In addition to the photographs he takes for a living, and the photos he takes for his own interest, he volunteers for the charity organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, which provides remembrance photography to parents who've suffered the loss of a baby, as part of their healing process. He also hand crafts pens. I highly recommend checking out his website for further examples of his work in a portfolio with diverse categories that include travel, fauna, flora, portraits, weddings, celebrities and Canada. - TJ Dawe

older man at pride parade

I love taking pictures. Although some more than others. Sunday, July 3rd at the Toronto Pride parade I was shooting just for the joy of taking pictures.

woman at toronto pride parade

As a professional photographer I usually shoot for other people. Be it a wedding, portrait, home, pet or anything else that people want photographed. Much of my time is spent at my computer making these images as perfect and pleasing as they can be.

brown set of hands playing a tambourine

Again, I love taking photos and often tell my friends that "I don't work for a living, I take pictures".

woman at pride parade

I believe that at it's finest photography is about capturing the moment. Having composition, exposure and emotion all come together at the same time. The Pride parade provides all the moments a photographer could ever ask for, just find a great spot (the raised median on Yonge, just below College was perfect) and watch it all go past.

Elizabeth May from the Green party at the pride parade

The following slideshow has no editing done to any of the photos. It contains 155 photos straight from the camera. To me this is a wonderful workout. What it must be like for an actor during a great improv, an artist doing quick sketches or a professional athlete playing in the park. I'm none of the above, but I sure loved a hot day in the sun, a good cookie, my 80-200mm lens and a great parade. I hope you enjoy some of the images I've created.

David Morris

www.davidphoto.ca

To watch the slideshow, click here.

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4 comments

Comment Link Thursday, 21 July 2011 16:37 posted by jwood
Thanks for this David. The slideshow especially captures the spirit of the event.

I have a question to you as a photographer. I recently was one of the groomsmen at a friend's wedding. Observing the photographers, there was a lot of buzzing about and clicking. There was some direction and staging, but mostly them just trying to capture the moments as they naturally unfolded.

To be sure, the sheer volume of photos will increase the odds of capturing great moments, but it seems to me there also needs to be another more subtle approach that must separate the artist from just a rabid clicker.

Certainly techniques and experience and good equipment are important, but I wonder if you might share some of the ways you might approach an event (emotionally, etc) that increase the likeliness of capturing powerful moments or the essential spirit. The sweet spot of a great photo if you will, setting aside luck and technique.
Comment Link Thursday, 21 July 2011 18:10 posted by David
HI J
You certainly cannot discount the rule of "shoot a lot and show a little" as you note. With experience you learn when the moments are going to happen and are ready for them to come to you as opposed to frantically searching them out. A great photo is a combination of that perfect moment, the technique to have the right exposure, the gear to have a sharp image and the eye for composition. So we can certainly not set aside luck and technique but on to that we can add an awareness of the situation and the patience and stillness to be ready when the moment happens. I hope this answers your question.
Comment Link Saturday, 23 July 2011 17:00 posted by Andrew Baxter
Great photos David.

I assume you've been taken photographs for a while now and so you've most likely worked in both film and digital. I wonder how the transition to digital has changed how you - and people in general - take pictures, if at all?
Comment Link Saturday, 23 July 2011 17:15 posted by David
Immensely. Being able to see the results on the back of the camera, and the fact that pixels are free, has allowed vast amounts of freedom to experiment. Knowing if things are working out or not is wonderful. The transition from the darkroom to the computer also allows so much more freedom to change the outcome. It was however an expensive transition, especially at the beginning when the technology was changing so fast that cameras were out of date every year. Thankfully it has slowed down now.