On April 12th Maplewood High School had its annual Spring Bling concert. I was invited to photograph it. Taken from the TDSB website; Maplewood High School is a specialized learning community that provides a safe and nurturing environment for students with special needs. The concert was great, with amazing group and individual performances in music, dance, and acting. Maplewood seems like a good environment with staff that are passionate about what they do. 
          

A few weeks ago I  got to photograph at the stables at TPS Mounted Unit headquarters on the north corner of the historic Horse Palace building at Exhibition Place for OpenFile. Have a look here for more photos: TPS Horses

Jeremy Beaupre tends to horse Spencer at the Horse Palace at CNE. Toronto ON, April 12, 2012.

Gathering at the Curtain Call

I met Irene Powell in September of 2011 when I took part in the 63rd Annual Missouri Photo Workshop in Clinton, Missouri. Getting to know Irene was incredible. Photographing her story was a privilege that resulted in this photo essay: Laughing as the Curtain Falls.

A few months later on December 9th, 2011 Irene Powell died in her home in Clinton.

The Missouri Photo Workshop recently posted my follow-up story. I travelled by car back to Clinton for Irene’s funeral and got to meet more of her wonderful family. Here is a link (Gathering at the Curtain Call) to the photos, text and scans of materials from the events surrounding the final goodbye.

Proposal – Here is a view of a partially demolished building across the street from High Park on the north side of Bloor St. W. between Oakmount Road and Pacific Avenue. The old houses on this block had been slated for demolition for a very long time but apparently a lot of residents in the area have been opposing the project. A week or so ago the wood walls went up and most of the homes were almost completely demolished on Thursday night (March 22, 2012). The information board (seen small on the right of the photo) states that there is a development proposal for 1844-1854 Bloor St. W, 6-14 and part of 18 & 18A Oakmount Rd & 35 & 37 Pactific Avenue.

It’s interesting just how much opposition a project like this garners. Speak to your average High Park resident and he or she will likely state a strong declaration against putting up another condo in the area. I’ve heard that this particular project will have over 200 units and will be 9 floors high. It is indeed sad to see those homes go but there is no denying the development of Toronto. There is a natural progression in any city and unless we stop growth altogether the landscape of the city will continue to change. Growth will occur upwards and hopefully not just continue to sprawl out to the suburbs. To expect the area around High Park to always remain the same is a bit absurd. Lets just hope the park doesn’t start getting sold off to developers.

While photographing for my portrait project in a displacement camp in Carrefour outside of Port-au-Prince in Haiti a few weeks ago I came across a young man named Elie D.P. Maxime (below). He told me about his performance art and showed me some pictures. Elie and his friend Wilfred Destin (left side of 2nd photo below) got a few props from their makeshift homes in this displacement camp in the Centre Sportif and returned to put on an incredible performance.

   @nbsp;   

Ellie told me he was once a student of journalism before the earthquake. He now lives in a makeshift home with 5 members of his family. The group, including Wilfred have performed since 2003 and although they still perform from time to time they struggle financially. I was told that since the earthquake they performed with a visiting group from Canada called Magiciens Sans Frotieres.

Balance – A woman in a balancing yoga position on the West Toronto Railpath. Toronto, Canada, March 18, 2012.

Children at school in Carrefour, Haiti. February 27, 2012.  A woman walks by a mural of Haitian president Michel Martelly with his eyes scratched out in Petionville. February 25, 2012. A security guard stands in front of a store on Delmas 33 in Port-au-Prince. February 23, 2012. Street vendors and passers-by on a busy Delmas 33. February 24, 2012. A man cooking hot dogs on a grill off of Delmas 33 smiles at the camera. February 26, 2012.

Delmas 33 – A man walks carrying building materials near Delmas 33 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 1, 2012.

I have taken down samples of my portrait project in the displacement camps of Port-au-Prince until I edit it properly. Here is a photo of a woman displaced and very much effected by the earthquake of 2010 but living in her sister’s house in Carrefour. 

Nancy Mirthil holds a photo of her 11-year old daughter at her funeral. She died a year after the earthquake of related infections. The daughter and another one of her children, a little boy were pulled from the rubble 5 days after the disaster. She now has 6 children. The father died 10 years ago. A total of 12 people live in this house including her and her kids. March 2, 2012.

Narrowing in on the project but in the meantime here are photos from downtown Port-au-Prince. Some improvement but signs of the earthquake everywhere 2 years later.
  

A couple of kids in a neighbourhood that I’ve spent some time in for a story I’ve been researching. February 26, 2012.

Soraya Paul at her neighbour’s door in Hate 4 Delmas 31 in Port-au-Prince is 3 years old. Her father says she was born 3 months prematurely and cannot speak. Below is one of Soraya’s neighbours.  

As I continue to search for a story and meet with people I also come across others along the way. Here are 3 pictures from today.

Here are several photos of some of the people I met in Port-au-Prince today as I look for a subject and story to focus on during my time here. February 24, 2012.

Will Marc, 28 lost his leg after the university building where he studied linguistics collapsed during the earthquake of January 12, 2010. He received a prosthetic leg from Cuba. He is pictured at home in Fontamara 43 in Port-au-Prince. (Wider shots with his real and prosthetic legs to come)  

A woman looks into the camera as she sits on the side of the road of Fontamara 43 in Port-au-Prince. 

A man named Innolen Vincent smiles from under the truck he fixes on the side of the road in Port-au-Prince.  

A young child looks into the camera next to a barrier overlooking the ocean and a trash covered coast in Port-au-Prince.  

Lucien Payoute whom I first met several days after the earthquake in January of 2010 sits on a ‘tap-tap’ two years later in Port-au-Prince.  

PaP Street 2 – A man sits in front of his home in Delmas 33 in Port-au-Prince, February 23, 2012. This guy called me the N word a few times and then said that his nickname was Talk 2 Me.

PaP Street 1 – Two young Haitians find shade in the parking lot of a grocery store near Delmas, a main road through Port-au-Prince. February 23, 2012.

PaP – Just over 2 years after the devastating earthquake in Haiti and my departure from PaP (Port-au-Prince) I returned. This is the first photo that I shot today as I entered immigration at the airport.

More street photography to edit for now.