http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=585048
When I was a kid growing up in the late 50's and early 60's, apartment buildings had names. Often in gold-leaf lettering on the main doors, of as some sort of prominent signage on the front wall, it seemed that every building had a name. That trend seems to be over now, as new rental apartment buildings seem to be decidedly lower class affairs, not worthy of going to all the trouble of being named Such nomenclature seems anachronistic and quaint to me now, as do the names themselves: "mansions" and "courts" abound in the older parts of Toronto, and names such as "The Sussex", "The Avalon" and "The Merlin" tell of headier days, when sophisitcated urbanites inhabited these grand residences. Most of them are crumbling now, their days of glory long since having past. I've taken a few photos (never printed) with various 35mm cameras, but back when my shoulder injury forced me to use my waist-level viewfindered Yashicamat, it occured to me that doing a series of these old places in 6x6 medium format, taken with a 50 year old camera might be kind of interesting. I've only taken about 2 rolls so far, and I'll be getting at least one print per week done up. These are my first two (but by all means they may not make it into the final series - however big this series may end up). Any comments WRT these first two photos, and the idea for the series generally, are appreciated. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
