Toronto's new Crystal, a photo from Ontario, Central

Photographer's Note

When the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the controversial renovation of the venerable Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto opened in June this year, critics were hugely divided in their opinions of the addition. The R.O.M. itself is a heritage building and the Crystal simply envelops most of it. With very few square corners, it adds 175,000 square feet of exhibit space inside and puts a whole new face to the streetscape outside.

I have not cropped this or straightened the perspective so that you can see how times have changed at this busy corner. At the bottom left, you can see the tower of the Church of the Redeemer, built in 1879. Another heritage building is reflected in the windows of the Crystal.

In the Workshop you will find a view of the whole width of this addition so you can see how this image fits in context of the whole.
Times have changed and will continue to change, even though we are not always eager for them to do so.

Tech shot in RAW, converted to jpg, resized and sharpened

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful weekend

Silke

pablominto, Royaldevon, pat0500, ChrisJ, pierrefonds, kessi, gunbud, macondo, Floydian, feather, ktanska, Cretense, MLINES, jean11-3, dougie, gracious, kevinos, scroller has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pablominto (53746) 2007-08-17 10:03

Hello Silke,
Great lines, dynamic point of view!
I like you way of looking at modern architecture, excellent details in an attractive composition...
Nice reflection is a bonus!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Royaldevon (87586) 2007-08-17 10:32

Hello Silke,

I like what you are doing at the moment!
This really does achieve your objective of comparison!

The new building looks to be saying - 'Look! I can engulf you too!' Very strong images!

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

pat0500 (21561) 2007-08-17 13:10

Hi Silke,
Very nice picture, great lines indeed and very graphical shot..!
Good framing and very good reflection too..
Best regards,
Patrick

ChrisJ (173110) 2007-08-17 19:57

Hi Silke

Good use of reflections, in the highly polished, mirror-like surfaces of the downtown highrise. The tilted pov adds dynamism. Tfs!

Graal (103040) 2007-08-17 23:39

Hi Silke,
amazing reflections and modern architecture. Good captured theme, well quality. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

PixelTerror (0) 2007-08-18 1:10

Hi Silke,
Modern it is, and conveniently offering a reflection of the street life that seems veeeeeeery quiet, where have people gone ?
Have a nice WE JY

pierrefonds (116812) 2007-08-18 3:30

Hi Silke,

A good POV of the new crystal and of the buildings of Toronto, the photo has good composition, sharpness and nice colors. have a good weekend.

Pierre

kessi (16) 2007-08-18 4:02

Gosh, Silke,
What a fascinating picture. I like the way you brought in the old with the new by including the church tower. That kind of balance is good, especially in architecture. Lovely clear, crisp shot.

Regards,
Irmgard

gunbud (34066) 2007-08-18 18:31

Hi Silke,
Wonderful capture of the contrasts between the old and the new. The reflection in the modern glass is stunning as it is seen in marvelous details.
Regards, Tom

macondo (20449) 2007-08-18 18:56

Hi Silke. These kinds of extensions are nearly always controversial, which makes them a good thing if you ask me. The WS is a valuable addition to this one, showing the context really well. The shot itself is a terrific graphical image with excellent handling of the light and shadow to get really good detail in the shaded area, revealing fine reflection. The inclusion of the other city buildings adds perspective to the shot. Thanks for the interesting note, too.
Regards,
Andrew

Floydian (30970) 2007-08-19 3:23

Hello Silke,
Interesting composition with strong powerful lines, some blue in the sky and a perfect reflection from those glass windows. I would never have seen this or taken a picture from it...i like the way you look at thing very much...great work.
Have a nice day, Henk

feather (51130) 2007-08-19 3:47

It was a good idea to concentrate on a small part of this new architecture. The wide view you thoughtfully included in the WS shows us the whole and how difficult it would be to show it advantageously without the clutter around it. The reflections are fascinating. Well done
Kath

leonorkuhn (16237) 2007-08-19 10:50

Hi Silke

Very creative shot. I like the POV, with the reflections showing the street and the buidings in the opposite side. Nice colors and good light.

Greetings
Leonor

Glint (6171) 2007-08-19 12:48

hello Silke,
your POV is quite disorientating. I feel as if I want to crane my neck to get a handle on it. good sharp detail and very graphic too.
regards
Bev

ktanska (45646) 2007-08-20 0:03

Hi Silke,
That really has weird angle. Cubism of Picasso comes to mind, although I don't remember him playing with architecture. Details shot works well and gives us a riddle to think. And WS gives the answer.
I wonder how interios has been arranged with this.
Kari

UnTrained (0) 2007-08-20 1:20

Hi Silke,
you shake my brain, you warp my view. This is amazing. I have to put piece by piece together and at the third or fourth I have to restart. Thanks for the workshop to convince me of being not lost in view. More than dynamic, well done.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Polonaise (5802) 2007-08-20 6:26

Shooting architecture...
Always fascinating...Always challenging...
Seems to me that you're really fascinated by our great city, Silke...Are you ?

All the best, dear gal.

g.

wolf38 (30) 2007-08-20 7:58

Hello Silke. Your photo pleases me very well. It works freshly, spontaneously and shows the joy in experimenting, - and in photographing. A good and achievement worth seeing. Best regards, Wolfgang.

Cretense (68709) 2007-08-28 11:24

Hi Silke!

Brilliant architecture shot! Great composition, framing and perspective, beautiful reflections and great light managment. Congratulations!

Hercules

MLINES (12516) 2007-08-30 14:40

Hi Silke. You are getting to see some interesting architecture here and it is exciting to see it via your lens. This is well cropped to maximise the angles. Good clarity and colours. TFS. Murray.

Silvio1953 (224503) 2007-09-01 13:25

Hi Silke, amazing view with wonderful reflections, very well done, ciao Silvio

zeca (19762) 2007-09-06 16:57

Hello Silke!
Very nice graphism. I like your POV and the reflections are interesting to the composition, making it attractive and nice! Well seen and well taken!
Cheers!
Zeca

jean11-3 (2799) 2007-09-10 13:50

Hello Silke, what a very strange design for this building.Thanks for providing the w/s with the complete view.
The composition works well here,as you show us the other buildings of the city and put this one into context.The reflections give us an extra view too.
Have you been inside the Museum?I would love to know how it feels.
Thanks for commenting on my 'barn' pictures.
Regards Jean.

dougie (2523) 2007-09-11 3:00

Hi,
This is the kind of street shot that I like - lots of angles, good detail - and a bonus reflection adding another dimension. Thanks.
Dougie.

gracious (20025) 2007-09-18 18:38

Hello my friend Silke,
A crystal clear photo!
So beautifully captured with amazing pov!
the exposure and focus so good that brings perfect sharpness, beautiful colour and details in the photo!
well done and well seen
thanks for sharing
cheers
Tony

kevinos (7517) 2007-09-27 8:23

I like pictures that confuse me a little and this one does that. It's a wonderful collage of pieces of architecture, old and new, in a fascinating jumble. You have exposed the whole complex assemblage so well! regards kevin

jmcl (14535) 2007-09-29 16:17

Hi Silke,

Very nice. You have taken all these urban graphic lines and turned them into something disorienting .. great and well thought out point of view and composition .. It really gives the feel of the disorienting, frantic, furious, pace of modern urban life.

take care,

John

scroller (3451) 2007-10-19 11:58

Hej Silke,
Exciting photo with many dimensions. The streetlife in contrast to the blue sky makes an excellent composition.
Hälsningar
/Stefan