Santa and some raw art

This was a busy week. With all that's normally going on, there was a Santa Claus Parade in downtown Toronto, last Sunday, which I wanted to see. Also, I went to see the Raw Artists exhibition on Thursday.

Santa Claus Parade was, well... fun. For all those under 10.
Nevertheless, it was nice to see it once, get some shots and leave it at that. I was surprised by how many people were there. It was a nice, warm day so I guess that contributed a lot.

The streets were closed, security guys everywhere, children jumping around, parents holding thermos bottles with coffee sitting on sidewalks, cushions, blankets, strollers, sandwiches and lots of reindeer horns on people's heads.

Apparently, people arrive early in the morning to save the spot for their family, so that they can sit in front row and see the parade.

The parade alone lasts for couple of hours, but to have a nice watching spot, you should be there hours earlier.





To be honest, it was actually more interesting before the parade showed up, because of all the people and kids mingling on the streets. Put some children on the middle of the empty street and give them some crayons and there you go. Art as you've never seen it.

I didn't wait to see the Santa though - it was enough for me to witness Frozen characters, clowns, girl with the goose, people in dog's costumes, Lego figures and other, I must say, lame and totally unrelated characters to something that's called Santa Claus Parade. 

The only thing they all had in common were Christmas songs. I didn't see a single reindeer :O or one of Santa's elves, for that matter. Or anything related to actual Christmas holidays. Too many commercial banners and sponsor signs for my taste though. It was like watching commercials on TV.

However, it was obvious the children were enjoying it. They don't care about rules or names or commercials or appropriate costumes. They spent the day dancing and drawing in the streets of Toronto. What can be better than that?

For something more to my liking, I visited a more adult event going on in MOD Club on College Street this week.


There was a Raw Artists Uprising event with numerous artists showing their work. Some of Toronto's photographers, painters, jewelry makers, make up artists, film makers and musicians were presenting their best pieces and had fun in connecting and browsing thru other spheres of art. It was quite interesting to be mingling around some extraordinary individuals. Here's more on that, where you can see the artists involved and some of their work.

All in all, a fun week. I was surprised by some snowflakes yesterday, and that doesn't seem like fun at all. Soon enough it'll be snowy and (more) cold and I'll have to stay in and shoot the hamster again...

Stay warm!

Kind gesture or a predator move: A different perspective

Yesterday was a WEIRD day. I got a bit paranoid (actually, a lot) and here's why.

I was out taking some photos, and came across the skating park. I wanted to get a few shots of the park itself - all the curves and graffiti are making it interesting. However, there were boys skating and I ended up taking a few shots of them on the platform and in the air.
The boys - I must say, the kids - probably early teens, 11, 12 years old - were curious and happy to be models for me, and of course, they wanted to see the photos, which I showed them on my camera. I also told them that I can send the photos to them via email.

At first, that seemed like nothing wrong.

And then, it hit me.

Was that inappropriate? Could that be misunderstood for something dishonest?

I am an adult female. The boys are minors, I've never seen them before, I have no idea who they are and I'm about to contact them and send them photos over the internet. Somehow, that sounds wrong.

I started composing an e-mail, and suddenly, the more I wrote, the more I gained a different perspective. I put myself in their parents shoes - and I was certain that reading that e-mail might trigger some alarms. Could they believe I'm trying to lure their kids into something wrong?

Just to be clear - I wrote an honest e-mail, saying that I'm sending the photos, saying that I believe they were minors and telling them they should let their parents know they can contact me if they want to, leaving my contacts and name. The more I wanted to make clear that I have no dishonest intentions, the more it sounded wrong. Like I was defending myself for something I haven't, nor I will be doing.

I've consulted a lawyer who told me I did nothing wrong by taking the photographs in public area. But I never got the answer about sending the photos to the kids.

Still haven't sent the e-mail. Maybe I should just keep it simple, attach the photos and say "there you go, boys, have fun!".

Many people assume, wrongly, that the restrictions regarding taking photographs in public places are much more rigid.

What I know for sure, based on yesterday's hours online looking at the laws in Ontario:

• the photographers are free to take photos in public places - whether you have people or children in a photograph, there is no law that states that's wrong - except if the photographs are indecent, of course
• there are certain public places for which you have to have a permission to take shots, but those are rare and it will usually be stated clear somewhere on the area, so you'll know
• you are allowed to publish and post photographs of random people or children online, without their permission - except if the photographs are indecent and if you're making money or using them for advertising, in which case you need their approval and are obligated to pay them for it in some cases
• basically, a common sense and morals should dictate the actions - if the photos are inappropriate, you shouldn't have taken them anyway (especially of kids), and if an adult is a model, you need their permission.

Here's one of the documents I found and it's pretty clear about most of the things you should know:

http://ambientlight.ca/wp-content/uploads/Ontario-Photography-Laws-V1.0.pdf

I'm sure many of you have already been in this situation - I haven't, so I got puzzled. I knew about the laws I stated above, but I'm still afraid to send the shots to the boys. There's nothing I can find to make myself sure what I'm about to do can't be considered as something wrong. 

Am I making a big deal out of this? Sadly, I must conclude, we live in sad times, when I spend the whole day trying to figure out how an ordinary and kind gesture can be interpreted as something dishonest. Expressions like "internet misconduct", "internet luring", "children photographs distributing" are not leaving my mind.

The boys were happy about the photos, and I just don't want to let them down. I promised I'd send the photos. I don't want to break that promise, not tough I'll never see those kids ever again. Not my style. Should I've not made the promise in the first place?

Feel free to share your opinions and experiences if you ever been in similar situation.  I'd love to hear some thoughts on this dilemma...