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With a record-setting number of construction projects ongoing across the GTA, many are drawn to the UrbanToronto Forum to both witness and help to document the frenetic pace of construction throughout the region. Though information submitted in text format is a major part of the Forum, the photographic contributions shared by countless members illustrate the progress on various residential, commercial, infrastructure and transit projects in a way that even the most descriptive adjectives fail to match. As one of UrbanToronto’s longest serving and most prolific photo-contributors, we have selected Forum member “drum118” as the UrbanToronto Photographer of the Week.
Drum118 has always considered himself a train buff and transit enthusiast, taking photos of trains from a young age before branching out to transit and construction photography. Since buying his first digital point-and-shoot camera in 2005, drum118 has upgraded cameras several times and over the course of those 8 years, he has taken over 200,000 photos of over 500 different projects – and we assure you that those numbers aren’t typos.
Like many of our Forum’s photographic contributors, drum118 enjoys the historical element of snapping a photo and leaving something behind for the historical files. Constant evolutions in camera technology and affordability have made documenting these projects easier than ever, and unlike previous generations of construction, a host of amateur photographers, like drum118 and others found on the UT Forum, are able to provide us with a comprehensive historical record of a project’s construction.
Aside from photos, drum118 is also a regular contributor of video updates, including the clip visible below, which gave us one of our first looks at the TTC's new Bombardier Flexity Outlook LRVs.
As a regular presence on our Forum, we look forward to seeing more of drum118’s photos and videos of a rapidly changing city.
We will return next week to feature another photographer from our Forum. Think you've got what it takes? Grab a camera or mobile device and get to work, then post your content in the Forum, and you just may find yourself featured in next week’s article!
