Streets & Alleys

It seems I can't take a trip to Montreal without coming back with a huge batch of photos (my lame excuse for why these photos took so long to post). And it also seems that no matter how many times I go, I never run out of new things to shoot, even if I'm revisiting the same places again.

The streets of Montreal are just so picturesque, no matter where I turn, there always seems to be a new source of inspiration.

Palais des congrès

love these stairs

le petit café

What's so great about just wandering the streets it that sometimes you stumble upon some hidden treasures. When I first walked past this alleyway, I literally had to do a double-take. The flags and lights were strung up so beautifully, it's really quite something to behold.

 The stairs at the back made for some cool architectural lines as well.

 In another alley, saw this vintage-y bike and some grunge-y looking pipes.

There was also a low-hanging fire escape which lead all the way up to the rooftop, so naturally we had to give it a shot.

Nick says "no go" -- rooftop was too steep

As we were walking around, I noticed an American couple eating something delicious (I knew they were American because they said it was "about 12 Canadian dollars" :P) and they directed us to another alley a few blocks away.

 bbq time!

In light of the wonderful weather that weekend, Accords had just brought out their barbecue and smoker and set up a little patio area in the alley next to their restaurant. They had a mini menu of a special kimchi sausage hotdog, pastrami sandwich, and oysters, with wine pairings available as well.

We ordered one of each of the hotdog and sandwich and buzzed around the alleyway excitedly taking photos while we waited for our food. The chefs were so amused they gifted us a plate of oysters - thanks guys!

The alleyway adventures continued a few weekends later, when we walked past a cute retro style bike on the way to my favourite sushi joint in Kingston. It was parked outside with a sign on the basket that read "Martello Alley".

We walked back after sushi and the super friendly owner, David, was more than happy to tell us all about the only Artist Alley in Ontario, and was so pleased to see lots of photographs being taken of his hard work.

fun fact: the concrete ground is painted to look like brick!

little planters placed all around

top-down view from the top of the staircase

Hope you enjoyed these street/architecture shots! In addition to the fashion project, I wanted to work on building on this aspect of my photography as well.

From the fashion project, I'm actually learning a lot about the intricacies of shooting with different models (and male models too!)  Additionally, I've been feeling pretty inspired by seeing the different styles of my models, and also influenced by my previous vintage project. For these reasons, I've decided to revisit the other side, working very closely with Nick. Through this collaborative effort, I hope to be able to 1) be able to provide better direction to my models when shooting, 2) have some more photos that showcase my own fashion style and pieces, and 3) put the spotlight on vintage and fashion resellers and promote shopping locally.

I'll have lots more posts and photos to delve into this further, but in the meantime, here are a couple photos from Martello Alley, and also the spa where we relaxed and pampered ourselves before we headed to Montreal.

on the staircase

thinking in the rain

pretending to be a waterbender

channeling my inner mermaid

Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading :)