The Toronto Sunrise Series is a personal project of mine that began in February of 2014. What started as a fun outing with friends has now grown to be a notable project that I’m happy to continue for as long as I can wake myself up in the early morning hours.
To better acquaint yourself with my Toronto Sunrise Series, please read through my FAQ below, and browse through my images on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Toronto Sunrise Series?
The Toronto Sunrise Series is a personal project that I have been photographing since February of 2014. I attempt to capture the beauty of Mother Nature as the sun rises over the horizon. As the sun rises from the East, the majority of my images are taken from various parks along the lakeshore in the West end of the city. My photos serve not only to capture the beauty of the sunrise, but also documents major meteorological events in the city.
How did this series start?
My first sunrise outing was a fun shoot with friends at a park. While the sunrise itself wasn’t anything spectacular, it was still fun to be outside. I later went again, this time encountering a completely different sunrise experience, which sparked the notion that every sunrise is different. After that, I continued to go by myself since every morning proved to be something special.
What motivates you to continue with this series?
There really is no better way to spend your morning than with the beauty of Mother Nature. Whether it’s an 8 o’clock sunrise in the winter or a 6 o’clock sunrise in the summer, the time spent outside is invigorating and refreshing. And since every sunrise is different, you’ll always be in for a surprise every time you go, which is exciting in itself. When you come home after the shoot, you still have the entire day ahead of you. It’s a win-win situation if you ask me.
Do you go every morning?
As much as I would love to go every morning, I don’t live by the lakeshore, which means I have to drive down every time I decide to go. It does take a little effort on my end, which means I can’t afford to go every morning. Various websites and apps allow me to forecast what the morning weather may be like, which can help in my decision to go or not.
So, how often do you go out?
I don’t have a schedule of when I go out. I try and strive to go at least once a week, which typically ends up being on a weekend. But there are times when I don’t go out for weeks or months at a time. Sometimes I just wake up before sunrise and see what the cloud coverage looks like. If it looks promising, then I may head out; if not, then it’s right back into bed.
Do you ever go out with other people?
Yes! If my schedule permits, I’m always happy to meet up with those interested in shooting. I’ve had many people ask me if they can join me, however the difficulty is arranging our schedules. My availability isn’t always the same week after week since I have work and projects to complete for clients, and yours isn’t always open either. This is the main reason why I started my sunrise meetup.
The Annual Toronto Sunrise Meetup
2019 Sunrise Meetup 
2018 Sunrise Meetup 
2017 Sunrise Meetup
The Toronto Sunrise Meetup happens on the last day of Daylight Savings, which is the first Saturday of November. The sun rises at one of the latest times of the year on this day, around 8:03am, so it allows more people to come out. It’s a great time to meet other like-minded individuals and spend time together at sunrise. I hope to keep this an annual tradition here in Toronto.
The Series
Currently comprising of over 400 sunrise images captured along the shores of Toronto, the complete series tells the story of how Toronto wakes up in the morning. Click on this link, or select the below photo to view the complete collection of my Toronto Sunrise Series. You will be directed to my Portfolio Website.
With over 400 images in the series and constantly growing, it may be a little overwhelming to go through them all. As such, the first 20 images shown in the collection are some of my favourites from this series. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to select your favourites of the series too.
The Sub Series
The Toronto Sunrise Series has spawned a couple of other series that I enjoy creating. The two series—shown below—take on a more fine art appeal to them, and are considered as such by many.
The Abstraction Series
The majority of the photos comprised in my abstraction series is created during sunrise hours.
In the most simplistic terms, the photos are created by panning my camera during a long exposure. The resulting pattern created by the textures in the clouds and water create a more ethereal feeling, bringing it a more artistic expression to the photos.
Birds in Flight Series
This series was only a natural result of being by the lakeshore at dawn when birds flock to the shores, sometimes by the hundreds.
By capturing these birds in flight in a more artistic fashion through long exposure panning—similar to my Abstraction Series—I can depict their movement with a more ethereal expression.
