.October 2025.

Mixed bag this month–I didn’t get out much. I was waiting on the World Series & Halloween. As the days passed I began to find myself torn between being a photographer and just being a guy with a camera, enjoying time with friends. Holding levels of expectations above myself. Last Halloween I went out and flash banged the city–so many portraits and connections–I felt alive. This October, I started to question what I was shooting for. Was it content? Social media? I had lost track of why I had picked up a camera in the first place, it started to feel like photography, not a fun hobby with a camera. Upon reflection I found myself a tad more paralyzed creatively than I would like to admit. Them’s the bends I guess.

I’m coming up on the end of my second year with the Monthly 35mm and the running theme has been Seasonal Aperture Disorder. Naturally, October was nothing short of the mark; another lesson in the process. Now that it has passed, I recognize its importance and the path it has shown me. Although I have enjoyed creating a monthly reel with some cool tunes played over some cropped frames on IG. I've come to feel the stresses I had sought to evade upon starting this photographic endeavour.

As the final quarter of the year approaches I will be sure to finish what I started, but I will be focussing less on the content mindset and more on capturing memories of/or whatever interests me while not taking it so serious. The real crux of it all, if I’m being honest, is how my photography is seemingly reliant on social media for exposure and accessibility. Yes–I do take photos for myself, and use this website as platform to share for others–but the caveat that kills me, is shooting on a physical format that is then distributed digitally and compressed further into small screens. Battling with the idea of how can I possibly have people see my work in a physical format? all while keeping those engaged and not spoiling your best work on IG, intentionally saving it for a large print, book, zine, or show.  Again this is all part of the process and necessary reflection, but it is real and I’m certain I am not alone in this.

This October, I waited for the energy of the World Series to collide with Halloween and overlooked the difficulty in capturing both of them. I missed out on the ALCS energy and prioritized the experience with friends. This was the right choice–Halloween is every year–Toronto rarely gets a crack at the World Series let alone other Championships.

There is an abundance of skyline photos. It never ceases to amaze me. The colours & the clouds blend between the backdrop of the city and the city as the backdrop to the colours & clouds. The rest is some sprinkled action with friends and wonderful strangers as the city came together for the Final two games. Nothing short of exhilarating to watch beside the Sky Dome at Steam Whistle then only to hear a pin drop in the somber walk home.

See ya’ll next month!