The City of Creative Canvasses: London, Ontario — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson

Blake Ferguson
Sep 9, 2014
6 min read

Updated: Aug 28

Date Published: 09/10/2014

Date Edited: 06/03/2025

While I have chosen to spare personal details, I would like to share an update on my life for those who solely know me as an automotive creator and hobbyist photographer.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the light and shadows of Fullarton Street, London, Ontario, Canada. — **Looking West on Fullarton Street — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

My creative inspirations initially emerged in Newmarket, Ontario. The only credit I can pass is to my close friends and family for pushing me forward confidently into pursuing this journey. With great enthusiasm, I have relocated to London, Ontario, to embark on a new chapter of my life. I am now pursuing studies in photography and the arts at Fanshawe College. I am eager to explore the exciting opportunities ahead, connecting with like-minded individuals to broaden my horizons and sharpen my skills in creating outstanding fine art images.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the Clock Tower of Dufferin Corporate Centre in London, Ontario, Canada. — **Dufferin Corporate Centre — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

Whereas for my first outing to capture street photography and fine-art compositions, my focus mainly steered towards the itch for wall art and graffiti. Even after only a few months residing here, I could already tell the infinite retail space for street artists alike.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the front entrance of St Paul's Cathedral in London, Ontario, Canada. — **St Paul's Cathedral — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

Strolling through the mainstream core of Downtown London, Ontario, greeted by aesthetically charming cityscapes and architectural buildings. While experiencing London before moving here, I already had a grip on the grunge and grits, knowing it orchestrated a city-like essence, similar to Toronto, but not on competing scales.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the exterior signage of Rolex Watches in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **Rolex Watches Exterior Sign — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

My hype could not contain, as now I had an accessible concrete jungle to capture at my disposal, 24/7! The crème of the crop, while enrolled as a Fanshawe Photography student, I gained access to up-to-date equipment compared to my own DSLR Camera- the iconic Sony A300, where I did just that, borrowing a Canon EOS 60D, and hit the streets of Downtown London, Ontario.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the exterior alleyways of London Music Hall, Ontario, Canada in monochrome. — **Alleyways of London Music Hall — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — Ontario, Canada**

While exploring Toronto, Ontario, I never spent the time and dedicated focus in pondering taking photographs of street-art, graffiti and murals as much as I would have liked. But let us be honest, no one solely visits Toronto for that reason, where I enjoyed capturing street photography and other fine-art images. Considering my enrolment as a Student, I wanted to get this itch out of the way, allowing more focus on commercial photography projects.

Downtown London, Ontario, is a Street-Inspired Canvas

Walls like these carry the history of the city in paint. Graffiti is not a new fad; it is as old as civilization, even pharaohs and Romans carved their messages into public walls.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the exterior graffiti among the London Music Hall in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **London Music Hall Graffiti — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — Ontario, Canada**

In modern times, spray-painted names and characters spilled out from New York subways to city streets in the 1970s – Jean-Michel Basquiat began tagging as a teenager before becoming a world-famous artist. In each throw-up or portrait, you feel that insurgent spirit: art born of rebellion, demanding to be visual attention despite being barred from galleries.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts the Graffiti of The Bun Classic Chinese Street Food in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **Graffiti of The Bun Classic Chinese Street Food — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

In contrast to clandestine graffiti, murals are public stories. They bring art into the heart of the urban complexes. Cities lean into this: Mural Routes program in Toronto has partnered on over 75 community murals since 1990- while the art enthusiasts in London have painted dozens more with the Wet Paint effort alone, installing 62 new wall paintings in one neighbourhood.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts a Circus Themed Graffiti Mural in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **Circus Graffiti — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

These projects are not just beautification, as the Arts Council of London explains, public art brings communities together to celebrate culture. Whether showing local history or pure fantasy, a mural speaks to everyone who passes, turning grey streets into shared storytelling canvases.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts a mixture of gang-related tag markings in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **Mixed Tag Markings — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

The key is intent. A quick tag or throw-up is mostly self-promotional: a name in one colour, often done for street fame. Gangs use this as a secret code, a painted no trespassing sign to outsiders.

Caffeine-Equivalent News and Insights.

No foul if you decide to skip your coffee— these Insights are caffeine-equivalent and will perk you up enough themselves. Feel refreshed and with the creative rush as Blake Ferguson unfolds fluff-free perspectives about the ever-changing fields of photography and design, helping you stay fruitful about digital media and among sustainable independent results through in-house marketing.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts Street Art that demonstrates Haunted by Demons in London, Ontario, Canada. — **Haunted By Demons Street-Art — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

By contrast, a full-wall graffiti piece or mural is carefully composed. It takes a crew hours and dozens of colours to create a big, complex painting – a true street masterpiece. In other words, a random tag declares I was here, whereas a large mural or elaborate graffiti piece tries to tell a story or ignite a conversation with onlookers.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts a Graffiti Piece that reads Jesus, by Gospel Graffiti in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **"Jesus" by Gospel Graffiti — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

In Toronto, the dialogue between graffiti and mural art is vast. The famous Graffiti Alley in the Fashion District is essentially an open-air museum of street art, where tourists draw where layers of tags and murals accumulate like history. The city even supports programs like StreetARToronto, commissioning road and alley murals as part of its Graffiti Management Plan.

Street Photography with Blake Ferguson depicts a Graffiti Piece that reads State in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **STATE Graffiti — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

Considering the size of London, Ontario, the scene feels more intimate but equally alive. The old factory walls and downtown city alleys have come alive with community-painted murals and commissioned pieces. One report notes 62 murals in the Old East Village of London alone.

Street Photography by Blake Ferguson depicts a Graffiti Piece that reads Jesus, All Other Fame will Fade in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **Jesus— All Other Fame will Fade — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

Due to the sheer size and population density of Toronto, graffiti and wall-art murals lead by the numbers, and typically, means more removal crews on patrol, but works in London often spring from local workshops or volunteer drives. Street art such as graffiti resides heavily in our Canadian cities, whether under the CN Tower or the top of the Budweiser Gardens, both city blocks arrayed with artworks, where Toronto even maintains a public art map of hundreds of pieces.

Street Photography by Blake Ferguson depicts a Mural demonstrating the Image of God in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **The Image of God Mural — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

The city walls hum with local voices, whether through hidden underlying messages among direct outlets of self-expression. Noticing the details as a photographer in downtown London, Ontario, it took time for me to realize and comprehend where some of these street-infused artworks highlight messages from spiritual creators, articulated by fellow believers.

Street Photography by Blake Ferguson depicts a vibrant purple and pink Bubble Letter Graffiti in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. — **Bubble Letter Graffiti — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

A hastily sprayed tag or bubble-letter bomb uses colour and shape to assert presence. A hand-painted mural or polished graffiti piece uses imagery to communicate narrative or beauty. The difference is clear: a scratchy tag spells out a name; a mural can depict an underlying dreamscape of thoughts, each style telling us about the intent behind the art. The aesthetic gap highlights purpose: tags announce an individual, whereas big, colourful pieces announce stories of the community or predominantly the bigger picture.

Unfortunately, I could not pinpoint the specific details of this location. The upcoming photographs depict what I classified as the creative alley, which lingers off the block of Dundas, closer to the Richmond side of the chaos. Furthermore, this alleyway spoke to me as one who is fascinated with urban photographs, where other alleyways of graffiti pieces and bombings seemed crammed, spiratic and overwhelming chaos. This alleyway was a dedicated canvas for a group of interconnected artists through the organic flow and respect between pieces. While demonstrating an overview, it had a certain feel depicting childhood nostalgia and the vibrancy of life when possessing such innocence.

Street Photography by Blake Ferguson depicts the creative foundations of Graffiti in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. (1) — **Alleyway of Creative Graffiti #1 — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

Graffiti and murals appear where people live and move, especially in transitional urban spaces – back alleys, underpasses, and industrial lots. More often, those contributing remain a younger generation, creative collectives, or disenfranchised communities wielding the cans.

Street Photography by Blake Ferguson depicts the creative foundations of Graffiti in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. (2) — **Alleyway of Creative Graffiti #2 — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

Each alley and overpass is a journal page of the city. Every mural or graffiti piece is an unwitting manifesto or diary entry, giving voice to people and ideas outside the mainstream. Far from random vandalism, this street art is culture and commentary.

Street Photography by Blake Ferguson depicts the creative foundations of Graffiti in Downtown London, Ontario, Canada. (3) — **Alleyway of Creative Graffiti #3 — Street Photography by Blake Ferguson — London, Ontario**

In London as in Toronto, the final images linger: blocks of cityscape brightened by human hand, scrawled messages that pry open conversation, and enormous portraits that humanize concrete. In the tapestry of these photographs, the urban paintings speak for the hidden storytellers lurking among the city. As night falls on Graffiti Alley or dawn breaks on Dundas Street, the walls leave behind a last whisper: art endures on the streets, every wall a canvas for voices that refuse a blind eye.