The City of Creative Canvasses: London, Ontario - Urban Photography by Blake Ferguson.
- Blake Ferguson
- Sep 9, 2014
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 27
Exploring the diverse perspectives of urban photography in London, Ontario, I could not help but reflect on the creativity that flows. Where the City of Toronto is known more for, I find the Forest City stacks to compete with the calibre of creative-tied connections.
Where I set off to explore the cityscape and urban alleyways of Downtown London, I use this as a reflective piece to elaborate and update those who have been following along and have come to know me as your friendly automotive creator and fine-art photographer, while keeping you attuned to the individual journeys of urban exploration at hand.
Let’s dive into this series, because through a historic, yet forever developing city in Ontario, Canada, the urban photography demonstrates only the beginning to a variety of artistically-infused scenes.
Table of Contents:
The Growth & Continuation of Professional Photography in 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.
Urban Photography: Toronto vs. London, Ontario.
Whereas for my first outing to capture urban 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.
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.
Provoking another infinite urge to capture urban photography, after wrapping up this session of fine-art driven captures, I only knew it was a matter of time before my curiousity drags me back to the streets.
Improved DSLR Camera Arsenal Fuels Urban Photography & Exploration.
My hype could not contain itself, 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.
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 enrollment as a Student, I wanted to get this itch out of the way, in hopes of allowing a focus on commercial photography projects.
How the City of London, Ontario, is an Urban Photography Canvas.
Walls like these carry the history of the city in paint. Graffiti is not a new fad; it is as old as civilization, and even pharaohs and Romans carved their messages into public walls. From message boards for the homeless, to public notes for street-like activity; humans today still use similar systems where the captured stories through urban photography never fail to intrique.
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 the visual attention despite being barred from galleries.
In contrast to clandestine graffiti, murals are public stories. They bring art into the heart of the urban complexes. Cities lean into this: The 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.
These projects are not just beautification, as the Arts Council of London explains; public art brings communities together to celebrate culture. Whether depicting local history or pure fantasy, a mural speaks to everyone who passes by, turning grey streets into shared storytelling canvases.
The overall aspect of graffiti comes down to 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, whereas public murals or artistically-commissioned paintings help bridge the gaps in a positive light.
Photography News & Graphic Design Insights.
Caffeine-fuelled Insights—feel the creative rush as Blake Ferguson delivers fluff-free perspectives, covering the ever-changing fields of photography, graphic design and the utilization of digital marketing. Helping brands and businesses shape expectations, and professional photographers deliver.
By contrast, a full-wall graffiti piece or mural is carefully composed. It takes a crew of 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.
Urban Photography of the Creatively-Tied Ontario Cityscapes.
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.
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.
Due to the sheer size and population density of Toronto, graffiti and wall-art murals lead by 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 London Music Hall, both city blocks arrayed with artworks, where Toronto even maintains a public art map of hundreds of pieces.
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.
Exploring the Values of Traditional Graffiti Through Urban Photography.
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 captures of urban photography 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 by urban photography, 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.
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.
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.
Urban Photography Inspired by the Creative Routes of Canadian Cities.
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.
Experience Downtown London, Ontario for Yourself!
Follow the City of London on Social Media:
Browse Blake Ferguson’s Commercial Photography Portfolio.
Browse Blake Ferguson’s Fine-Art Photography Portfolio.
Book Blake Ferguson’s Photography Services.
Consult with Blake Ferguson about your Graphic Design project.
Comments