Toronto By Night

5 May 2010By Zhu 19 Comments

There is something very comforting in walking around in a city after sunset. Contrary to popular belief, most of them don’t turn into cut-throat places and it’s not like you risk your life at every block. Quite the opposite actually: people tend to be more relaxed after a stressful day.

I’ve been in love with night skylines since I lived briefly in a very tall building in the heart of Kowloon in 2001. French cities are beautiful by night but rarely have skyscrapers to offer a good vantage point. Besides, electricity must be more expensive in France because there aren’t as many night lights – good for the environment I guess, but terrible for photographers. When I arrived in Hong Kong, I couldn’t take my eyes off the skyline. I used to sit by the window for hours in the evening — from the 33rd floor, we had a huge bay-window and we overlooked most of Hong Hum and part of Victoria Harbor.

When it comes to night skylines, Toronto has it all: tall buildings, wide and busy streets, condos with lights at all windows, and good vantage points. Throw in a clear sky, a warm night and the funky CN Tower (timing to catch the lights is tricky though!) and the deal is done. It was pitch dark when I shot these pictures at the waterfront, but thanks to long exposure and a laser beam (?!), the sky looks purple and the clouds are like pieces of cotton candy.

You can see the full set of the pictures taken in Toronto here.