Crystal Smith
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crystalsmith.bsky.social
Crystal Smith
@crystalsmith.bsky.social
65 followers 170 following 110 posts
Freelance writer and editor. Avid reader of non-fiction & taker of B&W photos, among other creative pursuits. crystalsmith.ca 🇨🇦
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crystalsmith.bsky.social
Never forget. #dec6
Monument to victims of the Montreal massacre listing each of their names.
December 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
I learned so much from this book about how marine creatures use sound & how sounds from humans affect them, e.g. the sound of an air gun can change blood chemistry in lobsters and scallops & damage the sensory hair cells lobsters use to sense gravity and orientation. 1/2
Cover of the book "Sing Like Fish" by Amorina Kingdon.
July 8, 2025 at 8:12 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
More black & white from my recent day trip to Toronto: a few random places downtown.
A church on King Street in Toronto seen through the wrought iron fence that surrounds it. Looking up at a white brick building which, according to its historical plaque, sits on the site of the former York Hospital, which operated in the 1800s. I believe this building was also part of Honest Ed's Warehouse, a restaurant that was quite famous back in the day. A statue of pianist Glenn Gould, sitting on a bench outside the CBC building on Front Street in Toronto. A rundown "park here" sign that is still somehow photogenic. It's a little outdated, referring to the Air Canada Centre which was renamed sometime ago, but that's part of its charm. It also refers to the Convention Centre, Ripley's Aquarium, CN Tower, and Rogers Centre (which I still call the SkyDome).
July 7, 2025 at 11:57 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Black & white: lines at Union Station.
Lines of railings and floor tiles from the GO concourse at Toronto Union Station, looking down to the shopping concourse from above. Surprisingly empty benches at Toronto Union Station. Lines of the wood slats in the seats looked cool. Lines in the glass-encased elevator leading to platforms 6&7 at Toronto Union Station. Many lines of tracks and station roof and overall structure on platform 7 at Toronto Union Station.
July 7, 2025 at 2:30 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
We had such a miserable spring. It's so nice to see the flowers in bloom at last.
Tiny white flowers in full bloom. I don't know the name of the plant. Allium blooming--purple flowers in a public flower bed on my dog, walking routes. White and pink flowers blooming on a chestnut tree. Bright pink flowers blooming on a chestnut tree.
June 8, 2025 at 1:30 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
I just take snapshots as I wander around, so I honestly don't think about it too much. I don't spend any time setting up shots. I look for lines and contrast I suppose, and I do tend to aim for different angles, doing a lot of looking up like in this picture, which I didn't include above.
Looking up at an apartment building in the Trinity Bellwoods area of Toronto.
April 25, 2025 at 10:07 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
More B&W photos from my latest visit to Toronto.

#blackandwhitephotography #torontophotos
The gates at Trinity Bellwoods park. Picture of coffee and a scone on a table, looking out towards the door of a coffee shop with exposed brick walls. Picture of two low-rise buildings on Atlantic Avenue in Toronto, walking north from Exhibition Station. Something about this picture makes it look like a deserted street in an old western movie, but more modern. Looking down the platform at Exhibition Station towards downtown Toronto with the CN tower in the background.
April 25, 2025 at 9:53 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
B&W in Toronto: shop signs, so photogenic.

#blackandwhitephotography #trinitybellwoods
Black and white photo of Spadina Auto sign. Black and white photo of La Cubana restaurant sign. Black and white photo of shop signs on West Queen West in Toronto, including The Ordinary, Type Books and That Paper Place. Black-and-white photo of a shop sign for a discount store featuring the name of The Toronto Star and with the words "post office" covered over.
April 21, 2025 at 12:33 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Opening day! Let's go Blue Jays!
March 27, 2025 at 7:17 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
I'm not a poet but my dog has inspired some attempts at haiku. Here is one of them:

waves roll in softly
a dog enters the water
to quench his thirst

📷 Photo is my own.

#haikufeels #waves
March 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Another visit to TO, another round of photos.

#blackandwhitephotography
Arched windows and light fixture near the VIA Rail concourse at Union Station Toronto. Eastern side of Union Station on Front Street; name carved into building says "Postal Station A." Dog statues at fountain in Berczy Park, Toronto. Inside of Playa Cabana restaurant in Toronto; neon sign says "Mojitos."
March 14, 2025 at 12:07 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Got stuck trying to come up with a title for an article. I started impatiently tapping my pen on the page then realized my little dots had started to take the shape of a dog. I decided to add a few more to finish the picture.

Yes, I am too easily distracted. And, no, I still don't have a title.
Dots doodled on a page that resemble the shape of a dog.
February 24, 2025 at 12:22 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
There will likely be some complaints from the US about a missed too many men penalty, but after all the BS we've had to put up with from their president, the insults to our PM & now US press secretary entering the chat, we deserve this. The hockey gods are on the right side of history tonight. 🇨🇦
Message from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying "You can't take our country--and you can't take our game."
February 21, 2025 at 5:54 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Same tree, opposite sides.

#blackandwhitephotography
Black & white photo of a bare deciduous tree on the shore of a lake; lots of fluffy white clouds in the sky. Black & white photo of the same bare deciduous tree on the shore of a lake from the other side.
February 12, 2025 at 11:37 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Black and white Toronto: new collides with old and things can get pretty messy. I understand the need for density but the streetscapes look very cluttered, especially on King (the first two pictures).
#torontopgotography
#blackandwhitephotos
New concrete and glass buildings surrounding the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. Densely packed concrete and glass towers standing over older buildings in the theatre district on King Street in Toronto. The Royal York Hotel and the glass and steel buildings that surround it on York Street in Toronto. A new glass and steel building standing above Union Station in Toronto, seen from York Street, looking east. Sharp contrast between styles.
February 3, 2025 at 1:31 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Black & white Toronto, public art edition. (One might be a bike rack, but it looks pretty cool when it's empty.)

#blackandwhitephotography #torontophotography
Public art statue of three animals riding a bicycle built for 4: a rhinoceros, a dog, and a rabbit. Photo in black and white outside Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. Union station clock on Front Street, surrounded by the front façade of Union Station, the Royal York Hotel and various office buildings. Photo in black and white. Could be bike rack, could be public art. It looks like a silver coil lying sideways on the sidewalk. Photo in black and white. Metal sculpture outside an office building in downtown Toronto. It is hard to describe, but the top half is shaped and pointed like the nib of a quill pen. Photo in black and white.
January 31, 2025 at 8:28 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Some polar vortex artistry on my window this morning.

#blackandwhitephotography #frost
Black and white picture of frost on a window. The pattern looks a fern frond reaching upward out of a small bunch of flowers. Black and white picture of frost on a window. The overall shape is kind of like a maple leaf, but it's made up of all kinds of tiny little curlicues. Black and white photo of frost on a window. It looks like fern fronds crossed in an X pattern. Black and white photo of frost on a window. There are two patterns. The lower one looks sort of like feathers with dandelion fluff at one end. The upper one is harder to describe: it has a bit of the "dandelion fluff" but also the shape of coniferous trees over an arch which looks like a headdress or crown, plus another coniferous tree lying on its side.
January 21, 2025 at 1:09 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
More snow-covered rocks. They're just so photogenic.

#winterphotos
Large rocks covered in snow. They form a breakwall against Lake Ontario which is shown in the distance.
January 15, 2025 at 1:55 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Fresh snow on rocks.

#blackandwhitephotography
Rocks that form an embankment near a marina covered in fresh snow.
January 12, 2025 at 3:17 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
B&W, transportation edition.
GO train stopped at Union Station, Toronto, with tracks and platform in the foreground. Black and white photo People crossing the street in Toronto near Front and Yonge. Slight blur, taken from behind. Black and white photo. Bikes lined up in a bike rental corral on Front Street in Toronto. Black and white photo. Entrance to the York Concourse from the Great Hall at Union Station. Black and white photo.
January 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
I use spreadsheets for client editorial calendars. For my own planning, I like to scribble notes in a notebook but things can get messy & jumbled. For the new year I decided on a new approach that is equally old-school: index cards. I had a small stash from years ago. Time to put them to use!
Stack of index cards with a pen to be used as an old-school editorial planner.
January 2, 2025 at 2:18 AM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2025!
January 1, 2025 at 8:40 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
New books for a new year!
December 29, 2024 at 7:35 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
Dramatic cool on Front Street in Toronto.
Restaurant signs, street light and traffic on Front Street in Toronto at night. Flatiron building on Front Street in Toronto with lights on at night. A view of Front Street at night from inside Café Moroc in Toronto. Union Station with the CN Tower in the background illuminated in blue light.
December 14, 2024 at 2:26 PM
crystalsmith.bsky.social
I love taking B&W photos in Toronto. First time in a while I've taken any at night. Works well.
Office buildings near Union Station in Toronto. Black and white at night. Hockey Hall of Fame, Front Street in Toronto. Black and white photo on a rainy night. Windows in the Dominion Public Building, Front Street Toronto. Windows of Cafe Moroc in Toronto.
December 11, 2024 at 2:53 AM