Ian Austen
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ianausten.bsky.social
Ian Austen
@ianausten.bsky.social
12K followers 2.4K following 1.1K posts
Canada Correspondent, @nytimes.com. Mostly photos, mostly made on film, a lot of it large. austen@nytimes.com
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ianausten.bsky.social
The new rest stops on Quebec's autoroute 20 may not have plywood fleur-de-lis above the entrance but they are much better otherwise. This one preserves a tiny bit of their payphone legacy although the space suggests that even more phones were planned. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, TriX)
A white wall with a dark covered inset containing a single payphone in a space that could accommodate two, maybe more. A insect trapping light is mounted left of the inset. A window opens out onto trees.
November 20, 2025 at 4:40 PM
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Wolfe Island, Ontario which sits in Lake Ontario at the head of the St. Lawrence River. For me, a rare color shot in 8x10. (Shen Hao FCL 810-AC, 190mm f6.3 Kodak Wide Field Ektar, Kodak Portra 160)
A narrow country road with cracked pavement leads out toward the sun with many shaded sections. A large tree to the left sits on the lakeshore.
November 19, 2025 at 4:49 PM
ianausten.bsky.social
A relatively new payphone at the University of Ottawa. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux APSH M)
A payphone kiosk on an unpainted concrete block wall with a phone book holder dangling underneath. To the left is a poster about the campus security service. There is a entrance to a Mens' room. And a back lit add with a photo of a woman and the words: Un café avec Judith Fetzer. Some candy vending machines are next to it.
November 19, 2025 at 4:13 AM
ianausten.bsky.social
For a soft Canadian like me, the heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur, even in late October, was, to put it mildly, excessive. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm Biogon, Fuji 400H)
The side of a buiding plastered in external air conditioning units. Ahead of it are two steel fences In front of them on gravel, mud and a rock are large plastic pails, a traffic cone and a rake. A sign notifies of camera surveillance. In the distance is a tall, glass covered building.
November 19, 2025 at 3:41 AM
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This phone in Barry's Bay, Ontario is on the highway where the payphone madness began over four years ago. I've been past this grocery store many times since but somehow only spotted the phone in August. A friendly watchman was proud of it (Chamonix57N1, Schneider 180mmf5.6 APO Symmar, Kodak TXP320)
A night photo of a wall mounted payphone to the right of a store entrance. A sign above it read: Welcome to Yuill's Valu-Mart. Underneath are a tidy trash bin and a recycling bin. Two empty plastic newspaper boxes for Bancroft This Week and a bagged ice freezer.
November 18, 2025 at 12:41 PM
ianausten.bsky.social
5/5 While Kuala Lumpur's new luxury malls are impressive and overwhelming (the camera store in one sold only DJI drones and digital Hasselblads), the Wisma Cosway mall holds its own in a more useful, if modest and dated, way. (Hasselblad SWC, 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Fuji 400H)
Looking down two escalators with yellow warning stripes painted on their treads. There is a colorful row of ads at the bottom.
November 18, 2025 at 12:35 PM
ianausten.bsky.social
4/5 A bit like strip malls in distant North American suburbs, Kuala Lumpur's Wisma Cosway mall provides a low rent home to useful, but likely not highly profitable, businesses. Except it's in the commercial heart of the city. (Hasselblad SWC, 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Fuji 400H)
A storefront of a closed shop. Many gold colored trophys and a fan dominate one window. The other has a lot of glass and chinaware. There is also a rack of pens The sign reads: Himawari Malaysia's leading promotional products specialist.
November 18, 2025 at 12:29 PM
ianausten.bsky.social
3/5 Many of the noodle shops and other restaurants in Kuala Lumpur's Wisma Cosway mall were open and bustling during my early morning visit. There is also a bar, some sort of rooftop bar-cafe and this fine dining restaurant up on the highest level. (Hasselblad SWC, 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Fuji 400H)
A mall hallway with brown tile floors and a metal strip ceiling. Pieces of some sort of plastic cut into squares have been taped to the floor at regular intervals. The windows of one shop front have been blocked by diagonal colored stripes. To the right is a butchering chart of a cow labeled in a character based written language. Small letters below say: Beef Chart. A sticker at the bottom reads: Stamina.
November 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM
ianausten.bsky.social
2/5 Kuala Lumpur's Wisma Cosway has become the mall where all the people who work in vast new luxury malls eat, get tailoring, have film developed and get other services. Some presumably relax at this gaming arcade with its very intimidating "eyes". (Hasselblad SWC, 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Fuji 400H)
A brown tiled mall hallway in front of the corner of a blacked out store front. In place of windows there are UV lighting drawings of various computer games. In the corner are a pair of brightly lit orange eyes. They are reflected on the metal ceiling. A bit of a brightly lit shop is at left.
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
ianausten.bsky.social
When Kuala Lumpur's Wisma Cosway Complex opened in during the 70s, I assume its 28 story tower and 4 level shopping mall were a big deal. Now in a city with some of the world's tallest buildings and vast, luxurious malls, it's a bit of a backwater. 1/5 (Hasselblad SWC, 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Fuji 400H)
A shop with large windows and with two signs reading "Fall In Love Tarot" that both make prominent use of pink. There are many small statutes of decorative animals, some in a glass case. A table at the back has a gold, shiny Christmas tree. There is a curtain with character lettering on it presumably to ensure the privacy of customers.
November 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
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The Indiatown of Kuala Lumpur is to the right, the Chinatown to the left. (Leica M Monochrom, 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH)
Night view of an intersection underneath an elevated train line. There are identical LED ad displays on all of its pillars. Broad painted lines marke a crosswalk and and a no gridlock zone. A small house-like building is across the intersection and a shop with a covered walkway is to the right. A few pedestrians are waiting to cross.
November 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
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A defiant C-Band satellite dish on proud display, if not in use, at the former hotel and tavern in Golden Lake, Ontario on Hwy 60. It's now SRO apartments as far as I can tell. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak TRIX)
A squat building with narrow, high windows in the foreground. Behind is a two story building with a sloping roof and a sign reading tavern. The squat building has a very large satellite dish on its roof. The sidewalk and road out front curve distinctly to the left.
November 10, 2025 at 3:47 AM
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Inside one of the news media vans following Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada in Gyeongju, South Korea. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)
Night scene of a windshield being sprayed with cleaning fluid by a driver wearing a cap. A dashcam screen is below the rear view mirror and a phone with a map on the screen is near his right hand.
November 9, 2025 at 10:10 PM
ianausten.bsky.social
Granite glory for a trio in an entrance to the headquarters of the Canadian National Railway and Central Station, Montreal. I have photographed about 700 phones (I know, I know.) But these are the first I've seen with that extra bezel on the front. (HasselbladSWC, Zeiss38mmf4.5 Biogon, KodakTRIX)
Three payphone in stainless steel kiosks with glass dividers and their phone directories long removed. They are in an alcove with polished dark stone walls.
November 9, 2025 at 3:45 AM
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The Madrid 2.0 service centre, Quebec Autoroute 20 near Drummondville. The photo L shows the original Madrid which it replaced in 2012. It featured monster trucks and life size-ish dinosaur statues now replaced by McDonald's, St. Hubert and Couche Tard. (HasselbladSWC, Zeiss38mmf4.5 Biogon, KodakTX)
A Télébec payphone mounted on a wall next to a ATM. Above them is an insect light. to the left is a photo of a former hotel with portraits made to resemble Polaroids beneath it.
November 8, 2025 at 3:09 AM
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Chatham, Ontario. It appeared to still be in business. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)
A plywood sign topped by a knight's helmet beside a factory on an otherwise residential, tree lied street. Somewhat faded lettering reads: White Knight, Est. 1976, Auto Detailing, Shampooing. The last line of type is unreadable.
November 8, 2025 at 12:24 AM
ianausten.bsky.social
Windsor Station, Montreal. The doors to the payphones are locked, seemingly permanently. Once the headquarters of the Canadian Pacific Railway, its tracks now end a few blocks west and the building is an office tower and, below, a transit terminal. (HasselbladSWC, 38mmf4.5 Zeiss Biogon, KodakTri X)
Part of a marble walled space with dark bands at the baseboard and ceiling. Two payphones sit behind glass and wood doors with brass fixtures. A pattern from the glass ceiling is reflected of of them.
November 7, 2025 at 3:51 AM
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For everyone who is wondering how to say "Fuji Film" in Malay. Kuala Lumpur. (Leica M Monochrom, 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH)
A shuttered storefront. The sign above reads: (obscured) Gambar Super Photo Centre. FILEMFUJI. Part of a FujiFilm logo is visible as are Chinese characters.
November 7, 2025 at 2:56 AM
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The Central Market, Kuala Lumpur. It's one of the most prominent (and busy) British colonial relics. (Leica M Monochrom, 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH)
A light colored, stucco wall at night. Steel window panes form grids in two windows, one of which has frosted glass.The doubled up shadows of three people are on the wall.
November 6, 2025 at 3:33 PM
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First Baptist Church in Chatham, Ontario. In 1858, the American abolitionist John Brown came here to plan a guerrilla war against slavery in the U.S. and to recruit people to his cause. Their unsuccessful attempt to seize an armory led to Brown's hanging. (Leica M Monochrom, 35mm f1.4 SummiluxASPH)
Two windows with pointed arches frame an institutional clock above a photograph of a worship service. A sideboard is topped with silver plates and trays used during services.
November 6, 2025 at 12:04 AM
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Busan, South Korea. As we drove past it, the parking garage appeared to be largely filled with luxury cars (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux)
A parking garage booth festooned with signs in Korean, lights and the roman letter P. Two police officers are at the left.
November 5, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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I spent just over a week following Canada's prime minister around parts of Asia. I found exactly one pay phone -- and it's kind of a cheat at that. That photo has yet to be developed. But I did find this call box in the former city centre of Kuala Lumpur. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)
A call box with the number 48 painted in large numerals on the outside. To the right are quite battered, pulled down steel shutters. A glimpse of a brightly lit restaurant is to the left.
November 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM
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The VIA Rail Canada station, Chatham, Ontario. Signs on the hoarding warn about asbestos, not surprisingly. (Leica M Monochom, the CCD one, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH, YG filter.
A railway station platform near dusk with dramatic cloud. A single passenger well up the platform is standing on a painted striped warning line. The tracks are to the right. The station, on the left, is covered in protective plastic.
November 5, 2025 at 4:26 AM
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The Belle Vista Motel in Marmora, Ontario in August 2016. Once a highlight of Highway 7, It sat on top of a ridge so it may have had a wonderful view out the back. The motel is now closed. (Leica M Typ 262, 35mm Summicron M ASPH)
A night scene of a portion of a white stucco motel. On its roof a spot lit sign made of lumber simply says MOTEL. A chair and two tables are in front of a room. A pick up truck is parked out front. The spotlights on the sign have lit up part of a large tree to the left.
November 5, 2025 at 3:43 AM
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And one more payphone form Mexico City, this time outside of a day care center. Someone thought it a good idea to plant a garden in front of the phone. The repair to its wire does not look promising either. (Leica R8, 21mm f4 Super Angulon, Kodak Tri X)
A payphone mounted on a white stucco wall. It says Telmex Infinitum on its kiosk. Its wire appears to have once broken and been mended with electrical tape. Some small plants in mulch are right in front of it next to a large tree.
November 4, 2025 at 4:46 AM