23 Comments
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Mark McGuire's avatar

Hi Mark. I followed you here from a link you left on Tom Schroder's post about steam in NYC. It's been a while since I visited that amazing city, but I always wondered about the steam (which, as you say, has featured in many movies). I lived in Toronto for years before moving to New Zealand. I was disappointed we didn't have NYC's steam in TO. None here in New Zealand, either. We sometimes get dramatic fog, but it just isn't the same. I love your high contrast images here, which really suit the subject well. I hope the snow clears where you are soon, if it hasn't already.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks for commenting, Mark, and glad to hear that you liked my photos. They are among my favourites and I agree that the high contrast works well with them. When this 51st State nonsense eventually blows over, maybe I’ll go back to NYC and take photos of the “proper” steam vents.

Thankfully, the snow cleared a couple of months ago. Now we’re just dealing with smog from forest fires blowing down from Northern Ontario and Quebec.

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Mark McGuire's avatar

I forgot about the smog from the fires. We managed to avoid the smog from the many fires when our family visited Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal in June and July, 2023. The fires and spreading smoke were very much in the news then, too. Like so many natural disasters, they seem to be larger and more frequent. It was terrible reading about all the people who lost their homes in Los Angeles in January due to the wildfires there.

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Mark Foard's avatar

2023 was a very bad year for the fires. This year hasn’t seemed as bad probably because they’ve started later and we’ve had more rain. However, who knows what the future holds. I fear it will only get worse as time goes on.

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Szabi Erdélyi's avatar

Someone coming from Europe I always wondered what this phenomenon was, but never cared enough to oook into it. So, thanks for clarifying! :) And props to the pics!

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Mark Foard's avatar

You’re welcome and I’m happy to hear that you liked the photos. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post.

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gery's avatar

Great shots

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, gery! Much appreciated.

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Juliette's avatar

Hi Mark, I like the contrast on these images. Nice work!

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thank you so much, Juliette.

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Shital Morjaria (she/her)'s avatar

Great images Mark!!

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thank you so much, Shital!

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Mark White's avatar

the high contrast in the latter half are the best. love them. steam vents in alleyways especially can create a noir feel of the lighting is just right. nice work all around.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, Mark! The conditions when I took the first 3 photos weren’t quite right to get the contrast I was looking for. It was much colder the next time I went which accentuated the steam and the lighting was perfect to get the great contrast. Happy to hear you like the photos as much as I do.

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Clee Images's avatar

A trip to NYC, YES!

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Mark Foard's avatar

LOL! Sadly, the exchange rate is pretty bad right now.

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Clee Images's avatar

Yep!

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John Charlton's avatar

These are great Mark. My favourites are the second and the second to last.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, John! The second to last one is my favourite. The pedestrian looks like a man on a mission.

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John Charlton's avatar

I think I'd be on a mission too if I saw that figure lurking around the corner as I approached.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Haha! I agree :)

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Bill Anderson's avatar

Great photos of a phenomena that we wouldn't ordinarily pay much attention to. I know that many of Toronto's homeless population could tell you the location of the best vents.

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Mark Foard's avatar

Thanks, Bill! Sadly, you’re correct about the homeless population. There’s also a vent at Bay and Queen that the pigeons seem to appreciate. Lots of them congregate there. Plenty of heat but not much steam.

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