A photo essay

A Tribute to Toronto.

Every city gets the photography it deserves; Toronto had to wait for someone patient. This is Laura Rossi's decade-long love letter in photographs: the CN Tower found through fog and red maples, the lake holding the skyline still at sunrise, the nights the whole city gathers under borrowed moons.

These are the frames Toronto photography is made of, collected in one place. Prints and licensing are available for most of them, and the city is always open for commissions.

Kayaks and the skyline at sunrise — KAYAKS AND THE SKYLINE AT SUNRISE

The Tower, every season

Every Toronto photographer has a CN Tower phase. Laura never grew out of hers: through October maples, above the fog line, down a snowed-in street at midnight.

Fall colour, tower bokeh — FALL COLOUR, TOWER BOKEH

The tower above the fog — THE TOWER ABOVE THE FOG

Midnight snow downtown — MIDNIGHT SNOW DOWNTOWN

The city at night, at play

Nuit Blanche, outdoor movie nights, dinners in white, fireworks over the rail lands: Toronto is at its best after dark, when the city comes out to be together.

Movie night under the skyline — MOVIE NIGHT UNDER THE SKYLINE

Museum of the Moon, Nuit Blanche — MUSEUM OF THE MOON, NUIT BLANCHE

A festival night, confetti falling — A FESTIVAL NIGHT, CONFETTI FALLING

Honest Ed's, before the lights went out — HONEST ED'S, BEFORE THE LIGHTS WENT OUT

Winter, leaned into

The city doesn't apologize for February. Neither do these.

Winter light, Ontario Place dome — WINTER LIGHT, ONTARIO PLACE DOME

Lantern on the winter shore — LANTERN ON THE WINTER SHORE

Christmas market, Distillery District — CHRISTMAS MARKET, DISTILLERY DISTRICT

Landmarks in their best light

The buildings everyone shoots, waited out until the light did something worth keeping.

The ROM crystal, traffic trails — THE ROM CRYSTAL, TRAFFIC TRAILS

Roy Thomson Hall at night — ROY THOMSON HALL AT NIGHT

The Gooderham, flatiron corner — THE GOODERHAM, FLATIRON CORNER

Facade pattern, colour study — FACADE PATTERN, COLOUR STUDY

Glass and steel at dusk — GLASS AND STEEL AT DUSK

Sculptural facade detail — SCULPTURAL FACADE DETAIL

Small city things

The frames between the landmarks: a maple leaf caught in a fence, pink umbrellas holding out against February.

Sugar Beach umbrellas, winter — SUGAR BEACH UMBRELLAS, WINTER

Traffic light in a snowstorm — TRAFFIC LIGHT IN A SNOWSTORM

A swan and the skyline at sunrise — A SWAN AND THE SKYLINE AT SUNRISE

Maple leaf, chain link — MAPLE LEAF, CHAIN LINK

Good to know

Can I buy prints of these Toronto photographs?

Most of them, yes. Email laura@sp-ce.co with the image you're after and the size you're thinking, and you'll get options and pricing back. Everything is printed from the full-resolution files on archival paper, not the web versions on this page.

Can these images be licensed?

Yes. The Toronto archive is available for editorial and commercial licensing, and much of it has already run in print and campaigns. Send the frame, where it would appear and for how long, and a licensing quote comes back within a business day.

Does Laura take Toronto commissions?

Yes, year-round. Publications, brands and developers commission city work in every season: skylines, neighbourhood stories and events. If the Toronto image you need doesn't exist yet, it can be commissioned. Email laura@sp-ce.co.

Toronto, commissioned

Laura shoots this city for brands, magazines and families.

Book a shoot→Ask about prints