Toronto Photo Walks (TOPW) is a group of photographers with a wide range of interests, skills and abilities, from accomplished photographers to those just starting out. We get together to make pictures in and around Toronto. Oh, and it’s free! 🙂

TOPW History

The first sighting of Toronto Photo Walks was as a Facebook group in November 2009, closely followed by the Flickr group and this website. It came about after a few photo walks that Paul Henman organised with friends, accompanied by a few prompts from them to do something “more formal” … but we don’t really do formal, so this is what you get instead 🙂

In the beginning…

The first “official” TOPW walk was Toronto Necropolis & Riverdale Farm on November 14th 2009. There were nine photographers on the first walk but the numbers grew with each new walk through the winter, even though some walks were in the bitter cold … in fact it was so cold that one camera eventually refused to work until it warmed up over dim sum!

The participants on that first walk were: Alicia, Andy, Jackie, Judith, Martin, Monica, Ryan, Victor, with Paul as the walk leader.

Our Photo Walks

The start point for the regular walks is usually posted a couple of days before the walk. We try to find somewhere TTC-accessible to meet; the aim is to meet at a coffee shop to give everyone a chance to meet and chat before we set off.

The routes are roughly planned out, to help us estimate the distance and identify any obstacles or points of interest… but the route can change if the group spots something interesting; sometimes small groups split off and meet up with the rest of us later on; it’s all very “loose”.

The TOPW group

The aim of TOPW is to give photographers of all abilities a chance to meet, share tips, learn from each other, and discover more of Toronto and its environs. It’s not a “formal” camera club; there’s no stuffy critique of each other’s photos, although it is great to see everyone’s pictures and many people ask for feedback.

There’s no minimum standard of photographic skill or equipment required – you’re welcome whether you have a phone, an SLR, a mirrorless camera, a film camera … anything but probably not a drone as I suspect the city’s bylaws make it impractical.

Where do I sign up?

There’s no formal membership list, although most people join the Flickr and/or Facebook groups in order to get automatically informed about updates. (There’s a mailing list too.)

Sign Up Now!

Send a cheque for $100 to … no, wait – it’s free!
Join the Flickr and/or Facebook groups to be automatically informed about updates, or just check this website to see what’s new.
Put the date of the next photo walk in your diary
Remember to charge your camera’s battery and check everything’s working! (Bring spare batteries if it’s going to be cold)
Turn up, meet the other photo walkers and have fun!

If you have more questions, check out our FAQ page.

About The Founder

Paul Henman is the founder and main organiser of Toronto Photo Walks. Being both a keen photographer and walker, it made sense to put the two things together and then invite some friends along to share the fun.

Paul has shot for the Ontario Walks and Toronto Trails walking groups (now part of Momentum1) as well as for the Honda Indy Toronto.

With an IT background, creating the various online TOPW communities were natural steps in building the Toronto Photo Walks group; the ongoing challenge is to produce some good photographs! 🙂