Ian Austen

@ianausten

Canada Correspondent, @nytimes.com. Mostly photos, mostly made on film, a lot of it large. austen@nytimes.com

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Ian Austen@ianausten· 7d

Another pair in Montreal's Atwater market. They are in an extremely noisy spot immediately outside of washrooms, a stairway and an elevator and next to a sort of food court. I can't imagine that they would conducive to much conversation. (Rolleiflex 6008i, 80 mm f2.8 Planar, Kodak Tri-X)

Two Bell payphones on a white cement block wall. A bit of an out of focus seating area is visible to the right.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 9d

Some customers of Fairmount Bagels in Montreal have displayed a certain level of disrespect for the property of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

A payphone mounted on a stainless steel wall is heavily covered in stickers. Next to it are racks of bagged bagels up to the ceiling and a folded up wet floor warning sign is underneath it. A sign indicates, in French and English, that the shop accepts Canadian or American cash but that Canadian debit cards have a $10 minimum. Another small poster advertises special Eastern bagels and another poster promotes novelty bagels.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 9d

Atwater Market, Montreal. (Rolleiflex 6008i, 80mm f2.8 Planar, Kodak Tri-X)

A Bell payphone on a white wall. A metal screen door and a bag of coffee beans are to the left.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 14d

The rear entrance to this medical building in downtown Ottawa sports both a payphone and a direct dial taxi phone. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

A building entrance looking immediately into an overhang under which a large SUV is parked. The ceiling light fixtures are reflected on the glass. A Bell payphone kiosk is on one wall. A white wall mounted phone wihtout a dial is at 90 degrees. The door next to it is labeled OFFICE. A tall ladder faces the courtesy phone.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 15d

A battery of phones sits at the ready down a hallway in Toronto's Metro Hall. It was not obvious why a key lock box is attached to the phone on the left. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mm f4 Distagon, Kodak Tri-X)

Four pay phones are mounted into separate niches under intense focused light. The carpeting is very patterned and a door is that the right.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 17d

Inside this pyramid in Toronto Metro Hotel is an unsettling, tiny bust of Fred "Big Daddy" Gardiner, the first unelected chairman of the now defunct Metro Toronto govt. The elevated expressway which blights downtown bears his name. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mm f4 Distagon, Kodak Tri-X)

A pyramid with a largely glass top sits in front of tall windows. Tall buildings are in the distance. Two large potted plants bracket it.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 19d

Across from Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri X)

A British telephone call on a very wide sidewalk. Behind and above it is a large Calvin Klein ad showing a woman running in an office. A script lettering sign to the left reads: Bar & Club

Ian Austen@ianausten· 20d

Wellington Street, Ottawa, between the Supreme Court of Canada and Library and Archives Canada. The phone appears to be dead. (Rollei 6008i, 80mm f2.8 Planar, Kodak Tri-X)

A graffiti covered phone kiosk next to a lamppost with four large glass balls. The road immediately behind has a large bike sharrow. Behind is a limestone clad building with many identical multipaned windows and an ornamental balcony.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 21d

Metro Square Toronto. An identical building facing this one across the square lost its phones over the last year or so. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mm f4 Distagon, Kodak TriX)

A small metal and glass six sided building on a slope. The facing facade has a sign reading Telephones with a handset pictograph. Two pay phones are below it. The handset has been removed from one of them. Large office towers are in the background along with smallish trees.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 23d

I have a rule against shooting British phone boxes brought to North America. But I made an exception for this one in Rochester, NY because it had been in the service of poetry. Vandals have wrecked it sadly. (Hasselblad SWC, 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X made just a few kilometres to the west)

A British call box where the word TELEPHONE has been replaced with POETRY. The phone inside is missing its mouthpiece. Part of a giant pencil is stuck in the ground next to it and has painted on it: 740 Writers & Books. An old three story brick building is further left.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 23d

Village By The Grange in Toronto seems to be actively discouraging use of its two pay phones, both non-Bell ones. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mm f4 Distagon, Kodak Tri-X)

A back to back payphone kiosk. The phone facing the camera is blocked by a sign. The other phone is obstructed by a cleaner's cart.

Ian Austen@ianausten· 24d

After the pay phone market opened to providers other than incumbent phone cos., they focused on Toronto. I assume many of those companies are long gone. Their phones, like this one on Dundas near University, are often in a exceptionally bad way. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mmf4 Distagon, Kodak Tri-X)

A phone kiosk on a black wall with a large, light colored bollard in front of it. The kiosk is covered in stickers and graffiti ant most of the phone appears to have been stolen. A large parking garage is in the distance along with a tall building,

Ian Austen@ianausten· 24d

The last of the payphone bounty at the Frontenac Metro Station in Montreal. Or maybe not. I didn't pay to go further into the station so more may await. (Rollei 6008i, 80mm f2.8 Planar, Kodak TriX)

Two Bell payphones are mounted on a stained, unfinished concrete wall. There is a metal grate beneath them. To the left is the station office and further beyond it are turnstiles.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 14

The last gasp of the Westgate Shopping Centre in Ottawa. It's now just piles of gravel. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

A steel and glass pyramid sits over sign reading Mall Entrance. A construction fence has a sign that says DORAN. behind is a cleared area leading to an elevated expressway.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 13

The sprinkler system of the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba offers this exhibition of the guts of its sprinkler system for people like me who choose its stairs over elevators. The hotel temporarily closed on July 1 for a major renovation. (Leica M4-P, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M, Kodak Tri X)

A crowded scene of pipes, mostly black, shut off valves and a gauge. Many inspection tags are hanging from the pipes. A bit of a door and a strip light are visible.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 12

A shelter on OC Transpo's Line 2 rail line in Ottawa back in the winter when the "press for heat" button was a very welcome feature. (Leica M4-P, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH, Kodak Tri-X)

A Bell pay phone in a cylindrical kiosk in front a window at night. To the left is a suicide prevention sticker. To the right is a button with a sign reading, in French and English, Press For Heat. Further right is a handset pictograph above another button with a grill. It is labeled, in English and French, Emergency

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 11

St. Laurent station on the OC Transpo rail Line 1. This phone is a rare refurbished and relatively recently installed example. The station was formerly an underground stop for a bus-only expressway system. (Leica M4-P, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH, Kodak Tri-X)

A pay phone in a cylindrical aluminum kiosk with a ribbed exterior. It has a Bell sign and cutouts shaped like handsets. Part of a bench is to the left. A glass wall with a line of OC Transpo logos is to the right and opens into a large space.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 9

The lobby of an office building in Winnipeg Manitoba that houses's a branch of the University of Manitoba's business school and a Salisbury House restaurant. The phone is proudly branded MTS (Leica M4-P, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M, Kodak Tri X)

An old marbled entranceway with an MTS payphone in a glass sided kiosk mounted on one wall. A shield pattern is repeated in windows around the doors an a brass radiator cover. A mirror reflects part of the doors.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 5

Pioneer Gas, Train Yards big box mall, Ottawa. The phone is in good order. (Rolleiflex Wide, Zeiss 55mm f4 Distagon, Kodak TriX)

A Bell Payphone kiosk on the side of a white building. Immediately behind it are white panels forming a V. To the right are painted concrete blocks. Visible to the left of the phone is a cage for propane tanks, a dark colored pick up truck and the "Soft Touch Car Wash"

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jul 3

Wellington St. near Parkdale, Ottawa. I'm embarrassed to say that I passed by here for years without seeing this phone. My defence is that it's a very busy intersection and I was always paying attention to driving or cycling. (Ebony GP69F, Schneider Super Angulon XL 47mm f5.6, Kodak Tri X)

A Bell payphone kiosk in front of a concrete planter and two buildings. A sign behind it reads, in French and English "Commercial Parking Only". A physiotherapy clinc is behind it.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 29

The Viau Metro Station in Montreal's Olympic Park. The phone was thoughtfully installed in a slightly out of the way, slightly less noisy section of the station entrance. Makina 67, 80mm f2.8 Nikkor, Kodak Tri-X)

A Bell pay phone mounted without a kiosk on a heavy textured concrete post in a brutalist style. The phone has some vandalism but its display is operating. And out of focus bus and bicycle can be seen through windows. There is also a bench in the background.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 24

St. Laurent Blvd. and Walkley Road, Ottawa. The phone has dial tone. (Rolleiflex Wide, 55mm f4 Distagon, B&W conversion from Kodak Portra 400)

A payphone kiosk is under an overhang topped by a roof with peeling painted. Letter, partly obstructed, at the edge of the overhang reads RLOCKING - BRAIDS APPETIZERS. Natural gas regulators and pipes at left of the phone. A small portion of a large SUV is visible.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 22

Another of the pay phones at the Frontenac Metro Station in Montreal. Two more are to come. (Linhof Technar, 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, Kodak TXP 320)

A black Bell phone booth with a lot of graffiti sits next to a white metal fence and in front of a greenspace. A glass bus shelter is next to it.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 20

More payphone bounty from the Frontenac Metro station in Montreal. This is perhaps the least inviting phone. (Linhof Technar, 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, Kodak TXP 320)

A Bell payphone kiosk is mounted on a wall made of large, textured concrete blocks. To the left is a stainless steel door and a mostly vertical window.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 19

Rue Jeanne Mance just north of Sherbrooke in Montreal. A waiter at the cafe, who has taken up macro film photography, came out for a chat. (Linhof Technar, Schneider 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, Kodak TXP 320)

A Bell payphone kiosk extensively covered in graffiti. To the left is an outdoor cafe. A paving stone walkway heads off at an angle to the right.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 17

The Saadé International Plaza in Ottawa's Alta Vista neighborhood. Thanks to all who tipped me off about the phone. (Linhof Technar, Schneider 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, Kodak TXP 320)

A Bell pay phone kiosk is at the end of of strip mall building which is white with black trim. Under the phone are trays used for delivering baked goods. An air conditioning condenser is to its left.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 16

Backboards sometimes outlive the payphones they once held. But often they are fixed into concrete. Why the half dozen screws that were put into softwood couldn't be removed from this one isn't obvious. The gatehouse for Lac Phillippe, Gatineau Pk, Quebec. (Crown Graphic, 135mmf4.7 Xenar, TXP320)

A black, payphone-shaped piece of plastic is mounted on a wooden wall painted in dark stain. On it are the words: QBA3A Backboard, Northern Telecom, Made in Canada. Out of focus to its left are mounds of snow, ice dangling from the building's eaves and the shadows of trees.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 16

The Giant Tiger discount store in Hawkesbury, Ontario last January. (Chamonix 45N2, 135mm f5.6 APO Symmar, Kodak TXP 320)

A payphone kiosk sits in front of a brick and stucco clad low rise store. A cartoonish tiger is in a circle on the facade. The rest of the strip mall is reflected in the store windows.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 15

Random view from a Via Rail Toronto-Ottawa train last Friday (Leica M Typ 262, 75mm f1.4 Summilux M)

A view of a much patched up back road that slowly rises in the distance. Shrubs and trees line it and an out of focus and and white striped barrier with red warning lights is in the foreground.

Ian Austen@ianausten· Jun 3

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (née Victoria) railway station in Mumbai has several of portraits of Britons on its facade. I can't figure out who this represents. Perhaps one of the directors of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. (Ebony GP69F, Kodak 127mm f6.3 Ektar, Kodak Tri X)