Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday My Home Town Shoot Out--Sounds

The noise that first draws attention, is the sound of heavy machinery at work. Have I turned a wrong corner and ended up in Dubai? Multiple industrial cranes line the horizon..... but the sun coast of Dubai could never be this cold and dreary!



No, we are still in the Toronto suburb of West Hill in January. Here, where the city's easternmost water filtration plant is being dramatically upgraded, the air is chill and the construction noise echoes.



A sudden familiar sound captures our attention! The distant ringing of bells at the gate, warn of the closing railway crossing behind us. The ringing is soon chorused by the clickity-clack of a train full of commuters, rushing into Toronto's bustling Union Station to their workday employment.



In the silent stillness, following the train's passing, the giant extractor fans at a huge chemical factory on Coronation Drive roar to life, sucking fumes out of the plant, while beside them huge power pumps, blow heat into the massively, large building.




Everywhere along the road, trucks can be spotted delivering raw materials to the sight of the filtration plant construction. Other trucks arrive to pick up the chemicals the various plants in the area are producing. Their job will be to deliver these chemicals where ever they are needed across North America. The roar of the great diesel engine inside these trucks can be heard as a distant whine, while their 18 wheel undercarriage reverberates the ripping sound of the tires riding over the frozen winter pavement.



Sometimes, in the heavily laden winter air it isn't the sounds you really hear, but those you imagine that captures your attention and your heart. Not far from the clatter of the Industrial Park is a small green space with a large and very shallow pond. In the winter the local children clean off the ice and set up their goalie nets here. After school, the slap of hockey sticks, the scratch of skate blades slicing the thick ice covering of the pond and the happy cheers of the young voices gathered, will create a new sound. As their hockey game comes to life, the noisy construction and plant workers will close up shop and call it a day.



At this moment, the happy hockey team silently study in local schools and the factory noises have faded away in the distance. The only sounds around me now, are the occasional bark from Lindsay, and the whirring click of my camera shutter.

19 comments:

  1. Yea, Barry, what a richly acoustic tour around your area. I love all the details, like the scratching of ice skates on the pond, and the train rushing by. No matter where you are, there's some kind of sound, often so constant we cease to notice it's there.
    Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ice skates on the ice and childrens laughter at the game...such a sweet sound. happy friday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those cranes are familiar sight here, can see them at all construction sights.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great photo story and narrative again. I did not get out to do the town sounds just around my house. I loved the description of the sounds of the ice skates and children playing. Makes my heart feel happy. Blessings
    QMM

    ReplyDelete
  5. All the photos are great, but that one at the bottom is a stunner!

    Where we live, a bit of an old industrial area is just south-west of us. In the warm months when the windows are open, we hear the plants start up early in the morning and I tell my husband it reminds me of "Mordor" in "Lord of the Rings".

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am just going to imagine the lovely sounds of fun coming from skaters on that pond!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Finding that pond with its hockey net just outside that industrial zone was an almost magical experience, Rebecca.

    Although, with all the trees and branches sticking up, I'm not sure I'd want to play hockey there. However, that wouldn't have stopped me when I was ten.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love this weeks shoot out! I can hear everything you describe, but it makes me feel cold.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No wonder Canada produces so many talented hockey players: look where they practice! Crazy. Thanks for the descriptive tour of the busy area of the industrial zone, very evocative.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can hear you. Love the photos, especially the tilted one. My favorite is the quiet one - the sound of silence.

    Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I hear ya too! Not thought of the shutter noise as we take the pics...on my to do list is walk on frozen pond water. Hubby did it growing up in the north...I slipped on it in Texas :)

    I too felt a little chill from the weather in the photos, brrrr

    ReplyDelete
  12. cranes and trains everywhere!! love the last shot guys. have a fantastic weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It's hockey with a built-in obstacle course! Survivor should have thought of that. Have a great weekend, Barry and Linda.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Another lovely post. When I got to the hockey pond, it stopped me cold.
    How beautiful is that!?! And your words brought me right there.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Awesome post - that ice shot is spectacular. I could hear the silence, punctuated by puppy barks and shutter clicks.

    Perfect.
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. very good - I just watche the video on the other blog site. great stuff, will feed off it all week.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love that last shot, really beautiful!

    ReplyDelete