Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kevin Steele

@kevinsteele.bsky.social

470 followers 1.6K following 370 posts

Artist, graphic designer, photographer & cat herder. Documenting Queen West, Toronto for 20+ years SPADINA TO BATHURST book is sold out! https://linktr.ee/kevinsteele

linktr.ee

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 4d

My portraits_of_queen_west Instagram account recently got more viral. I'm gaining Toronto followers hourly & they're sharing anecdotes in the comments.

My record of Queen West has aged past a nostalgia tipping point.

For now, Instagram remains the first and best place to see POQW photos.

1 2

Reposted by Kevin Steele

Bodega Cats @bodegacats.bsky.social · 2d

35 370 4K

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 3d

Oh my goodness. Wonderful books.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 4d

I know some folks have already disentangled from Meta and will never see those posts.

I'll continue to make Bluesky versions of some posts.

And I have a mailing list. I primarily send out emails for news beyond the internet — like a new book, poster or (hopefully soon) show.

Join My Mailing List!

mailchi.mp

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 4d

1 2

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 8d

Today on Portraits of Queen West

241 & 243 Queen St W

September 2025 & July 2014

#documentaryphotography

Street scene with brick storefronts, featuring a cannabis shop with a "Hollywood Hi" sign. Two pedestrians and a dog walk on the sidewalk. This is a T intersection and the traffic light is red.

Street view of Queen Street West with a "cannabis culture" shop named "Friendly Stranger." This is 2014 and cannabis is not yet legal — this is an old school head shop with everything but cannabis. Two bicycles are parked outside. Three pedestrians walk by. This is a T intersection and the traffic light is red.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 8d

My arm hurts because it was rammed by the handlebars of a cyclist passing me as I walked ON THE SIDEWALK.

I hate being mad at a cyclist.

1 3

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 9d

1138 Queen St W, April 2007

The Saigon Flower seemed like it would be here forever. It was there when I first moved to Queen and Abell in the late 80s.

I ate many meals there over the years. If you did, too, then you know that's not saying enough.

#documentaryphotography

Street view of a row of buildings featuring a Vietnamese restaurant named "Saigon Flower." A hipster couple walk on the sidewalk with a bicycle nearby. The scene is sunny with a clear blue sky.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 9d

1138 Queen St W, September 30, 2025

R.I.P.

#documentaryphotography

Street scene with a closed storefront partially obscured by a tree. Orange traffic cones are scattered on the sidewalk. The window is covered in plastic, but a sign in the window still advertises "Saigon Flower Fusion." A pedestrian signal shows a red hand.

1 5

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 10d

I'm getting so tired of keeping track of how everything works, and constantly having to relearn things that I don't do often enough to remember.

I know some of that is me, but there's so much transient bullshit being created daily for us to wade through, and I'm not talking about art.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 12d

We made and sold 500 #photobooks. I want to make more and sell more.

All the books are sold. What’s next?

Two years ago, we were in the middle of the presale/crowdfunding for Portraits of Queen West: Spadina to Bathurst.

medium.com

2 4

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 14d

I found the source for this block in my “rejected” pile—too many cars, not enough shots. Those reasons don't matter now, so I built it.

Documentary value outweighs other concerns, now that I’m working on BATHURST TO STRACHAN.

Queen St West from Walnut to Strachan,
June 2007, Assembled 2025

Panoramic view of a city street, made up of a series of images, featuring historic buildings with diverse facades, trees, and cars. In the middle of the block is a five story brick condominium that has been built around a historic house that is set back from the side walk with a large lawn. It's a sunny day with a clear blue sky.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 22d

703 & 703A Queen St W, June 2010 & August 2024

Tibet Arts was a few years old in the first picture.

#documentaryphotography

Storefronts on an urban street, including "TIBET ARTS" and "ODD AND ENDS." A person with a dog stands outside the narrow junk shop, filled with shelves of trinkets.

Storefronts in an urban setting, featuring "Tibet Arts" with a pink sign and a blue window display, and "Odds and Ends" with a colourful wooden sign of different-sized letters at varying angles.

Reposted by Kevin Steele

Jeff @themadjeff.bsky.social · 22d

A #cat I saw 10 years ago.
#photography
@hipstamatic.app

2 17

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · 23d

1072 Queen St W, Sept 2009 & Aug 2024

This pair of pictures has a lot, including a kitchen sink.

#documentaryphotography

Storefront labeled "Royal" with blue and white signage, displaying washers and dryers outside. A sliver of the shopfront Nextdoor is visible, painted yellow on the first floor, green on the bit of the second floor we see.

Street scene with a wall covered in colourful posters advertising events and products. A Banksy show. Fan Expo. Deadpool & Wolverine. Ketchup & Mustard. “The Marchesa Casati” by Augustus Edwin John, a famous painting of a stunning redhead at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Old building facade with faded "Royal" sign.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 11

Dude, yeah, we got away from the unpredictable drunk with a swastika on his fridge and a key to our apartment.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 11

We moved out of province over two months ago. I shook hands with our landlord, and upstairs neighbour, when we left our apartment.

Late last night my ex-landlord called me up drunk to harass me because he’s sure my brother and I got away with something.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 6

Queen St W from Euclid Ave to Palmerston Ave, January 2011

[assembled 2020]

These are only two of the times I shot this whole block.

It's a fun block to shoot. Almost everything is near the storefront plane.

Panoramic view of a complete city block showcasing a row of colourful, historic buildings with varied facades and multiple small shops at ground level. This is the same block as in the previous post. The picture is a collage of many separate overlapping images. There are no parked cars. It is winter, early evening. There is some snow piled at the curb but and the streets are wet with a light film of slush. It's a grey sky, light enough to see everything but dark enough that all the stores have their lights on.

1 9

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 6

Queen St W from Euclid Ave to Palmerston Ave, June 2007

[assembled 2022]

This block is part of the stretch of Queen being covered in the photobook I'm working on now.

#panorama

1 4

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 2

D'oh that address is a typo.

598 to 594.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 2

Portraits of Queen West: Bathurst to Strachan will be available in 2026.

A few copies of POQW: Spadina to Bathurst are still available.

Portraits of Queen West · Spadina to Bathurst

by Kevin Steele Portraits of Queen West: Spadina to Bathurst takes you on a journey through time and space, capturing the essence of Toronto's Queen Street West across a decade and a half. Let your s...

blackeye.ca

2 5

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 2

498 to 594 Queen St W, Nov 2012

Still a few more pictures of Bathurst to Strachan to prep for my next book. My process is to prep all the decent shots, then choose the ones that work on the page together.

I'm often surprised by which pictures are redundant when I finally choose.

Street view of urban shops includes "Craft Decor," "Barn Restaurant," and "Super Queen's Market." The restaurant is a small two-story building nestled between two larger buildings. Bikes and a scooter are parked outside, with pedestrians passing by.

2 6

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 1

We can dream. I still fear that the source of his power stems from an evil artifact that is already keeping him alive past the point of natural death.

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Sep 1

Today on Portraits of Queen West, a 2012 picture of Czehoski.

The sign dates back to 1924. For decades, this was a Polish deli, then it was a closed deli with a great sign. The sign remained when it became a restaurant, until it closed in 2015 amid its owner's legal troubles as a corrupt drug cop.

A weathered, vintage "Czehoski" sign hangs over a newer wooden facade and awning, flanked by shops and parked bicycles.

1 3

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Aug 30

Recently on Portraits of Queen West

A wet day in Parkdale in March 2016

1470 & 1468, 1440 & 1438, 1436 & 1434 and 412

Street view of brick buildings with ground level storefronts. Left: "Top Brands For Less," featuring a large "80% off" sign. Right: "Sizzling Grill" with Mediterranean cuisine imagery. A bicycle is chained to a tree. The Sizzling Grill is on the corner in a one-storey building with a network of ventilation ducts on the roof. The scene is overcast and wet.

Street view of "Lucky Supermarket" with a red and yellow sign, a brick building facade, displays of fresh produce, and a bicycle parked outside. The shop spans two wide storefronts each with a similar sign, as if there are two shops with the same name competing.

Street scene with brick buildings and ground-level storefronts, including "Parkdale Accounting," and a "Lotto Convenience" store on the corner. A person stands on the wet sidewalk, looking to the left.

Street view of two adjacent shops: "Common Sort," a clothing exchange, and "Happy Kids World," a children’s wear store. Pedestrians and bicycles are visible.

1 7

Kevin Steele @kevinsteele.bsky.social · Aug 27

Negotiating with a machine is tedious and I quickly bored.

Some people will have a knack for wrestling acceptable results from tools like this, and some might even enjoy it, but I'm not excited to live in a world crafted by machines guided by machine whisperers.