Downtown Winnipeg - Street Photography with a 50mm

It won't take you long to realize that this is a huge change from my usual photography (if you've seen more than one post on this blog anyway). This is downtown Winnipeg... my home town. My family and I get back there a couple times a year to visit my parents and siblings, but I rarely get a chance to walk around downtown. This particular day was overcast and cold (last week in August). My brother and I were driving through the city and we (or I), decided to stop and walk around about a 5 block area. This is what I saw, all through the lens of a 50mm 1.4 prime (incidentally it's a great exercise to walk around with a prime lens and compose your shots).
Please take a moment to scroll through each shot, and find the conclusion at the end.

This is a very common scene in Winnipeg, old buildings (slightly worn down) with fire escapes. I tried this one in black and white, but I preferred having the red in it.



Notice the couch in the alley.

We didn't go into this bar, but we were really, really curious what it looked like on the inside.

I thought this looked like a great little diner, very tight. I especially like the graffiti on the side.



Another great old building, a little more run down, just beside a city parking lot.



Here the older Bank of Montreal building stands in the shadow of the newer TD Bank building. I just like the difference in architecture.


I love the ad on the side of this building, although I'm not sure what it is promoting. You have an old run down Albert Hotel right next to another city parking lot.



This is a shot driving into the glamorous downtown (approaching the famous Portage and Main). I really like the "Nutty Club" building, but I also find the 4 pedestrians is the corner very interesting.


A posting board for coming events.


This shot isn't anything special, I just loved the trophies.



Most of these buildings you would think face a back alley and I'm missing the prettier side on the main street, but that's not ture.



This is "my Winnipeg", this is what I see when I walk around downtown. I love architecture, I love history and texture. I love the juxtaposition of something beautiful against a "dirty" or old background. But I have a hard time not seeing a city center that is slowly decaying when I scroll back through these pictures. Don't get me wrong, the city has its nice parts, its culture, its own beauty... you just have to know where to find it.
I hope you enjoyed a different take on photojournalism. But if you didn't like it, don't worry, I'll be back to posting prettier stuff soon.