Interview with Toronto Photographer Michael Burke (Tdot Shots community member)

Welcome to the interview with Michael Burke, a member of the Toronto photography community and supporter of our meetups and photo walks.

We decided to try a new format, and we interviewed Michael with video, down at one his favourite spots, the lovely Marilyn Bell Park, at the Toronto waterfront.

Here’s the video and a transcript is provided if you’d prefer to read. Please scroll to view all the photos – and be sure to follow Michael on Instagram: @michaelburkephotography

Interview with Toronto Photographer Michael Burke

Can you first introduce yourself? 

Yeah. So I’m Mike. I’m a photographer from Toronto. Basically, I live in the area by Queen and Lansdowne.

I’ve been doing photography now for about nine years. I took it up though. More so more actually over the last three years since COVID. As a matter of fact, I’ve been coming down here to Marilyn Bell Park since I’ve lived in this area.

And how long have you been doing photography? Like, when did you really start? 

So it’s funny, I actually got into photography when I used to work at George Brown at the Waterfront and I used to shoot with an iPhone and it’s shocking, I know. And then started using a camera in the end and turned out that I had a hidden talent for it. 

When did you get your first DSLR or real camera, let’s say?

It’s been about ten years, actually. Ten years. 

Can you tell us about your favorite shooting locations? 

Where in the city or outside of the city do you like to shoot? So my prime spot to shoot at actually is right at the top of the hill on Marilyn Bell. Why? Because it provides a good lookout spot for the skyline. The sunrise that comes off the horizon. So it provides great, amazing silhouettes, amazing light, sunset, obviously, which is right along here, provides an amazing white of the water horizons as well.

Nature photography is one of my favorites. I find myself very therapeutic, very relaxing. Yeah. For me, this is my quiet time. Just decompress. So that’s why I like the end of the day. Yeah. Yeah. So for me, this is why I like doing it down here for sure. 

Can you tell me about your gear and any accessories? What are you shooting with?

Yeah. So this is a very old Canon Rebel T3. It still works. Thankfully, we’ve got actually five lenses, so my telephoto, my wide angle. I’ve got a prime and two macro lenses and a flash adapter for the top. 

Can you tell me about some of your favorite photographers or what kind of art inspires you or. 

A lot of my inspirations come from Arjen, Kurt, Eddie, Jonathan, Ayman who I finally met one day, which is a real pleasure. I would say that those are my top people who inspire me and Michael, Mind’s Eye his account is full of inspiration. So those few people, amongst others. 

Thanks for the chat!

Follow the artist: @michaelburkephotography

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