I love it.

I reali realli like this image Sam. Great detail and very nice cropping with the street sign still in shot. Nice!!

:)

I love the leather texture. Could you post a version in black and white? I think the contasts would be neat to see.

well the back looks scary I do wonder what the front would look like!!!!!

are these the guys that opened fire on boxing day?

Awwww how cute, matching jackets! I love it when couples do that, it makes me get all emotional like...YO!

Wow, those are some incredible jackets. Nice shot, Sam.

There must have been a sale on those coats! :o)

Nice shot!

oh my god this is so cool. their pants are hysterical. they didn't suddenly turn back, did they?

This is great! What a sign of the times. A photo that is completely current and will only become more charming as time passes and trends change. Well done.

Looks like som tough guys. Cool ;)

lol

This shot really gives an accurate flavour of the area. Nice capture. Also, loving the square proportion.

Question: What do they do if they see a $10 dollar bill on the ground?
Answer: They bend over and pick it up - uugh! That is an image I would NOT want to see!

Thug twins. How adorable.

Good shot, Sam. Are you going to follow it up with the one where their pants are down around their ankles?

Can styles get much goofier?

Submit this to Vice!
A definite T.O. Don't:
Wearing matching his and... his? Psudo masculine, extra scarfacial jackets on a spring afternoon.
Awesome!

I feel the need to respond to some of the comments, as a young black man...and amateur photographer.
It is Sad to see that people may joke around wondering if these are the "Boxin' Day Shooters"...Sad to see that 2 young men dressed so would be labeled as "shooters" or even scary beings... Sad to see the misconseptions people have about young black men in general these days.
This style is a cultural statement just like another. To me there's no difference between baggy pants and oversided jackets AND cowboy boots, tight Levis jeans and a Cowboy hat.

This should not be regarded as an attack or an offending statment, but as an opinion. Please feel free to comment.
On a Photography note: Nice mood Sam...Great details...Great Capture !
I like your square framing as well.

quite camp! great capture :)

lovely shot this - great character

Big jackets. Big pants. Did they know you took their picture? I'd be scared to photograph these guys....

tee:please keep your racists attitutes to yourself. Your ignorant opinion isn't needed here.

philippe, i couldn't help but notice the same kind of tone from a lot of the comments myself. Nicely put!

they do look scary.

could not agree more on the outrageus comments, there is no place for this atitude anywhere, and it pisses me off to say the least! great shot Sam.

For once, the comments say more about the submitter than the subject at hand.

what's so scary? It's just fashion. charles manson made everybody scared of the long haired hippies at one point too. it didn't make all hippies raving acid killers!

Wow. Racist comments like that are as stupid as Sam is talented.

Wrestler's shoulders, great bombers... excellent pic!

Thanks Philippe, someone needed to say it.

Sam: I really like the shot. Was this a candid, or did you ask them if you could take their photo first? I always feel uncomfortable overtly taking pictures of people I don't know in public.

I would assume that with sam's supreme talent and power he should be able to make racism history forever.

Criticism by Philippe, of the racism, is a good post. Perhaps tee has never thought of a statement like that as being viewed that way. Now tee knows - if she re-reads the content.

The 2 lads are imposing with those jackets, but the cut of the bodys seem a tad disproportionate. But it is a cultural uniform, and most of us get involved with some thing which to others seems weird. To me the diversity of approach to clothing is interesting if bizarre at times.

What I cant see is the real personality of the two persons - what they are like to converse with and laugh a bit of time with. The clothing actually hides that - so to speak.

Good solid image, Sam.

I am guessing you liked watching Scarface.

I really like this. They look like they're really enjoying their day, taking a walk, talking with their best bud. Well, that's what I can tell from their back anyway.

Well said Philippe. I seen this photo and unfortunately expected some stereotypical replies.

I agree with Phillipe and the others, poor show on the comments. It's all too easy to discriminate when hiding behind a computer but at least have the decency to keep it to yourselves. It's offensive.

For the picture... the similarity in their gates and stride are almost more apparent than their clothing. I'd disagree with square frame I thnk it'd be nicer to see the frame extend to the street on the left.

as a young white Torontonian I even get offended by people calling these guys the "boxing day shooters", so it's not just you Phillippe

Those are some crazy wild jackets! Bet their heavy and costly. Cool shot.

philippe, Please accept my apologies. This is a perfect example of prejudging what we see and don’t see.

Excellent photograph, shame about the comments today. these chaps look fairly harmless to me unless one watches too much TV. I imagine they are having ice cream or something.

that was a low blow tee......

nice one... and damn sharp!

Hey Guys, with regards to the earlier comments, as long as we've learned something today, it can only be a brighter future for all. Ben, TO is a great city and should not be portrayed any differently !

I applaud Sam for a simple picture that can have such a great impact.

Enrique, no worries...I certainly hope there was no ill-intentions behind your comments.
Cheers :)

Look, Ron Sexsmith is playing at Massey Hall!

I guess they are artists. CARFAC = Canadian Artists Representation/Le front des artistes canadiens ( http://www.carfac.ca )

Love the texture and the framing. haha lol @ the ice cream comment :) Be great to see in black and white. nie job.

philippe, i agree. toronto is the most multicultural city in the world, too. if youre going to be racist, toronto is the wrong place to do it.

anyways, i love this picture sam! it seems like its telling a part of a movie or something.

nice pic sam, unfortunately people had the nerve to stereotype these guys. i know you thought about this pic for a while and its a shame think they're funny and had to disrespect them like that. minorities love scarface cause it shows how someone can come from somewhere else with nothing and rise to wealth in their new home. it looks good in b&w in photoshop but it looks a lot better in colour. hope ppl don't discourage you from photographing toronto minorities and urban youth. - dave

As a male of color I must say that I am so appreciative of the way that everyone has been so tactful and respectful in expressing their feelings about the comments. Even for "Tee" and some of the others, please don't feel bad -- just think about the conclusions you're jumping to based on a glimpse of someone's back. They may look like babyfaces from the front! :-)

I think the shot looks ok - I prefer the landscape shots. I agree that a b&w shot might provide interesting look.

I'm new to the site and I'm digging it. I know it's a bit off topic, but I'm so used to stuff like this bringing out the worst in people -- especially when you can hide behind a keyboard. But you folks are a class act.

thanks for the good comment, phillipe, too bad for the others.
see? with a simple picture you can see so much ungliness in the world...

These are two tough dudes with attitude + +. They're making their statement and you better lissen up. Ah, testosterone. Great picture for this weekend Sam.

Wow, when I found this website I had to add it to my blogroll. You have amazing photograph, with such story-telling and detail. Thank you very much for displaying such work!

Darkness
g8.no

Wow. That's a lovely shot and obviously stirs up quite a bit of emotion. A note about the racism talk though. I completely agree with Phillipe's comment it's so true. Yet I somewhat disagree with cmurph's comment. We, as Canadians, don't often like to acknowledge that we have a racism problem in Canada and deem to be a mosaic rather than a melting pot. But how is hiding our racist attitudes helping anything, we'd be lieing to ourselves. I would like to think that acknowledging our societal problems is much more effective. As this goes to show when people disagree and voice their opinion we create a form of communication and can resolve some of these issues one small step at a time. Congrats Sam for posting the picture and getting people to do just that, unveil some characteristics that most don't think they have and actually do. Until recently I didn't know how big of a racism problem we had in Canada until the topic was covered in one of my classes. My prof posed a simple question to the class of mostly white students. Who's ever thought about the "skin coloured" band-aids? Who are they made for and why are they only in one general shade? something to think about....(sorry about the long post)

Love the shot Sam! You haven't done many people shots recently, and I love it when you do! Echoing an earlier poster: it's interesting that Scarface has become such an iconic character to urban youth, years after the movie. The poster stores surrounding this area in Toronto, are full of Scarface images for sale. So this shot is very appropriate in every way. It's timeless!

Sad, sad, sad...scary even...how do baggy jeans and a hip hop look make you a shooter???...last time i checked, rock and roll was way more influential in the 70s than hip hop will ever be, and yet, more people died in the 70s front rock altercations that they'll ever be in hip hop...just cause Pac, Biggie and Jam Master Jay are preoeminent figures in hip hop that died from violence, tee, or whatever the name was went ahead and summed it up by the fashion...sad...y'all thought hip hop was a fad at 1st...well, i got news for you tee, buckle up...you're in for one hell of a long run...long live hip hop

Amazing crisp detail in the jackets.. this looks very good! Great capture!

Photos that spur discussion and debate are invaluable... thanks Sam and commenters.

bellissima

What's (more?) racist? ...Someone suggesting these could be the boxing day shooters or someone assuming they came to that conclusion because of the colour of their skin?

If your brave you'll say it in their faces.. rude boyz!! Yo doggy this picture is good.

I got a hangnail
Hangnail
Hanging from my cubicle
It aint beautiful

I have a friend in L.A. named Ron Smith. I'm sending him this link. From the sign in the lower right, looks like he's been moonlighting!
Love the photo, by the the way. You are masterful at capturing character in great composition.

nice photo. although i would have liked to see it with a smaller apterature number. the background and surroundings are a little distracting