Sam...having "fun" in an abandoned psychiatric hospital with a flashlight in front of your face in the pitch dark......to funny... I would of loved to of caught that act,at least I hope its just fun and not some obsession you got going on with this place....you do post a fair amount of shots from there, this one is great by the way.. very inventive and imaginative... like it a lot, there was one of a chair on a desk from there also that is one of my favs. of yours, you be carefull in there, there has to be lots of weird vibes.....

This is so cool and inspiring. It made me to write a short story. It's so ghosty of you...

Thats so Freaking cool. Way to go. I usually say that I dislike the Whitby psych photos, but I love this one. Its just great. Its completely spooky.

Man if I want to play around like this im going to need a better camera than this little thing im using all the time.

Thanks for the constant inspiration.

you go to whitby's abandoned psychiatric hospital alot. i live in oregon and have no idea how close to Toronto it is or how many people know about it. i was wondering if you have started to find people there who found out about it on your website?

Wow. I don't think I could hang out in a pitch black abandoned psych institute.

Hardcore :)

dude.. drop the hospital stuff already.. you have been drawing these series out for soo long now man, please come up with some original work.. it's not about posting every day.. it's about quality not quantity.. who cares about the darn hospital.. it's been months of the series.. find something new already..

Surreal.

wow, this picture is awesome! i really like all of your pictures of the psych

you've got guts. If i was there i be crying probably.
Nice shot, spooky..

You must be mad! But seriously this is a lovely photo. I also have a strange affliction with spaces that were once occupied.

It started when I was a police officer. I found myself patroling a busy suburbun outdoor shopping precinct at day and night. In the middle of the night whilst on my own I was stunned by the contrast in the feel,smell,and noise of the place. I know it sounds eary but if it ever hits you, you will understand.

Great photo

Appropriately spectral for that location.

Spookyness!. I love it!

spooky

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Yelled at the top of my lungs as I run screaming from the room. You have outdone yourself with this one. Please continue the Whitby series, its some of your best work. I don't care how often you go out there, as long as you come back!

Whitby is a short drive east of Toronto. The city doesn't actually end, it is just called Whitby out there.

That is one creepy picture, considering where it was taken. Excellent job. I love the psych hospital series as well; I don't blame you for periodically posting from that series because there are so many awesome shots.

Beautiful!

You seem to know this hospital inside out. I feel compelled to ask, did you once take up residency as a patient? Today's photo looks like a private room bringing back memories. Think hard; remember the classroom, the bowling nights, the chill coming through the window?

This rocks! Great effect.

Fantastic!! Your ghostly face in the photo is absolutely brilliant!

cool effect, but you should have done it on the other side of those windows, or started inside and hopped out the window...permitting it's on the gorund floor of course.

This is really what photo-graphy is all about.
Painting with light. It's a great picture.
And the parking lot of yesterday was a good one too. Finally you're getting back to your old high level.

When was the last time you were back there? Or are all of the WPH shots part of some grand vault of pictures from there? :)

Funny. This is just exactly the way I am feeling today!

If you'd told some people that you had photographed a ghost, they'd believe you!
Some photos like this appear on the 'paranormal' web sites.
And they were probably made the same way!

i stumbled across your site looking for photos of toronto to remind me of what a lovely place it is. and what a site i found! i love your photos, i look at them regularly, and although i'm a mere ameteur, your work gives me so much inspiration!
thankyou- your work makes me smile in a very dull britain!

I actually shivered more on this one than all the frosty ones put together!

There is a creepy monkey out of hell, peeping in through the left window...

Very creepy, but cool.

Really interesting photo, if you look really close, you can see some type of reflection in the left-hand window, to me it looks like a lion's face...spooky! :)

I keep looking at this photo, and finding something new to look at...great shot!.

Wow! Your site is fabulous! On the Whitby series, just thinking about wandering around in an abandoned psych ward really gives me the creeps. Have you ever been stopped by security or local cops for being in such a deserted place. I'm assuming it's off-limits and not some historical tourist attraction?

Btw, I love the guestmap. Very cool!

It is an amazing shot and works so well in very single aspect! Congratulations! And by the way, when I first saw this photo, my eyes were telling me that there was kind of polaroid manipulation effect in the shot! Just love it!

I remember this room. those days I was sick & destroyed!!! 1968...It was a cold night, the heater didnt work, the windows were broken & impossible to close, I was in my wet bed & the only nurse in serious psycho section had an affair with the shift doctor.
On top of all, my roommate keep playing with the flash light infront of a blackbox on top of an octopus...
what a long night...

awesome shot..i think you made up the story to make the image seem more creepy.;)just kidding, really, very cool idea.

hmmm, this effect looks familiar.

Sam,

you Am

it's all been said, above :))))

some people just know how to combine hight technique with creativity, and you are a natural

Dear Sam:
I completely disagree with kaz.
After seven decades of being entertained by looking at photos taken by the world's finest never have I seen such imagination, the rarest of the rare talent for capturing the interest of viewers.
A request - start negotiating with a publisher for a coffee table style book of your photos.
Wilf PS: You deserve to be famous.

Hah I love this pic! I showed it to my friends at school and they all thought it was a surreal pic. I used to play with extended exposure on my Nikon digi cam and it produces some awsome results.

I have often had to go to Whitby, other psychiatric facilitities and jails etc. in the course of my work. Though this is a beautiful picture, I find the constant return to the "Whitby" series incredibly disrespectful of the people who lived and worked there. This concept for a pictue could have been done in a garage, or a tunnel. You could find the same abandonment of structures throughout the city or the GTA. There is no need to give us any more of your hundreds of photos.
Find a more respectful venue

Sam... I just lost my comment written a moment ago. I was saying -- great job and, great of you to allow the anonymous "http://here.com's" of the world to post the ridiculous when you could easily edit or delete their "comments." I decided to do the same when I began my site after seeing your format. Thanks for the inspiration.

I find it interesting that your sharpest critics offer nothing of their own work. There's a lot left in the "hospital" series, in fact, and your work here continues to shine and keep you at the very top.

Creepy! And cool. :)

wow, makes me think of harry potter,
looks seriously like a special effect
didnt know u could do this!

cooooool

Nice shot Sam I am

waaaoow it seems like a ghost...

beautiful picture, filled me with hope, hard to put into words, but this reminds me of the spirit of God.

In Ecclesiastes we read "It was here already, long ago, it was here before our time" and a key phrase is about chasing after the wind.

spirit means breath
spirit of God , breath of God :)

I don't think this photo was meant to be disrespectful at all. I think some people have a hightened sensativity about the treatment of individuals with mental illness. I can understand that, but simply taking a photo in a building that is interesting is not a shot at the people who were helped there.

Lets face it there has been some horrifying treatment in some psychiatic facilities historically and therefore people do find such places rather frightening. I think there is a very natural response to the thought of imprisonment or ill treatment and also the fear of losing ones mental capacity is a very common thing for people. These however have nothing to do with the people who lived or worked in that building and are not meant in any way to be disrespectful or to harm those people. I am in no way offended by Sams series and I was a psychology student for many years and very concerned about the well-being of mental ill individuals. an illness is nothing to be ridiculed to made fun of.

I find most of Sams series in this location were about capturing unique imagery in a unique place. That building is uniquely interesting to people for many reasons and none of those reasons include a desire to injure or disrespect any ill people. It is no different than photographing an abandoned house... or a castle or ruin ...or old tomb for that matter... people simply have a desire to see and learn about the reality of the place.

I love the whitby series but I don't particularly like this shot. It's a great idea and all, but there's something that just doesn't really work for me.
A picture that I LOVE, and that is actually the reason that brought me here and has turned me into a big ddoi fan who clicks on it every single day, is the one you posted on Chromasia last year (you know, the one of the chair in the hall) ... that was a really wonderful picture.

Congratulations for your work ... I love to see such a beautiful city as Toronto daily posted in your blog.

This is perhaps the coolest photograph I have seen. Ever. I will be e-mailing you about the price of a print.

Please keep up the incredible work.

very creative, never seen anything like this (though, i haven't seen much photography). i'm a bit tired of this hospital as well, but the concept of this image goes beyond that to make the tired setting matter less than it otherwise would.

The place, the act and the effect.
You just added a whole new dimension to my creativity.

If you look at the window carefully it appears that a ghostly bearded face is looking at you and your camera. The picture is cool. Does anyone else see the face????

wow, thats sick! I have been trying some shots like that with my new Minolta Z3, im quite impressed by it acctually not an AMAZING camera but quite good. That pic look freaky though. And the mental hospital?lol..good job uve got some amazing pictures!

It's cool!

i live in front of the whitby mental hospital and its so cool i have been in almost all of them.

Very interesting site. Perfect design and content. Thanks.