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Saturday, January 27, 2024

Beautiful scars in the urban landscape

Ambivalence from on high
Toronto, ON
February 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram


Soon after takeoff from Pearson’s Runway 23 (east-to-west, north side of the airport), we come across the intersection of Highways 410 and 407.

Sitting in our fast-accelerating perch in the sky, it’s easy to feel ambivalent about the scene unfolding far below. The curving ribbons of road are either stunningly beautiful examples of modern concrete construction, and almost-abstract textures across the rolling southern Ontario landscape, or they’re grotesque wounds inflicted on a planet ill equipped to handle much more savagery in the interest of so-called progress.

I appreciate the irony that I’m having these musings as the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A turboprop engines on our Dash 8-400 spew out untold amounts of carbon emissions as they claw for altitude. Like it or not, our fossil fuel infrastructure, both in the sky and on the ground, will be something of a necessary evil for a while yet.

None of this means we can’t hang in the sky for a blink and take in the spectacle. There’s beauty in everything, and sometimes we have to find new and weird places from which to observe it.

#toronto #yyz #ontario #canada #throwback #pearson #international #airport #dehavilland #dash8 #q400 #airplane #aviation #photography #travel #travelphotography #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded

Related:
Winging it, August 2023
Airport at rest, March 2023
Water always wins, December 2021

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