Bernard Weil 2012 Favourites

Bernard Weil, Chief Photographer, Multimedia - @bernardweil

Fourteen month old Jesse Arrigo and his mom Kristin lie quietly in a hyperbaric chamber at the Ontario Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Centre in Toronto. Jesse survived a near drowning in a backyard garden pond earlier this year. From what the family has learned they are looking not at months, but years of therapies that are not covered by OHIP.

After a busy morning of music and reading therapy, 14-month-old Jesse Arrigo takes a short nap with his mother Kristin, in her bed, located beside Jesse's hospital bed to the left. Jesse must undergo a variety of therapy treatments at Bloorview Hospital in Toronto, including music and reading. Jesse survived a near drowning in a backyard garden pond. Oxygen deprivation suffered during his accident has led to the need for expensive ongoing rehabilitation therapies. 

 

Jesse Arrigo leaves the Ontario Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Centre in Toronto with his mom Kristin as Jesse's grandfather Bob waves goodbye. This was Jesse's 45th visit to the centre and comes five days a week, at a cost of $180 per session. Jesse survived a near drowning in a backyard garden pond. 

 

Photographed two years ago while waiting for a heart transplant, I had the opportunity to follow up on Brian Etherington's progress after recently receiving a heart this year. Brian had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and needed a heart assist device (LVAD), which lets the heart rest by taking over its pumping action. He finally received a heart transplant. Click here for the complete follow up story with Brian and other transplant recipients in the Star series, including videos from my first visit two years ago.

 

Biology professor Maydiane Andrade holds a Northern Widow, native to Ontario and caught near Lake Simcoe in Lisle Ont. Andrade specializes in the mating habits of black widow spiders. 

 

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford feels the heat during council debates in the chamber over the transit commission, Mar. 5, 2011.

 

Mayor Rob Ford feels the love as he gets a kiss from Argos Adriano Belli in the middle of his speech onstage at Nathan Phillips Square, during the Grey Cup Parade, Nov. 25,  2012.  

 

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford tries to outrun media as he heads up a stairway at City Hall for lunch during the first day of his conflict of interest case at the court house next door, Sept. 5,  2012.

 

An investigator from the SIU handles a knife at the scene where a police officer was stabbed in the neck, Apr. 16,  2012.  

 

Marques Dixon, of Pickering, waves his flag at University Stadium as fans gathered at the start of the Grey Cup parade. The Grey Cup trophy was carried by fans from University Stadium to Rogers Centre. 

 

Stepping out onto Bloor St. from University Stadium, Argo fans Eric Ransome was one of the first in the Grey Cup parade.The Grey Cup trophy was carried by fans from University Stadium to Rogers Centre. 

 

Police keep a close watch in the National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica. Students from more than 100 high schools in Jamaica competed in the annual ISSA Boys and Girls Athletic Championships 2012 competition back in March, better known as CHAMPS.

 

Framed by mansions on the hilltop, Jamie Lee Gordon, of Manchester High Schoolm Jamaica, flies past a judge in the girls 13-19year-old long jump in the annual ISSA Boys and Girls Athletic Championships 2012 competition back in March. The event is a four day extravaganza that's been a springboard for some of the top athletes in the world.

 

Rolando Reid, of Munro College, competes in the boys 14-19 year-old javelin throw in the annual ISSA Boys and Girls Athletic Championships 2012 competition back in March.

 

Fans go wild in the stands as students from more than 100 high schools in Jamaica compete in the annual ISSA Boys and Girls Athletic Championships 2012 competition in Jamaica.

 

World champion figure skater Patrick Chan flies through his routine during a CTV taping which aired later in the year during Skate Canada coverage, Sept. 6,  2012. Chan spent the day at Mississauga's Hershey Centre practicing his routines during the annual high performance camp. 

 

Cranes rise into the sky from the West Donlands area in Toronto, where the athletes village will be during the Pan Am games in 2015. 

 

Silhouetted against panel of photographs he took at earlier shows, photographer George Pimentel takes pictures in the lounge area under the tent.

 

Hair stylist Cindy Duplantis, of Brampton, works on the hair of model Whitney Thompson, of New York,  during the Toronto Fashion Week spring summer 2013 show in October. Thompson won America's Top Model in 2008 for plus size.  

 

A couple of posers are all that's left long after the last runway show during Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2013 collections.

 

Outside the tent, crowds gather to watch scantily clad models strut their stuff in the Triarchy show during Toronto Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 show.

 

A model starts down the runway (left) while another heads backstage.

 

Male model and jewellry designer Myles Sexton, left, and Ryan Turner showed up to watch the shows dressed in wearable art. 

 

Sitting still under brights backstage, Toronto model Jill Eisenhauer gets makeup applied during Toronto Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 show.

 

Time to pack up ladies, the party's over.

 

Here are some videos I produced this year.  Click on the image to play

 

Baby Jesse survived a near drowning in a backyard garden pond, on May 17. Oxygen deprivation suffered during his accident has led to the need for expensive ongoing rehabilitation therapies.

 

The Beach Motel, the last remaining building on Etobicoke's former Motel Strip, is being torn down to make way for more condominiums.

 

Jutting out into the Lake Ontario just east of Toronto, the Leslie Street Spit is one of the most important stop-off points for migrating birds on the lake.  

 

Olympic hopeful Emily Batty trains hard with her coach and fiance Adam Morka in the hills near her family home outside Whitby Ontario, April 5, 2012.

 

While Lori Ferguson continues to breed her broodmare horses at her farm in Woodville Ontario, horse racing's future lies in the balance. 

 

Dr.Ian McGilvray, surgeon in the multi-organ transplant program at Toronto General Hospital, leads the push to operation those otherwise deemed inoperable.

 

Lester B. Pearson International Airport LINK train is an automated people mover connecting Terminal 1 and 3 to a large parking garage The train is pulled along by a looping 3km cable along a 1.5km route.

 

Canada's Wonderland gave media a firsthand feel for their newest and tallest roller coaster, the Leviathan.  

Here's a selection of my favourites from 2011 and 2010.

Which picture was your favourite?

Leave a comment below and be entered into the end of year contest, details here.

Comments

[Gabrielle Vali]

I think my favourite picture has to be the one with the two models posing at the end of a runway. I love the contrast with lighting on each side.