Eventually I ended up in the Colonnade Camera Center on Bloor St. In Toronto, it was 1970. My boss Earl Gardiner was a great guy and didn't mind if I did some freelance photography on the side. On of the perks of the job was a bachelor pad in the building. The Colonnade was the place to shop and be seen by visiting celebs, you never knew who would come through the door from one day to the next. Over a couple years, literally hundreds of really interesting folks came through the shop. On one such day an actress/singer walked in and put my photography career in high gear; my dear friend Ms Trudy Desmond from New York City.

Contact sheet of my friend Trudy. Leicaflex 90mm Elmirit R Tri X. We stayed close for years, Suzanne and I were invited to her New Years Eve party where we met the cast of Second City. Trudy lived with Andrea Martin at the time. We would often meet for coffee at Cafe de la Paix in the Colonnade where we would discuss assignments she threw my way. Trudy was also a very successful interior designer; Desmond Interiors.

Trudy and I hit off from our first meeting, she needed some promo shots for a musical she was in; I got the job. She liked my work and this led to other projects: the interior design to Nimbus 9 for one. Nimbus 9 was a recording studio for artists like Lou Reed, Poco, Elton John, Wolfman Jack, Alice Cooper, and of course The Guess Who. Trudy introduced me to the new owners, Jack Richardson, Ben McPeek, Alan McFarlane and Peter Jackson; they basically let me have the run of the place. I covered the walls from one end to the other with super graphics and special pictures. I had my own color lab and I did some pretty crazy stuff back then; solarized color posterization. Basicall black & white pics with special effects printed with poster colors. I got to do Alice Cooper's Christmas card that year.

The job took about 6 months, I got to meet the bands, and their producers, including a young Bob Ezrin, he hated the graphic I painted on his wall. He did like the poster I created for the grand opening of the studio of Ron Hunter, manager for the Guess Who. All they had was an old black and white photo of Ron sitting on a sidewalk eating a sandwich; I had two days to produce the work. I took Bob off the sidewalk and placed him on the 45 record “American Woman” and flew him around his office in the Empire State building; with a trail of stardust following in his wake. Still looking for the pic. Only thing was, it was late at night when I put it together and I got the wrong building. Thankfully for me, they let it slide; I got a little gold plague off in the corner.

Old fashioned portrait of Nimbus 9 Owners
Ben McPeek, Jack Richardson, Alan McFarlane, Peter Jackson

I got a call from someone wanting me to take a commercial grade photograph of an oil painting, I arrived at the address on Bayview Ave; it was Windfield Farms and the portrait in the foyer was Northern Dancer. I parked my car in front, unpacked my Linhof 4x5 studio camera and knocked on the door.  It was Mr. E.P. Taylor himself, he heard I specialized in repro quality photos for expensive coffee table books. Mr. Taylor watched with interest while I worked, and invited me to tea afterwards. Years later I found out Suzanne and her friends played around the "farm" while she was growing up; small world.