As a teenager, I bought my first camera, the 5-megapixel Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom, in September 2004 (back when 27mm EFL was considered "wide"). I was inspired to buy a camera to document the high-rise condominium construction boom in Mississauga and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area, which began around this time.

Of course, high-rise buildings have always been a major part of the urban landscape of Mississauga, particular along Hurontario. Not surprisingly, Hurontario Street happens to be the busiest bus corridor in the outer suburbs of Toronto, carrying approximately 25,000 riders per weekday on MiWay buses alone. Before the ongoing conversion to light rail, MiWay's "Local" bus, the 19 Hurontario, operated at 6-minute frequency while the "Express" bus, the 103 Hurontario Express, ran at at 10-minute frequency, for a combined 4-minute frequency all day.

The photo below is one of the first photos I took with my new camera, in December of 2004, 19 years ago when I was 19 years old. It is as much a portrait of Hurontario Street as it is of my childhood. It is the neighbourhood I grew up in from junior kindergarten to grade 12, and even the apartment building where I lived from 9 years to 18 years old can be seen the distance. With the light rail construction combined with the high-rise construction, you can probably imagine how much this street has changed since 2004, as much as how much I have changed as a photographer during that time. It was not just the beginning of a condo boom, but also the beginning of my journey into photography.

North Along Highway 10Hurontario Street in Cooksville in Mississauga on December 5, 2004.