The blogTO Contact Flickr Forum aims to feature some of the most intriguing images taken by fellow Torontonians and submitted to the special blogTO @ Contact pool. Submissions are welcome right up until the end of May!

This sampling of eclectic images, regardless of whether or not they themselves demonstrate the Contact festival's "constructed image" theme, do collectively form a unique "constructed image" of our thriving city, through the eyes and words of our readers and Flickr pool members.

Please continue for full-sized images and words from the photographers...

Traffic by dave_in_t_o.

"I was inspired by the beautiful sunny day and the hustle and bustle of Kensington Market. When I saw the surreal characters of this mural I thought it would be an interesting contrast to photograph real people walking by. I waited for about 15 minutes for the "right" subject to come along. It was humourous to me that the subject is totally oblivious to the traffic mural, holding on to handlebars like the characters, and going in the same direction. The fact that the woman is wearing a red jacket meant that I just had to take this picture.

I would like to add that the unknown (to me) artist of the mural instilled wonderful character in this painting. Toronto is a very colourful and multicultural city and that we should enjoy our differences. We should take the time savor the various neighbourhoods of Toronto." ~dave_in_t_o

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City Hall Reflection by Bahman..

"I would say that the inspiration behind my image "City Hall Reflection" was a desire to create a mixture of truth and fantasy. I tried to show some tension between fantasy and reality by taking this image and flipping it upside-down." ~Bahman

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Free Gondolas by Mute*.

"Standing in Centreville, looking up and watching the gondolas pass by above me against a perfect blue sky, I couldn't help but imagine them free from those heavy cables and being able to go wherever they pleased. Achieving that effect in Photoshop was easy. I used the cloning tools to remove the cables and 'cut out' the cars to move them slightly, so they weren't in a strict line.

The freedom I gave those gondolas is the same way I feel about Toronto; there are too many escapes and distractions, like the islands, to ever feel like it's dragging me down. We live in a city of wide diversity and strong communities and it constantly excites and inspires me." ~Mute*

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Imcoming! by GŠH.

"A few months before I took the shot(s), my girlfriend gave me a flying lesson for my birthday from the flight school on the Islands. After the amazing experience I started to think of a way to show in a photograph that sensation you get when you land - of everything getting larger and closer and slowing down. I biked over to the Island, via the ferry, on a frozen January day hoping to get some interesting shots. To get this one, I positioned myself right up against the outer fence of the airport and took 6 frames of maybe a dozen planes landing until I got the spacing I was after. I was glad the pilots didn't touch down too early! I then opened all the RAW files in Aperture, colour adjusted, sharpened then exported TIFFs to Photoshop. Next, I placed them all on top of each other and cut out the duplicated backgrounds.

I think it illustrates the beautiful blue skies that Toronto gets and the potential for creativity the city presents. I've hugely enjoyed shooting in Toronto. I had a lot of fun that day - if you search my Flickr photostream for Toronto Islands you'll see some more." ~GŠH

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Canadians United by Proliphic.

"The inspiration for this photo came from a class discussion I had with my grade seven history class. We were discussing how the people of different religious groups were forced to move to British North America from Europe to escape persecution. I mentioned that the "American Dream" was not always reality. We talked about how different religious and racial groups were often, and still are, treated unfairly in the Americas, even Canada. I asked the class if they had experienced any sort of discrimination/racism, at which point the vast majority of my students put up their hand. This shocked me. I told the students that this was totally unacceptable in this day and age, in this city, and that this is something that has to change. How? One person at a time, one classroom at a time. So I took my camera, which was in my classroom cupboard and asked students to put their hands together in a stand against racism.

Simply look at the hands. My classroom is like our city - diverse. Toronto prides itself on being one of the most multicultural cities in North America and this pictures truly reflects that fact. The message behind the photos is that all Torontonians need to respect and embrace our multicultural city." ~Proliphic