While Streetview showed a payphone in Oslo's train station, it was gone when I went to photograph it. There would have been some once in this building. It's now a restaurant. Behind is something else that's also now rare: a large, apparently thriving dept. store. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mmf4.5, Kodak TriX)

This convenience store on the main street of Brighton, Ontario greets shoppers with a high intensity interrogation light. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

The wonders that emerge each spring, in this case along Colonel By Drive in Ottawa. (Leica SL Typ 601, 28-70 Vario Elmar)

Mumbai through a van window. (Leica M4-P, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M -- all-Canadian combo -- Fuji Acros 100II)

111 Sussex Drive, the former Ottawa City Hall, now used by the government of Canada for office space and as a conference center. This was taken in Nov. The phone was still there yesterday when I returned for a media budget lock up but no phone book. (Leica M5, 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH, Kodak Tri-X)

Bob Crawford, near Campbell's Bay, Ottawa Valley (TMAX-400). He is 91. Still runs a small sawmill. Made 7 violins, and was very accomplished artist. "Smartist man in Pontiac" region, several people have told me. I will post others of him

This one was shot some time ago but someone missed going through the scanner until now. The Byward Market Parking Garage, Ottawa. (Leica M2, 35mm f2 Summicron, Kodak Tri-X)

More Oslo. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux)

The bar at the Dorchester Hotel, Mayfair, London. Aside from it being closed, I shot it through the window because I doubted that I could afford even a glass of water there. (Leica M Monochrom, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M)

The last desperate bits of ice in the Rideau Canal in Ottawa when it was transforming from a gigantic "skateway" back into a waterway. (Leica M Monochrome, 75mm f1.4 Summilux)

Oslo. The hotel had rare windows that opened wide. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux M ASPH)

OK, back to phones. This one across from Hyde Park in London was painted black perhaps to indicate its claim that it offers WiFi. That may be true. I didn't test it. (Leica M Monochrom, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M)

The flying saucer in Moonbeam, Ontario, population 1,200, as seen 20 years ago. Remote is a bit of a understatement for the town's location. The spacecraft was put up to lure people off of the Trans-Canada Hwy in 1991. Kilo, the town mascot, is a green alien (Nikon D70, 20mm f2.8 Nikkor AF-D)

The giant chicken promoting a Labor Day fundraising dinner outside of the church in Wilno, Ontario "Canada's first Polish settlement." This was 2016. The church has since redone its plywood chicken display along similar lines. (Fuji GW690III, 90mm f3.5 Fujinon, Fuji 160 NS)

London: where I'm not alone in photographing the pay phones. This one was conveniently positioned at the hotel. I noticed, however, that other visitors spurn the "modern," often vandalized phone booths although I find them very interesting. (Ebony GP69F, Zeiss 80mm f2.8 Planar, Fuji Acros 100)

I encourage everyone to follow my neighbor and friend Alfred Leblanc @alfredjleblanc.bsky.social who has long been chronicling Cape Breton, where he is originally from, and has more recently added the people of the Ottawa Valley

Bronson Bridge, Ottawa. One of the less scenic highlights of the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Leica SL Typ 601, 80-200 f4 Vario Elmar R)

Tokyo, Chiyoda City. Note the small, sort-of stool in anticipation of protracted conversations. (Eboy GP69F, Zeiss 80mm f2.8 Planar, Fuji Acros 100II)

Ward Wright, Micksburg, Ontario.

The loading dock of the hotel complex where I stayed in Mumbai. It was not clear if that's a guard dog or just an employee's companion. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux)

Two more phones from The Forks, a rebuilt and vibrant former rail freight terminal, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak TriX)

Tokyo, Minato City. The purpose of the cage next to the phone booth was unclear to me. The No Smoking sign suggests that it perhaps once held butane or propane tanks for cooking. (Ebony GP69F, Zeiss 80mm f2.8 Planar, Fuji Acros 100)

This hallway in the Sydney Opera House (which is as profound as a cathedral seen in person) is partly open to the outside. So I risked a tripod. Inevitably, it attracted a guard. But he asked if I wanted him to stop people walking into the shot! (Leica M4-P, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH, Fuji Acro 100)

Sydney's Harbourfront has a special pay phone kiosk. Although one of the phones is gone and the other was left off the hook.That's the Queen Mary 2. I met a couple who sailed from the UK on it I guess because Australia isn't far enough away by air. (Leica M4-P, 50mmf1.2 NoctiluxASPH, Fuji Acros100)

Tokyo is a global center of pay phones even if it's not obvious that anyone uses them. So it was bit frustrating during a recent work trip there that I very little free time. I was up at 5:00 am to shoot this one near the hotel in Chiyoda City. (Ebony GP69F, Zeiss 80mm f2.8 Planar, Fuji Acros100II)

Another of the payphone towers at the airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri-X)

Some sidewalk cooking in Mumbai near Marine Drive. I passed these two men on consecutive nights and both times there were formidable flames flared up from their stove (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux)

Outside of the Manitoba tourism office at The Forks, a former railway freight yard that's now a vibrant neighborhood, museum and shopping district in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

My excessive familiarity with payphones leads me to believe that these kiosks at Winnipeg, Manitoba's airport are unique, at least in Canada. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri-X)

From Feb. 79 until last June, Winnipeg, Manitoba's signature crossroads at Portage and Main was closed to pedestrians. They had to descend into a subterranean "circus" -- barriers blocked their crossings. It was often inaccessible to people with limited mobility (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5k Kodak TriX)

My teenaged mother, one of her 6 sisters, my Ukrainian grandmother and a basket of sandwiches changed trains here during WWII as they travelled from Dauphin, Manitoba to Windsor, Ontario to join the rest of the family. Winnipeg Union Station platform boarding level. (Mamiya7ii, 43mmf4.5, Kodak TriX)

Alongside Marine Drive in Mumbai, early on a Sunday morning. (Ebony GP69F, Zeiss 80mm f2.8 Planar, Fuji 160NS)

Another train station on the other side of the world. Payphones proudly flank the main exit of Union Station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Once a massive passenger hub, it now only serves Via Rail's transcontinental train and the route to Churchill, Manitoba. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak Tri-X)

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (née Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai, which opened in 1888, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To say that it is heavily ornamented would be a matter of great understatement. A crowd formed while I shot this (Ebony GP69F, 127mm f4.7 Kodak Ektar, Fuji 400H)

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (née Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai which serves 3 million commuters a day. It famously co-starred in "Slumdog Millionaire". The vendor emerged from the train with his wares. (Hasselblad SWC, A16 back, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Fuji 400H)

A motorway underpass in New Delhi. Given the traffic and air pollution, it's heroic that those plants survive. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

Sydney. Telstra, the legacy phone company in Australia, made its pay phones free in 2022 to serve the homeless, domestic violence victims and for natural disasters. During my brief time there, I saw a number of people simply using them rather than mobiles. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mmf1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

One of a series of decorative panels on the walls surrounding Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

Mumbai. The cat at the front and the one looking at the rat were boxing until the rat came along at a surprisingly leisurely pace. The cat near it tried to start a cat v rat match but the rat wasn't having any of it. So the cat poking resumed. (Leica M Monochrom, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

Tokyo early last Saturday morning. (Leica M Monochrom, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M)

Mumbai. The blur hides it but every taxi cab in the city appears to have dented or crumbled fenders. (Leica M Monocrhom, M9 flavor, 50mm f1.2 Noctilux ASPH)

More from Montreal Road in Ottawa's Vanier neighborhood. I don't want to know what lies behind that window. (Fuji GSW690II, 65mm f5.6 Fujinon SW, Fuji 400H)

Montreal Road, in Ottawa's Vanier neighborhood. (Fuji GSW690II, 65mm f5.6 Fujinon SW, Fuji 400H)

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switerzland is a bonanza for companies that rent temporary steel fences and stairways. The only firms that obviously do better are the owners of the black Mercedes vans that clog the streets. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum last month. Don't be fooled by the lack of humanity. The road at the top of the frame was packed with pedestrians and cars. The van in the frame was participating in monumental gridlock. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

Westmount, Sherbrooke Street, Montreal. The "BEEN THRU HELL" sticker certainly applies to this phone. There was no dial tone and the LED display was dead. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak Tri-X)

Suburban Gyeongju, South Korea. Yes, that's a Mercedes-Benz branded push car (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak TriX)

Underneath a tram line next to a railway near the Zurich airport. A spot, to my knowledge, that is not found in any tourist guidebook. (Leica M Monochrom, 28mm f2.8 Elmarit M)

The new-ish Montreal intercity bus terminal is fully equipped with pay phones. (Mamiya 7ii, 43mm f4.5, Kodak TriX)

Gyeongju, South Korea, once the capital of the ancient Silla Kingdom, is justly proud of its traditional tile roofs. This one has a McDonald's underneath it. It was unclear what this laneway collection is all about. (Hasselblad SWC, Zeiss 38mm f4.5 Biogon, Kodak TriX)