DISPOSSESSION PART 5 of 5: CONSTRUCTING A SINGLE IMAGE FROM MANY – Reflecting on the creative process of my photograph for Kizuna
It probably doesn’t surprise you to read that this isn’t a single exposure from my camera. This single image, which will be hanging in the museum starting September 10, is actually a composite of more than 30 separate photographs, selected from over 1000 exposures (probably closer to 1500 but I’m not going to count). That’s about the extent of my technique that I’m going to reveal, except to say that in every way, I have never attempted anything like this before. Yes I’ve done photo composites before, but usually a single location, with 1 or 2 people, and 1 or 2 photographs merged into one.
Repulsion (2010) - by Yours Truly. This is the first photo composite I created for exhibition purposes. It's a scene reconstructed from memory (or research), staged with actors and digitally post-produced, an approach inspired by the Jeff Walls, Stan Douglases and Rodney Grahams of the world. There are only two photos in this composite whereas there are more than thirty photos that make up 'Dispossession', the photograph I created specifically for Kizuna.
I did two composites earlier this year (not knowing I would use, nay stretch, the technique into this one made up of three locations, 17 people, and 30-plus photos). Cake, right? My computer didn’t think so. (Warning: I’m going to geek out once more for a bit here) Before this project I thought Macs and Photoshop (a legit CS4 version on an 8-month new 27” iMac i7 with 8GB RAM) were fast and stable systems. That is until Photoshop starts saving your files automatically into the “.psb” format (not .psd for those who know what I mean). That means you’ve gone past the maximum file size that .psd can handle into this other realm known as “Large File Format”. It begins to happen around 2GB. When it gets up to 5 or 6GB, that’s when your (my) previously stable system begins to crash and reboots to reduce crashes are the norm. Saving your progress takes 5-10 minutes when you’re working with a 6GB file. Opening a 6GB file takes 5-10 minutes. Then there’s visually inspecting 200 million pixels to make sure there aren’t any defects… and fixing the defects you find (I hope I found them all). Let’s just say it took a whole lot of time to do the post production on this image.
Quinton, Wendy, Doug, Kasey, Nikolina, Me, Donna, Rachel - only a few of the dedicated bunch who made 'Dispossession' possible!
Which brings us full circle. Back to the print lab. I’m still here, in my third coffee shop today, blogging this verbose retrospective. The proofs for my print will be ready to view tomorrow, and the mounting material, aluminum, has been ordered. It’ll then take the better part of the remaining 1.5 weeks before the show to print, laminate, mount, and transport (Does your car have room to move a 9.5 foot piece of handle-with-extreme-care metal from Vancouver to Burnaby? Mine doesn’t) the photo by September 9, in time to be installed for the September 10 Opening Party.
If you can’t make the party it will be on display in the museum until November 27. Hope you can make it out to see it! Oh did I mention the title of the photograph is ‘Dispossession’?
Oh, you want to see it here? Well, maybe I’ll post something after the 10th.
A final plug for the show where you can see the completed photograph in all of its 9.5 feet of glory. Opening Party 7pm Sept 10 at the JCNM at 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby. Tix $10.
DISPOSSESSION PART 4 of 5: A COMMUNITY (AND THE RCMP) RESPONDS! – Reflecting on the creative process of my photograph for Kizuna
At this point, time was not on my side but I’ve never been one to give up a project I believe in. It could be done. It would be done, one way or another. Call me foolishly ambitious. Two things I had going for me: 1. I wasn’t a stranger to the neighbourhood – I had become fairly well connected to the Downtown Eastside and Japanese Canadian communities in the past three years. 2. the Powell Street Festival was days away – surely I could find a “Japanese-looking family” to appear as “ghosts” in the photograph there! The response was initially slow but then it seemed like overnight I had cast the roles of the ghosts and the three present day community representatives. Doug Masuhara, Derek & Sayaka Iwanaka, Kasey Ryne Mazak, Donna Nakamoto, Ty Evans, Sahali Lee Tsang, Tyler Win, Kaylen Win, Sid Chow Tan, Donna Gilkes, Robert Bonner, Wendy Charbonneau… Cast – check!
Donna, Sayaka, Derek, and Rempel - Rempel styled Donna and Sayaka's hair for the shoot.
The other, very important person I needed to recruit was a Stylist to create the wardrobe for the ghosts. Authenticity was key, so I needed someone who I believed could do the job. Fortunately, my roommate Nikolina Suric is in the biz. She had just finished heading up the costuming department on a TV pilot and was available and interested. Unfortunately, her wardrobe at Capilano University wasn’t accessible until the fall so she would have to purchase and/or make all of the costumes for the shoot, cutting deeper into my production budget. The most difficult costume to find wasn’t a costume at all – we needed a 1942-era RCMP uniform like the one that appears in the JCNM’s photo, leading the families along the tracks.
Photographing Ty in the elusive RCMP uniform. Ty was the first person I cast and the last costume we found.
I contacted my MP, Libby Davies, for help and they referred me to a local RCMP office. I wrote a letter to the RCMP explaining the project and the context in which the uniform would be used – and then waited… with no response (and still have not received one). In the meantime, just less than a week before the shoot, Nikolina found us the real thing at a movie service company, with King’s Crown badges, brown surge, striped jodhpurs, belt, cross strap, hat – everything! The only problem was – as we discovered after battling a few hours of Trans Canada construction traffic between Vancouver and Aldergrove – they wouldn’t rent it to us until we had written permission from the RCMP Intellectual Property Office in Ottawa! And there were only 3 days left until the shoot! (The RCMP uniform is trademarked you see, and after some abuse of these rights by commercial clients (which I learned includes some Olympic clients), the RCMP was coming down hard on anyone with access to RCMP marks.) I sent all of my correspondence to Ottawa and begged for their permission! To my surprise they were extremely responsive – I was shocked when the Sergeant in charge actually answered his phone on the first ring! But, as I learned after two days of back and forth, their response was negative. Permission needed approval from some higher-ups. I lost faith but wrote one more email trying to explain my case further – even if they did approve, there was no way I would get their approval in time for the shoot. An hour later, an email arrived while I was wondering what I would do. It was a yes! They had given me permission to use it for Kizuna! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I happily camped my butt in bumper to bumper traffic on the trip to Aldergrove to get the uniform. Costumes – check!
An early test shot from location scouting - note the crane is to the EAST of Woodwards - it's a luxury condo development. There is also a trendy new cafe at street level in the building directly to the left of the crane where the DTES locals line up for the smoked salmon panini... not.
Where to shoot it? Powell Street? Gentrification is marching east but it hadn’t reached Japantown quite yet (it probably will). I needed a place that demonstrated the real-estate steamroller effect on the Downtown Eastside community. The Woodward’s development was an obvious choice but I needed to check some facts first. I met with some community leaders I knew and began to do some fact checking. Woodward’s was ‘ground zero’ for the Woodsquat of 2002, where promises were made that eventually led to the end of the squat. While the community was invited to the table for extensive brainstorming of how the space would look and benefit the Downtown Eastside (most of which was ignored), and while some low income housing was included (75 family units, 125 single person units), the development of commercial and common spaces and over 500 market-rate condominiums (which sold out in hours at an average of $380,000), has proven also to be a vehicle for middle class outsiders, corporate tenants, and real-estate speculators to displace the poor. Today, Woodward’s is seen by Downtown Eastsiders as a literal reminder (two condo towers cast large shadows over the neighbourhood) and an iconic green light for gentrification east of Main. My choice for the location subtly shows the Woodwards building in the background, to the west (left), with community people (and the ghosts) symbolically walking away from it, eastward (right) – the direction which they are actually being displaced, and the direction that Japanese Canadians were also forced to move, 68 years ago. Location 1 of 3 – Check.
My early concept photograph for 'Dispossession' that decided the march would be "Ghosts" from the past. I also decided to place Woodward's more subtly in the background.
Initially my plan was that the Japanese Canadians would not appear as ghosts at all – they would be marching in the flesh, in costume right down Hastings with the present day neighbourhood people. That was the way it was going to be – until one day I pieced together a concept photo from my Hastings test shoot and the JCNM original. When I dropped these figures into the background, the idea for ghosts was decided. In addition to the symbolic meaning of something from the past, this approach would solve a number of other logistical and technical issues I was struggling with. I didn’t think I would have an authentic 1942 RCMP uniform and I didn’t know how authentic the other costumes would be (all were quite authentic in the end). I also fretted over the nightmare of arranging 10-15 people to hit their marks simultaneously, not to mention drawing a crowd of passers-by, and perhaps the Vancouver Police Department. On my budget, coordinating this safely and effectively was a major risk. But if I did ghosts… that brings us to location #2: the Greenscreen Shoot. This was easy. On my third call looking for a space, the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House offered both to manage traffic at the Day 1 Hastings shoot AND open up their space (AND provide healthy snacks!) for my makeshift greenscreen studio for the Day 2 Shoot. Location 2 of 3 – Check.
Kaylen and Tyler melting under the lights. It was a very hot day in very warm clothes under very hot lights. I think Nikolina, my wardrobe stylist, was just plain evil for making them wear scrarves!
The third location was the one I was less sure of. Somehow I needed to represent the first, and largest dispossession – that of the Coast Salish First Nations. I initially thought about including old-growth trees in the photo but my second choice was to place First Nations art strategically in the photo. But all of my calls to First Nations artists (Musqueam and Squamish I tried) were coming up empty. Trees it would be. Where are there trees that could represent those that once stood in the area now known as the Downtown Eastside? Stanley Park. Off I went. Location 3 of 3 – Check.
Wendy Charbonneau, a Squamish Junior Elder, in her regalia. She wore a cedar bark headband, an eagle feather and jewelry that was 900 years old!!
But were trees enough? The main contacts for First Nations leaders were away on vacation. Robert Bonner is Cree, and represents today’s aboriginal population in the Hastings scene, but Cree is not a First Nation of this area. Then, two days before the Greenscreen Shoot, Gary Johnston of the Native Education College returned my call to let me know his sister, Wendy Charbonneau, a Squamish Junior Elder, would be happy to appear in the photograph in full regalia. Wendy was the last piece in this complex puzzle of pre-production.
So three distinct and related communities had responded and were ready to go. Costumes were ready, locations selected. Then came the (relatively) easy part. Actually taking the photograph(s)…
DISPOSSESSION PART 3 of 5: THE IDEA – Reflecting on the creative process of my photograph for Kizuna
My brother, Dr. Jeff Masuda, at the Vancouver Archives while we were researching the location of our grandparent's confectionery store.
The idea for this photograph was not mine. It was my brother’s. My brother, Dr. Jeff Masuda is a professor of human geography at the University of Manitoba now, but three years ago, we both coincidentally ended up moving to Vancouver within a month of each other.
He was doing a post-doc at UBC, researching the effect of environment on health, specifically in the inner city of Toronto, and the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. He brought me onto his project to teach his subjects how to take better photos with disposable cameras. That was my first real exposure to the Downtown Eastside. Another thing we both had in common was our family of course – in the 1920’s our grandparents worked in the confectionery store in New World Hotel across from Oppenheimer Park, right in the heart of Japantown, the Downtown Eastside. My Dad’s family joked that they had to quit that business because the kids were eating all of their profits. The family moved to Shawnigan Lake in the 1930’s where my Dad was born in 1941. In 1942 they were forced to move again, and they chose the Alberta sugar beet fields over internment camps, in order to keep the family from being split 3 ways.
My family in the sugar beet fields - my Dad is second from the left.
Last year I produced a documentary film about a research project that my brother was supervising and it was a successful collaboration – it’s still doing fairly well for both of us. Jeff subsequently suggested a topic for another film we would collaborate on, this time about the history of dispossessed communities in the area of the Downtown Eastside… First Nations, the Japanese Canadians, and the present-day Downtown Eastside.
In the meantime, I had been doing some volunteer work with the JCNM, the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, the Powell Street Festival Society, and PIVOT Legal’s Hope In Shadows. In one project for SPARC BC I was lucky to find myself working with Rika Uto, Donna Nakamoto, and Scott Graham. It was there that I also met Lily Shinde who is on the Human Rights Committee of the Japanese Canadian Citizen’s Association – she and I spoke at length about the importance of remembering the internment, and frankly, until that conversation, I hadn’t thought a lot about it since my high school days. She inspired me to always remember and to think critically about that period in our history. I filed our conversation near the front of my mind to come back to later…
Lily Shinde and I at the Greenscreen shoot. Lily is my official community consultant for Kizuna, and a new friend!
In parallel with Kizuna, I began to do some research at the JCNM for this film. The first photograph I looked at in the collection struck me – the conversation with Lily surfaced – and I began to research more. My brother was visiting from Manitoba for this summer’s Powell Street Festival and I arranged a meeting with him, Lily and myself.
This photograph (circa 1942) from the JCNM collection, the very first one I saw during my research, inspired the aesthetic and the subject for Dispossession.
I proposed the idea for the photograph – and they were both enthusiastically on board. That was the green light I needed – I merged my research for the film and the Kizuna photograph and began to plan my August – this was an ambitious photograph – with only one month until the Kizuna show could this possibly be completed in time?
DISPOSSESSION PART 2 of 5: A NEW APPROACH – Reflecting on the creative process of my photograph for Kizuna
I delivered the file to the lab… I should mention that this is no Costco/Superstore/London Drugs lab we’re talking about – this is a pro lab that caters to high end fine art and commercial jobs where they produce prints for some of the most famous photographers in the world… and it’s just a little intimidating when they open your file and ask immediately – “would you like that corrected?” Indeed, and this brings me to my verbosity about one of my inspirations behind the approach I took in the creation of this photo.
Not so long ago, I left the comfort and security of a well-paying glass tower office career to go to film school. Excuse me? Pardon? You did what? Long story short, besides the financial sacrifices that this decision brought, it was a very good one for my soul’s sake. A few months from graduating I was hired onto a documentary production called Vancouver Rising (airs this fall on Bravo and Knowledge), which tells the story of Vancouver’s world famous fine art photographers the likes of Jeff Wall, Rodney Graham, Ian Wallace, Christos Dikeakos and others.
Dead Troops Talk (1992) - Jeff Wall. An fictional scene of dead troops speaking and joking is staged with actors.
This job was a dream come true, but I just didn’t know it then. At the time fine art photography was pretty foreign to me and talking about fine art photography went right over my head. All of my work for previous decade had been Cartier-Bresson/documentary/decisive moment inspired, and it was this approach I assumed I would be taking or my Kizuna assignment. As I witnessed these photographers at work, listened to their interviews, attended their exhibitions with them, and was even offered a job on one of their productions (which I had to turn down not once but twice!! Due to prior commitments. Arrrgh!), I began to appreciate their approach. Rather than being the observer in the moment, with a camera in hand, most of their work was pre-visualized, planned, then shot and constructed meticulously over a period of months, sometimes years – for one photograph. It was a film production-like approach in many ways with extensive pre-production and post-production stages. The shooting itself occupies a relatively short amount of time (assuming it’s well-planned and goes smoothly).
Gastown Riot (2009) - Stan Douglas. You can see the real thing in the atrium of the Woodward's building. The scene was recreated, including the buildings, at location outside of Vancouver
May I bring to your attention the Stan Douglas photo of the Gastown Riots in the atrium of the Woodward’s building as an example (if you can’t find it, just look up). You can also view the work of any of these photographers at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Anyhow, as my idea for my subject finally began to gel only 10 months after being commissioned by the JCNM (with only one month remaining to do it!) it was this meticulously planned and constructed approach in creating a single image that I chose. Next… the idea.
DISPOSSESSION PART 1 of 5: EXERCISING MY INNER GEEK – Reflecting on the creative process of my photograph for Kizuna
It’s been almost a year since Beth Carter of the Japanese Canadian National Museum called me to ask if I would be interested in being a part of this show. Now, as I sit in a Café sipping a coffee, typing on my laptop, waiting for the lab to open so I can deliver my final file to be printed, I finally have a moment to reflect, and contribute to the blog. I’m sorry for not making more contributions – indeed I do enjoy writing but knowing from the experience of having my own blog, intentions and actuals do not always jive – blogging can be a lot of work!
The last week and a day has been superbly, crazily hectic. The actual shoot for this photograph occurred over three days, with several days before that going out for location scouting, test shooting and experimenting. When I wasn’t on a shoot I’ve been hunched over my computer 12-18 hours per day clicking and tapping, blending and masking. I definitely pushed the limits of my ability in this photo not to mention the limits of my equipment – in every way, this is my most ambitious and complex piece ever. I squeezed every pixel out of my 22 megapixel camera (the final photograph’s native resolution is a gnat’s breath over 200 megapixels – well how do you get a 200 Megapixel photo from a 22 Megapixel camera you ask? That’s no big secret but if you want to know you’ll have to come to show and ask me!). That file, at its largest, was pushing 8 Gigabytes (yes that’s 8 Gigabytes with a capital G) and brought my nearly-new i7 Mac to a crawl – THAT has never happened before. Whew. Okay, well thank you for letting me express my inner geek… now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you all of this was cake compared to the real work that happened BEFORE the last week and day, before any of the shooting began… in my next post.
ROOTSYSTEM: playing St. Patrick’s Day at the Backstage Lounge, Vancouver, BC
Here’s a photo from a morning shoot I did with the band, Rootsystem. They’re playing tonight at 10 at the Backstage Lounge on Granville Island (I know, it’s short notice). Now for a quick nap before we head out to check out the show! If you miss them tonight, be sure check out their myspace page.
FALLEN CONQUER: Great Grunge Metal at the Princeton Pub February 4
Fallen Conquer rehearsing for their February 4 gig at the Princeton.
Now I don’t imagine many of my readers are into Grunge Metal music, and to be honest, I don’t have that many tracks on my iPod either (okay, I have none). But I am reminded of my love/hate relationship with late 80′s hair metal whenever I sip from my broken Dee Snider mug each morning. Fast forward twenty years (!!) and these guys, Fallen Conquer, are a pretty decent crew – the modernization of what I thought was a phase of my life, this is something that is totally incomprehensible but exploding with energy and a catchy beat that I cannot deny (better with earplugs, I have to admit – and I don’t know if that is a compliment or an insult to the band, but considering the earplugs were given to me by them before the rehearsal began tells me it’s not a bad thing). Formed recently, Fallen Conquer brought me out to shoot at their rehearsal last week, and with my earplugs firmly planted as I moved about the “stage” to get my shots, I did not listen, but felt the music blasting through my body and it felt pretty darned good. You can check out Fallen Conquer on their myspace page (it’s a work in progress) but I do recommend you take them in live for the full experience. If you have sensitive ears, or even if you don’t, bring earplugs. Tomorrow night, February 4 at the Princeton Pub at Powell and Victoria.
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS: January 23 and February 20
As part of their new photographic exhibit Two Views: Photographs by Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank, the National Nikkei Heritage Center and Museum is holding photography workshops and guess who is teaching? Yep, Yours Truly!
I am holding two workshops: one for people who wish to learn and practice how take better pics with their digital point-and-shoot cameras (January 23), and one for those who want to learn and practice the fundamental skills necessary to master their Digital SLRs (February 20).
These are both beginner/intermediate classes with a limit of 20 students per class. Each 2 hour session is only $20. To learn more and to book a spot, please visit one of the links above for contact and booking information.
SPLENDOUR IN THE NIGHT: 1500 portraits of the Downtown Eastside December 21-22 on Dunlevy (at Oppenheimer Park)
Greetings readers. It’s been some time since my last post and that means I have been terribly busy, too busy to post in fact – and this is going to be a short one too:
A gentle reminder that the photos that I and 12 other photographers took of 744 (plus 800 from last year = 1500+ portraits!) Downtown Eastside residents back in October, will be projected onto a screen beginning at dusk on the winter solstice, two nights from now, and ending the following morning. Not specific enough? The show begins at 4pm on Monday, December 21 and runs all night long until Tuesday at 8am on Dunlevy at Oppenheimer Park.
It’s a free show and everyone is welcome. Read my previous post about this event if you’d like more background.
“Splendour in the Night …a silent homage to our DTES neighbours, an outdoor projection of those portraits gathered in October.”
Happy holidays!
ART AGAINST STIGMA ART SHOW: part of the 13th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl November 20-22
Kim Roberts
Last week Jessica Taylor, founder of Pacifica Photography, asked me if I would be interested in volunteering my photography services for The Kettle Friendship Society’s upcoming art show, Art Against Stigma, part of the 13th annual Eastside Culture Crawl. I was more than happy to help and shortly I found myself at The Kettle housing offices with a room full of artwork and two enthusiastic volunteer assistants, Dion and Jesse. Our task: photograph every piece in the room so that they could be used for promotional and archival purposes. In the hectic 7 hours that followed, we had unpacked, photographed, and re-packed 305 pieces of art that were on their way to be framed and displayed at the upcoming show November 20-22.
Jennifer Brouse
I have to admit, the quantity of work for this volunteer effort was a bit overwhelming. Dion, Jesse and I had a good flow going by the end of the day but often we would come across a piece that needed more than a slight adjustment of lighting to make it look its best. Some pieces were behind glass, and rather than use a polarizer (to avoid a slightly blue cast that it introduces), I darkened the room and hid my reflection by spending most of the afternoon covered by a dark blanket. I spent two nights in post, straightening and cropping, cloning and healing (to fix some seams in a not-so-seamless seamless paper background). Due to time constraints I had to forego any perspective oddities or lens distortions – shooting straight on with a 50mm lens and keeping the subject well away from the edges helped.
All of the artists that participate in Art Against Stigma have mental health disabilities and, as the title suggests, the show is designed to shatter the preconceptions that people have with “mental health disability” – it shattered mine. What immediately struck me was the quality of the art. Several times a new piece would be placed in front of my lens and I would think “wow, that would look good on my wall”. Then I would see how reasonable, and often how downright inexpensive, some of those pieces were going to be sold for. Dion, Jesse and I made mental notes of which ones we might snap up for ourselves. Today, a week later, I had to be reminded that all of the artists have mental health disabilities. I guess I’m comfortable in that knowledge and have already moved past it because when I look at these pieces all I see are some very talented artists.
The Art Against Stigma Art Show is organized by The Kettle Friendship Society and is one of several shows in the 13th annual Eastside Culture Crawl visual arts festival in Vancouver. The show runs November 20-22 at 1725 Venables Street (at Commercial).
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: you have a conscience – trust it
Today I am offering a follow-up on a recent post where I shared my thoughts about shooting on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. The same day I posted that article I was contacted by Pacifica Photography, a studio that I work with from time to time, to teach a “street photography” tutorial – on the streets of Vancouver. Hmmm. Well this is a bit of a dilemma. “Street photography” and “Vancouver” immediately conjure up images of the Downtown Eastside, poverty, drug abuse and prostitution in a lot of people’s minds, including my student’s; with that perception relentlessly fed to us by the mainstream media, it’s no wonder. Well I can definitively tell you that the Downtown Eastside also has probably the strongest soul of any neighbourhood I’ve been to in Vancouver – and I’ve been to them all. But photographers don’t usually go to that neighbourhood to capture happiness and soul do they? Without getting into the why right now, I also previously warned photographers from venturing into the Downtown Eastside without first being invited. So we didn’t go there.
Carlos (background) and Darrell gave us permission to photograph them.
With that touchy area now off the table, we still need to be ethical in our approach to shooting people in public. So how do I do (and teach) street photography while remaining well within my own ethical comfort zone? As Carlos, one of our subjects today so simply put it: ask. Don’t be shy. Ask permission to take someone’s photo. If they say no, respect their wishes. If they say yes, shoot away. Think about it: how would you like it if you were minding your own business and then you noticed someone taking photos of you without asking first? Things are a little more gray when it comes to candids, sometimes described as “stolen” pictures because, well, they’re stolen, taken without permission – and may even be downright voyeuristic – which is or may be awfully close to exploitation. A rule of thumb I use is with regards to the context of the photo – for example, a person is holding their ears as a firetruck screams by, then that might be okay. But if you’re taking a candid photo of someone just because they look decrepit, down on their luck, emotionally distressed… or on the flip side perhaps you find a person attractive and photogenic – and if you’re doing this without their permission – then you’re venturing into the realm of voyeurism and exploitation. Do not exploit your subjects. Respect them.
I did not ask the pedestrian for her permission - and I think that's okay because of her contextual role in this photograph.
Another form of exploitation happens when you take advantage of the reduced mental capacity of your subjects. Last week I was browsing the internet and came across a photograph that Google found – a photograph of a well-known neighbour on the Downtown Eastside – and it was clear that this person had given permission, or at least stopped long enough for the photographer to take their photo. It’s a safe bet that this person also suffers from mental illness. While it may seem that you have been given permission (or at least there has been no objection) to taking someone’s photo, they may not fully understand that their photo may end up at the top of the list when someone Googles “downtown eastside vancouver” – on display for the world to see, and for others to then further exploit (note that if someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs they do not have adequate mental capacity). On the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, there are a lot of people who may not have the mental capacity to understand what their photo may be used for. Use your judgement. Be respectful. Trust your conscience. Your subjects are human beings, like you, like me.
So, what did we do today during our tutorial? Well, first of all we didn’t go to the Downtown Eastside. We weren’t invited and the area is just too exhausted from having photographers coming in, taking what they want, and leaving. Instead we went to Commercial Drive. And it was beautiful – the light was warm, the shadows long, the people happy and willing – because we asked – and didn’t exploit. Thanks Carlos. Thanks Darrell. I look forward to seeing you, and photographing you, again.
SPLENDOUR IN THE NIGHT: 744 Portraits of the Downtown East Side
Sunday, October 18, 2009. Four hours. Thirteen photographers. Six locations. Seven hundred forty-four portraits of happy, willing Downtown East Side neighbours.
I do not recommend that anyone walk into Vancouver’s infamous Downtown East Side and begin snapping photos. Even carrying a camera in the area will certainly attract angry looks, likely some angry comments, and perhaps even angry actions from residents weary of their portrayal in popular media, impatient with the world looking in on them as if they were on display in a zoo. The first time I ventured to the downtown east side with my camera, I was a naive outsider, and I was on the receiving end of those angry looks, comments, and yes, actions. I don’t go there with my camera anymore, unless I am invited.
Vancouver’s Downtown East Side can be a hazardous place for photographers, that is unless you are well known and well trusted – the Downtown East Side Neighbourhood House is just that. A fixture at the corner of East Hastings and Jackson for over three years, the Neighbourhood House is a tiny, grass-roots community center happily decorated with a brightly painted wall mural and a small street-side garden – both curiously free of any fences, graffiti or trash – the Neighbourhood House cares for its neighbours and its neighbours care for it. The people that staff it are happy, selfless and welcoming to anyone that wants to visit. You can get a hot coffee, a healthy meal, a good conversation, participate in one of their many food or craft programs, or maybe even get a photography lesson from yours truly.
Only a well-trusted organization like the Downtown East Side Neighbourhood House could attract 744 Downtown East Side residents to participate in an ambitious project like Splendour In The Night. The show is the manifestation of the long-time vision of the Neighbourhood House’s Executive Director, Joyce Rock. Now in its second year, many residents sought us out to have their photo taken for this year’s show. You might have noticed that there are no photos in this post. This is because all of the photographers gave their word that their work would be used solely for Splendour In The Night. Not a single photo will make it into our portfolios. No pay, no pictures, no expectations. Just the opportunity to get to know the people from a neighbour’s perspective, as friends.
Splendour In The Night is a celebration of the neighbourhood, for the neighbourhood, by the neighbourhood. It is an outdoor slide show, portraits projected on a big screen beginning at dusk on the longest night of the year – the winter solstice in December – and running until the following morning. The show will take place outside, adjacent to Oppenheimer Park in old Japantown. It is not a media event. It is not a protest. And the public is welcome to stop by and enjoy the show.
JENN & JUSTIN’S WEDDING: Second Shooting with Fran Chelico
On Saturday, October 10, I had the pleasure of being Fran Chelico’s 2nd shooter for the wedding of Jenn & Justin, a very expressive, fun and photogenic couple. This is my second wedding working with Fran and I’m looking forward to more next year.
A beautiful October day in Gastown, Vancouver, BC.
Fran Chelico is an extremely talented and successful wedding photographer. It’s no wonder – she has all of the right stuff: an energetic and positive personality to attract and direct her couples, an ability to adapt to changing light, locations, and personalities which helps with shooting on the go, sharp business acumen and professionalism to manage and grow her business, and an easygoing attitude which makes her fun to work with. Oh, did I mention she has a great eye, and beautiful style? She was named one of Vancouver’s favorite wedding photographers by the readers of Metro News and is constantly in demand throughout every wedding season.
Weddings are where I cut my teeth in the world of professional photography. In 1999, while I was studying with the New York Institute of Photography, my little sister asked me to shoot her wedding. This was of course a great honour and I felt a huge responsibility to deliver professional results – I got down to work studied the wedding genre voraciously for the next six months. Soon the word was out and my friends Monica and Ian also booked me – their date: the day after my sister’s wedding, in a city three hours away. When August finally arrived, I was terrfied, afraid I’d mess up my exposures or miss a critical shot. I learned quickly why so many photographers shy away from weddings – they are very stressful and a lot of work!
Fortunately the hard work was worth it – the results were amazing – and I was off to the races, working my corporate job during the day and moonlighting as a professional wedding photographer on weekends. I put up a website, printed some business cards, signed up with Queensberry Albums, discovered and honed my style. I learned that had the most fun, and therefore the most strength, in shooting documentary-style, also known as photojournalism or verité in the filmmaking world. By my fourth season I was busier than I could manage and had to make a decision. I had the momentum to make a living as a photographer with my bread and butter coming from weddings. In parallel however, my career as a corporate citizen was in high gear and was demanding longer hours and more energy. I chose what made sense at the time… and sadly decided to let the photography fade away. I continued to shoot for two more summers, but turned away all but a few jobs reserved for friends and referrals from my favorite past clients.
Three years passed while my expensive gear gathered dust – it made sense to sell it but I just couldn’t bring myself to. In 2007 I picked up and moved to Vancouver then this spring, following an overwhelming heart-felt urge, I left a great job at one of the world’s largest professional services firms and took the plunge, back into the creative world, to study filmmaking. Within three months I had produced/directed my first film, Surviving In The Cracks, which went on to be selected for the Vancouver Short Film Festival this October. I also wanted to start shooting weddings again so I connected with some photographers in town and picked up a few jobs as a second shooter to get myself back on my feet. In addition to my film projects I’ve been shooting with the Powell Street Festival Society and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, I followed Canada’s Governor General around at We Day, and I’m beginning to teach, assist, and shoot various jobs with a major photography studio in Vancouver. I am back in the game, and this time, it’s with my whole heart.
WE DAY 2009: photographing the Governor General
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada addressing 15,000 youth at GM Place, Vancouver, BC for We Day 2009
“You want me to follow the Governor General tomorrow?” I asked. “Yes, the Governor General”, she replied. “Okay, sure.” I remained calm – after all, she couldn’t have meant THE Governor General. She did. I would be following and photographing Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M, C.D., Governor General of Canada at We Day.
Monday night, the night before Free The Children’s We Day event, was the night I received that phone call from Amy. Amy had been corresponding with me since we were first introduced by the organizers of Hope In Shadows, a photography contest for which I taught a workshop this year. Prior to this phone call, my assignment was to capture the energy of the 15,000 youth and children in the audience at GM Place for this massive event. This was quite the change. Quite the responsibility.
So let me put this into perspective. I will not pretend to be a big time photographer because I am not. I am a humble, community-involved, self-taught photographer (and filmmaker). Yes I know my stuff – I have been shooting professionally for over ten years, but my largest commission prior to today was a wedding I was flown to San Francisco for back in 2004. So to find out that I would be photographing the Governor General of Canada while she met with other dignitaries, world leaders and celebrities was something so enormous for me that, well, I am still in a state of disbelief.
I arrived at 7:50am, ten minutes prior to my call time. There were four photographers. We were escorted to the staff room on the 400 level of GM Place and I was promptly rushed back to the ground level to be briefed by Her Excellency’s wrangler for the day, James. “Keep your distance, don’t be intrusive, don’t direct her for your photos. She’ll have an official photographer following her, just follow his lead.” These same instructions came from four different people and were carefully worded so that I would clearly understand, apparently because they were terrified that I would commit some hideous faux pas or worse. Really, I’m sure they weren’t trying to make me MORE nervous.
I am the only photographer permitted when Her Excellency’s (you must address her this way) motorcade pulls in. She gets out of the car quickly and begins greetings. In an instant, her official photographer (looking very official in his military uniform), Jeff (or Geoff), is standing next to me, firing away with his two Nikons. Oh crap! I should be taking pictures! I wake from my trance and begin…
Moving through the corridors at We Day with Her Excellency
The first stop on the agenda is to address some 70 senior educators on the concourse of the 300 level of GM place. We’re moving fast and I’m trying to keep up. When I find myself between Her Excellency and the security escorts, they quickly and quite decisively direct me to move outside of their perimeter. Watching where Jeff is and what he’s doing, I try to take position next to him but he’s fast and he’s done this before. He runs ahead and turns around to snap a couple of photos. I imitate his movements, but I’m not prepared for the speed and my shots are lackluster. I’m lacking confidence. We reach the podium and there is another photographer there, following Marc Kielburger, co-founder of Free The Children. Both Jeff and this other photographer move to the front of the podium. I follow, take position and start shooting. The Governor General finishes her speech and another woman comes to the podium… wait she’s familiar – it’s Kim Campbell, our ex-Prime Minister. I look around to see where Jeff has gone but he’s nowhere to be found. I’m stuck in a corner next to the podium and I can’t move so I get what I can from my position. Suddenly we’re moving again and I’m again behind. Jeff is still nowhere to be found so I follow the entourage and try to keep a close yet discrete position.
The Gear: I’m shooting today with two rigs: a Canon 1D Mark II with a 70-200 2.8L IS and a 5D Mark II with a 16-35 2.8L. I have a 550EX on the 5D. The light changes quickly as we move through the corridors so I set up to shoot in low light – ISO 1600 most of the time, sometimes I dial it down to 800. Wide open on aperture priority most of the time and when we slow down I switch to manual. I SHOULD have attached my Quantum pack to my 550EX because, as I will regret later, the AA’s in the strobe just didn’t cut it for recycle time in the media scrum for his Holiness the Dalai Lama…
Just a few of the 15,000 kids at GM Place for We Day 2009
After a hectic walk through the corridors, we’re back on the floor level of the concourse at hair and make-up as Her Excellency is prepared to go onstage in front of the 15,000 kids and hundreds of thousands (maybe millions?) of TV viewers. I switch to the 1D and grab some candids from outside of the door. Geez, I wonder if it’s okay to take photos of the Governor General having hair and makeup applied? I think about my assignment for Me To We: document the Governor General’s experience at We Day. Okay. I keep shooting.
Before she emerges I anticipate where she will be and raise my camera for the shot. She turns the corner and comes right towards me then whoops! She’s surprised to see me! I bashfully lower my camera and apologize and she turns around to go the other way.
We’re waiting backstage now and she is in a private tent preparing for her speech. Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim are pumping up the energy onstage as I’m finding the right exposure for my shots. It’s a full house and the energy is peaking now. Jeff is suddenly beside me again and we ask if we can move to the front of the stage when the Governor General takes the podium. We are directed to the media corral, at the BACK of the floor, too far for even my 70-200 to reach for a decent full figure shot. I return backstage in time to follow Her Excellency to the queue for her introduction. I grab a few candids from behind the stage and as she is introduced. The crowd roars and I move around to the front, stopping at the podium. I shoot away: wide, long, crowd shots, closeups, as much as I can get. Okay, finally reaching full stride here – my confidence finally decided to show up after all. Jeff appears next to me again – wow this guy is a photo-ninja! – he got tired of the media corral and joined me closer to the podium. As we are asked to leave by a woman with a radio headset, I gather we are not supposed to be there. I tap Jeff on the shoulder to let him know and then move backstage again, just in time to catch the Governor General coming off stage.
As we move up the elevator I look over at Her Excellency. She gives me one of her infectious smiles and I feel compelled to speak. So what would you say to one of the most recognizable icons of our country after she has just addressed our nations children, introducing the “rock concert” for youth-led social and environmental change? “Uh, Good job” I blurt out. Brilliant Greg. Just brilliant.
To her private skybox we go, so she can watch the show in comfort – but I’m not allowed in so I have about an hour to wait outside and relax. Jeff emerges with a bottle of water for me. He gives me a few tips for carrying two fully rigged cameras and a weapon, like he had to on his tour in Afghanistan. It’s good stuff. I’ll be modifying my setup to match his, sans the weapon of course. I take a breath, a drink of water and text my girlfriend one word that sums up my morning so far: “Whoa.”
Canadian Tenors, meet His Holiness. Holiness, meet the Canadian Tenors.
Okay this is taking a long time and we’re on the executive box level so I can’t see the show unless I’m IN a box – and I know that’s not going to happen. I decide to go back to the ground level to see if I can get any interesting shots backstage. As I’m walking to the stage there is a crowd gathering at the doors where the Governor General’s motorcade arrived. I learn they’re waiting for his Holiness the Dalai Lama. Hmm, okay I guess I’ll stay here then. This time, unlike at the arrival of the Governor General, there is media everywhere and security to match. I anticipate where His Holiness might end up, settle in, and wait with my cameras ready. A motorcade arrives, a figure emerges, and the scrum begins. I snap a few pics from a distance with the 1D. I stay put, patiently. Flashes are firing wildly, people – media and celebrities alike – are being displaced and shoved around, security is eyeing everyone and clearing a path for of His Holiness. I wait. Then the crowd parts in front of me and he is there – about two meters away. I raise my camera and begin. Whaaa? My flash isn’t firing! I jiggle it on the hotshoe and try again. Nothing. It turned out that it did fire the first time but didn’t recycle fast enough for the subsequent shots. Still, I got a couple of photos that are usable. No prize winners, but that’s okay. I’m not here to win a competition. I’m here because it’s cool to be here. I’m here for the fun of it and to hopefully get Me To We some great photographs.
As the Dalai Lama crowd moves down the corridor, I turn and head back to my assignment, Her Excellency. After a few steps down the hall I recognize some of her security detail and by the size of the growing crowd, it appears that something big is going down – so I decide to wait. Hmm, I’m the only photographer around. After a few minutes his Holiness emerges – how did he shake the media crowd? I quickly snap a few photos. Oops I think I surprised him! And no good shots again. Sheesh!! A minute later Her Excellency emerges. I snap a few photos. No surprises – she’s used to me by now I hope. I hope.
Upstairs to a private meeting. No photographing allowed, that’s made very clear, so I don’t. Instead I go upstairs to watch the Dalai Lama’s speech. I head downstairs again in time for Her Excellency to meet with Craig and Marc Kielburger, founders of Free the Children. Then it’s back to the motorcade and away to the airport, oh and look – there’s Jane Goodall! This is so cool!
One thousand, one hundred and sixty-six photos. Maybe ten or twenty keepers. Typical.
Thanks to Carolyn Wong, Amy Gottung, James Lombardi, Jeff (Her Excellency’s official photographer), and of course Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada for your patience, instruction, support and for gifting me this wonderful opportunity.
SPATIAL POETICS VIII: experiments in place and migration
This was a lot of fun to shoot – and to experience. Two performances, one musical, and one audiovisual, in sequence, at dusk on September 20, in the heart of old Japantown, on the Downtown East Side of Vancouver. The evening began with “Drawing Line” by Mark Soo and John Korsrud (with musicians Evan Arntzen, Saul Berson, Michael Braverman, Bruce Freedman, Graham Ord, and Bill Runge) and finished with “Coastal Calls” by Shima Iuchi and Jean Routhier, an audiovisual expression on the top floor of the Japanese Language Hall with a 360 degree vista of the City of Vancouver.
Six saxophonists took their positions along a “line” that ran five city blocks. Once in position, they passed musical phrases back and forth for two 15 minute performances, filling the air with a pleasant departure from the traffic and industry that overwhelm that neighbourhood on any given weekday. In that short time I would have to run to five positions along the five block line, plus the roof of the Japanese Language Hall, to reach each musician and get the shot with enough time to go and cover the remaining locations. I had a few different approaches in mind to cover this event – but the light was falling off quickly, so I settled on using flash – even though I more often lean towards using only natural light. To give the photographs more drama I set the strobe up off-camera and triggered with my PocketWizards. I am pleased with the results, although if given more time and had I anticipated that the sun was going to drop out of the sky that quickly, hindsight has provided me with improvement ideas for “next time”, as always.
The second performance that evening was something quite different, and one that I would have to be much less visible for. In “Drawing Line”, I was firing off a flash at the musician for ten to thirty exposures. While certainly distracting for the musician, it was limited to five minutes before I would have to run off to photograph the next musician in the line. That performance, a musical one, was simply not affected. “Coastal Calls” on the other hand, had a large visual component that could not be interrupted with a strobing light – and that suited me fine. As a mentioned, I normally shoot with available light – it suits the unobtrusive documentary style that I have become so accustom to when photographing weddings and documentary films with sensitive subjects. So, off with the flash and dial up the ISO, or gain, for the videographers out there.
The Canon 5D MarkII performs remarkably well in low light. I shot most of the “Coastal Calls” at ISO3200 and applied Noise Ninja in post, although I don’t think it really needed the noise reduction. Shooting in low light normally requires a fast lens (I used the Canon 16-35 f2.8L) but this time the lens was chosen more for the super wide aesthetic it offers and less for its speed. The dynamic nature of “Drawing Line” and of the saxophone called for a dramatic look. The off camera flash, the super wide stretch at the edges of the lens, Dutch angles, and vibrant colours all contributed. I didn’t bother changing the lens for “Coastal Calls” later in the evening and found no reason to – it proved last night to be a very capable lens for both purposes.
For more information on Spatial Poetics VIII please visit the website of the Powell Street Festival Society.
POWELL STREET FESTIVAL 2009
The 33rd annual Powell Street Festival was held August 1st and 2nd at Woodland Park this summer and I was there as one of three official event photographers. My parents were in town to visit and so we made a weekend of the festival – they volunteered at the lottery booth while I moved around the park collecting photos in the hot sun. The festival is normally held in Oppenheimer Park, at the intersection of Powell and Jackson Streets in the heart of old Japantown, but due to park renovations for the 2010 Olympics, it was held at Woodland Park near Commercial Drive this year.
The Powell Street Festival is the main event held by the Powell Street Festival Society, a group that celebrates the arts and culture of Japanese and Asian Canadians. At the festival you will find arts and crafts, martial arts demonstrations, Taiko drumming, lots of great food, and many other superb performances.
