Sunday, May 8, 2011

Northern exposure

Granville/Robson, Vancouver, 1959, Fred Herzog

I'm driving up to Vancouver, BC with George K. next week for a brief street shooting adventure. Planning to revisit the sites of some Herzog photos, plus whatever else gets in front of the camera. If anyone out there has tips about the city —specifically street shooting beta— please pass them along. Or if you live in Vancouver and want to grab a beer with us next Thurs-Fri, get in touch.
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17 comments:

  1. Andy FrazerMay 8, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    Good luck in Vancouver. That's a stunning photo by Herzog. There's something about the color or the tonality that really feels like it was taken in another time.

    -Andy

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  2. AnonymousMay 8, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    I'm from Vancouver and you're going to see huge changes since Fred's day. Although many of the buildings in that shot are still there, most of the neon is gone. At around the time of the photo Vancouver had the most neon west of Las Vegas, I believe, but richer folks living outside of the downtown core didn't like the neon competing with the view of the mountains and largely had them removed. My only advice would be to go for the infamous Downtown Eastside (DTES) which, which centers around E. Hastings and Main. Fred shot a lot in that area. BTW Fred is still living in Vancouver and goes out shooting occasionally. You might want to contact him. He's quite approachable.

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  3. AnonymousMay 8, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    Blake,

    You might want to contact John Goldsmith who used to live in Vancouver - and also wrote a story about Herzog for street Reverg Mag recently.

    I guess John will chime in here anyway...

    Wish to you a good shooting.

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  4. John GoldsmithMay 8, 2011 at 7:08 PM

    @Blake. That's true about Herzog; he does still go out to take photo, though only for short walks, as he told me. He might be up for a visit. If you're interested, I have a couple of contacts who might be able to put you in touch. If not that, you might inquire with Equinox Gallery which has a permanent collection of his work:

    http://www.equinoxgallery.com/

    While they do not currently have a Herzog exhibit, they do have a viewing area upstairs. Maybe they would show you some actual prints on request.

    As you know, I already gave you locations for street shooting. Vancouver also has good coffee and drinks. Speaking of beer, there's a fairly expensive restaurant/bar called The Pourhouse in Gastown. It's worth a visit. While a bit pricey, like Vancouver and the rest of the west coast, it's somewhat casual but they do drinks better than just about anyone. And I think they'll have some unique beer if that's your thing.

    Anyway.. it's too bad your visit isn't scheduled for July when I return. It would have been great to meet.

    Have fun in Vancouver!

    @jophilippe. Cheers. Blake's got my recommendations in an email. :)

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  5. Blake AndrewsMay 8, 2011 at 10:02 PM

    Thanks everyone for the tips. I've gotten some good leads from John G. via email. I'd like to get in touch with Fred Herzog but my only lead is Equinox. Still waiting to hear back from them. Hoping for dry weather...

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  6. AnonymousMay 9, 2011 at 8:07 AM

    I know a someone who used to shoot with Fred, so I'll see if I can get an address and send it privately.

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  7. GaryMay 9, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    Blake - if you have any particular Herzog photos that you need to find the exact locations, I'd be happy to help. I'm a huge fan of Herzog and the city of Vancouver - and I have an insatiable appetite for both.

    Send me a message if you have any mystery photos; I can't turn down a good mystery.

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  8. Blake AndrewsMay 10, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    Thanks for the offer Gary. The main intent of the trip isn't Herzog research but more of a street shooting adventure with occasional Herzog sites thrown in as a sidelight. So I think I will have enough to deal with just tracking down a few of his photos with addresses.

    That said, the ones I am curious about, if you have any idea where they are, are the unlabeled cafe windows, Paris Cafe, etc. I don't know if those places still exist but if so it would be fun to find them.

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  9. jacques philippeMay 10, 2011 at 2:55 PM

    "New World Confectionery" is easy to locate and still exists.

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  10. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    I saw a reference on a blog to the Paris Cafe photo as being on Main St. It would most likely be around E. Hastings St, or in that general area. However there's also a pocket of old coffee shops and store fronts on Main St. on either side of E. Broadway. There is no Paris Cafe listed in Vancouver at this time. If you sent a message to the Vancouver Archives they could probably get someone to look it up in a business directory. Of course you could also just call Fred.

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  11. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 8:17 PM

    Two Vancouver photographers.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/miahansen/5095042347/

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  12. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    Main Barber Shop

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeakymarmot/5233032965/

    Black Man Pender

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeakymarmot/168738213/

    Main St Overpass

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeakymarmot/2761463189/

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  13. jacques philippeMay 10, 2011 at 8:39 PM

    I may have a clue concerning Paris Cafe. I tried to decipher the reflection letters and it could be written "KNOWLTONS DR..", which may correspond to an existing "Knowltons Drug Store" located on Hasting St near Carral st. The Drug store has now a different appearance - which makes sense. Can't say anything positive about the other side of Hasting street facing the actual Knowltons DS based on google map though. Maybe it has moved since then.

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  14. jeff downerMay 10, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    hi "b"
    i live in vancouver and am pretty active in the photography scene in vancouver.
    message me if you want to meet up. I work at both those days though, but we can meet in the evening, I live in east van.

    www.jeff-downer.com

    -jeff

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  15. KeithMay 13, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    welcome to our city. I'm a friend of John Goldsmith's. One thing you might find interesting is to look at the preening people on Robson. You could do a 'loop' downtown going from Granville, Davie, Denman and up Robson for people watching. Denman is our neighbourhood with the most gay people + beach environment next to Stanley Park. The DTES has been mentioned before and it connects with the Chinatown and Strathcona areas. If you go up Main St. all the way there is wide cultural shift starting closer to downtown being the more 'hipster' population and then it shifts to being more South Asian with pockets of Filipino and Vietnamese after Kingsway. Even farther up toward Richmond you will find the Sikh population.

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  16. gglMay 17, 2011 at 5:06 AM

    Nice. I just bought Herzog's book instead of Frank's Americans, which was even cheaper. Liked it better. It always reminds me of Edward Hopper's paintings.

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  17. John GoldsmithDecember 5, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    Your post's photo rephotographed (not by me):

    http://instagr.am/p/XjZqE/

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