All posts filed under Documentary Photography

British Columbia Documentary Photography #2

I recently read an interview with a local archives manager. He talked about the work and purpose of the archives and about acquiring material for the facility. He is  always on the lookout for unique local photographs showing the community’s history but he made a a comment that I thought every documentary photographer should consider. He said that it was easy to find/receive images of …

Robin Hood Motel, Victoria British Columbia 2016

There’s something about old signage. The Robin Hood Motel on Gorge Road seems a throwback to the 60s anyhow but it’s obvious in both the retro style and content the sign has not been changed in a long time. Despite the changeable sign below advertising wifi, the main sign still touts that they offer COLOUR television. The motel is one of the last of its …

Giant Bathtub Parade Float, Victoria, British Columbia 2016

The annual Victoria Day Parade is a big deal in Victoria. It’s three hours long and  starts from from Mayfair Mall and moves all the way down Douglas Street through the downtown. It’s not  entirely unexpected, since parades are full of odd sights, to see a giant bathtub representing Nanaimo (famed for its annual bathtub race) coming down the street. It is however much stranger …

Travellers Hotel and Swastikas, Ladysmith, British Columbia 2016

The first time I photographed the Travellers Hotel in Ladysmith on the town’s main street my attention was held by the dilapidated hotel sign over the main doors. I really didn’t look up at the higher stories and facade which at a quick glance seemed to be just fairly plain brick. A closer look on a more recent visit revealed a line of swastikas girdling …

Former Toyota Dealership, Victoria, British Columbia 2015

This style of building, an architectural homage to to the Japanese heritage of the car dealership’s home country, was not unique for this Victoria Toyota car lot. I’m not sure if at one point all Toyota dealerships looked like this but I remember another in Kamloops. It was remodelled years ago and is now a fast food restaurant box, all Asian influences removed. The Victoria …

CTV Broadcast, Robson Street, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

Everybody has to work somewhere but it looked odd to see this television reporter, standing on a box on the Robson Street sidewalk waiting to respond to a remote (?) camera for a broadcast, not the traditional cameraman partner. Instead she was paired with a security guard, who was keeping an eye on the passing pedestrians.

Vancouver Public Library Steps, Central Branch, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

I stopped by the Vancouver Public Library’s Central branch, the big one downtown bordered by West Georgia and Robson Streets.  Designed by  Moshe Safdie and DA Architects, that complex’s colonnaded walls give it a sort of Roman ruin look. I was there to check out some of the early Vancouver photography held by the Special Collections photo section up on the 7th floor. Had an interesting chat …

Cardero Grocery, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

The Cardero Grocery tucked away in Vancouver’s West End is another one of those old corner grocery stores that appears to exist in a time warp. Old painted lettering and old 7-Up logos on the facade. It seems to me the key to the longevity of these old stores is their proximity to a school. It’s not the local residents shopping that pays all the …

Arbutus Cafe, Duncan, British Columbia 2016

While new architecture is as important as old, new, especially chain store architecture, is the same. A visual repetition that repeats across a province, a country and even the world, that makes everything appear to be the same, that in the interest of convenience takes away our regional uniqueness. The Arbutus Cafe in Duncan (above) is a one of a kind local establishment. It has …

Royal Bay Development, Colwood, British Columbia 2016

This will be an area I’ll be photographing over the next few years as this land gets built up. This view will change quickly, a massive housing development will cover a former gravel pit site. The very first houses in the Royal Bay development are going up in front of Royal Bay Secondary school. The school opened in 2015 and was the first building to …

Boat Graveyard, Vancouver Island, British Columbia 2016

This was truly a west coast nautical scene, acreage filled with broken and decaying boats, mainly smaller pleasure or fishing craft. There were no indicators why the mossy rotting boats were there, the only sign visible from the side road I was on said No Trespassing, not really an encouragement to explore more. On my way out I spotted a house, which may be connected …

Rain storm approaching, Harbour Road, Victoria, British Columbia 2016

  This is the kind of weather we’ve seen a lot of this year. The street, Harbour Road, is one of the more interesting roads in Victoria simply because the side shown is new residential with some commercial/retail thrown in. The other side of the road is on the harbour and is still marine industrial giving the area a nice feel, holding on to an …

Dog N Suds Diner, Williams Lake, British Columbia 2016

Williams Lake,  a small city in British Columbia’s Cariboo-Chilcotin  was in the news last week after  the city council voted to “inject’ repeat offenders with a GPS tracker (story here). The wacky story could have come right from the pages of Mark Leiren-Young‘s memoir of his days as a rookie reporter for the Williams Lake Tribune called Never Shoot A Stampede Queen. The shooting, by …

Former Safeway gas station, Duncan, British Columbia 2016

This photograph shows not only the disappearance of a gas station but the signals the disappearance on an entire grocery store chain (Safeway) on Vancouver Island. Due to a takeover by eastern grocery giant Sobeys of the local chain Thriftys that resulted in the  one company owning most of the major chains on the Island  the competition bureau (some government organization anyhow) ruled that in …

Vernon Drive Grocery, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

This small corner store is such a great example of the old school of  the neighbourhood grocery in Vancouver. It’s served many generations of neighbours as well children attending Admiral Seymour Elementary School across the street. The Pepsi signs are quite unique too I think, a change from the usual Coke version. The high price of  Vancouver real estate has been in the news a …

Renee’s Soup and Sandwich, Ladysmith, British Columbia 2016

Renee’s is a classic old school local cafe, with a painted sign which you don’t see very often anymore. The place was busy just before lunch on a recent Saturday with locals enjoying early lunches and the local newspaper. I had a muffin and several, really hot, good  cups of coffee and caught up on my notes for the images I’d taken that day.

Property waiting for redevelopment, 1100 block West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

This property, looking pretty rundown at this point, has spectacular views of the Vancouver skyline. It has a unique mainly glass gazebo on the roof (at right). I’m guessing that the little house/entrance leads to either stairs or an elevator although elevators seems to be something only new small residences have. Redevelopment means that the space will hold more residences and they can all enjoy …

Olympia Pizza & Pasta, Vancouver, British Columbia 2016

I’ve been eating at Olympia Pizza for  over 30 years. Sure, there was a 15-20 year gap in visits when I lived in Alberta but now that my son lives in the west end, my old neighbourhood, the family has resumed enjoying their house lasagna during visits. It’s wonderful when you can revisit an old favourite. The exterior could use some updating or at least …

Stores at dusk, Blanshard Street, Victoria, BC 2016

This area of Victoria the blocks where Blanshard intersects with Fort Street is becoming known as a “Foodie” neighbourhood. A variety of restaurants, cafes and coffee shops have sprung up in the area in the past few areas offering a choice in menus and prices and offering an alternative to the Government/Wharf Street pod of food outlets.