Category: photos

I used to tell people that black and white film photography was easy because everything looks cool in black and white. That’s probably a silly take, but over the years I’ve taken a lot more photos in colour than black and white. That’s not because it’s harder though, I think I just like it better.

That being said, instead of folding the laundry, today I’ve decided to put on some Italian music and flip through some of the black and white photos I’ve taken over the years.

And for the record, my favourite song from the playlist so far is Mina’s Città Vuota off her 1965 album Studio Uno. It’s a banger.

I don’t know a lot about the actual mechanics of taking nice photos. I’ve tried a couple times to learn, I’ve bought books on the subject, and I’ve even practiced! The only thing that stuck around in my head is the rule of thirds, which I think I actually did apply in this photo, though it might not seem like it. It’s just that I also caught a bit of finger, so I had to crop it. That’s the only editing that any of these photos have gone through, by the way.

This one was taken up in Whistler in January 2024. Black and white is very effective in snowy conditions, ’cause it’s all about the contrast. The photo below was taken on the same trip.

I got a copy of Susan Sontag’s On Photography for Christmas the year before last. I was really excited about it, but to date I’ve only read through about a third of the book. It’s very good, but not gripping in the same was as a good sci-fi novel or a biography. I’ll pick it back up one of these days, but for a book literally on photography, there are no pictures.

Does it mean I’m getting old if most of what I read these days is non-fiction? I just finished The Art of the Impossible: Dave Barrett and the NDP in Power, 1972-1975 by Geoff Meggs and Rod Mickleburgh. Dave Barrett was the first NDP premier in BC’s history.

Barrett’s short stint in Victoria was, from what I understand, BC’s first time electing any left-wing government. It’s a good read if you’re interested in that part of the province’s history. One of the things I admire about their approach was their commitment to making positive change over seeking re-election. Apparently, after winning the election, Barrett’s first question to his caucus was, “are we here for a good time or for a long time?”

Anyway, I’m not here to shill for an NDP government from fifty years ago…but if you’re curious, they are the reason we have things like the seabus, ICBC, the agricultural land reserve, Consumer Protection BC, and they’re the reason why resource extraction companies pay the province royalties as they rip things out of the ground to ship out of the country.

Last week’s episode was supposed to be all about the west end, which you can see features prominently in the background of this photo.

There’s a spot near the Maritime Museum just above the dog beach where you have this beautiful view across the water. If you pull back a little more, it’s nicely framed by trees on both sides. Here’s another photography tip: framing. It’s important!

I couldn’t find a good example of framing with my black and whites, but here’s a photo I took from the Cambie Street Bridge looking towards False Creek’s dead end at Science World.

As I’m writing this, the playlist has unfortunately moved away from Italian music and towards David Matthews and Coldplay, but not before playing another of my favourites, L’Appuntamento by Ornela Vanoni. Have you seen Oceans Twelve? You’ll recognize the song if you have.

Quick side note: when you’re writing about music, do you italicize the song? Markdunn.ca doesn’t have a style guide yet, but I think album in italics and song straight up and down makes sense.

Also, I know that when people talk about the best trilogy, Ocean’s usually isn’t part of the conversation. I think that’s a tragedy.

I think my partner actually took this one. Remember the Naam? I think they’re still around, but I haven’t been in a while. They used to be open 24/7 and having a vegetarian restaurant that does almost everything vegan open all the time was such a privilege. I miss that.

Anyway, this little fella was sitting in the planter box outside watching us as we had brunch.

If you didn’t make it to my 2024 gallery show, BEACHES: a retrospective, I made the mistake of using a photo my partner took of a French press with my camera as like, one of the main publicity shots. It was on Instagram, and that was about it, but I didn’t really post a lot so using a photo someone else took on my camera meant that something like 50% of the marketing for the event wasn’t even my work.

To be clear though, when I say things like “my gallery show” and “the retrospective” I’m talking about the time where I was moving out of my apartment, and since it was all clean and nothing was in it, I decided to get a bunch of photos printed and hang them up around the apartment. I made little description cards and everything.

One of the photos included was the shot above. The funny thing about this one is that the sky was so beautiful that day. It had all these different shades of pink and blue and when I was setting up to take the photo, my partner was like, “aren’t you using a black and white roll? You’re not going to get any of this.”

And I was like, “but the texture is so interesting.”

I’m really happy with how it turned out.

But photos of people are so much more interesting than photos of things aren’t they?

This one was taken on a hike near Porteau Cove. You go up to a lake. I’m not sure what it’s called.

I’ve got a few more photos from this hike, and even though it was a beautiful day and we all had a really nice time (I think! I did at least), I find that they all feel quite tense. I think it’s something to do with the lack of colour, but to me when I look at them all I get a real feeling of tension from the photographs. Here’s another one:

Okay, less tension in this one maybe. It does demonstrate one of my favourite elements of photography though: flipping off the camera.

Flipping off the photographer would be more accurate actually. Either way, a classic pose, and an excellent option for when you don’t know what to do with your hands. Another good one is flexing the biceps.

And of course, the peace sign. Something we need now more than ever.

This seems as good a place as any to wrap up. The train’s running out of steam, the playlist isn’t hitting the same anymore, and it’s almost time to make dinner.

Remember when I had long hair though?

Questions, comments, concerns, complaints, and compliments can be directed to Mark at mark@markdunn.ca.

All photos were taken on 35mm film by yours truly. Ilford rolls in this case. 200 and 400.

Stay tuned for more.

Remember the barge? A few years ago after a particularly nasty storm this barge washed up on the shore near Sunset Beach in English Bay. It turned out to be too stuck to push off the rocks, even during a “king tide,” and had to be dismantled piece by piece. And so, after an iconic year as everyone’s favourite Vancouver landmark, sometime in late 2022, it was no more.

According to the Squamish Atlas, the area where the barge landed is called Í7iy̓el̓shn (pronounced ey-ee-el-shin, according to the atlas). The 7 is an interesting character in the written Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language that we don’t have in English. Similar to the hamza (“ء”) in Arabic, it signifies a glottal stop, kind of like the stop in the middle of “uh-oh.”

This kind of stuff is top of mind for me right now as I’m reading Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land, the history of the Squamish People. I highly recommend it if you live in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territory, or if you’re simply interested in the history of the area.

The photo above was taken at Sunset Beach, by the concession stand. You can see Vanier Park across the water. Vanier Park, which is also home to the Planetarium, Vancouver Museum, City of Vancouver Archives, and Bard on the Beach, was once a village called Sen̓áḵw.

This photo is starting to push the “west end” theme a little. I took this one from a False Creek Ferry going between Granville Island and the Aquatic Centre. Looking ahead, you can see the Granville Street Bridge, but if you use your imagination, put yourself on that little ferry, and turn your head to the right, you would see the massive new towers that are the first phase of the development at Sen̓áḵw.

The development promises 6,000+ new rental homes spread out over 11 towers. The three towers north of Burrard that are currently under construction, and eight more of varying heights on the southern side. It was a little controversial, considering the massive scale of the development, but because the lands belong to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, they don’t have to follow the typical City of Vancouver development process.

I won’t be the first person to point out the massive irony in members of a mostly-white neighbourhood complaining that an Indigenous development is going to dramatically change their community. But it still feels like it needs to be said.

To be honest, I started writing this blog post to show off some of the photos I’ve taken over the years, and also to just put something here. The website has just been parked for years now, and I felt like it was time to slap on a new coat of paint and re-launch the blog, for what feels like the hundredth time.

But I live in Kitsilano now, a neighbourhood named after Chief August Jack Khatsalano (X̱ats’alanexw Siy̓ám̓), and I’m reading about the history of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation/Squamish community/Squamish people). So, when I started putting this together, the first thing I thought about when I chose to start with the barge photo was: hey, I actually think there’s another name for this place.

This was the view from my old apartment. Living here, I was very close to Stanley Park, which was home to another significant village. As I understand it, X̱wáýx̱way was home to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm peoples and was one of the largest Indigenous settlements in the region.

X̱wáýx̱way (meaning “mask” according to Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw) was on the north shores of Stanley Park around where Lumbermen’s Arch sits today. There was apparently even a longhouse that was over 60 metres long.

I guess there haven’t been a ton of actual photos of the West End here yet. Above you’ll see the Denman Market, at Denman and Barclay. They used to have all sorts of good flavours of Coke Zero, like Cherry, Vanilla, and sometimes even Cherry-Vanilla.

X̱wáýx̱way, like Sen̓áḵw, was in the way of the brutal forces of colonization, and the people who lived there were forced out. Initially, it was to build a road around today’s Stanley Park.

The people living in Sen̓áḵw, however, were displaced because their community was too close to the Vancouver neighbourhoods popping up around it. White people didn’t want to live so close to an Indigenous village.

The trouble with non-fiction is that you often know how the story ends before you start reading the book. I’m only halfway through but I know that while, after an enormous struggle, some things have gotten better, it’s not necessarily a story with a happy ending. At least not yet.

Anyway, it’s something to think about.

Questions, comments, concerns, complaints, and compliments can be directed to Mark at mark@markdunn.ca.

All photos were taken on 35mm film by yours truly.

Stay tuned for more.