{"id":739484,"date":"2026-06-16T01:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T01:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/739484\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T01:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T01:44:12","slug":"the-long-exposure-photographer-greg-girards-hidden-vancouver-finally-comes-into-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/739484\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long Exposure: Photographer Greg Girard\u2019s Hidden Vancouver Finally Comes Into Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

North Vancouver’s Polygon Gallery mounts first survey of lauded street photographer Greg Girard\u2019s 50-year career, running from July to October this year. <\/p>\n

When a sixteen-year-old Greg Girard<\/a> first documented the \u201cexotic, adult world of downtown Vancouver\u201d in the early \u201970s, he never thought anyone would see his pictures. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to imagine there ever being an audience for them back then,\u201d Girard says. Fifty years on, Girard is having his first career survey<\/a>. Co-curated by Reid Shier, director of The Polygon Gallery<\/a>, and curator Elliott Ramsey, the exhibition explores Girard\u2019s work from 1972 to 2026.<\/p>\n

\"DoorwayGreg Girard, Arco Hotel, Vancouver, 1977. Image courtesy of the artist and Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Shier has known Girard\u2019s pictures for \u201cwell over 30 years.\u201d He thought about exhibiting his recent work while flipping through Girard\u2019s photo books<\/a> (\u201cby far and away the biggest seller in our bookstore<\/a>,\u201d Shier notes). But on a visit to Girard\u2019s house, Shier realized he\u2019d never had a career survey. Fittingly, Shier and Ramsey curated this show chronologically, aiming to \u201cshare a different understanding of Greg\u2019s practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a high schooler in Burnaby, Girard started taking pictures while staying at cheap Vancouver hotels on weekends: \u201cThat was an adventure, and eye-opening and exciting,\u201d Girard says. After graduating, he wandered further: \u201cI wanted to go as far away from home as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ConductorGreg Girard, Platform Conductor, Tokyo, 1976. Image courtesy of the artist and Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Appropriately, a photograph brought Girard to his first destination\u2014Hong Kong. Girard describes that circa-1960s Time Life picture of the city\u2019s harbour as having an \u201cordinary drama to it.\u201d \u00a0At 18, he boarded \u201ca Philippine freighter on its last voyage from San Francisco to Manila via Hong Kong\u201d and travelled through Southeast Asia for a year.<\/p>\n

That trip led to more, then to a job as a staff photographer for Asiaweek, and eventually to freelancing for other magazines. His work, global in scope, is too overwhelming to summarize\u2014a challenge the curators faced when putting the retrospective together. \u201cAs big as this show is, it only scratches the surface,\u201d Shier says.<\/p>\n

\"AGreg Girard, Kowloon Walled City, from SE Corner, Hong Kong, 1987. Image courtesy of the artist and Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Girard is represented by Vancouver\u2019s Monte Clark Gallery<\/a>\u00a0and is popular on Instagram<\/a>, but is perhaps best known through his photo books. His first was City of Darkness<\/a>, a collaboration with architect\/photographer Ian Lambot, humanizing Hong Kong\u2019s Kowloon Walled City. Lambot captured the architecture and Girard focused on \u201cshowing how people lived and worked,\u201d Girard explains, \u201cthe two approaches really complemented one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has since published several more books, including Under Vancouver<\/a>, Phantom Shanghai<\/a>\u00a0and HK:PM<\/a>. In them, he seeks to uncover the visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere tends to be just this hidden-in-plain-sight quality to most of my projects,\u201d he says. Bookmaking was something he always wanted, the photographer says. \u201c[It\u2019s] something that still excites me quite a lot.\u201d His latest, Greg Girard \u2013 Photographs 1972 \u2013 2026, is the exhibition\u2019s companion.<\/p>\n

\"SwimmingGreg Girard, Summer of 1995, Beijing, 1995. Image courtesy of the artist and Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Shier praises Girard\u2019s photo books (most categorized by city) but wants people to know his practice is not bound by specific geographies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a tremendous portraitist,\u201d Shier asserts, \u201cit\u2019s his ability to establish trust with people that makes for really poignant images.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Girard admits he doesn\u2019t always seek permission. \u201cI pretty freely move back and forth between asking people and just taking pictures,\u201d says Girard.<\/p>\n

Often, Girard is recognized for his nighttime colour photography. From the beginning, Girard tried different film types and light sources, \u201cdiscovering this unique palette that each film would have.\u201d Then he hid the lights. \u201cUp to that point, night pictures usually included some kind of light source in them [like streetlamps]\u201d, Girard explains, until he \u201cstarted venturing into this world where there was no light source in the picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AGreg Girard, American Sailor with Bandaged Eye, Yokosuka, 1976. Image courtesy of the artist and Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Although known for colour, Girard also shoots in black and white.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never differentiated in the sense of one being better than the other. I always used both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shier is excited for visitors to see Girard\u2019s black and white pictures, embodying his eye for composition and detail.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Girard] is vastly under-appreciated, as well known as he is,\u201d Shier says, adding that this retrospective is, \u201ca chance for folks to see something that\u2019s been hiding in plain sight for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Girard\u2019s career survey runs from July 10, 2026 to October 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Justine<\/p>\n

Justine Drummond is a freelance writer and editor based in Vancouver. (And a summer 2026 editorial intern at Canada Wide Media!) She loves reading and writing about art, architecture, design, culture, travel and drinks. You can find her and her work at justinedrummond.com.<\/p>\n