I Took The Book To Chinatown

It’s been 7 years since I started the Documenting Chinatown personal photography project and it has grown into a much bigger thing than I had ever anticipated. I made friends, I ventured into new places and tried new things … and got to document it all through the power of photography.

And in the end, I made a book!

A book on Chinatown… IN Chinatown…. is that meta or what?

BUY THE BOOK

The book “I Was Lured Into A TeaShop” was not a book I had planned to make at first. I had only planned to do a 1 year project and then … well, I had no idea to be honest. But the end of 2013 signalled the beginning of my journey to explore and document Chinatown and see the changes as they were happening between 2013-2015.

With a mask on and being socially-distanced, I ventured back into Chinatown just this past weekend and took photographs of the photographs in the book at their respective locations now.

The Jang Association building: 2013 vs 2020

Excuse the fingers… Jack Chow now occupies this building in the corner.

While this herbalist moved his shop, the same jars are still there.

With COVID19 happening, there are still people in Chinatown but not as many as before. This Money Foods Enterprises Ltd sign has been there since I’ve been documenting Chinatown.

This corner used to be a lot with a mural on the building. In it’s place is now a 6 story building.

While Chinatown was already changing from 2013-2015, the dates of which my book encompasses, 2020 has brought about many new changes and challenges to Chinatown businesses and to its residents as well. My hope is that Chinatown will still retain it’s culture and it’s feel and hopefully survive this pandemic.

When It's Cold, I Go Outside - Part II

Whenever I get a chance to walk around Vancouver, I'm always amazed at all the little surprises we have. Continuing from my last post, here's a few more photographs from January 2014 of last year, when the sun was out but the heat was not (it was cold...). Ah well, that's Vancouver :)

Featured in this series is Downtown Vancouver, Le Marche St George (which almost closed this year due to by-law issues or something like that), Coal Harbour by Downtown Vancouver and the final image is one of the last shots of the Daisy Garden Restaurant in Chinatown a few months prior to burning down.

A Brief Reflection on 2015 - Documentary Moments

As a documentary photographer who photographs many weddings, I’ve had the opportunity to observe people through the emotional tides that arises from a wedding day and it’s such a privilege to be able to be with brides and grooms in this amazing time of their lives. From anticipation to the sense of relief of having completed the ceremony (without tripping or losing the ring!) to the sense of celebration and exuberance at the celebration in the end, a wedding day is full of moments that are easy to miss in the hustle and bustle of things but are there. I’ve always focused on getting those genuine moment and telling stories through them.

As I reflect back on 2015, I want to share some of my work that expressed my passion for documentary moments. More to come in 2016 but in the meanwhile, here's a brief overview of what 2015 looked like.

This was the CJF Event that occurred just after the election. Amidst the people was a microphone that would be later used to take questions for the panel (behind me) to address. My major was in Economics so a bit of the political talk was over my head... also, I was focusing on photographing so earnestly that I didn't hear much of what was being discussed

From one of my documentary photosessions this year, I photographed Danielle and Stephen (and their cat Misto). While we did have a more "directed" photoshoot later on, this photo and many others I took on this day were completely natural and I did no directing. Just observation.
Here, I love how Misto the cat enjoys being both cradled and petted by her owners.

I got a chance to work with the clothing store Dynamite for one of their Fall events (ponchos were in, by the way).

A quick frame from the Dynamite event. Many bloggers, writers and youtubers were invited to try on the new Fall lineup and get a brief on the direction of where Dynamite was going (#iamdynamite ... if you're curious).

After photographing the groomsmen at the Italian Cultural Center, I went over to the bride's house. This moment was the moment when the bridesmaids saw the dress for the first time. Their expression is priceless. A few second prior or a few seconds later and the moment would've been lost.

As the bride was getting out of the limousine, I saw this moment come together very quickly. I took two quick frames and this was the better of the two compositionally and also the expression of the bride. She was looking just behind me to the bridesmaids.

I love how the sunglasses on the groomsmen contrasts with the sky blue dresses of the bridesmaid and the bride in the center of it all.

This photograph came out of a group photograph that Josh Bowie was trying to do. We always think of group photos as being clean and polished but this honest moment has a life of it's own. Of course, after, we did get the group photograph :)

We wedding photographers work in very difficult light situations. In this specific situation with the groom (on the right) and his groomsmen hugging him, this was a basement with very little lights other than a few ceiling spot lights and a door. I could have used flash to brighten things up but decided that staying true to the lighting of the scene would (a) not draw attention to myself (if I fired my flash, people would instantly know I was there) and (b) allow a truer representation of what it felt like to be there.

I was actually holding the door with this gentleman while the bridesmaids were making their way down the aisle. One foot (or hand?) on the door and the other hands on my camera trying to get this moment composed properly. In the end, it worked out and the bride and bridesmaid were able to make their way up the aisle.

One of my favorite moments of 2015 :) We had just finished a request for a family group photograph and I saw these two starting to light up a cigarette. As I was walking towards the door, I quickly aligned my camera settings, set focus and clicked the shutter JUST as they saw me taking their photograph.

Smiles and expressions really make for a great telling of moments. Here, the groom is smiling while in conversation with some of the other guests. The preliminary stress and nervousness can be daunting for a groom and a bride so I love finding moments like these to show the feelings of the day and hopefully allow the bride and groom to recall these moments.

While I was photographing the groom inside the ceremony/reception area, I was keeping an eye on the door down the hall to see if a limousine would pull up. Eventually, it did and I was able to head out to the front door and document this moment of the bride making her way out of the limousine.

In some scenes I photograph, there can be a few things going on. I intentionally keep all these elements in the photograph to give a broader view of what happened on a particular wedding day. I see the mother of the bride holding the bride's hand while the flower girl is led by her mother (?).

I saw the groom crack this smile as he was signing the wedding papers and quickly grabbed the moment. Just a millisecond prior he was not smiling. The smile really made this photograph.

I do keep some time for more "formal" photographs of the bride and groom but it's usually very short. Bride and grooms hire me to capture honesty documentary photographs of their day and that is what I focus on. That being said, for those more formal times, I just encourage and direct the bride and groom in a certain way so that even though they are being "posed" they're still having natural moments between themselves.

I very rarely use ultra-wide lenses as I think it's easy to misuse it and make things all distorted but in this case I felt this really worked and gave a wider view of the scene and the architecture of Hazelmere.

Wedding day moments are about the bride and groom but also about friends, family, children, the service people, etc. While I focus on the bride and the groom, I also keep a second eye on situations happening around the room and capture these moments as they happen.

I'm including this image in order to show my love for not only prints but also for INSTANT FILM! There's a certain magical beauty in having a print develop right before your eyes (or in this case, in my jacket pocket) and then seeing the smiles and amazement of the bride and groom as they hold the print for the first time.

There were a lot of stories that I got to tell in 2015 and there's actually a number of personal projects that I have backlogged that I still need to share from 2014-2015 (continuing the Chinatown project, potential Downtown Vancouver Street Photography book, a book on Japan) but at this point I'm very happy for what happened in 2015. THANK YOU to all my clients, fellow photographers whom I worked with and all my friends and family for believing in me and supporting me and, in some cases, teaching me things. I am truly blessed to be able to do this and I look forward to doing more in 2016. 

Yes, it's a day or two late but whatever...
HAPPY NEW YEAR /  XIN NIAN KUAI LE / AKEMASHITE OMEDETOU GUZAIMASU!!

What I'd Like To Say To Brides and Grooms

Dear future Bride and Groom,

If you really love the idea of documentary photography for your wedding then I want to be your wedding photographer. 

I'm not about the posed photographs or manufacturing a moment to look great. I'm into film cameras, black and white photography and grabbing authentic moments throughout a wedding day. I'm about waiting and finding those authentic moments and weaving a story through them. I'm about being in the midst of things while doing my best to not be noticed. My photography is about friends hugging a groom, a bride sitting with her sisters while getting make up on, the expression on a groom's face as he nervously waits for his bride, a flower girl staring up at the bride-to-be with wonder in her eyes.

In the midst of all this, as I sit and look at the photographs I’ve taken of couples over the years, I think of this: Time is so fleeting and goes by so fast. Take a moment to breathe and enjoy the moment.

Regardless of whom you choose as your wedding photographer, know that the most important decision you will make is when you say "I do" at the altar to your spouse-to-be. Things fade over time but true love prevails over it all. Embrace your man/woman and love him/her with an amazing passion and keep that flame going even when the sweat pants come out and laundry needs to be done :)

Regardless of how a wedding day goes, know that the love that you've created with this special someone is more important and more rewarding than anything on Earth. Forge it well over the years and may the wedding day be just a start of a beautiful journey together. 

Amen.

Sincerely,

-Jonathan Desmond-
Documentary Photographer
and a Member Of The WPJA 

VPL

I like walking around the Vancouver Public Library. There's a number of neat shops inside of the library complex as well as on the outside (including one of my favourite Japanese quick meal places). I find it a great place to walk around and take photographs of not only the amazing building but the people around and inside it.

It may be a bit confusing at first but the people in the image are actually part of an image that is placed on a fence that surrounds a work site.

Obligatory selfie?

Why I Bought My Leica And What It Taught Me About Myself

As I sat there looking at the negatives, I could only sit back and feel a bit let down. I had finally purchased the "camera to end all cameras", the "best of the best" of my camera world. The Leica M6. It matched my style and approach, it has the potential to create great images (which it has), it is legendary and some other photographers that I admire use or used them often.

Obligatory selfie in the mirror while holding the camera in question.

So why was I feeling downtrodden?

Quite simply, I came to a realization. The images I had initially created using this "amazing" camera system were not super awesome nor mind-blowing. Sure, they were great but they lacked something. Soul. My soul. The camera was missing a very important part. 

Me.

Sometimes, when we buy a camera or purchase a new piece of gear, we think that plunking down some money and buying "the perfect camera" will make our photographs become a bazillion times better than before. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, better equipment helps in making better images and the right tools help get the job done in a certain way but without a creative person to "be" the camera and creating and imagining... you just end up with a more expensive version of the same type of photographs as before.

A view from the top of Okouchi-Sanso in Arashiyama, Japan.

When I purchased my Leica in Japan, I was very happy to have it. It was exciting and it felt so good to be in my hands. The sales person in Map Camera really helped me in making sure the camera was in good shape and I was very satisfied with what I was getting. I had eyed the Leica M camera from online but now it was a reality. 

But when the first roll came back and the images looked "decent" but not "awesome", I realized what was wrong. My preconception that the Leica was the magical cure was wrong. 

This is a result of two things. First, it's a realization that I have to step up my creative photographic game and BE a photographer and a creative more than a camera button pusher. Awesome images are made up in here (feel your forehead right now for effect). Second, I had not taken the time to really learn how to use a particular camera and make it a part of me and the inexperience meant missed shots and not being able to use the camera to it's fullest.

Amidst the beautiful nature in Okouchi Sanso, there were occasional shrines and temple areas.

After a few more rolls, I began to see better results as I got more used to the camera. If anything, though, I've learned just how important it is to "step up my game" and really go all out when taking photographs. It's so easy to just "sit back" and be cautious. I can't afford to do that anymore.

My Leica and I have places to go.

Taken at a crosswalk about a block away from Kyoto Station.