So by now you've probably heard about THIS IS EAST VAN 2 - the second volume of the popular book that celebrates all that is awesome east of Ontario Street through 275 images taken by 117 local photographers, curated by Erin Sinclair and Rob Forbes. A labour of love for the two editors, proceeds from the book will go to a non-profit organization that is determined by a vote of participating photographers (the beneficiary of the first volume's proceeds was Reel Youth).
With much fanfare, the book launched on July 7th with a very well-attended exhibition of 85 images from the book at the Interurban Gallery on East Hastings, and VANCOUVER IS AWESOME caught up with the busy duo of Erin and Rob and asked them to share a few of the images that they simply can't shake from their brains.
Here are 5 such photographs, with their insight below each one:
Gary at the Sunrise - Andy K. Bond
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Erin: "The first time I saw this image I knew it would be one of my favorites. It is taken by Andy K. Bond who took the cover image of the first TIEV book. As with a lot of Andy's images, "Gary at the Sunrise" captures a moment that is a bit odd and almost surreal because of it. I love that Gary is in mid sentence, that he is looking straight down the barrel of the lens, and that you feel as tho you could in fact be the one having the conversation with him. I also love the setting of the image. It is taken in Gary's home, and each piece of it tells a little story. Every time I look at it, I find something else that leads me to ponder another aspect of his life. I find the horseshoe on the table the most intriguing...."
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Untitled - Andy Soloman
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Erin: "Cherry Blossoms, bikes and an impossible angle - This is East Van.
I moved to Vancouver ( and into East Van) when I was 18 years old and incredibly in awe of all the big city novelties suddenly at my finger tips. It was Spring, and amongst my first city bus rides, my first tastes of Pho, and my first days of film school, were these AMAZING East Van streets lined with cherry blossoms. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. Each year the cherry blossoms remind me of coming to Vancouver and all the newness that came with it."
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Sandra & Sandra's Altar - Grant Harder
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Rob: "Sometimes we get photo crushes. When we first saw Grant's work we loved it right off the bat and immediately fired up google and went down the rabbit hole in search of more of his work. On his website, we saw that his photo 'Sandra' was paired with a photo of her altar. Grant didn't submit the photo of the altar to the project but we told him we wanted to feature both photo's together and luckily he obliged. When I look at the photos paired together, I'm overcome with awe and curiosity."
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Neighbours 1.0 - Janis Brass
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7 Minutes at Sunset
- Ian Beer
