Last year Erin Sinclair and Jason Uglanica launched the book, This Is East Van, containing photos shot by community members from all walks of life depicting what East Vancouver means to them. As they've recently made their CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a second edition we thought it'd be cool to share with you some of the two editors of the next one's personal favourite images from the first one, which you can still purchase HERE. The project is fully volunteer based and portions of the proceeds are donated to a local non-profit voted on by the photographers featured in the book.
Check out some of Rob Forbes' and Erin Sinclair's favourite images below, along with their thoughts on each of them...
Snow Day
Robert Dall
Erin: It is not often that you see Vancouver covered in snow. I lived not far from this park for a few years and the view is a familiar one. Although, it was usually a scene of summer time picnicking, Fall leaves, or (more often than not) rainy, wet grass and umbrellas. Never have I seen it covered in snow, kids and toboggans. That is probably what I love most about this book - I am constantly being shown sides of my neighborhood that I haven't seen before.
Blue
Coco Langford
Rob: When you're a kid, everyone tells you what to do and what not to do and it really sucks. On the flip side, you can dance however you want and you don't care what anyone thinks about it. My heart melts a little bit every time I see this photo.
Baba at Hatch
Nikki Reimer
Erin: From the very first time I saw this photo I was completely taken by it. Since selecting the photo for the first book, we have gotten to know Nikki throughout the project and a little more about the image. It was taken at a restaurant just off of Main St. that isn't there anymore, and the woman is Nikki's grandmother who also isn't here anymore. A beautiful moment captured not that long ago that is a testament to our ever changing, ever growing community.
Everything Is Going To Be Alright
Aja Dawn
Rob: Most of the time when you see skyline or aerial shots of vancouver, it's the west side- glowing green glass buildings with Stanley Park in the background and every time I see one of those shots I say to myself, "Where the hell is that? That's not my city." because to me it looks like Hong Kong or something. Aja Dawn's photo on the other hand showcases East Vancouver in all it's glory- the harbor, from which Vancouver derives so much of it's industry, and the downtown east side, in which the best architecture in Vancouver can be found.
Balmoral Seagull
Andy K. Bond
Erin: I left the layout for the cover of the first book embarrassingly close to the date we went to print. As the first impression, I wanted our cover to capture our readers eye as much as their heart. With all my humming and hawing over the cover design, the one constant was that I wanted Andy K Bonds Balmoral Seagull to be on the front. I get asked a lot why Jason and I chose it, and I always come back to the same answer: At the end of the day it is just a really great image. I could go on for days about the beautiful juxtaposition of objects, the eeriness of the perspective, the light, conceptually how strong it is – but I won’t. From first glance, it captured my attention whole-heartedly. For me, this is a strong photograph – something that stops you in your tracks.
Rob: I had almost nothing to do with the first TIEV book- when Erin and Jason were laying out the book I'd occasionally stop by, have a beer and say something like, "I like this font better than that one" or "These two photos would make a great spread". However, even if I was heavily involved in the book, I certainly would not have changed the cover. I love Balmoral Seagull as the cover image, but I also love all of Andy K. Bonds photos in the book. His work speaks of a time gone by, not that his images are nostalgic, but I think his sense of composition is very much akin to that of film noir.
Click below for info on submitting a photo! They're also accepting video this time around...
