Metaphor

January 20, 2015

Sometimes I make photographs that remind me of a different, unrelated scene. I think of them as metaphors.

For example, when I came upon a pile of grain at twilight I felt like I was looking at an ancient pyramid.

Lately, there have been several photographs like this.

This one feels like a Mayan temple...

this one like an arch left standing after a bombing raid...

like a signal graph...

like a scene from an imagined future...

I suppose I could read this sort of metaphor into other photographs. But these metaphors asserted themselves immediately and in a memorable way. In addition to the one I posted at the beginning I can think of only one other photograph that feels as strongly metaphorical (see below) and it's from 2005 as well. Four metaphorical photographs in quick succession is unusual, though perhaps just how it happened to happen.

Scenes from an Imagined Future

January 16, 2015

Dystopian science fiction is having a moment. But other common imaginings of future cities aren't very comforting either. Modern and futuristic equates with cold and antiseptic.

Visions of a utopian future appear in urban architecture. Peter Carroll commented on this Vancouver photograph: "Great sci-fi vibe going on."

That thought lodged itself somewhere in my mind.

Recently, I found myself in a business district courtyard bereft of people on a late Saturday afternoon. I marvelled at another scene from an imagined future.

I've perhaps employed a bit of photographic sleight of hand to achieve the spatial ambiguity in these photographs. I'm not manipulating the image after the fact, just exercising my license to choose what to include in the frame. The scene is there to be found. It appears as we've designed it.

From Page Three to Top Three

January 10, 2015

I've been working on some longer posts but I keep getting stalled in various cognitive cul-de-sacs. I've also been spinning a bit with the photographs. The two things are no doubt related.

With the photographs, I find it best to just make some pictures without worrying about notions like 'why the hell are you taking a picture of that?'. So, I figure the blogging equivalent is to 'just post something'.

Shrouded, East Side, Vancouver, 2014 — Shrouded, East Side, Vancouver, 2014

"Eric Fredine" is a unique name, so when I do a vanity search on Google for "Eric Fredine" I get results for me. My various social media accounts rank highly mixed in with mostly photography related things.

Shortly after publishing the web-site in November, it appeared on page 3 of the search results for "Eric Fredine". Now it appears in the top three results. Much credit is probably due to the algorithmic wizards at Google, the thoughtful design created by Squarespace and links from some of my photography friends. It no doubt helps that I've linked to it generously from my other accounts confirming for Google that the website belongs to the same Eric Fredine. Still, I found it interesting how quickly it rose.

Oh - and it seems to be the number one result on Bing. So, hat-tip to the engineers at Microsoft as well!

Howe and Drake, Downtown, Vancouver, 2015 — Howe and Drake, Downtown, Vancouver, 2015

There have been a lot of steps lately. I can't tell if I should go with the flow or impose a moratorium.

Stairs, South False Creek, Vancouver, 2015

Abstracts Revisited

December 22, 2014

Looking through the current City of Glass portfolio I was struck by the absence of alley photographs given the amount of time I've spent wandering them. The cramped spaces and towering facades present a challenge to my compositional strategies. In a similar vein, I was pondering how to tackle the cluttered ground level view of condominiums. These thoughts had the possibly counter-intuitive effect of motivating me to make some abstract photographs.

Backside of the Mark, the Tallest Condo in Yaletown, Vancouver, 2014

Abandoned Frame, Vancouver, 2014 — Abandoned Frame, Vancouver, 2014

This abstract, minimal look is achieved by excluding most context. I enjoy making such abstracts. But, I've been avoiding them because I worry they are little more than clever exercises in composition.

As part of a project they may be more meaningful, because a new context is provided by the project. So I'm revisiting them in the context of City of Glass.

With such minimal photographs there is always the question of how little is too little.

"Grill Detail" (below) removes so much context it's nearly impossible to tell what you're looking at without being told. For the purposes of the City of Glass project I prefer photographs with a little more context.

"Column Detail" (above, from an apartment in the West End) may fall into the same category. But I like how it contrasts with "Backside of the Mark" (at the top, from a condo in Yaletown) to illustrate differences between the West End and Yaletown.

Demolition

December 11, 2014

Recently, I photographed a couple of demolition sites in Vancouver. These light industrial and commercial areas are the last of their kind in areas that have already been substantially redeveloped. Now, they too will make way for condominiums. Once the new buildings have risen the transformation will be complete.

Candidates for inclusion in a future revision of the City of Glass portfolio.