Night Signs | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Lately I’ve been taking to wandering the streets of Vancouver at night. Part because I’m working pretty hard during the day, and partly because that’s when I find the walk most calming to my mind.

Old signs, new signs, not signs at all. I enjoy capturing landmarks of the Vancouver lower East Side as much as I enjoy capturing the people that walk the streets. Perhaps it’s also a little bit less invasive, and I’m just out to flow.

This particular series of photographs were all taken in one night’s walk: Strathcona, East Side, Gastown, Downtown, Yaletown, and back through Chinatown.

One thing I particularly enjoy about signs is the way that they glow, casting their light upon the surrounding darkness.

I am really quite undecided how I feel about the art of the Sign. When one is in an older city, there are usually a lot less neon signs that were so popularized by the mid 20th century. Then to a Westernized city like, let’s say Vancouver, a city block without a sign feels weird and lonely. On one hand, I really appreciate a great sign that makes sense and was clearly a colossal undertaking. But on the other hand, does this form of advertising need to exist? If you don’t know where you’re going, do you need to be bombarded with this madness?

How do you like the Sign?