During the 6 months I was creating this work I was trying to come up with an effective way to show the way a street is used and the way it appears as a recognizable area. In other words I wanted to combine the snapshot with the architectural study.

Granville Street between Robson and Smithe, archival inkjet, 700 cm. 2003.

The difficulty of showing how the street looks using standard photographic techniques is that the street recedes into the distance until almost nothing is visible at the far end of the street. If the viewer stands back they can see the whole street in one glance but the viewer can also come closer to examine the people using the street.

Installation of the print for a 2003 showing.

The orthographic (as in satelite imaging) makes the photograph somewhat interactive, like a book. From far away the viewer gets a general sense of the location and from close up this generality fades away to reveal close details. It doesn't display as well on a computer screen though.