One Eye Open, One Eye Closed
Comparison of two photographs: Brian Dyson (top) and John Goldsmith (bottom)
Several days ago I was browsing through the books at Pulpfiction on Main Street. My friend said that I could find Garry Winogrand’s “Public Relations” there but no luck. I must’ve paused for too long to catch The Master event photographer. I did, however, come across a small paperback from a Canadian documentary photographer named Brian Dyson.
As I paged through, I found a scene that immediately struck me. It all looked, suddenly, familiar: Lost Lagoon. The tree. The bench — now hidden. Even the vantage point is strikingly similar. I know the place. I know the photograph. I remember how I went about composing the picture. My memory connected the dots of these two photos before I even made it to the caption, which reads: “Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada, 1969.”
The major differences between the two frames, aside from swapping a man for a woman, is a span of 39 years and a Weeping Willow that shows its maturity. It has grown alongside Vancouver, yet this peaceful promenade, at the edge of a vibrant and cosmopolitan metropolis, has remained essentially untouched over that time. This balancing act of green acres and green glass is exactly the reason that many people make this city a destination and their home. I wonder how many other people’s imaginations were captured by this majestic tree that overlooks the jewel of the city. I wonder how many other people’s photographs have captured this same view.
The book is called “One Eye Open, One Eye Closed” and was published in 2005.
It turns out that Pulpfiction did carry Winogrand’s book. The store owner recognized me when I returned to snap a copy of Dyson’s picture and said it was at their Broadway store. So a big thanks to Pulpfiction Books and my friend for the referral — I’ll be picking up Public Relations tomorrow!
Stranger explores documentary and candid street photography, disseminates multimedia to gain a wider perspective, and shares upcoming visual and fine art events in the Metro Vancouver scene. The Editor and Curator of Stranger is John Goldsmith, a freelance photographer and owner of
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