From Vancouver to Hong Kong, Tokyo, and beyond, Greg Girard’s photographs reveal the beauty, tension, and history of places lost in time.
Acclaimed photographer Greg Girard’s exhibition shows at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, Canada until October 24th. For me, it was happenstance that took me to the exhibit on July 18th, 2026. The sequence of events that prompted the day’s redirect initiated another arts-based interview call-out. This time it resonated with my internal artistic thread. Photography was my undergrad arts focus, and I related specifically to his documentary photography. Read more about that in SeeChangemaker’s feature article.
Inside the Polygon exhibit, many photo-hungry enthusiasts were milling about from one image to another. For a gorgeous West Coast Sunday afternoon, it was surprisingly busy, but I soon learned why. Girard, an astute ‘film’ photographer, was at the height of his career during the Millennial generation. He spent time between 1974-2000 periodically moving back and forth between continental Asia and North America. Then finally making his home on the eastern continent. Many of his landings coincided with or predated some of the most pivotal times in current Asian history. For example, the handover of Hong Kong to China in the late 90’s, the Tiananmen Square uprising, the Sri Lankan Civil War, and pre-bubble Tokyo before Blade Runner was a thing. All of these were being documented by Girard, whether for interest or necessity.
The Overlooked Becomes the Focus
Back then, film was “the standard”. During that time, Girard learned to shoot his renowned night shots through trial and error, as cited in his recent interview with STIR. The fluorescent radiance of the neon lights and intentional blurred movements of vehicles and people made up some images adorning the walls in the gallery. Over time, he became familiar with how various film stocks, such as Kodachrome and Ektachrome, acted and reacted in given nighttime conditions. All these and more drew film groups to the Polygon Gallery for his exhibition.
For myself, I loved how he captured the uncomfortable and edgy moments of each landscape he photographed. His style has been coined in a Zolima article as addressing the “unloveliness”. While Girard establishes that he was “making pictures in somewhat unloved and orphaned places around the city,” referring to his early years in Vancouver. So, it was no surprise to hear him discuss his more recent fascination with documenting the “Snack Sakura’s” of Japan. “Snacks,” or bars in Japan, were the least populated of all nightly entertainment venues. However, they were also the most constant thread throughout Japan.
Finding these niche cultural establishments throughout each of the 47 prefectures of Japan became a chase for understanding why these oddities were still standing. Motivated by his innate curiosity, he explains some background about what surfaced during his search. Through his journalistic and storytelling lens, insights are regaled of these cultural establishments during our interview.
Burnaby to Shinjuku: The Leap That Changed Everything
Girard grew up in Burnaby, BC, Canada. However, the young man found himself constantly being drawn into the city during his teen years. Armed with a camera, he would venture into places few thought to enter. Girard’s interests have always been places, topics, or things that are “hidden in plain sight,” he says. In another article from VanMag, he talks of his weekend excursions to Vancouver as “… an adventure, both eye-opening and exciting.” These ventures led him to larger excursions that took him overseas.
This curiosity and adventurousness allowed Girard many opportunities. On a one-way ticket trip to Bangkok, he stopped in Tokyo. Like his teen excursions to downtown Vancouver, public transit took him to the bright night lights of the inner city. But this time, his travels took him into the neon-lit entertainment district of Shinjuku. By morning, that was it; he said, “I decided to stay.” This discussion is echoed through the imagery in the book, JAL 72-88.
Getting an impromptu job as an English teacher in Japan allowed him time to photograph. But teaching only facilitated his real passion. Later in the 80’s, his directions took him to Hong Kong. He found a more aligned position working with the BBC in Hong Kong. Working as a sound recordist for the television station. Here, he learned how to be a journalist and storyteller. Listen to the interview to find out about the moment that took him from the BBC into the fast and furious life of a photojournalist. The moment literally sounds like a section from a movie script.
Passion Behind Practice
Reading, watching, and listening to Greg Girard, I realized one thing: his life has been generously full. In the end, working as a photographer, photojournalist, and documentarian became part of him; “If you look at it as a job, don’t do it,” states Girard. It must be a passion. Much like most people working in the arts, it’s not the thought of success, money, or fame that keeps them going. It is the love of the craft and often the magic of happenstance.
After 54 years of photographing many worlds across lifetimes, depicting so many changes, Girard shares his life in images with us in the current exhibit and beyond. What brings people into these shared moments? Like Greg Girard, I am guessing it’s their curiosity and connection to another world.