Pioneer Fred Herzog's delicious colour street photographs of 1950s & '60s Vancouver

Fred Herzog is known for his unusual use of colour in the fifties and sixties, a time when art photography was almost exclusively associated with black and white imagery.

Main Barber, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

Main Barber, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

The Canadian photographer, who once said: "I wanted to show the world the way it is", obsessively documented Vancouver, mainly focusing on working class people, and their connections to the city around them. He worked almost exclusively with Kodachrome slide film for over 50 years, and only in the past decade has technology allowed him to make archival pigment prints that match the exceptional colour and intensity of the Kodachrome slide.

In this respect, his photographs can be seen as a pre-figuration of the New Colour photographers of the seventies. Now, highlights of his wonderful work can be enjoyed in a new book entitled Fred Herzog Modern Color, which brings together over 230 images, many never before reproduced, and featuring essays by acclaimed authors David Campany and Hans-Michael Koetzle.

Published by Hatje Cantz, the book is the most comprehensive publication on this important photographer to date. Discover more at www.hatjecantz.de.

All images courtesy of Hatje Cantz. Main image: Main Barber, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

Black Man Pender, 1958 – © Fred Herzog

Black Man Pender, 1958 – © Fred Herzog

Elysium Cleaners, 1958 – © Fred Herzog

Elysium Cleaners, 1958 – © Fred Herzog

Red Stockings, 1961 – © Fred Herzog

Red Stockings, 1961 – © Fred Herzog

© Fred Herzog

© Fred Herzog

Jackpot, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

Jackpot, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

Self portrait, 1959 – © Fred Herzog

Self portrait, 1959 – © Fred Herzog

Boat Scrapers, 1964 – © Fred Herzog

Boat Scrapers, 1964 – © Fred Herzog

CPR Pier & Marine Building, 1953 – © Fred Herzog

CPR Pier & Marine Building, 1953 – © Fred Herzog

Empty Barber Shop, 1966 – © Fred Herzog

Empty Barber Shop, 1966 – © Fred Herzog

Family, 1967 – © Fred Herzog

Family, 1967 – © Fred Herzog

Liquid Foods, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

Liquid Foods, 1968 – © Fred Herzog

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