I’ve been documenting my neighbourhood for the past 7 years and I’m absolutely loving it. An ongoing social documentary photography project dedicated to capturing the essence of life at Broadway and Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, Canada, photographs from 2018 - 2025.
Hello, a bit about me: I’m Northern Ontario Metis who moved out west in the early 80s. I was keenly interested in photography at the time and wanted to become a news photographer. My gear was one Nikon FM and a 50mm lens. I settled in BC and after stringing for several newspapers I managed to land a full-time photographer / darkroom tech. I was absolutely thrilled.
Eventually, I transferred to larger newspapers, and my final posting was with a chain of 8papers on Vancouver Island. The end of the 90s created much turmoil in traditional news media as many advertising budgets were being directed online. For me it was a 20-year dream job I absolutely loved.
At the end of the 90s, it just became too difficult to continue so I went to work in Business IT and Corporate Management. It was sad selling all my gear (3 Nikon F3 and a stable of lenses) but I wanted to make a clean break. I wish I had kept at least oneF3 and a few lenses.
I worked in the business career for the next 20 years – it had a far more stable income, and I was raising young children at the time so that was important.
In 2018,the company I worked for decided to part ways after 18 years of employment. Iwas hurt – that was a major part of my life to just toss me aside.
A coworker knew I was formerly a photographer and sold me his Fuji F550EXR for $20. This was a time of photography’s popularity online – Instagram and other services were doing well, and it was relatively easy to build a community.
As I was not working at the time I shot most every day and posted to IG and was havingfun. But I needed a purpose – I didn’t really enjoy just walking around taking random photos.
I thought about my roots as a news photographer and decided Social Documentary would be my first try. I I so enjoyed it I’m now in my 7th year.
We live in a very quirky, eclectic neighbourhood that has been going through a lot of gentrifications the past few years. Counter that with the drug and homeless crisis and it’s proven to provide a wealth of photo and story opportunities.
The EastVan neighbourhood Broadway and Commercial Drive is where I do 90% of myphotography. There is a major multi-tower development planned for the area in the next 5 years, and I’d planned on that being the pinnacle of this project.
Sadly, terminal brain cancer came along this spring and despite treatment the prognosis is not good for recovery. I had to reevaluate the project. I put the call out for a Take Over photographer who would continue with the project for the next 5-years. I’m still looking for one more photographer to ensure continuity. I’m pleased I found one so far.
And I’m currently working on a high-quality photo book for my photos of the past 7years. I’m also printing a selection of large format archival prints as the Vancouver Archives has expressed interest in adding them to their collection. During my cancer treatment ups and downs I’ve found this to be an excellent project to keep me going instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself.
My book is 50% done and the prints are as well. The prints are created on a pigment-based Canon Pro 1000 printer combined with Red River Paper – I’ve found this to be an excellent combination with an exceptional life span.
Documenting my neighbourhood has been very rewarding these past years – it’s only a few blocks from my home and very accessible. I’ve come to know so many of my subjects.
It’s a veryimportant part of town as it serves a large senior / immigrant community withbanking, medical, pharmacy, social and a grocery store. Due to the steadilyincreasing business rent costs since COVID there are many important smallbusinesses that couldn’t make it. Gone, now are the dollar store, a bank, somemedical offices, several restaurants and coffee shops – which served theretirement community as they would go out daily to visit friends.
About TheHub: A major transportation link in Vancouver, Canada.
At the heart of it all is The Hub: the intersection of Broadway and Commercial Drive, a major transit nexus where over 100,000 people pass through daily. It’s a microcosm of Vancouver—full of movement, resilience, and stories worth preserving.
The Hub at Broadway and Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, Canada, serves as a crucial transportation nexus connecting various destinations in the Lower Mainland. Approximately 100,000 individuals travel to this hub daily, primarily commuting to and from their workplaces. The vicinity also boasts a diverse array of shops and services, encompassing a grocery store, drugstore, multiple medical offices, a dollar store, three major banks, as well as several restaurants and coffee shops.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
Biography
Hi, I’m Barry Johnson. I’m proud to be of Northern Ontario Métis heritage, and I’ve had a lifelong passion for photography that began in the late 1970s. Back then, I shot mostly with a Nikon FM and Kodachrome film—classic tools for capturing vibrant, timeless images.
In 1980, I moved to British Columbia and quickly found work with the many community newspapers thriving at the time. That opened the door to several full-time staff photographer roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. But as the internet grew and newspaper revenues declined in the late '90s, photography jobs became harder to find.
With a young family to support, I transitioned into business and corporate IT for a more stable income. After a 20-year career in tech, I returned to photography with fresh eyes and a few second-hand digital cameras.
Today, I focus on a personal Social Documentary project centered on my own neighbourhood—Broadway and Commercial Drive in Vancouver. It’s a vibrant, evolving area on the cusp of gentrification, and documenting its stories has been an incredibly rewarding experience.
ABOUT MY PROCESS
My Work
📸 Barry “Basajear” Johnson is a Northwest Ontario Métis social documentary photographer based in Vancouver, Canada. Known professionally as Basajear, his work focuses on capturing the life and spirit of communities around Commercial Drive and Broadway in East Vancouver.
🌆 Artistic Focus
- His ongoing project, The Hub, began in 2018 and documents the vibrant, diverse culture of East Vancouver.
- His photography is deeply rooted in social documentary, aiming to preserve the stories and identities of marginalized and everyday people.
💔 Personal Story
- Barry is currently facing advanced brain cancer and has launched a fundraiser to help cover the costs of printing and mounting his photographic legacy while he still has the strength.
- He describes his images as his legacy and hopes to preserve them for future generations.
📷 Where to See His Work
- You can explore his photography on his official website and his YouTube channel.
- His work has also been featured by the Vancouver Street Photography Collective, which praised his ability to capture surprising reflections and alternate views of the world.
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More Info
Basajear was motivated to explore social issues through photography in Vancouver primarily by his close daily engagement with the Broadway and Commercial Drive area—his neighborhood—where he observed community dynamics, diversity, and ongoing social changes. This personal connection inspired him to use his camera as a tool to document and highlight the lived realities and challenges faced by local residents.
His approach aligns with a tradition in Vancouver’s documentary photography, where artists are driven by both personal experience and a sense of social responsibility to represent marginalized or evolving communities through visual storytelling. The use of photography in this context is recognized for its power to:
- Create a visual record of social realities and highlight issues that might otherwise remain unseen or misunderstood.
- Offer a platform for insider perspectives, challenging dominant media narratives and stereotypes about urban neighborhoods.
- Encourage empathy and social awareness by revealing moments of human connection and the complexity of community life.
- Act as an agent of social change, bringing attention to injustice and fostering dialogue about public issues.
For Basajear specifically, his Métis heritage and residence in the area intensify his commitment to portraying the community from an insider’s perspective. His work is motivated by a desire to document the spectrum of experiences—from hardship to hope—within his own social environment, and to record ongoing transformations as both participant and observer. This motivation connects personal, cultural, and civic dimensions, aiming “to bring public attention” to persistent social issues while recording the area’s change over time.