Greg Girard @gregforaday

Summer of 1976. Japan. In the city, by the sea and in the mountains too. From “JAL 76-88” and unpublished. Link to books in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Four guys. Harajuku, Tokyo. 2. Not sure about now but at the time this look was called “New Tra”. As in “new traditional”. 3. Man with tattoo, Zushi. 4. Karuizawa, guests at minshuku.

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Waterfront scenes, Hong Kong and Vancouver, 1980-2013. Something about port towns, especially if they’ve got a runway sticking out into the harbour or seaplanes leaving trails on the water’s surface. I started photographing around the waterfront in Vancouver and HK in the 70s and 80s and even today keep returning to it. 1. Kwai Chung container terminal, HK, 1986. 2. Vancouver waterfront, 1982. 3. Ballantine pier, Vancouver, 1980. 4. Cargill grain terminal, North Vancouver, 2013. Link to books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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Walking around Rome and Paris, summer of 84. Ektachrome and Kodachrome. 1. Morning newspaper. Rome. 2. Well-dressed ladies, Paris. 3. Chair on sidewalk, Rome. 4. Man in suit with companion, Paris. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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Rome and Paris, 1984. First visit to Europe in the summer of 1984 while living in Hong Kong. From HK to Paris on Air Lanka via Colombo. Before I had a credit card. Everything paid for in cash. Hotels, trains, air tickets, meals, movies, books. Don’t forget about film. Unpublished. Link to my published work (books) in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Hotel room, Rome. 2. Paris, store window. 3. Paris, shop window. 4. Rome, street scene.

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Night and Day walking, east of town. Feb-Mar 2026. 1. From the parking lot of the donut shop behind the gas station next to the mass transit construction across from the drug store. 2. Tree with young woman with her hands in her jacket pockets. 3. Intersection view. 4. Temporary scene. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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Games of Skill, Chance and Fate. And other scenes from Rangoon/Yangon and Mandalay, Burma/Myanmar. 2005. 1. Monks, night market, Mandalay. 2. Books and magazines at night, Mandalay. 3. Cinema, Rangoon/Yangon. 4. Myanma Airways plane on tarmac, Rangoon/Yangon Airport. Unpublished. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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Where to start, when you’re invited to choose from five decades worth of pictures, for an exhibition and a book? Call me old fashioned but the beginning makes good sense. Which in my case means the early 1970s. Though the “early work” isn’t confined to one place. It started in Vancouver but by the time I was 20 I was living in Tokyo and had spent a year in Hong Kong and SE Asia, and various parts of the West Coast. In any case, much of this year (2026) has been spent looking at pictures, and looking for pictures. And even into pictures, like this one above. Horizontal crop of a vertical picture. Just to see what’s in there. New book to accompany my career retrospective, “Greg Girard Photographs 1972-2026”. Opening at the Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, July 10-Oct 25, 2026. Book published by Magenta Publishing for the Arts. Shipping in August. A few copies still available for pre-order (signed or unsigned). Link to book in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Nathan Road, Hong Kong. 1974. 2. Grain Terminal, North Vancouver, 2013. 3. Buildings on Bat Su Street, Hanoi. 2010. 4. Downtown Los Angeles, 1976.

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Action figures, 1973-1995, from various books and unpublished. Books available via link in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, 1988 (from “JAL 76-88”). 2. Long distance truck drivers, Japan, 1988. 3. Mission Raceway, 1973. 4. Chongqing commuters, 1995.

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Kowloon Walled City, rooftop scenes. Day and night. 1987-1990. From “City of Darkness Revisited”. Back in print! New inventory will soon be in hand! Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered! We will be shipping in the weeks ahead, please stand by for updates! Accepting new orders, shipping in July. The story of Hong Kong’s most infamous and misunderstood community: 35,000 people living in 300 interconnected high rise buildings, constructed without architects, engineers or urban planners. The Walled City as introduced via our book became the source code for a generation of production designers, film makers and game designers imagining a dystopian/romantic, near future, Asia-mainlined urban setting. Books available via link in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. TV antennae and approaching plane. 2. Pigeon fancier on rooftop. 3. Evening with view of Kai Tak’s runway. 4. Daytime scene from ground level.

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Hong Kong People. 1980s and 1990s. From “HK:PM” and “City of Darkness Revisited” (and some unpublished). Back in print! Signed on request. Shipping worldwide. Books available via link in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Well-dressed man shopping in Wanchai market, 1983. 2. Highschool students, Kwuntong breakwater, 1985. 3. Central, lunchtime crowd. 1992. 4. Man in street, Wanchai. 1983.

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Pictures from my new book: Greg Girard Photographs 1972-2026. Bringing together work from across the decades and throughout Asia. Including early work from cities on the west coast. Plus recent work on both sides of the Pacific. Book is being released to coincide with opening of my career retrospective at The Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver. July 10-Oct 25. Very excited about this! 356 pages. 200 photographs. Available for pre-order now via link in bio. Published by Magenta. Signed on request. Shipping worldwide. @magentafoundation @polygongallery greggirardpictures.com 1. Detail: copy of the Bangkok Post with the headline, “Troops move in as opium war hots up”). 2. Eden Bar, Busan, Korea, 1976. 3. Kabukicho, Tokyo, 1988. 4. Beijing, summer of 1994.

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Thrilled to introduce new book: “Greg Girard Photographs 1972-2026”. 356 pages, 200 photographs, many never seen before. With essays by Canadian artist Roy Arden, M+ Museum (HK) curator Silke Schmickl, and Vietnamese photographer/editor/curator Ha Dao. Foreword and Introduction by Reid Shier and Elliott Ramsey. Published by Magenta, to coincide with career retrospective exhibition opening at Polygon Gallery (North Vancouver, BC) July 9, 2026. Through Oct 25. Available now for pre-order. Shipping in August. Signed on request! Books available via link in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Front and back cover. Qingdao Airport. 1995. 2. Front endpapers. 3. Gambler, Macau. 1987. 4. Hollywood Road, HK. 1997.

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Film world scenes, 1977-1983. Hong Kong, Tokyo, Vancouver… From various books and magazines and unpublished. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Hong Kong movie posters, Vancouver, 1982. L. “Lonely 15”; R. “Kill for Love”. 2. Chinese actress, Gong Li, Hong Kong. For TIME magazine. 1991. 3. L. Staff at a theatre on Nathan Rd, Yaumatei, Hong Kong. 1983. R. Poster for a cinema in Chinatown, Vancouver. 1982. 4. Tokyo, 1977.

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Unpublished Kai Tak airport and Kowloon Walled City pictures (except for the last one). Was looking for something else today and came across these. Hong Kong 1987-1990. Link to “City of Darkness Revisited” and “HK:PM” in bio. greggirardpictures.com 1. Lufthansa 747 low over Kowloon City rooftops, on final into Kai Tak. 2. Hair salon, Kowloon Walled City. 3. Single room apartment, Walled City. 4. Walled City evening view.

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People in hotel rooms. 1973-1977. Hong Kong, Thailand, Vancouver… 1. American sailor, Hong Kong, 1974. 2. Friends, Ubon, Thailand. 1977. 3. Shawna, Vancouver, 1975. 4. Ruth, Vancouver, 1973. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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@kostamuksendee I think that’s Raymond Wong behind Cherie Chung…

Hong Kong movie days and nights on location. 1987-1995. Early assignments and hanging around. 1. Cinematographer Chris Doyle and Filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. 1995. 2. Chow Yun Fat and Conan Lee, 1987/88. 3. Cherie Chung, 1987. 4. Cherie Chung and Chow Yun Fat, 1987. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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@ahchoen You’re welcome!

Taiwan scenes: 1977. I haven’t spent a lot of time in Taiwan (unfortunately!) but I have made many short visits over the decades, beginning in the late 70s until most recently in late 2024. The subject of Taiwan came up recently in conversation with Tyrel Eskelson in his Interlocutor podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=XSZdDG… @tyrelcameroneskelson My observations are anecdotal and personal and not meant as authoritative by any stretch, other than to recommend watching the films of Taiwanese film makers from that key 80s and 90s period. Not named but who I meant are the greats like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang and Edward Yang, to start with. 1-3. Taipei, 1977. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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Letter writing at kitchen tables and in hotel rooms. 1981-1986. 1. Kitchen table with map of Vietnam coast. 1981. 2. Lotus Hotel, 1982. 3. Hotel room, Hong Kong, 1983. 4. Kitchen table with bottle of Black and White. 1982. Link to my books in bio. greggirardpictures.com

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