After Dark in ’80s Montreal
Every photographer knows the basic importance of good, natural light—and the difficulties without it. So in the early 1980s, when photographer Bertrand Carrière received a generous Canada Council grant to capture the spirit of Montreal at night, he knew he faced a challenge. Where would his light come from?
“I was 25 years old, just starting out, paying probably a quarter of what you’d pay today for a huge apartment with a darkroom downstairs,” says Carrière, now 68. Luckily, then and now, the gorgeously gritty city had no shortage of eccentric characters frequenting quirky spots, provided Carrière could get out there to find them in the dark.
To help him on his way, Carrière got special access to Montreal’s metro as well as the ambulance service, which allowed him to ride with supervisors and document the action unfolding. He also listened endlessly to local radio stations, waiting for mention of cool events. “I’d just show up and ask the manager if I could take a few pictures,” he says. “They’d consider it free publicity, or maybe they didn’t care. People weren’t as wary as they are today.” Carrière shot hundreds of rolls of film capturing a spectrum of Montrealers frequenting fancy private parties, punk-rock concerts, hole-in-the-wall pubs and bustling street parties. He was equally interested in lone figures lingering in the dark or sleeping on the ground.
“Montreal was, and still is, a cool city that attracts spirited people,” says Carrière, who now calls Quebec’s Eastern Townships home. He used to roam the streets with his Leica and a flash. But it came at a cost. “As soon as I used it, I was immediately visible, and subjects were aware of my presence,” he says. Whereas daytime photographers might shoot undetected, Carrière rarely had the chance for do-overs. “You can’t take 12 shots, you can only take one,” he says.
Chronique Nocturne is a series of 45 street photos Carrière captured between 1982 and 1983. Now, decades later, a new generation will get to see them. Montreal’s McCord Stewart Museum features some of the pictures in Pounding the Pavement, an exhibit that runs until October 26 and showcases work by more than 30 photographers. Through some 400 images, the show maps the city’s history through the lens of its camerapeople. Amid the crowd, Carrière’s unfiltered scenes of urban life still stand out. “What’s interesting to me about street photography is that there is no before or after,” Carrière says. “What you see is what you get.” Below, Carrière shares the stories behind some of his most memorable images.
Saint-Valentine’s Day Dance: “This was a Valentine’s Day ball at a fancy hotel. A big band was playing, and this couple were dancing, swaying. She had abandoned herself to the moment, but he was staring directly at me through these large glasses. He’s not hostile; he’s just seeing me see them in the darkness.”
Rue Stanley: “A radio station had a contest where listeners had to find diamonds hidden around the city. I was standing in the rain when a Rolls-Royce pulled up, just as a bus with a glowing ‘Montreal’ destination sign turned the corner. I clicked the shutter and, in a literal flash, the camera lit the inside of the car: the man in the cat mask was the competition’s mascot, and the woman behind the wheel was former race car driver Monique Proulx. I love this picture because, without context, it makes no sense.”
Hat and balloon, Saint-Jean Baptiste Day, rue Saint-Denis: “The street was closed because there was a big party going on, and this man walked out of an alley with a balloon tied to his hat. I had to kneel down and look up to isolate the glowing balloon in the dark sky. It looked like he was carrying a full moon with him.”
Car accident, Boul. Dorchester: “The ambulances used to let me ride with the supervisors. One night, we heard a huge crash a block away and drove up as the scene unfolded. The guy on the right had punched the driver of the other car, so it was an altercation as well as an accident. Taking a photo in a moment like this is risky. I never know how someone might react to the fact that I’m there.”
Poster for Alice, Omnibus Theatre, rue Prince-Arthur: “This was the poster for a famous show based on Alice in Wonderland. She’s supposed to be falling down into the rabbit hole, so she’s screaming. In a dark and empty alley, there’s this sense of danger. It’s pretty scary.”
Couple, Bar Le Cargo: “This was taken in a little bar I used to frequent. It was an alternative scene, punk-ish with a dance floor. This woman had a beautiful leopard-print coat. I asked if I could take their photo, and they posed for a couple of shots for me. I like how this photograph adds a sense of intimacy to the series.”
Beaudry metro station: “This station has the only inclined ‘travo,’ or flat escalator, in the metro system and spans a full block. It was about 10 p.m. when I came across this guy, sleeping, right there on the floor. Is he homeless? Drunk? Why is he there? You should ask him.”
Viaduct, Pine-Park Intersection: “This infamous interchange was a poorly built eyesore. It had so many underpasses that it was bad for pedestrians and hellish for women, especially late at night. I was walking home with my girlfriend one night when I saw a solitary figure under the bridge. This is the only wide shot in the series, a long exposure taken from the railing above. The intersection doesn’t exist anymore. The city flattened it in 2005.”
Firemen, Saint-Henri district: “I travelled with the ambulance service to this fire scene one freezing December night. Like the man in the cat mask, this photo is strange and unexpected. Ice on firemen? The brain takes a minute to make sense of it. I love how they’re looking at each other, face to face, and you can see their breath in the air between them.”
Outside Le Spectrum theatre, rue Sainte-Catherine: “This was the night of one of the first big punk concerts held in Montreal, by a Scottish band called the Exploited, whose singer wore a T-shirt with a large F-U-C-K printed on it. There was a mosh pit and people slamming into one another, which was wild and new to me.”
Halloween, in Berri–de Montigny metro station: “During Halloween, I roamed the streets to see how people were dressed. I have no idea what these guys are supposed to be—they’re vintage and a little British-looking—but I liked the ambiguity of them waiting for the subway. You’d expect them to be riding in a limousine.”
Little Italy: “Italy had just won the World Cup, so obviously I went here. It was a fiesta, and the police had completely abandoned trying to control the crowd, which was a crazy scene. But Little Italy is such a mixed neighbourhood. There were also people like these women, who were completely indifferent.”
