An acclaimed Vancouver photographer will reveal where he finds inspiration in an autobiographical presentation for Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society. Alex Waterhouse-Hayward, a Western Magazine Awards Lifetime Achievement honoree, will also share stories from his childhood in Argentina, as well as from his teenage years and young adulthood in Mexico.
Cineworks and Beau Photo Supplies will present Waterhouse-Hayward’s free talk at the Black Box Studio (1131 Howe Street) at 7 p.m. on July 3. Doors open through the back lane at 6:30 p.m for the 40-seat venue. (Email questions to education@cineworks.ca).
“Across a decades-spanning career, Waterhouse-Hayward has photographed major figures in film, music, literature, and the arts, including Martin Scorsese, Leonard Cohen, Werner Herzog, and many others,” Cineworks states on its Instagram. “He was also a vital chronicler of Vancouver’s nightlife boom in the 1990s, capturing the people, energy, and cultural spaces that helped define the era.”
Capilano University motion picture arts graduate Christian Zakharchuk created an innovative video to promote Waterhouse-Hayward’s talk. Zakharchuk set the imagery from the photographer’s Kitsilano home to Glen Gould’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 12: Canone alla Quarta – a 1 Clav.
Watch Christian Zakharchuk’s short video (above).
Waterhouse-Hayward inspired by classical art
Over decades, Waterhouse-Hayward made his mark with imaginative portraits for a long list of publications. In an interview with Pancouver in 2024, the energetic octogenarian revealed how classical works of art sometimes inspired his photographs of contempory figures.
The erudite Waterhouse-Hayward continues writing about artistry in Vancouver and from around the world on his blog, which he calls A Thousand Words. It includes many photographs of plants—another one of his passions—as well as many memorable images of people.
“[Henri] Cartier-Bresson always said you have to wait for the decisive moment,” Waterhouse-Hayward told Pancouver in 2024. “But sometimes, you can create a decisive moment.”
Cineworks Independent Film Society and Beau Photo Supplies will present An Evening with Alex Waterhouse-Hayward at 7 p.m. on Friday (July 3) at the Black Box Studio (1131 Howe Street). Doors open in the back lane at 6:30 p.m. Email questions to education@cineworks.ca.
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