2. Introduction
• Initial aim: capture the diversity of Montreal
• Method: using photography and writing as
media to represent it
• Outcome: 16 photos
3. I was walking in
downtown Montreal
during class, when
suddenly a lady struck me.
She was sitting on a bench
in a public square reading
in such a concentrated
way that I took advantage
of the situation and
carefully took a picture of
her. I didn´t want to
invade her space. At least
she did not realize that I
was there.
Through her body
language, I realized how
people in Montreal seem
so carefree. For me, that
lady did not seem to
notice anything around
her. She even took her
shoes off for a while .
Diversity is a part of our
lives; it is present in our
behaviour.
Images can show not only
the variety of our cities
but also their unique
personalities.
4. ¨I have the years required to scream what I think,
to do what I want, to recognize old mistakes,
to rectify my ways and treasure my successes¨
José Saramago, Nobel Prize in Literature 1998
5. “Old age starts when you lose your curiosity….”
José Saramago
6. Since I´ve started to take pictures in this class, my perspective has changed. I now see even
more clearly that people´s different emotions and energies can be transmitted through the
lens of the camera. Intense colors, body movements, rhythms and culture blend to portray
shapes through hand gestures and body language that convey poetry through.
8. With sepia, differences tend to disappear…
Sepia: reddish-brown color named after
the rich brown pigment derived from the
ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia
9. Colors give a strength to this photo. Thanks to the contrast, we can imagine many stories
about the man’s life in the picture: his past, his current life, his feelings. It seems that the
colors can illustrate all these aspects (a fulfilling life, happy and memorable memories,
numerous events that guided his personal life…).
10. In my opinion, black & white is the best way to give more consistency to a picture.
It makes me think about their personal stories and imagine what their lives are like in their
home countries, why they came to Montreal and how they feel about the cultural diversity in
the city…
11. Airi is a Japanese student at the YMCA International Language
School. She is quiet but always has a smile on her face. Every
afternoon she enjoys walking with her friends; she likes wearing
yellow, blue and black. Before dying, she would like to be wealthy.
12. In the shadows, passing the time; waiting for good luck,
he is like a leaf going where the wind blows.
13. Although my classmate Ricardo always says he's becoming less Mexican with time, he is an
authentic Mexican guy. He has been in Montreal for three years. When I'm next to him, he always
tells me about his memories of the beach where he was born, his family, his house and the warm
winters. Now he wants to enjoy Montreal, meet a lot of new friends and learn to speak French and
English without a Mexican accent.
Larissa Lira comes from Brazil. She is beautiful and charismatic. Although she thinks all the time
about her Brazilian friends and her friends always think about her, now she has friends from around
the world. When she goes back to Brazil, she is going to have more people thinking about her from
different parts of the world.
14. She is a woman
She wears sunglasses
She uses a nice, modern purse
She looks like a model
She is tall
She wears a pink burka
She walks in the street
She is happy
She is a Muslim woman
19. As a conclusion…
2 main challenges:
• Run a project without clear objectives at the
beginning & compromise all along the project
• Capture images of strangers
What we learned
