Son Gordon Photography

Help Your Home Feel More Like Home

Hang my handmade darkroom portraits of Vancouver and bring the city you love a little closer

Shop for Currently Available Prints

Unframed 10 × 10 in. prints from CAD 195

Three framed 10 × 10 in. silver gelatin prints of Vancouver beaches, hung as a triptych above a mid-century sideboard in a living room. Shop available prints.
“The material is amazing, the package is well thought out… everything feels premium and special.”
5 out of 5 stars

—Natalia F

The Inaugural Collection

Six silver gelatin prints of Vancouver's shoreline, from Spanish Banks to Third Beach. Limited edition.

Each Piece Brings a Little More Life Indoors

A framed silver gelatin print of a palm against an open sky, hung alone on a pale wall.

A celebration of the urban Vancouver experience

The seawall at dawn, with that fine mist on the pavement, in those quiet moments before the city wakes up. Vancouver is often bold, but also subtle, if you're paying attention.

A pair of framed silver gelatin prints of Vancouver shorelines hung above a mid-century armchair.

A closer connection to your community

Vancouver doesn't always make it easy to feel like you belong. Here's your daily reminder that you do. A small, everyday affirmation, in the space that matters to you most.

A framed silver gelatin print of the Spanish Banks shoreline above a cluster of houseplants.

A piece of your story, made permanent

The places that shaped you, fixed in silver. Artwork your family will notice, and know it mattered to you. Made with archival materials that won't fade in your lifetime, or theirs.

I Think a Lot About How Things Are Designed

I spent more than 20 years as a professional designer. It taught me to look closely at how things are made, and who they're made for.

Vancouver, in many ways, is beautifully designed. An inspiration for cities around the world. And yet the affordability crisis here can only be seen as a design flaw, unless we're meant to consider it a feature.

The shape of a thing reveals itself on inspection, and I've been inspecting this city with my camera for more than a decade. The shape is still coming into focus.

The photographer reflected in a shop window, camera raised to his eye, beside a hand-lettered sign reading “this spot is dog friendly”.

Made in a Darkroom, Not a Warehouse

These aren't inkjet prints from a third-party print lab.
They're made in my studio, under a safelight, one at a time.

A Durst M 601 enlarger, its colour head above the negative stage and bellows, standing on its column. A Seal Jumbo 160 dry mount press, with a silver gelatin print of a palm tree being slid onto the platen by hand. A Hasselblad camera on a cutting mat beside boxes of Ilford FP4 Plus 120 film, with four finished silver gelatin prints laid out in front of it.

This is anything but an efficient operation. Each image takes shape slowly, from a baseline exposure to one enhanced with localized tonal adjustments, achieved with multiple dodges, burns, and other techniques.

The end result is an original silver gelatin print, made the same way photographers have worked for over a hundred years.

FAQs

What size are the prints?

All prints have an image area approximately 25 × 25 cm (10 × 10 inches) with a 1.25 cm (.5 inch) white paper border. This is my standard size. It's a great size for most spaces and easy to frame.

Do you sell framed or matted prints?

No, but I include framing recommendations with every order. The frame shop in your neighbourhood will be happy to see you, and most can have your print ready to hang in about a week.

What's your return policy?

If you're not happy with your print, just send me an email and return it within 30 days for a full refund. You cover return shipping with tracking. Please send the print back unframed, just as it arrived. Full details are on the Shipping & Returns page.

How many prints are available of each image?

Each print is released as either a limited edition or an open edition. A limited edition is printed to the edition size and retired once it sells out; it won't be printed again. An open edition has no fixed size, and is printed in batches as demand warrants.

Do you ship internationally?

No. I only ship within Canada. International shipping will likely be an option in the future—it's the kind of thing I'll announce in my newsletter. You can sign-up near the bottom of every page on this website.

Are these actually printed by hand in a darkroom?

Yes. I make every print myself in my West End studio darkroom using traditional photographic paper and chemistry. No computers. No print labs.