NIGHT CRAWLERS

An exhibit spotlights gritty '80s street photos that capture Montreal's after-dark spirit

- Rosemary Counter

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.