Gun Roze

Before There Were Selfies, There Were Photo Booths

In the late 70’s in Toronto, I discovered a few photo booths in various downtown locations. These became mini studios for myself, and a few artist friends, to step into a private, curtained- off booth in public and quickly project whatever imagined images were desired.

Regardless of how much forethought and preparation was done before stepping into the booth, once the money was deposited, those 4 camera flashes happened rapidly.

The prep and posing created an adrenaline high, followed by the seemingly endless anticipation for the results on the photo strip to plop out. I had taken many self portraits of myself, though this opportunity to capture how fashionably I looked while out publicly was greatly ego satisfying. If the images weren’t gratifying for whatever reasons, the entire process was a must to repeat. Thankfully I saved all of the strips from my approximately three year long obsession, so I can now see a solid record of my youthful personality and then ever changing stylish self.

Gun Roze is a Toronto born Fine Art Photographer. His fascination with photography began with his first gifted camera at the age of 8. Though he studied photography related courses, his most valuable knowledge was gained as a Master Analog Darkroom Printer for professional photographers during his devoted 35 year career. The demands for his expertise as a personal colour printer opened up work opportunities in Vancouver, San Francisco and New York City. Throughout this period Gun continued with his own photography and creative projects.

For his personal work, 2012 was a defining year for him. While living and working in NYC, he rediscovered 28 rolls of 35mm colour negatives in his archives. The film was shot mainly on the streets of Manhattan in 1982. This series showcases his first exploration into street photography and is titled “MANHATTAN 1982”. In 2013, three of the images were included in a prestigious NYC gallery group show focused on NYC life in the 80s. Two years later, 21 of these images were exhibited for his premiere solo show in Toronto at Akasha Art Projects.

The enthusiasm surrounding this discovery inspired Gun to return to street photography in NYC, though from a resident’s perspective. His daily practice is reliant on the easy access of his ever present point-and-shoot compact digital camera. With this dedicated method he has gained a solid following and reputation for his unique captures. Since returning to Toronto in 2015, Gun has continued with his daily approach to street-based photography and its detailed representation of his hometown’s various neighborhoods. To view a body of Gun’s work, please visit his website- www.shot-by-gun.com

Gun has recently self-published a quality hardcover photo book titled MANHATTAN 1982. A signed copy for $100 CDN (+shipping) can be ordered by directly emailing him gunroze@gmail.com