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Since I made no notes, I’m not sure exactly where this photo was made. We can be fairly confident it was one of the many back alleys in Vancouver’s core — probably Gastown — and that the rear entrance leads to a restaurant, hence the fan exhausting a cloud of steam (fetid, as I recall).

The rickety wooden steps bear evidence of many greasy footfalls.

Recently, I’ve been looking into the life and work of Japanese photographer Daidō Moriyama, famous primarily for his prolific portfolio of gritty black and white work, shot in the back streets of Tokyo and Osaka. Moriyama uses small point-and-shoot cameras, reacting quickly, haphazardly even, to the crowded city environments he prefers.

I find myself, during this isolating time, pining … not for the fiords — I can look out of my window into one — but for an urban oasis, filled with curiosities and social signs.

How about you?