In 1953, decades before William Eggleston and Stephen Shore established color photography as a serious medium for art photography, Fred Herzog shot his first roll of color film. For over fifty years, the Canadian photographer exclusively used Kodachrome slide film, and only in the last decade have advances in technology enabled the production of archival pigment prints that faithfully match the remarkable color and vibrancy of the Kodachrome slides. In this respect, his photographs can be seen as prefiguring the New Color photographers of the 1970s. By taking color rather than black and white photographs, he made his street scenes seem much more modern.

This monograph brings together more than 230 recordings, many of which have never been reproduced before, and also includes contributions from celebrated authors such as David Campany and Hans-Michael Koetzle. Fred Herzog is known for his unusual use of colour in the fifties and sixties, a time when art photography was almost exclusively associated with black and white imagery. They come from that process of walking and that intuitive, deductive reasoning of where to be and how to take a picture when you’re there,” said Andy Sylvester, owner of the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver. Fred Herzog might not be a household name in the photography world, but his work holds its own against the likes of Walker Evans and William Eggleston, two photographers with whom Herzog shares an aesthetic. Fred Herzog is known for his unusual use of colour in the 50s and 60s, when art photography was almost exclusively associated with black and white imagery.

Fred Herzog is known for his distinctive approach to color photography in the 1950s and 1960s, a time when the art form was almost solely represented by black and white imagery. A while later, Herzog worked as a medical photographer and also became a serious documentary photographer. Herzog also had the vision, and courage, to shoot in color when virtually all serious art photography was in black and white. The young German immigrant was fascinated by all aspects of Canadian life and set out to document it with his camera. The Canadian photographer worked almost exclusively with Kodachrome slide film for over 50 years, and only in the past decade has technology allowed him to make archival pigment prints that match the exceptional color and intensity of the Kodachrome slide.

Fred Herzog is best known for his unusual use of color in the 1950s and 1960s, a time when fine art photography was almost exclusively associated with black and white shots. Despite slight shifts in social, cultural and technological parameters, the world now looks much the same as it did in the ’60s and ’70s.This book will bring together over 230 images, many never before reproduced, and will feature essays by acclaimed authors David Campany and Hans-Michael Koetzle. The Canadian photographer worked largely with Kodachrome slide film for over 50 years, and only in the past decade has technology allowed him to make archival pigment prints that match the exceptional color and intensity of the Kodachrome slide, making this an excellent time to reevaluate and reexamine his work. Fred Herzog is best known for his unusual use of color photography in the 1950s and 1960s, a time when art photography was almost exclusively associated with black-and-white imagery. Professionally employed as a medical photographer, he spent his evenings and weekends photographing the city and its inhabitants in vibrant color. Scenes of society in the macrocosm, rather than showing us nothing, showed us everything: race relations, urban alienation, gender politics and class distinctions.