Photo Essay

Montreal by Night

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To reconnect with his adopted city, a photographer heads out in Montreal after dark.

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Canada, Montreal, Photography
Photos by Thomas Bouquin
February 1, 2019

In 2012, three years after emigrating from Nîmes, France, to Montreal, photographer and Air Canada enRoute photo researcher Thomas Bouquin realized he was losing his sense of discovery. Challenging himself to look more deeply at what was around him, Bouquin started to wander the streets at night in search of a personal connection to his adopted city.

“Nighttime evokes joyful memories for me: As a kid, seeing the city lights through the backseat windows during family drives provided a calming feeling. Through walking and photography, this project was a way to connect the past and the present and to revive this childlike serenity in a daily exploration, finding a familiar reading of the city in its lights and its spaces.”

Three phone booths lit up against the dark Montreal winter night, with snow on them and on the ground around them in front of a brick wall.
Boulevard De Maisonneuve Ouest, 5 p.m.    
A plume of steam coming out of a pipe attached to an industrial-looking building at dusk.
Quartier 54, near Rosemont Métro, 11 p.m.    
A dark-coloured square building at night with one bright light on in one window.
Rue des Carrières, midnight    
A light dramatically shining on a dark-bricked wall and a length of road with a yellow curb at night.
Downtown, 2 a.m.    
An empty Metro underground station in Montreal.
Bonaventure Métro Station, 9 p.m.