Watch: A Visual Love Letter To My Industrial Saint John
SAINT JOHN – Local photographer Dan Culberson was watching the Netflix travel documentary series, Somebody Feed Phil, which is about a guy (Phil Rosenthal) who travels to places like Vietnam, Israel and Spain and experiences the culture through the foods he eats and the people that prepare them. As Culberson and his wife, Julie, watched the first few episodes, Julie casually inquired, “Where would you take Phil if he came to Saint John?”
Culberson decided he would take Phil to places like Bob’s Corner Restaurant, a diner on the West Side, or the Tim Hortons at Simms Corner, where Phil could take part in conversations with locals for a couple of hours.
He wanted Phil to experience everyday life in Saint John, and not just hit the popular spots on the beaten track.
Culberson told this story as a preamble to a short video he produced and showcased at an event last Friday in Uptown Saint John organized by singer-songwriter Brent Mason.
The evening event at the BMO Studio Theatre, called Gale of a Tale, featured songs, stories, poems and photo features about the city by Mason, Culberson and poet Clyde Wray.
One of Culberson’s contributions was a video and photography feature called, “A Visual Love Letter To My Industrial Saint John.” He told the audience that, while he had a great time taking pictures over the course of a year for the tourism industry, left to his own devices a promotional video for the city might focus on areas that don’t commonly make the highlight reel.
The audience loved it, and many people approached Culberson afterward and told him it was a must-see video for all Saint Johners. It’s now on Youtube and shared for the first time through Huddle: