Sasso's

In the Byward Market

This small vignette of Sasso's store in the Byward Market, Ottawa, represents a very early adventure into social documentary photography. The pictures, about 40 in all, were taken during a brief visit to the store. They document the particular context of the commerce where ‘Old World' culture and life style intersects American commercialism. It is interesting to note what is in the bottom of the frame, anchored on the ground, and what is in the top, floating in the sky.

Apart from a brief conversation with a client who comes in, no particular social interactions occur. For most of the day, the two people who work in the store sit and wait in silence for clients to arrive.