Sex, Drugs and Destitution Captured in One Vancouver Alley | Time.com

Waldy Martens never intended to begin the documentary project from which the photos above are taken. As a commercial and editorial photographer, Martens was simply using his camera to deal with a problem that confronted him daily after he first moved in 2011 to an apartment and studio in downtown Vancouver. Voices from the alleyway could be heard at all times of night and throughout the day, and he quickly realized he was living next to a popular hangout for drug users, prostitutes and dumpster divers. He grew frustrated with the trail of needles, garbage and feces they often left behind. He started opening the window to his second-story studio and taking pictures, using the sound of the shutter to shoo away the people below.