June 20, 2014 at 12:24 pm

Here’s to the Shopkeepers Around the World

by twistedsifter

 

A toast to small business owners around the world!

The Guardians is an ongoing photo series by French photographer Vladimir Antaki, who says the project was born from his desire to, “document and pay tribute to these people, these guardians of urban temples that we meet everyday without really noticing.”

On his Behance project page, Antaki explains:

These places are sometimes magical, overloaded with elements, colours and stories, guarded by these characters who are sometimes touching, funny, quirky, and at times frightening. People pay less and less attention to their environment. They are always in a hurry, they don’t take the time to spend time with one another. Unfortunately, these places will one day no longer be around. This is one of the reasons that compelled me to want to document these ‘guardians’. So far, I’ve visited 9 cities (Montreal, New York, Las Vegas, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Beirut) and met nearly 250 Guardians.

 

You can find the entire series on Behance and also follow the latest on Facebook, Twitter and the official website.

[via Behance]

 

1. Jainul – New York City

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (1)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

2. Marie – Montreal

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (2)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

3. Mark – Montreal

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (3)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

4. Emily – London

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (4)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

5. David – London

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (5)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

6. Ernst – Vienna

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (6)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

7. Alyssa – Montreal

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (7)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

8. Rachid – Paris

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (8)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

9. Birdman – New York

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (9)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

10. Hagop – Beirut

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (11)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

11. Gregor – Berlin

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (12)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

12. Phillipp – Berlin

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (13)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

13. Edwige – Paris

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (14)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

14. Fouad – Beirut

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (15)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

15. Yacek – Paris

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (18)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

16. Louie – London

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (16)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

17. Abdo – Beirut

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (17)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

18. Corey – Montreal

portraits of shopkeepers around the world by vladimir antaki (10)

Photograph by VLADIMIR ANTAKI
Website | Facebook | Behance | Twitter

 

 

 

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