A Reminder . . .

The next couple of days will be very busy as I do my final preparations for my first photography display/sale ever:

Beginning on January 3rd (and continuing through the month of January), selections from my 2011 Photography project “Women and Cameras” will on display/sale at the Wild Oat Bakery and Cafe, 817 Bank Street in Ottawa.

This project features images captured using traditional film cameras, and printed on hand coated paper using two antique printing processes” Cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown. The subject of each image is a portrait of a woman, with an antique/classic film camera, like in the example below:

On Wednesday, January 4th at 7 pm at the Wild Oat I will be giving a presentation on my project, and the two processes I used to create these images.

If you are in the Ottawa area I’d love to see you there!

Advertisements

A Scene From A Play

When I asked accomplished actress Andrea Brown to participate in my Women and Cameras series she did express the concern that she did not have any modelling experience. I don’t think she had to worry 🙂 As the shoot progressed, we developed the idea of parodying the concept of the ideal woman as espoused by women’s magazines of the 50’s/60’s: emancipated, but still having to look perfect while exercising their freedom. A bit of a contradiction. Andrea was able to construct a character on the spot, and so each frame was like a scene from a play, as she applied her amazing acting skills.

Smiling

Last Sunday I had two photo shoots: one for the Women and Cameras series (more on that shoot later this week), and one just a straight shoot with a young model looking to build her portfolio. Today’s picture is from that second photo shoot. Like I said in the flick image comment, I’ve shot more than a few smiles this year, but I think this is the favourite smile I’ve captured so far.

Understanding

Today, another picture in my Women and Cameras series, but with a difference: up until now my subjects have all been either models or friends/acquaintances. Today’s subject Natalie not only is a photographer in her own right, but also collects and uses vintage cameras (as does her fiancé!) The camera featured in the image below, a Yashica 124G Twin Lens Reflex is one of three of her own she brought to the shoot.

Just by the way she is holding it, and looking at it, she is clearly showing that she understands the image-making potential of this fine camera, and the magic of film.

Beauty and the Beast

These two cameras were both made by Pentax, and both are Single Lens Reflex designs, but that is where the similarity ends. One (the ME Super) is a beautifully compact and nimble 35mm model, the other shoots large 6×7 cm negatives on 120 size roll film. I had both cameras with me yesterday on a photo shoot for my “Women and Cameras Series.” The Me Super is a little motor scooter of a camera, and the 6×7 is a truck. 🙂

After the shoot as my subject and I were walking down Queen Street East, a guy at an outdoor cafe spotted the ME Super my exclaimed “is that a Pentax ME? I used to have one!” He had a huge smile on his face, and it was great to see a film camera bring back happy memories to a total stranger.

The other item of note from yesterday is not so positive: I had arranged to meet my model at a park on Queen Street. I get there, and the park (containing a playground and wading pool) had a good number of children and their caregivers present. I realized that as a middle-aged man, unaccompanied, with a camera over my shoulder I would be the subject of suspicion at the very least, and perhaps hostility (especially if I had my camera anywhere near my eye), so I felt it prudent to sit on a bench by the sidewalk, as far from the children as possible. It was one of those guilty until proven innocent situations that are sadly so common today.

Wings

One of the concepts I’ve had in mind for my Women and Cameras series has been the concept of a model with a large symmetrical tattoo on her back holding a camera, behind her back as in the image below, created this past weekend. When I asked the model why she got that tattoo of the butterfly, she responded that she “had always wanted wings.”   I’m not personally planning on getting any tattoos myself anytime soon, but in this case I can see the appeal of the tattoo as a way of externalizing and making tangible one’s hopes and dreams.

Good News

Another final image for my Women and Cameras series, this time a real Cyanotype of Memento Mori.

And the good news? Beginning in January of 2012, my Women and Cameras Series will be on display at The Wild Oat Bakery and Cafe in Ottawa. I will also be giving a presentation on how I create these Cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown prints. Details to follow!

No Strings Attached

The latest image from my Women and Cameras series features Memento Mori, an example of a model who understands the important of having a story behind the image, On our shoot in High Park last week, one character after another appeared, as a story out of a Lewis Carroll type fairy tail appeared. In the image below, we have a puppet without strings.

Friendly

Another image in my Women and Cameras series, and the second to feature a friend who is not a model. My friend Jo-Anne is holding a Kodak Duoflex, a simple camera made from the mid 1940’s to mid 1950’s. To me it seems like a “friendly” camera, and I think Jo-Anne’s warm expression suits it to a T.

Artist As Model as Artist

Today another image in my Women and Cameras series. This is a Van Dyke Brown print of model Angel Noel, holding a 1950’s vintage Exakta 35mm single lens reflex (with waist level, not eye-level finder). It was amazing shooting with Angela; she is a artist herself: as a painter she had great instincts for poses and other creative ideas. All in all, a great collaboration!