The Fading of Fame & Style

There is an old photographer friend of mine that many, many years ago had a studio in the Hotel Vancouver. He photographed the greats of his time.

How many now would be interested in acquiring a lovely colour portrait of Bob Hope as a younger man?

My friend’s fate is no different from mine. We might secure a park bench in Belcarra Park with our name on it once we dapart from our present existence.

One of the saddest moments of my brief tenure as a photography instructor in a downtown Vancouver photography school happened when one of my students, a young English man with the lovely name of Strand asked me in the presence of others in the class, “Can you show us any of your photographs in magazines that still exist?” I was too tongue tied and shocked to answer, “Most of the famous people I ever photographed are dead.”

In the last century fame lasted a bit. Now famous people disappear from one day to the next. I cannot recognize most of the people on the covers of the magazines in magazine stands. It takes me a while to figure out who are some of the famous who flog products on TV.

There was one today that is a frequent one. She is Marie Osmond and she tells us of her weight loss experience with a product that seems to be a thick and creamy chocolate shake.

In years past I was often asked who was the most famous person in my files. There was another question that I preferred which was, “Who would you like to photograph if you had your chance?” My answer is twofold. One is Graham Greene (most would think I meant the Native Canadian actor) and he is dead. The other is Charlotte Rampling and the odds are very much against me on that.

The photograph here is also dated in style. At the time I would take black satin with me.I would pin it behind on a wall and pinch the top corners so that it would drape. Then I would place a flash with a colour gel that would contrast in some way with my subject. In my studio attic I have quite a few bolts of black satin.