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| Photograph - Chris Dahl |
For a while, particularly in that last century, photographers were often labelled as aggressive.
I don’t believe I ever fit that bill. My grandmother, who really educated me as my mother was too busy teaching to pay the bills in Argentina and then in Mexico, taught me to listen and to take advice.
If there is a decline in the quality of photography in this 21st century, beyond the fact that journalism is pretty well dead, I see another reason for that decline. Photographers have no mentors and in my books a photographic mentor has to be a pushy art director and editor.
Few have the idea to look for inspiration in books by other photographers. Both men I cite below would show me books and suggest I imitate in some way my photogaphs.
I met the best in that category. They are editor Malcolm (we called him Mac) Parry and art director (sometimes given the lofty title design director) Chris Dahl.
Both had other talents beyond the one at hand. Parry played a mean bent soprano saxophone, was a surveyor, a fabulous photographer and knew exactly what a four-wheel drift in a sports car was all about. Best of all he could discern writing talent in people who had no idea they had it in them.
Chris Dahl, was and is a fabulous drummer, composer, photographer, ceramic artist and painter. As an art director for Maclean’s he brought to Vancouver Magazine the concept of planning for two different covers stories, “just in case”.
As the photographer that he was and is he would advise me on techniques I had no idea existed. Sometimes he would force me do shoot in a particular way. I was afraid to rebel as he held the purse strings. Invariably his particular way was the correct one.
Sometimes he would use a short sentence that would inspire me. I was given the assignment to photograph some beautiful women (and one man). His direction was, “Use as little clothing as possible (them) and make the photographs heroic.”
There is one incident that happened in Mac’s office. He looked at some pictures I had taken. He furiously stared at me, threw one of my wide-angle lenses at me and said, “Alex, you are making the motions. Go back and take some good photographs.”
I believe that these two men taught me some well-directed humility as I understand to this day that they made me the photographer that I am today.
Thank you Chris and Mac.
