Rosa 'Zéphirine Drouhin' 28 June 2025

Rosemary in Mauve 

My Basque grandfather on my mother’s side, Don Tirso de Irureta Goyena was born in 1888 and died at age 30 in 1918. My grandmother told me that he might have had a heart attack as he had climbed the Filipino volcano Mayon a few weeks before.

My abuelita had a mourning band made which she wore for a year as that was the tradition for luto (from luctus in Latin that signifies pain).

My mother would often wear the mourning band to the opera, concerts or formal gatherings. I believe that my Rosemary may have worn it a few times.

I do not hold to that one year duration of mourning. Since Rosemary died on December 9, 2020, I am no better today than when 6 minutes before she died in bed she asked us, “Am I dying?”

Of late I have adopted this Rose, Rosa ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ to represent my unceasing grief. It is in a little vase in the kitchen and it has been there for over a week. Somehow the rose is cooperating with my obsession and has not dropped its leaves.

Because my philosophy professor in 1962, Ramón Xirau, was an avid Platonist, I became one, too. Plato's essences are always in my mind.

When I take portraits I always have eye contact. Looking into those eyes of an unsmiling face is tantamount to getting a glimpse of my subject’s essence. Plato’s world of ideas, a world of perfect essences, was reflected in our human and not perfect world of our senses.

And yet, to me those eyes in my portraits and this rose represent an essence. I have simply transferred the essence of my Rosemary when she was alive to this rose.

Happily it is cooperating.

Rebecca & Lauren - Rosa ' Sexy Rexy' 28 June 2025

It was perhaps 18 years ago on a Saturday that I photographed my two granddaughters in our large corner garden in Kerrisdale. They came for some babysitting. I decided to photograph them with Lauren holding a raceme of Rosa ‘Sexy Rexy’ .

Originally when Rosemary and I moved into the house with our two daughters n 1986 the garden had a circular bed in the centre of the back garden with roses. Little by little we replaced them as Rosemary did not like some of them. I remember buying Rosa ‘Sexy Rexy’ as I thought it might have been named after Rex Harrison whom my mother thought was awfully sexy. I was wrong about the naming but we kept the rose as it was lovely.

I believe that as an avid portrait photographer who photographed our family lots, that my memory of events of that past life has the added intrusion (reinforcement?) of the photographs that make the memory a graphic one. Sexy Rexy disappeared from our garden. It may have died or when we moved to our smaller Kits garden perhaps I gave it away to someone.

It was a few months ago when I went to my local nursery, Hunters Garden Centre, that I spotted a Rosa ‘Sexy Rexy’. I had to smile. It immediately brought my memory not so much about the rose as the lovely portrait of Rebecca and Lauren. I bought the rose.

Because I have a scanner I was able to scan both the photograph and the first bloom today.

The resulting scanograph somehow conveys to me a past moment that will never return. Lauren was 23 yesterday and Rebecca is 27. My Rosemary is gone. The image is bittersweet for me.

Boris Riabov

Vancouver offers lots of avant-garde concerts, dance and film. With no journalism left in our city one has to know either by being on email lists or by knowing the people involved. Boris, who is one of the pleasant people who work at Beau Photo, told me this last Wednesday morning, almost apologetically that he had short film that was going to be shown that evening at the Rio Theatre at 6:30. The show was called Run N Gun.

When I arrived I found out the show was about to be sold out. It was full of people under 30. I am sure I was the oldest person there.

Boris’s film  YVR: Greatest Hits  produced in conjunction with his Bonanza Unit involved a most inefficient former sniper who failed in his job as a Vancouver hit-man. The film was “seriously” funny. The other short films where similar in having more of that serious humour. There was an abundance of four–letter words. The films looked as professional as they could possibly be. I felt lucky to have been invited. 

Rosa 'Zéphirine Drouhin' 25 June 2025

 Rosemary in mauve

This rose, Rosa ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ has been in a little vase in my kitchen for over a week. Every time I look at it I think of my Rosemary. There is a dainty and elegant presence in this bloom that defies the opinions of my Vancouver Rose Society that a rose has to be enjoyed only when it is at its perfect best.

When I look at the rose, knowing I cannot share my opinion and delight with Rosemary, I have come to almost understand the paradox of “being alone with” which is my situation every day with my two extremely clingy and affectionate cats Niño and Níña.

It especially happens every day when I walk with Niño around the block. Rosemary taught him. When we would walk him together I was constantly being told by Rosemary, “Alex, never shout at him when he lingers at a garden. Be patient.”

I have no idea what it would be like if I were “alone without”.

Tim and Terry Turner

Vancouver has incredible opportunities for the photographer who might want to innovate. Beau Photo has an incredibly large refrigerator full of film which in some cases I have not heard of. They sell and rent the latest lighting equipment and their staff is friendly and helpful. It is there where I buy my Ektachrome. Yes, it is still made!

Once you shoot that Ektachrome our local The Lab will process it from one day to the next.

If you add to the above the experience and know-how of Jeff Gin, the manager of Kerrisdale Cameras on Lonsdale, who worked for Leo’s for 30 years, you have perfect support staff.

What you need then, to innovate is to be in some cases an old man like me. In my Buenos Aires they often say that the devil know more not because he is the devil but because he is an old man.

As a magazine photographer in Vancouver since the late 70s until magazines and newspapers disappeared I had to deal with pushy art directors who made me do stuff I did not want to do in ways I did not want to try. They were invariably right and I am a decent photographer because of them.

In the last few years I have had an obsession of scanning  2 negatives (colour of b+w) and 2 slides together with my Epson scanner. I know I could possibly do this with Photoshop layers. But I opt for what I think the more rewarding method.

One of my favourite “scanner negative sandwiches without mayonnaise” is the one of the Turner twins, Tim and Terry. I originally photographed them for a Vancouver Magazine article on twins in which my MD wrote an accurate explanation of what twins were.  Because I photographed the twins looking themselves on a mirror there were 4 faces in the shot. When I scanned the 2 negatives there are 4!

Ghislaine and Justine Crawford

Carmen & Anita Samuda