Chris Dahl & Malcolm Parry

 

Rick Staehling

My father was a journalist and my mother was a poet. Somehow in spite of that background I became a photographer. But in April 1982, when the war over the Malvinas (I was born in Argentina so I insist in calling them that!) was raging, Vancouver Magazine editor Malcolm Parry told me, “Alex you are going to write about your experiences in the Argentine Navy and that coup you participated in.” A month later my portrait in sailor uniform was on the cover (taken by Parry with my equipment).

The Order of Generals 

From then on I wrote here in there but not before being given advice my writers I worked with:

John Lekich – Whatever you put in the first paragraph insert in the last one.

Les Wiseman – Unless you are Charles Dickens never begin in the beginning. Start in the middle and work both ways. If you do not know what you are writing about first consult an expert.

And art director Chris Dahl made sure I tried as hard as I could to take good photographs. 

Thanks to Parry, Lekich and Wiseman I wrote for money for many publications including a monthly garden column for Western Living and many for the Vancouver Sun. In 2006 when I started mu web page it had an ancillary blog. To date I have written 6750 of them. I was especially proud when I got a call from Rick Staehling who was editor of a travel magazine. “Alex we want you to go to Cancún. Because you write and also take photographs we save on an airplane ticket.

I recently wrote this blog about a friend in Mexico City who is a partially blind, 91 year-old photographer. I sent the blog to Malcolm Parry. His reply made me smile!

Pedro Meyer - An Active Photographer at 91 

I believe you may have meant enormousness rather than enormity. Cheers: Mac

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin' 12 December 2025

On an otherwise rainy and grey day seeing Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ doing its best to open I instantly remembered the words hope and glory. They are a title of film about war-time Britain by film director John Boorman whom I photographed.

John Boorman

His portrait which breaks all the rules of good portraiture is still one of my best. Somehow the bloom and the portrait go hand in hand in bringing a bright spot to the day.

Will this be the last rose of the year? I just might be surprised. There is that hope.

Pedro Meyer - 1 December 2025 - Coyoacán, México

Pedro Meyer  

Two Poets Laureate 

Today I had a longish chat on the phone with George Bowering, Canada’s first Poet Laureate. It is not only enough for him to be a poet as he wrote the lyrics Eat Your Brain for a proto punk band Gary Cramer and the Works. Currently the man who was 90 on December 1^st is finishing his latest book A Barefoot Gringo. Bowering speaks decent Spanish and loves Mexico.

Eat Your Brain 

I wrote about Mexican photographer Pedro Meyer who is 91 a few days ago in this blog. I went to Mexico on December 1^st just to photograph him.

These two men have inspired me not to give up my enthusiasm for taking photographs, scanning my plants and writing my blogs (6747 to date). For a while I thought that living with my two cats, feeding them, taking Niño for a walk was enough to distract me for the loss of my Rosemary five years ago. It simply was not enough. My new enthusiasm generated by the influence of these two men will help a tad. I think about the fact that I am waiting to die.

Perhaps I will not think about that as much now.

Hotel Geneve

En mi larga vida me he quedado en muchos hoteles diferentes. Uno de los más interesantes y lujosos es el Geneve (o Génova) en la Ciudad de México (CDMX). Estuve allí el 4 y el 5 de diciembre.

In my long life I have stayed in many hotels around the world. One of the most interesting and luxurious is the Geneve in Mexico City in its Zona Rosa. I was there the 4^th and 5^th of December this year.

El primer Poeta Laureado canadiense, George Bowering, que ama México y siempre se queda en el Geneve me advirtió de un bar en el hotel dedicado al teléfono. Y en el restaurante las paredes están decoradas con enredaderas y plantas más jaulas con gorriones.

The first Poet Laureate of Canada, George Bowering, who loves Mexico told me of a bar at the Geneve decorated with all manner of telephones. He mentioned the restaurant which is decorated with walls of plants, vines and canaries in cages.

La entrada al hotel es un museo de objetos y fotos de gente famosa que se ha quedado como Mario Vargas Llosa.

The entrance to the hotel is a museum of showcases with objects and photographs of famous people who have stayed there like Mario Vargas Llosa.

My room was beautiful but I was not tempted to turn on the TV. Had Rosemary been around she would have certainly turned it on. My bed was a triple! The staff of the hotel was efficient and friendly (and good looking!).

My cuarto era hermoso pero nunca quise prender la televisión. My Rosemary, viva, definitivamente sí la hubiese Los empleados del hotel eran eficientes y amistosos.¡ Además eran unos cromos!

Un dato curioso y romántico sobre un brassiere de mi mujer en la cama del hotel. 

 

With buddy Steve Sanford