Wednesday, May 16, 2012

María & Dominga

At one time I was defined by many as a celebrity photographer. During my era as a celebrity photographer the name of the game was access. Film directors would come to Vancouver to promote their films. I would be dispatched by the Georgia Straight to some downtown hotel where I would face directors like Martin Scorsese in their hotel room. I never believed in the snapshot and the ease of shooting them. I preferred to use a medium format camera and I brought lights. In most cases these celebrities appreciated the extra effort and they would sit and pose for me. Every once in a while I had to photograph people who were not famous and in some cases not known at all. Perhaps 8 or 9 years ago this pair of Guatemalan weavers came to Vancouver in some sort of exchange program. I was given the task of taking their photographs. It was perhaps then that I began to grow interested in taking pictures of “every man”. These were portraits in which I could concentrate on getting something else out of my exposure.


I love this double portrait and I wonder what might have happened to María and Dominga. Is this moment in front of my camera as forgotten by them as I have forgotten? I cannot remember their voices or their last names. But their haunting eyes have always persisted in my memory.