Friday, July 06, 2012

Rebecca Stewart & Miscanthus sinenensis gracillimus Fuji Instant Print "negative"

Out of the blue I received a Facebook message from my 14 year-old granddaughter. She wrote, “Will you photograph me?” I responded instantly, “Yes.” I did not impose any conditions. The last time I had photographed her was at our usual pre-Christmas eve dinner. My relations with my difficult teenager granddaughter have not been good of late.

Rebecca has the most beautiful heavy and wavy hair. Simonetta Vespucci would have been jealous of Rebecca’s baroque hair. And yet this young girl spends an hour every morning straightening her hair, and puts on so much mascara that she can barely keep her eyes open. But I wrote nothing and we had our photo session on Thursday afternoon. I decided to skip the big flash and limited myself to using a soft box lit with a modeling light for pictures in the living room. We tried to imitate the Lolita pictures that had gotten me into so much trouble some years back. She told me, “Nobody will object as I am about to be 15.”

Processed in Corel Paint Shop Pro X2 as Cyanotype

In the early afternoon just before she was to leave for her guitar lesson I asked her to pose quickly for me by a Miscanthus sinensis (that’s ornamental grass for you who may not be botanically inclined). I loved that first picture, a Fuji Instant Film, and I am almost think that anything I may have taken subsequently that day could not possibly top it. What you see here is the Fuji peel which when taped to a plate and then bleached produces a negative that I then scan and manipulate to my heart’s desire. The negative itself is not your standard film negative and the colours are oddly and wonderfully out.

Rebecca was most enthused and I believe that our mutual cold war is going to thaw a bit and I see her posing for my camera soon.

Now if only she would leave her hair be and scrap the mascara…