Like many other photographers in 2012 I was all excited about the possibilities of the iPhone 3G. At the time I was teaching photography at Focal Point on 10^th Avenue. One day Mihola Terzik posed for our class. I was keen on not interfering with my students while they took their pictures using a flash inside a softbox. But this did not prevent me from using that 3G. That phone and even the newer ones cannot handle extreme contrast between black and white. But used intelligently the 3G was a capable camera that included a telephone.

Now in 2017 I have a Galaxy A5 and I will proudly admit I have never taken even one photograph with it. Since I purchased (at my Rosemary’s urging) a Fuji X-E1 about three and half years ago I opt for what I would call a “real” camera.

But today when I was looking through all the photographs that I took with the 3G at Focal Point I was struck by this shot of Terzik.

I do believe that what may separate us from smart animals like whales, dogs, cats, chimps, etc is our human ability for association. I looked at Terzik’s photo and immediately connected it with a film I saw in Argentina in the mid 60s. It was Roger Vadim’s 1961 vampire film Blood and Roses which was based on a gothic novel Carmilla by Irish writer Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu.

The film scared the hell out of me and it featured Vadim’s lovely wife Annette who resembled a softer version of Brigitte Bardot.

While Annette Vadim who played Carmilla had blonde hair there is something scary and ominous about my 3G snap of Terzik.