Sometime in 1978 Kathleen came to my Burnaby studio for a
photo session. I had this idea of putting a white rose overnight in a glass of
water with blue food dye. I wanted a blue rose.
I almost cringe when I look at this photograph today in
this 21st century. My progress in taking photographs that please me without offending too many others
has been a long one. I have almost developed good taste. I would never
photograph a woman with the following elements present: train tracks, angel
wings, Corvettes, Harleys or anything that remotely resembles boudoir. I would
not almost cringe, I would cringe if I did that sort of thing.
What saves this old colour negative is the fact that Kathleen
was lovely and sweet then and since I photographed her in 2018, she is lovelyand sweet now.
In was around 1987 when my Rosemary persuaded me to go to
a Vancouver Rose Society meeting at the Floral Hall at VanDusen Botanical
Garden. The folks projected over 100 bad slides of roses and I found the chairs
uncomfortable. But Rosemary persisted and we both came to love roses,
particularly the old roses and the English Roses.
There is no such thing as a blue rose. I can only plead
ignorance and a terrible bad taste. Fortunately there were no angel wings
around in my studio.
I have been indoctrinated fully and these days I would never call a woman a lady. A woman is just fine. But I could not resist placing the lyrics to that song. Has it seen better days?
Red Roses for a Blue Lady
I want some red roses for a blue lady
Mister florist take my order please
We had a silly quarrel the other day
I hope these pretty flowers chase her blues away
I want some red roses for a blue lady
Send them to the sweetest gal in town
And if they do the trick, I'll hurry back to pick
Your best white orchid for her wedding gown
We had a silly quarrel the other day
I hope these pretty flowers chase her blues away
I want some red roses for a blue, blue lady
Send them to the sweetest gal in town
And if they do the trick, I'll hurry back to pick
Your best white orchid for her wedding gown
Your best white orchid for her wedding gown
Songwriters: Roy C. Bennett / Sid Tepper
Red Roses for a Blue Lady lyrics © Universal Music Publishing
Group