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| Emily - 5 April 2020 |
The good ol’ days of shoelaces had its moments but this
century has quite a few that sometimes disappear under the radar. Technology
can be wrangled to suit one’s needs. Self-isolation these days forces one to
put on a thinking cap.
A couple of years ago a former subject of mine who now lives
in Spain longed for the days when she would come to my studio and we would
shoot for fun. She told me that she missed those sessions so much that there
had to be something we could do. I suggested that we connect via Messenger
video and that I would shoot the images on my monitor with my digital camera of
whatever she might do with her phone. Somehow after a first experimental
session she lost interest.
But I have found one fabulous subject. She is Emily who
lives in Victoria. We managed to have one session in my studio before the
quarantine became final. When I suggested to her that we might continue our
photographic relationship she was eager.
I was not really prepared to what seemed a long interim
between her yes and the moment that happened today. Why is this longish period?
Emily is a thorough person who happens to be a very good
photographer. She found and bought a compact tripod to mount her phone on. And
then she practiced.
And she practiced.
Today’s session had me most nervous. Even though I was able
to give her instructions, I felt I was doing something very new and unlike
Emily I could not practice on my own.
I found that there is a texture to some of the shots that
come from my monitor and from the scan lines produced by it. It is an
old-fashioned cathode ray monitor. Most of the pictures I took at 1/30 second
with my camera set at 800 ISO. The texture appears randomly. Most of the
pictures are not tack sharp but I find that part of the charm.
The rest of the charm comes courtesy of Emily who has a
face. And the rest is pretty good, too.
