Because I
speak two languages, English and Spanish, I am constantly comparing words. I
would say that I have become a language studier and I follow trends
particularly that of close to extinct words and expression.
As an excuse
to post here some of the portraits I have taken of my Ukrainian friend Olena I
researched the expression “a work of art”. This expression is in little use as
it has been replaced by stunning or iconic.
I started
taking photographs in 1959 in Austin when I purchased a Pentacon-F SlR
manufactured it what was then called Russian Occupied Germany. Since then I
have taken thousands of photographs of which most are portraits. At my age of
83 I am sort of beginning to accept that I am an artist. One of the reasons is
that many of my photography peers have disappeared in the British Columbia Gulf
Islands which a friend calls God’s Waiting Room. I cannot understand how they
retire and now walk in the forests and gaze at the sea. I don’t see myself
retiring until I meet with my soon-to-happen oblivion.
While I am
not sure if I am an artist, when I look at the many photographs I have taken of
Olena I would call her a living work of art. With her in front of my camera I
cannot fail.
The story on
how we met is funny. Some years ago, around Christmas I received an email from
a man in Colombia called Alex who had found my webpage and wanted some
photography advice. Because it was Christmas I forgot to reply. Around 2016 I was
having my hair cut by Kerrisdale stylist Richard Jeha. He told me, “Alex I have
an assistant who speaks your language. I want to introduce you to her.” And so
I was introduced to Helena although she told me her name was Olena and that she
was from Ukraine. She added that she had moved from Colombia to Vancouver
recently. I told her about the man who had communicated to me from Bogotá. I
was startled by her reply, “He is my husband."
Olena has
posed for me many times and the photographs you see here I took with a new film
called Rollei Infrared Film. It is not true infrared. It has an extended range
into the red. It shares with the discontinued Kodak b+w Infrared Film in not
having what is called an anti-helation layer. This means that some of the light
that hits he in-film negative bounces off, particularly when it is
over-exposed. Because of its extended range into the red I told Olena to apply
(one of her many talents is that besides colouring hair she is a good makeup
artist) purple lipstick so that her lips would not be a deathly white.
The third
picture, a killer in my opinion I took with my Fuji X-E3 digital camera. The
blue colour of the other two photographs I added as I scanned the negatives
with my 22-year-old Photoshop-8.