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| Tom Lavin 1981 - George Bowering 13 March 2026 |
Powder Blues Band & Orthchromatic Film
Because I
have written 7096 blogs to date I have understandably forgotten many of them. It
is in those hours when I turn off my bedroom light that some of them suddenly
appear in my memory. A couple of days ago I was thinking of a portrait of a man but I could not remember
his name. After putting a few key words I found the name and photograph . Link above.
The date of
the photograph of Tom Lavin of the Powder Blues Band was circa 1981. Something
clicked in my mind. I figured that his portrait may have been one of the first
in a long line of similar portraits where I got close to my subject (usually
with a 55mm lens) with my camera at eye-level. I used a flash softbox close.
This method became my bread and butter as I would research my subjects before
my sessions and then because I was close with my camera I always found a way of
connecting with them.
Not too long ago on 13 March 2026 I photographed the first Canadian Poet Laureate, George Bowering in his home, He was 90. I used a 55mm lens but I broke my own rule and asked him to smile. His portrait is not as brutal as Lavin’s.
But in October
1994 I faced Polish film director (Red – White- & Blue trilogy) Krzysztof
Kieslowski. I focused my Mamiya RB-67 on his face and then from my camera bag I
took out a deep green filter. Kieslowski
then with a grin told me, “Alex I know what you are doing as I am a
photographer also. The filter will make all my red blemishes darker and you are
going to show me as an older man.”
Then and now
I would never subject this style on any woman. Some things have not changed.
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| Krzysztof Kieslowski - Ocober 1994 |
