dinsdag 30 mei 2017

Nicole 150



This fine portrait marks the end of an excellent, memorable photo shoot. Nicole is the 81st Lady behind Crystal Veil.

A word of thanks goes to Nel for allowing us the use of her house and garden.

Nicole, thank you so much for accepting my invitation to do a photo shoot in vintage prescription glasses. It was certainly not an everyday invitation for a girl on her lunch break and it speaks for your open minded approach that you took up the challenge. You got the picture straightaway after seeing some examples of my work. Having one previous photo shoot under your belt was instrumental as well. You told me about your own glasses collection which enables you to choose the right frame to go along with your outfit of the day. It made sense that you were curious about your looks in frame styles from decades long before you were born. Your motivation was demonstrated again during the preparatory phase. It always helps when a model sends me the information about her prescription and PD as soon as possible. The pictures you sent to me were invaluable as they showed you in a variety of frames. This enabled me to select suitable glasses for you.

Lots of work went into this selection as you were the first model ever with a prescription of +1.75 / +2.00. This part of my collection had been gathering dust in my attic for ages so it took me a week to get it reorganized and cleaned. It was an exciting prospect that at least a part of all those hundreds of glasses could be brought to life. When I started my project in 2009, the intention was to use this weblog as a digital catalog of my entire collection (1000 pairs for short sight and 1000 pairs for long sight). The vast majority of the minus glasses has long been documented but most of the plus glasses remained hidden treasures. Longsighted young ladies are a minority compared with their shortsighted sisters. I also noticed that longsighted ladies tend to be more shy about their looks in glasses than shortsighted ladies. This may have to do with the additional exposure of the eyes behind magnifying lenses. I once had a relationship with an Irish lady who was quite longsighted (+ 7.50). She told me that she was always picked out by the teacher whenever there were problems in the classroom. And she believed that this was all because of her glasses. Nothing to hide.... I did a dozen photo shoots in Ireland (2013) and again the stigma on plus glasses was affirmed. There are far more longsighted young people in Ireland than on the continent. So my hopes were high but only one of my Irish models was longsighted. Afterwards, a shortsighted model volunteered to pose in glasses for long sight to fill at least a small part of the void. In my opinion she did a fine job and she was fascinated to see her pictures. Big eyes instead of small eyes.... She saw some of your portraits two weeks ago and said "This is the real thing. Her portraits are so much better than mine. You can tell the difference. She is beautiful and she looks great in all these glasses".

Nicole, she was absolutely right. The selection process in the living room was simply amazing. It seldom happens that almost every pair on the table works for a model. It was delightful to witness that you really have a perfect face for glasses. When the posing got under way, you took directions very well and it was wonderful to see you gradually getting into your stride as a model. One of your many assets is the intensity of the look in your green eyes, accentuated by the slight magnification of the lenses in the glasses. All in all, you posed in forty pairs. The majority of these glasses was never shown in any of my 100+ previous photo shoots.

You told me beforehand that you did not consider yourself photogenic. I hope the photos will make you change your mind about that. Some acting skills were necessary during the final part of your photo shoot. You said that you were never much of an actress but in my humble opinion this was another example of self underestimation. Your series in the black Valentine glasses testifies to that. Your posing quality equals that of the best contributors to the Valentine Special on my previous weblog.

We only got halfway the selection table and some 60 glasses are eagerly waiting for their chance to land on your nose. You have shown that you can carry a photo shoot with ease. Nicole, thank you so much! I am looking forward to work with you again in the near future.


Nicole 149



This photo is my number one and I'm not alone in this. When Farishta (the "Mona Lisa in glasses") saw this photo of Nicole last week, she exclaimed

"Wow.... She is beautiful and this is fantastic posing. This photo should be on the cover of a glossy magazine. Is she a professional model?"

Nicole 148



Wonderful posing by lovely Nicole in the Festival bifocals. This is one of my favourites from the entire photo shoot. But Nicole had another surprise in store.

Nicole 147



"Ah, I see. You were reading the book"

"Indeed I was, and these old glasses were a great help. But we are running out of time"

"How about a few more poses in these glasses and then call it a day?"

"Good idea. By the way, the book was most entertaining"

Nicole 146



"Hi there Mr. Photographer. You seemed to have forgotten all about me but I will allow you one guess"

Nicole 145



"Hey Nicole, I'm sorry for keeping you so long. What are you studying?"

Nicole 144



These Festival glasses were acquired in the Lausanne area in the French speaking part of Switzerland and they looked familiar straightaway. I got my first glasses at the age of twelve and aside from its size, the frame was identical to the Festival glasses shown here to great effect by Nicole. My glasses did not last long. The left lens was plano and the right lens about minus two. There was a bit of a battle going on between both images and this was annoying. So my decision was to live with mono vision as long as the left eye was still perfect. Nine years later I was a Physical Geography student and we got an introductory test for working with aerial photos. After failing the test miserably, it was clear that glasses were probably the remedy. The optometrist did the test and it turned out that my left eye was still perfect but the right eye was now around minus four. The new glasses were a disaster. The battle between the two images gave me headaches and worst of all, they did not get me through the aerial photo test. The next step was getting a contact lens for the right eye but even then I failed to pass the aerial photography test. Finally I was sent to a university clinic where they did a multitude of tests. It turned out that I had no 3 D vision at all due to some malfunctioning in the brain and this could not be cured by any visual aid. Needless to say, this was bad news for my prospects of getting a job in integrated survey mapping all over the world. But my overall feeling was relief and in many respects a rehabilitation for many unpleasant situations over the years. Even on a bike I seemed to make many errors of judgement in traffic and sports like hockey and baseball were a disaster. Much of this was simply put down as me being a dreamer without physical agility. Now it was proven that the cause laid elsewhere. It also explained why I was never afraid when climbing difficult mountains in the Alps. No vertigo at all. So my decision was to forget about ever trying to obtain a driver's license. Fortunately one of the professors at the university admitted me in his Masters program, albeit at my own risk. Eventually I managed to develop an alternative method to make integrated survey maps without the use of aerial photos. After obtaining the degree I was invited a job in the university administration and from then there was no nostalgic need to look back. If one door is slammed in your face, you simply open another door. And the funny thing was that I always received praise for my helicopter view at work.
Life stories.... High time to return to the alley and lovely Nicole.

Nicole 143



Glasses: Festival, early 1960's
[L: +1.75 / R: +1.50]

Nicole 142



What could happen next? Anything could happen to a beautiful young lady who carried her first photo shoot with ease, creating marvelous portraits like this.
There is a touch of the famous "Girl with a pearl earring" in Nicole's expression and posing here. Scarlet Johansson might agree. And the legendary master painter Vermeer might rise from the grave, inviting Nicole to sit for him.
Impossible? Something similar happened in my presence four years ago during a night photo shoot with the distinguished Czech model Simona on Bray Beach in Ireland. All of a sudden this 17th century figure was standing behind me, asking if I was Vermeer of ladies in glasses. He requested to sit in with us and make a pencil drawing of Simona while we continued working with my Camera Obscura. He introduced himself as Van Rijn. Making the pencil drawing of Simona took Rembrandt only five minutes. He offered it to me as a gift but eventually we settled for the price of a pint. The next moment he was gone up in smoke.
So yes, Nicole. Anything could happen if you might decide to do more photo shoots.... But let's finish the present photo shoot first, with an encore series from the alley.

Nicole 141



A short visit to a small private museum of Modern Art can be beneficial to all of us, but especially for a young lady who just went through so many new impressions and experiences. First, a journey with a time machine that led her to well over a century of changes in fashion. Then a confronting plunge into the misty world of high and even extreme long sight. And then her brief encounter with the most handsome man under the sun. And all of this within only two hours.... What might happen next?
Que sera, sera. Anyway, it was a relief to be back in glasses that gave her good eyesight.

Nicole 140



Glasses: Metzler, early / mid 1960's
[L: +2.00 / R: +1.50]

There is a nostalgic but nice story attached to the glasses shown here by lovely Nicole. Five years ago I was in the middle of an extended photo shoot with a spontaneous blonde model called Esther. The location was in my garden and in the alley next to the house. Two longsighted neighbours in glasses spotted us and the ladies requested if they could sit in with us for a few minutes. Of course, be my guests. One of the ladies asked me to portray her in a couple of glasses used for the photo shoot with Esther, which I did. The other neighbour excused herself for a moment and soon came back with two pairs of glasses in her hand. Her name was Janny and she asked if I had any interest in her old glasses. Of course. Always. When Esther saw the glasses, she immediately requested if she could pose in both pairs. Of course, Esther. Always. One pair was pink, probably from the 1970's. Janny told us that the black Metzler pair were her first glasses ever. Five years later, Nicole is the second model who posed in Janny's first pair. It was her own initiative to tie her hair up as this really suited the style of the era. Tragically, generous Janny died a year later, a victim of an industrial asbestos scandal. This short series is dedicated to her memory.

Nicole 139



What happened next is not a matter of record. Nicole's expression suggests that it could go either way. However, it is the duty of the photographer to allow a beautiful young lady and a handsome young man a bit of privacy. So it's up to the viewer to guess about the outcome. In my opinion, only a fool would walk out on this devoted beauty simply because she is all dressed in black....
Thank you so much for this, Nicole. You passed the actress test with ease!

Nicole 138



One final effort.... Don't walk out on me....

Nicole 137



Excellent posing by lovely Nicole. So far, the handsome invisible man always remained standing on my right hand side. But this time he apparently chose to walk towards my left side, for reasons best known to himself. What does a young lady do if she wants to catch his attention? Nicole is caught here in a moment of reflection. Is it time to give up on him or time for a final effort?  

Nicole 136

 

Zooming in....

Nicole 135



Although not a self declared actress, Nicole decided to give the handsome invisible man a try....

Nicole 134



A Valentine special was posted some months ago (top of my previous weblog), showing sixteen models posing in heart shaped Valentine glasses by Zenni. There was a red pair and a pink pair but neither of these would have worked for Nicole because of the fairly strong minus prescription lenses (-5.50 and -8.00). Instead, I brought along my own pair of heart shaped glasses. The lens for the left eye is only +0.75 stronger than her own prescription so she could see enough for a bit of Valentine posing. Here Nicole is assessing her looks in them with the help of a hand mirror.

Nicole 133



Glasses: Zenni 1128021
[L: +2.75; c-0.25 h / R: 0; c-1.50 o / var add 2.50]

Nicole 132



This is the final portrait in the section with the cataract glasses. Again, it was precision work from both sides the camera but the result met my expectations and even more than that. Big compliment to Nicole for her stamina and patience!

Nicole 131



Taking pictures of Nicole in blended lenticular glasses turned out to be more complicated than it was with the preceding Flair glasses. However, we managed to produce a couple of satisfactory portraits.

Nicole 130



The final effort by Nicole from the Antipodes....

Nicole 129



Here is an encore experiment with the Terri Brogan glasses. Nicole is holding the glasses a couple of centimeters further from her face. The editing is deliberately kept a bit darker as throwing in more light appeared to reduce the effect required.

Nicole 128



Precision work, requiring exactly the right distance, the ideal vantage point, stable hands and the right moment of snapping. This would never have worked at the start of a photo shoot with a new model, but Nicole and I had been working together for two hours. So what you are seeing here is real team work, followed by a meticulous editing process. This is one of my favourites from the entire photo shoot. Thank you so much, Nicole!

Nicole 127



The navigation process with blended lenticular glasses turned out to be even more complicated than with it was with the previous pair. There are two reasons for this. The lenses are stronger and the transition zone between the bowl and carrier lens adds to the distortions caused by the centrifugal power if the lenses.

Nicole 126



Next pair of cataract glasses, same navigation procedure.... This Terri Brogan pair is from the same cherished donation by the friendly collector from Northumberland.

Nicole 125



Glasses: Terri Brogan, early / mid 1990's (blended lenticulars)
[L: +15.50; c+0.50 v / R: +16.50; c+0.50 v]

Nicole 124



This is my favourite portrait in this series. Definitely as good as it will ever get in cataract glasses. My aim was to avoid anything that gives the viewer the association with a handicapped young lady. Thank you, Nicole, for taking up this challenge and for the marvelous results!

Nicole 123



Giant green eyes.... In spite of the immense blur, Nicole posed in a patient, highly concentrated way to achieve the best results. It was rewarding that four of her portraits came out in a satisfactory way.

Nicole 122



"Quiet, bordering to serene" is how a visitor of my first exhibition described my portraits in the guest book. Her quote crossed my mind during the editing of Nicole's posing in cataract glasses. The frame of this Piave pair is slightly warped but nevertheless attractive.

Nicole 121



Another challenge during our experiment was try and produce some acceptable portraits of Nicole wearing the Flair glasses. The extreme centrifugal power of the lenses makes this the most difficult challenge. One millimeter to the left or to the right and snapping would have resulted in a failure. It has always been the aim of my project to depict ladies as flattering as possible, even in the strongest glasses. Imagine a lady wearing these cataract glasses in real life - she would certainly have preferred pictures that don't show her cross eyed. Fortunately this portrait of lovely Nicole came out fine.

Nicole 120



The Antipodes version of the previous portrait. Note the way the light fall in the garden makes Nicole a brunette (left) and a blonde (right).

Nicole 119



Another photo from our experiment with the Flair cataract glasses. They were kindly sent to me by a follower from Northumberland who decided to donate his glasses collection to me rather than trying to sell it. Much appreciated! This series and the next series are dedicated to the generous collector in question. I hope you like the pictures!
The concentration on Nicole's face is great. The experiment yielded about a dozen pictures, three of which were good enough for posting. Not a bad score.

Nicole 118



From early childhood, my fascination was history and especially geography. When I learned at school about the Antipodes and the shape of the earth, it made me wonder how Australians managed to walk upside down. This thought came back during the editing process of this section with the cataract glasses. Why not turn some of the pictures upside down and compare them with the "normal" versions? So here we see Nicole posing in Australia and somehow this version looks more natural to me. This is probably the case because the image of her eyes is not upside down. Psychology science has established that the eyes of the viewer of portraits always point at the eyes of the person depicted, then focus on the mouth and finally on the entire face.

Nicole 117



My photography portrait with "Ladies behind crystal veil" is about recreating images from the past. The best way to achieve this is showing not just a variety vintage frames but also the vintage lenses in the frames. With this in mind I always ask the models to pose in at least a couple of glasses with extreme prescriptions that have long disappeared from the streets. This documentary of the photo shoot with Nicole is all about glasses for long sight. So it made sense to include a couple of extinct cataract glasses and see if any satisfactory portraits could be made.
Arguably cataract glasses are the most difficult category of all. Getting used to these extremely magnifying lenses after undergoing cataract surgery was problematic, for several reasons. First of all there is the extreme centrifugal power in the lenses and a loss of peripheral vision. But the main problem was that there was no gradual way of adaption. Even in my early childhood I clearly noticed the difference between people in cataract glasses and people in myodisc glasses for extreme short sight. The latter category had the relative advantage of gradually growing into their prescription from childhood. Many high myopic people are better capable to function without visual aid than myopic people with an intermediate prescription. This may sound surprising but several models told me that they learned this as small children before getting their first pair of glasses. It's just as if they developed a sort of radar which enabled them to get by without glasses. Half a century ago, some children with strong myopia were not diagnosed as such until they were eight or nine years old. On the other hand, a cataract operation occurs at a much later stage in life and there was no way to develop a sort of radar.
The use of cataract glasses during a photo shoot is a matter of meticulous navigation from both sides of the lenses. Being only mildly longsighted, Nicole had the advantage that she was well able to see me upside down through the lenses.

Nicole 116



Glasses: Piave, probably early 1990's
[L: +12.50; c+2.00 v / R: +14.50; c+1.50 v]

zondag 28 mei 2017

Nicole 115



One of Nicole's assets as a model is the intensity of the look in her eyes. This portrait is called "Nicole in Wonderland".

Nicole 114



The portraits in this series came out fine and in retrospect it's a pity that I did not bring the twin pair with the minus lenses as well. But one should never push his luck too far....

Nicole 113



Nicknamed the "party glasses", this pair and its twin sister with lenses of -8.00 were featured in four previous photo shoots (Farishta 719, Iris 121, Miliswa 051, Nicci 072 / 080).

Nicole 112



Glasses: Zenni 2212
[L=R: +5.00]

Nicole 111



It was a new experience for Nicole to pose in glasses that created a blur. The concentration on her face speaks for itself. But this is a fine, natural portrait and the blend between the frame and Nicole's green eyes came out the way I hoped.

Nicole 110



During the preparation for the day of the photo shoot I asked Nicole if it was alright to bring along a few glasses with considerably higher plus prescriptions. She kindly agreed to pose in them so here is the first of four stronger pairs. These popular Zenni glasses were featured in four previous photo shoots, all with shortsighted models (Nadya 069, Mirjam 027, Julia 101, Xenia 089). Most of these models also posed in an identical frame fitted with lenses of -8.00 so they could see their pictures with big eyes and with tiny eyes.

Nicole 109



Glasses: Zenni 2620
[L=R: +5.00]

Nicole 108



A generation later, pince-nez were very popular and some wearers used them full time. A precaution measure was needed to assure the pince-nez did not fall on the floor. A piece of thin wire was attached to the clothing and led though the small loop visible under Nicole's right eye. My collection hosts a dozen pince-nez. The only model who posed in this pince-zes before Nicole was Carla (232).

Nicole 107



Glasses: pince-nez, early 20th century
[L=R: +2.50]

Nicole 106



Glasses: face à main (also called lorgnet), made circa 1880
[L: +3.25 / R: +2.50 / bif add 2.50]

Well over a century ago, full time wear of eyewear was "not done", no matter how badly it was needed. A famous example was the legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt (b. 1844 - d. 1923) who never ever appeared in public with any visual aid. The Pierre Marly Museum has two of Sarah's face à main in its collection. They measured the lenses and it turned out they were minus ten.

The face à main shown here by Nicole was acquired in Switzerland and featured in a number of photo shoots (Charlotte 104, mother Miriam 007, Bonnie 101, Leah 207, Colleen 087). It's always interesting to hear the reactions of young models posing in antique glasses that were made and used five generations ago.

Nicole 105



These half rim cat eye glasses were kindly presented to me by a gifted photographer from Sussex. Almost exactly a year ago, Mike participated in the photo shoot with London based international DJ and freelance model Nicci Infinity. A dozen of Mike's photos can be seen in the documentary of the photo shoot with Nicci in the Pavilion Gardens, Brighton.
These splendid cat eye glasses are in the classic style of the late 1950's but they are probably more recent. I remember seeing several elderly ladies in the Hastings area sporting cat eye glasses like these shortly before the turn of the Millennium.
Lovely Nicole is the fourth model who posed in them. She was preceded by Monique (011) and Clare (074) in Berlin (previous weblog) and last December by Carla (257).
Note the raindrops in the background. The photo shoot with Nicole took place under rather dynamic weather circumstances. Cloudy, bright sunshine, showers of rain, sunny spells and even thunder. The main thing is that these dynamics did not influence Monique's great looks and her consistent posing style.

Nicole 104



Glasses: Gan Aimh, late 1950's style
[L=R: +2.00 / bif add 2.00]

Nicole 103



Same vantage point - no visible reading segments. And for the record, I did not edit them out.

Nicole 102



Circle shaped bifocal lenses were introduced in the late 1960's for aesthetic reasons. Depending on the vantage point and the light, they can be almost invisible. It's interesting to compare this photo of lovely Nicole with the next picture.

Nicole 101



The book was recently written by a Dutch school director who is also talented in fine arts and music. The title "Old Glass" was inspired by the pre-war windows in his office bit in my view it also applies to the now almost extinct shape of the reading segments in the Plum glasses.  When Nicole was assessing her looks in all the vintage glasses, she was amused by the large frames that create an entirely new eyebrow line. This is certainly the case here but the effect is mellowed by the soft frame colour. Needless to say, I paid Nicole a big compliment for her looks in the Plum glasses.