MORE ABOUT PORTRAITS

Although my initial result was good, the reality was I didn’t know what I was doing in technical terms, so had to do a lot of tests as well as educate myself about photography as I went along. This went on for years. My instinctive approach was to try as much as possible to make finished art during these tests, not to shoot and print mannequin heads. My first project, or set of tests, was to make portraits, something familiar to everyone but one that is also a kind of category of art. This imposed a structure on my tests while giving me wide latitude to experiment with light, film types, chemistry, and of course the wineglass optics most of all. So I began to experiment both with the techniques and artistically at the same time.

I carried my gear and to the bars and cafes of San Francisco and made portraits both indoors and outdoors. I also shot many in my living room using the movie lights I had acquired in a fire sale earlier. I have very few photos of myself working or that show the process. Luckily, I was invited to demonstrate my camera for a photo class at CCSF and the teacher took a shot of me working with one of the other students as a model.

Here is the picture Janice G. took of me working with Maggie, a fellow student:

Me photographed shooting Maggie at CCSF class by Janice G. 1989

Here is the shot that came out of it:

MaggiePoleBlinds 1989

As I shot, developed and printed these images I almost felt that I had stumbled into another dimension. I started assembling small series within the groups.