Saint Anne de Bellevue, Québec, Canada

On a recent trip to Montréal, Canada had the opportunity to visit a small town away from the city. It was a rainy day and walking around was not an option. Still, Saint Anne de Bellevue had a few moments for my camera to capture from the covered patio of a restaurant.

The boardwalk was deserted given the heavy rain. Yet the two trash bags seemed to get ready to take a seat on the outdoor chairs perfectly positioned to watch boats going by.

The waitress was pleasant and happy to have customers in the afternoon. And I wanted to capture her braided hair with my 105mm Nikkor lens wide open to 2.5. The result was a perfect tonal range I still find as the central attraction of B&W photography.

This man was the only one walking the boardwalk. His debonair attitude and attire gave a harmony to the incessantly falling rain.

Finally, a moment of respite and the promise of sunshine. A few folks walked the street which was the only main artery in this small town. I noticed this woman with extensive butterfly tattoos on her left arm and wanted to let her blend with the environment before I click. Here is the composed photo.

And to show how well the butterflies blended with the brouhaha of the casual clothing store, here is the enlarged portion. The timing of depressing the camera shutter release was perfectly synchronized with her walking pace.

August 26, 2016

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2016

Tamara de Lempicka, Hats and Attitudes

I have to admit that I have a special penchant to the paintings of Tamara de Lempicka. Not because she brought cubism to Art Deco, nor because she painted duchesses and socialites. Rather because of how she wanted to capture people. She simply stated that her goal was “to return elegance to my models.”

As a street photographer, my “models” are always people. There are no grand dukes in my photos, just everyday folks who without pretending, have similar attitudes toward routine acts. Indeed, I have taken photos across four continents and I have captured amazing similarities to walking, sitting, being happy, being scared and about wondering. And, as de Lempicka said, I have found elegance in the simplest of human behaviors.

… My favorite painting of de Lempicka is “La femme en vert” a socialite dressed in satin green and a wide-brimmed hat. There is something about the body posture of that young woman. I think it is how she holds her left hand: her fingers are parted and she seems to be pushing an idea away. Her posture is both calm and emblematic; she seems to invite with her right hand on the hat’s brim while creating a distance with her left hand.

Another wide-brimmed hat painting I fancy is the auto-portrait by Diego Rivera. There he has his pipe in his right hand and seems much more at peace. The darker and neutral shades of that auto-portrait are a total contrast to de Lempicka’s woman in green dress. And as such they show a continuum I often seek in people’s behavior when walking the streets in search of a moment to frame on film.

… Perhaps influenced by the Olympic Games of Rio, I noticed geese swimming in perfect postures on a lake nearby. I am not a wildlife photographer, but I wanted to capture that “synchronized swimming”. Fortunately they swam passed a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and I timed my shot to trim that hat with live feathers!

Which made me think of Lempicka’s woman in green. And of hats in general. So, I wanted to put together a few of my photos about hats and people.

Prescott, Arizona. A hat, a selfie, myself and a third photographer all in one frame.

Kyoto, Japan. Volunteer street sweepers. The baseball hats are non-pretending as is the body language of these retired citizens helping to keep their streets clean.

San Francisco, California. The cap on this street man is honest and with no surprises – just like his candid statement to those who would spare some pocket change.

Baltimore, Maryland. The head covers are both to shade from the sun and indicate identity during an Indian religious ceremony.

Lake Cuomo, Italy. The fedora makes a statement, even when reposing upon a table. The morning fog upon the lake and the fancy pipe add a feeling of that cherished fare niente.

Hyderabad, India. The turban and the cows give a sense of harmony.

Nazaré, Portugal. This head wrap scarf is definitely that of a working woman. She was selling fresh sardines on a hot day.

Paris, France. Definitely a touch of elegance with that hat matching the coat. She was buying Rillettes or pâté in an open market.

Ferrara, Italy. The casquette is almost anachronistic, although shows a life well spent. When I took this picture, I could hear his wife talk non-stop about how wonderful was the pastry they just had with their morning espresso at a café nearby.

Bilbao, Spain. Talking about a life well lived and casquettes, here is a pensive yet peaceful moment between two man in a park.

Hats, caps, and head coverings have always connoted social status, expressed individual style and attitude, conveyed religious or spiritual affiliations, and of course shielded the wearer from the elements.

And in all cases, there is an elegance associated with head coverings. One that can make a painting memorable or give a photo context. There is no need for frills, feathers and flowers! Just the right match of the person with the hat.

August 14, 2016

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2016

The Midnight Wings of the Raven at High Noon

 Since I became a resident of the Southwest, Native American folklore, philosophy and their influence on artwork have become one of my ongoing interests and fascination.

At the center of all the folklore are two animals that I see on a regular basis – the raven and the coyote. The open spaces of Arizona’s high desert are happily populated with coyotes, and the urban areas with the raven. The latter, a large bird with amazing intelligence, seems always around my house or the roads surrounding us. Its call, heavy yet gracious flight and night dark plumage lead me to read extensively about the raven in Native American cultures.

Magic is most commonly associated with the raven. And it is magic beyond our daily lives – the raven is believed to be the portent of messages from the cosmos. I have heard the raven be called a keeper of secrets, of being a healer, and foremost a creature of immense curiosity.

I experienced the latter character trait lately when two ravens decided to “test” if the builders of a new house had done a good job with the wrapping and insulation of the chimney. For more than half an hour two of them flew, dove upon and landed atop the chimney, then systematically tore every piece of wrapping and insulation and shredded them!

I took a few photos with my 1970’s Nikon F2 and Vivitar Series One 70-210mm lens of the same period. This one may have captured the metamorphosis characteristics of the raven as expressed in many a Native American folklore. It is a photo that, for me, captures more than a bird in flight: it captures a philosophy of change.

August 10, 2016

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2016

PS/ I have written about the raven and its role in the Southwest and Native American philosophy in previous post:

https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2016/01/tehachapi-and-surrounding-ghost-towns.html

https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-raven-in-native-american-cultures.html