Patrice B — Revisited — Rediscovered- Savoured
I have been thinking about beautiful women recently. More so today after having seen with Rosemary, White Cargo yesterday. White Cargo (1942) stars Walter Pidgeon, at his best, and Hedy Lamarr at her most beautiful. I have been thinking about beautiful women because in my two previous blogs on them I hardly ever knew them as they faced my camera. With Patrice B it was different.
I hinted a bit about her here. Looking at her files again today some of the bits and pieces that I remember about the session with Patrice have come back. I don’t remember why exactly she chose to bandage her hands. “I want to feel like a boxer,” she said. But I do remember that she was having to make decisions about her life.
One of them involved moving to the United States the other one had to do with either dumping her boyfriend or being dumped. While she asked me to photograph her nude she also indicated I take other pictures. In some I used my flash but in many the mottled lighting that was coming in through the windows was the single light. Looking back I can only now see the pattern.
There is a man’s coat, trousers, sweater and socks. In some of the pictures she would smell intensely the sleeve of the sweater. While I cannot show some of the best nudes I have ever taken in my life here I can give a hint at the incredible gift of being able to observe a woman’s itimate thoughts displayed through gestures, clothing and lack of it.
As I photographed Patrice I never thought that she had any resemblance to Cybill Shepherd. Now as I look at these photos I would say to the contrary. Shepherd looks like Patrice but is not as beautiful as Patrice.
Originally published at blog.alexwaterhousehayward.com.
