When Imagination Was not the Limit
When I read (after looking) the NY Times Sunday Magazine and their every-once-in-a-while fashion and style magazines I note that it all involves situations of people who live with a lot of money. The homes are uncluttered (or the very opposite) and the reality of these photographs and essays is alien to our much poorer values.
Still magazines had and still have the power of taking us to other places that we dream about.
In the Mecca years of working for magazines in Vancouver literally my imagination was the limit for what I could do with magazine covers and editorial assignments.
When a Vancouver-based alternative rock band called PopularFront asked me to take their photographs I was able within a few days with my phone (pre-internet) find a half track with a mounted .50 calibre machine gun. And Lever Arms provided me with the weapons for the shot.
For quite a few years I shot covers for the Georgia Straight that were Haloween-themed. The writer was Steve Newton. This particular one is dear to my heart as the model for the session was Argentine Linda Lorenzo, one of the most beautiful women I have ever photographed. I very quickly found monster contact lenses.
And so at one time when the sky was the limit, my imagination was wild with possibilities that were almost always realized.
One of the thrills that few photographers in Vancouver can now experience is the anticipation of that cover (just a few days from now or if a monthly in a month) that one put so much effort to put together.
Originally published at blog.alexwaterhousehayward.com.
