Legendary Beatles' Photographer Gives Steve Stober An Endorsement!

Harry Benson, photographer to the Beatles, every president since John F. Kennedy, and many other celebrities throughout his long 50+ year career, recently endorsed Steve Stober's work by saying:
"Steve Stober is a serious photographer who gives each subject all his energy and concentration. I can tell that. His work is quite impressive, very personal and well done."

Hands Up!

I get a lot of comments about portraits I take showing hands. The top photograph shows the hands of a classical pianist I had photographed . Hands can be expressive, sculpted, definitely a part of the personality of the sitter and in many cases directly, overtly and consciously affecting the overall look and feel of the portrait. The bottom photograph was done many years ago, of a musician and professor from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Many people have commented on this portrait for its "Karsh-like" quality... probably because of its timelessness and very still, studied composition.

Revisiting Tamara

I recently invited Tamara back to do two more sessions with me. She had first worked with me on the series This Is My Body (first image below). Now she very kindly agreed to return to do some more photos. She proudly pointed out she was not feeling like the same person I knew the last time I had met her. For one thing, she said she had lost about 20 lbs. She was also much more relaxed and confident with herself, taking direction from me with her wry humour and self-deprecating sarcasm evident.

I hope I will gather enough material from the three sessions to put a small show together for her. This would be a great thing to do, to show the continuity of the work and the emotional and physical changes in her. Sometimes I have thought of Lucien Freud's sitter "The Postal Worker" when working with Tamara, and I suppose this was an influence in the semi-reclining and sleeping series I just did with her. It's a different spin on her, without the raw emotional intensity of the earlier work but I think it shows Tamara more at peace with herself.

The Death of Plus-X

Plus-X pan film, produced by the near-obsolete Kodak Corp. for generations, has just been discontinued and will no longer be available. Kodak has been making a habit in recent years, as you may know, of tearing down plants devoted to the production of film and papers, its staple for most of the 20th Century.

So this news came as just another blow for those of us who are firmly committed with our feet on the ground to the usage and output of black and white film, in my case for portrait photography.

Although students and young photographers are thankfully returning back to the roots and are recognising the merits of film-based photography and demanding supplies from high schools and colleges, the industry has not yet accounted for so-to-speak this "new generation" rising from the ashes and are cutting costs by dropping product lines that are no longer deemed profitable based on stats from the 90s...

The death of yet another beloved film such as Plus-X will only create new opportunities in the marketplace and as demand from the young and motivated increases, I hope to see a resurgence, a return back to life of these tried and true films. Am I dreaming in technicolor? Perhaps. But I do have hope that the end is not near, that the sphynx will rise from the ashes...

I started shooting with the legendary Kodak Plus-X back in the 1970s, and always loved the film's grain structure, its panchromatic, wide- ranging base, its subtle evenness of tones and especially how it produced beautiful skin tones for my portraits over the years. The photos live on, unfortunately for now at least, the film that produced them does not.

It had always been there for me. I hope this final "kick in the film canister" is a wake-up call for all young photographers to rise up and demand the return of products deemed obsolete but not-equalled. I'll miss my Plus-X very much.

Celebrating Mrs. Johnson

Mrs. Marion Johnson is a very vibrant and alive ninety-one year old.

Every day for the last fifty-five years, she has greeted customers at the legendary Penrose Fish and Chips shop on Mount Pleasant Road near my studio which she manages with her sons.

Today, I stopped by to say hello to Mrs. Johnson and she dashed to the counter to greet me. These days, business is booming at Penrose. For ten dollars, one can feast on perfectly-fried halibut with freshly cut french fries- the best in town. The place was full and Mrs. Johnson said appreciatively that business has never been better as people revert to simple, inexpensive eating to feed their families.

One evening not long ago, Barbara Streisand's entourage stopped by to pick up for take-out. The following night at her sold-out concert, she dropped mention of Penrose Fish and Chips, telling a packed house of 20,000 that she hasn't had better. That couldn't have hurt sales.

I invited Mrs. Johnson into the studio about two years ago to have her portrait taken. A few months later, she would discretely walk by the studio window to check herself out on display, too embarrassed to draw much attention to herself but curious to see how she looked all the same.

Mrs. Johnson told me how she had grown up, on a farm in rural Southern Ontario with her large family of eight brothers and sisters. Everyone looked out for one other, she said, and with a big sigh looked at me and said, "Oh, times have changed..." Yes they have, Mrs. Johnson. But let's not reflect on that but instead celebrate a life well lived and deserved right here on Mount Pleasant Road.

Thoughts On Why The Canadian Portrait Gallery Is No More

Yesterday it was announced that the much talked about plan (10 years of wrangling) to build a permanent home for a National Portrait Gallery of Canada was eliminated.

My thoughts on this are first, what a sad day for Canadian portraiture. And secondly, what does this mean for the future of a permanent Gallery?

It is obvious that there has been much political interference in the decision. The current Government has made no secret that it does not support funding the arts as it feels it is elitist and not in the interests of the country at large. How sad and how misleading a direction to go in! Work that deserves a home will continue to be stored in a warehouse in Hull and exemplary director of the Gallery, Dr. Lily Koltun, was relieved of her post. The new Chief Librarian and Archivist has been quoted as saying that "the challenge to stay relevant in the digital age is colossal." This probably means that the entire catalogue will be digitized and be offered to Canadians on a web portal for viewing purposes.

But does art not deserve to be viewed in person and up close? Apparently the feeling is different by the decision-makers. As the digital revolution stabs itself firmly into the heart of works of art, the respect for the past is being put aside for lack of money and political initiative. I feel that the future is but a reflection of the past and we must recognize and honor it appropriately. Not in a digital catalogue, but in a permanent home of its own. Maybe someday our leaders will see it this way.

Post No. 1

This is my first blog posting which is quite a blast of the present delving into issues surrounding a blast of the past.

I hope to post some insights and observations, thoughts, generate feedback on my work once in awhile, talk about the state of photography.. where I see it is going.. where it has come from.

I love photography. It has been a part of me since I was a young teenager which was a long time ago! But over the last few years there has been an incredible amount of change in the way things are done. Some for the better, some not. What all this means is that the evolution continues but at the same time, embrace the past. The way of the darkroom, the beauty of film, the roots of photography.