Incredible woman. Indulge me for a few paragraphs, and forget about teabagging, the economy, Obama haters/cheerleaders/White House dogs, and global warming. Just let me tell you a story about this fascinating woman I met.
For those of you who don't know her, she's a pioneer photographer. If I heard her correctly, she said she was the FIRST female photographer under contract to Vogue. She and her twin sister Frances have both paved the way for women in the modern world of photography, and have a wonderful documentary by Nina Rosenblum dedicated to them. Ms. Abbe is an awesome, inspiring woman to say the least. How she came to be my guest for two days isn't important, and out of respect for her privacy I won't go into it.
When she arrived, I had no idea who she was and saw her as nothing more than a nice older (I believe she's 89) lady who refused my arm when I offered to help her from the car and down my inclined driveway. Okay, no problem. I live in a two floor house and she went straight from the entrance down the stairs with her cane like nobody's business. "Gonna take a nap", she said.
I made dinner. Mind you, I'm no chef, but I can cook. The meal was nothing special, but she was as gracious a guest as I've ever had the pleasure to serve. This day, the fettucini was fresh from the deli, but the alfredo was from a jar and the chicken pre-cooked. About the only skin I had in the game was the steamed broccoli tops. I don't think I've ever had compliments that made me feel as warm and fuzzy as hers did. She ate two helpings, and made a point of showing me her empty plate.
After dinner, we were settling in to watch Jeopardy!, which is an addiction of mine, when she asked if we wouldn't mind watching a movie she brought with her. The movie, a documentary called "Twin Lenses", left me breathless. She has taken some of the most beautiful, simple, complicated photographs I've ever seen. If you ever have the opportunity to see "Twin Lenses", take it. If you ever see her name outside of a gallery, go inside. She is an incredible and intuitive photographer.
The photo in the documentary that caught my attention the most, and the one that left the deepest impression, was a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt. Taken in the morning while Mrs. Roosevelt was on the phone with one of her grandchildren (according to Ms. Abbe), it shows ER with the warmest, most loving, most heartfelt smile I've ever seen in a picture of her. That picture, if I could describe it, would be best described as Mrs. Roosevelt's face with a Doris Day smile. A smile that started at her chin and continued straight up to her hairline and included every feature of her face. I've searched the internets, and cannot find that picture anywhere, otherwise, I'd be happy to share it with you. My advice should you be a fan of Eleanor Roosevelt's would be to see the documentary, wherever it happens to screen. Don't see it just for that picture though, see it for what it is; a celebration of Women in Photography, and a salute to two of it's earliest pioneers.
So after two days of her company, after picking her brain about her Hasselblad,
f-stops, and aperture settings, I was forced to say goodbye. Mind you, she has seen more things than I'll ever have the opportunity to see, but before she left I wanted to take her to a place I have always been fascinated with: Giant Rock, near Landers, CA. She LOVED it. She had her Canon D-(more than I could ever spend on a camera) out and took hundreds of pictures.
Her documentary is screening in NYC next Monday, here's the link:
http://nywift.org/article.aspx?rtn=hp&id=1594For anyone wondering, here's some information about Giant Rock:
http://www.labyrinthina.com/rock.htm
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