Is this taking people portraits too far?

[Rob MacKillop]

After my mother-in-law died I wanted to make a portrait of her from the feelings I had about her. She had never wanted me to photograph her at all, as her late husband was a keen photographer, and all her portraits are by him. Fair enough, it's kind of nice. In her youth she was a beautiful woman, and retained something of that in her early 80s. Despite that, she would often show me an abrasive edge, which is something I also wanted to include. So, I started thinking that it could still be possible to make a 'portrait' of her without her being there. And this is what I came up with. I'm happy to say my wife likes it...I tried to submit it to a local amateur show, but they refused it as it didn't fit into their Portrait category.

I used the first iteration of the Leica Monochrom series, but with the ancient lens from my Leica III.

 

[Brian Moore]

It's hard to believe they wouldn't accept it into the Portrait category. Philistines!

This image is your common or garden MacKillop still life. Which is to say quite excellent indeed,...and a lovely portrait of yer wife's maw.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Brian. I knew you'd get it!

 

[Peter Roberts]

Given the story behind the image there is a poignant sense of loss about it.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes. I see and feel that. It would have been impossible to capture that before she had gone…so there is some value in this.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

so there is some value in this

There is indeed.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I remember this wonderful photo of yours, Rob. And now the story you tell about it makes it more interesting and causes me memories of my mother-in-law. As you do, one must have great respect for these memories for those people who have enriched - in ways that have not always been one-way, sometimes conflicting - our personal histories. Clearly, now that you explain it, your photo looks like a portrait, but I believe that in photo shows the allowable dose of poetry admitted does not contemplate the word "like".

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, thanks for all the supportive comments, gentlemen.

I'd like to open this up wider. Can you do a portrait of someone - dead or alive - without their physical qualities being in the image? Choose someone, and then try to imagine how such a portrait might look, and perhaps try to do that. We could start a craze for a whole new genre here!

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I am not equipped for this new challenge, but I can start thinking about it. That sounds like a good idea for us to engage in. Digging deeper into memory. Più giù, più giù, ancora più giù.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

There's no hurry. It IS something that requires thought.

 

[Gord Tomlin]

Cool concept, Rob! It's far outside the bounds of what I normally shoot, and I'll be burning off a lot of whatever brain cells I still have...

 

[Rob MacKillop]

...but worth a try!

 

[Ivar Dahl-Larsen]

After my mother-in-law died I wanted to make a portrait of her from the feelings I had about her. She had never wanted me to photograph her at all, as her late husband was a keen photographer, and all her portraits are by him. Fair enough, it's kind of nice. In her youth she was a beautiful woman, and retained something of that in her early 80s. Despite that, she would often show me an abrasive edge, which is something I also wanted to include. So, I started thinking that it could still be possible to make a 'portrait' of her without her being there. And this is what I came up with. I'm happy to say my wife likes it...I tried to submit it to a local amateur show, but they refused it as it didn't fit into their Portrait category.

I used the first iteration of the Leica Monochrom series, but with the ancient lens from my Leica III.

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I can only say, that it is a great portrait due to your fine story Rob. But standing alone, it hardly is envisioned as a portrait I suppose

 

[Rob MacKillop]

It doesn’t matter, Ivar. People always make their own conclusions.

 

[Beth Carter]

my kinda people portrait. no people involved.