Daphne 045

This fine portrait of Daphne in early 1970's bifocals by

Silhouette concludes her photo shoot.

I wish to thank Daphne for her stamina and for her highly

individual style of posing. As stated before, I am always

lokking for models who can add something unique to the

diversity in my project. In her portfolio on Mayhem Model

Daphne wrote about her mission, "showing that big girls can

be beautiful". After seeing the results of her photo shoot,

Daphne said that she enjoyed the experiment. Needless to

say, so did her court photographer. Daphne, you managed

to show that big girls in big glasses can be beautiful. Thank

you so much for taking up the challenge! I wish you every

success in your modeling career. The feedback on your

portfolio on Mayhem Model has been favourable and I hope

that the comments on our photo shoot in prescription will be

just as positive. We certainly had an enjoyable afternoon and

it was great to be back at what I like best - doing photo shoots.

My concussion is still very much a nuisance and that's why I

worked much slower than usual, using more and longer breaks.

As a result, this photo shoot yielded only 45 portraits so let's

keep it at "Small is beautiful" :). Sometimes the real beauty is

hidden in the contradiction! I hope to be back with more photo

shoots when the old head has made a full recovery....

Daphne 044

Another fine portrait of Daphne in early 1970's bifocals

by Silhouette. Again, the reflection of the sunlight in the

lenses is used as a highlight. The touch of irony in Daphne's

posing adds greatly to the general feel of this portrait. Big

compliment to Daphne for picking the right glasses from

the table!

Daphne 043

Frame choice is a matter of taste - especially when posing

in vintage glasses - but in my opinion, these Silhouette

glasses from the early 1970's are a perfect match for

Daphne. They are bifocals but the reading segment is

almost invisible. The Rx of the lenses is within a diopter

from the model's own prescription. This is another portrait

that called for much patience but fortunately, Daphne has

that capacity in glorious plenty. It took us a good bit of

navigating to make the best use of the reflection of the

sunlight in the lenses without obscuring the model's eyes.

I like the way the reflection in the lenses add an element

of liveliness in portraits of ladies in prescription glasses.

There is no way one can achieve this when a model poses

in empty frames.

Daphne 042

The famous Silhouette company started designing and

manufacturing glasses in 1964 and they gradually conquered

the world during the early and mid 1970's. Their early glasses

have no serial number stamped on the arms so it's not easy

to put a year on them. My guess is that this splendid pair was

made in the early 1970's.   

Daphne 041

Glasses: Silhouette, early 1970's

[L: -3.25; c-1.00 v / R: -3.25; c-1.50 v / bif add 2.50]

Daphne 040

"Hello Mr. Photographer, how is your own head?".

Fine, natural posing by Daphne, showing the significant

Rx difference of two diopters in Lettie's old glasses made

by Björn Borg.

Daphne 039

Fine "pensive mood" posing by Daphne in Björn Borg

glasses from the retro era. The frame is brownish grey

and it blends great with the model's hair, my hat from

Tirol and the colours in the background.

Daphne 038

A capture of Daphne looking at the sky to give her eyes

some relaxation. The Björn Borg glasses are some 1.50

diopters below the model's own prescription. Not every

model is given to pose with ease in glasses with a Rx that

differs from her own prescription. Christien, another highly

acclaimed Mayhem model, said that she enjoyed doing her

photo shoot in glasses, "but it was more difficult than I had

imagined". So Daphne was wise when she watched the sky!  

Daphne 037

Here Daphne is leading us back to more recent times but

with a touch of much earlier days. She is posing in a refined

pair of glasses by Björn Borg. The glasses were first bought

by Lettie, a much acclaimed model from my first weblog.

She brought along several of her old glasses and gave them

for my collection at the end of her photo shoot. A gesture

much appreciated! The Björn Borg glasses can be seen in

my first photo shoot with Claudine and it's interesting to

compare the effects on both models. The glasses were made

in the late 1990's but they are highly reminiscent of frames

that were popular in the late 1960's and early 1970's. 

Daphne 036

Glasses: Björn Borg, late 1990's

[L: -2.50; c-0.75 v / R: -4.00; c-1.00 v] 

Daphne 035

Another striking portrait of Daphne in mid 1960's glasses

by Rodenstock called "Maya". There is less assymetry

here than in the previous portrait and this has to do with

the vantage point but also with the posing.

Daphne 034

Great posing by Daphne in Rodenstock glasses from the

mid 1960's called "Maya". The frame was highly popular

at the time and it was a bestseller for this German company.

The frame was available in orange, in black and in brown.

My collection hosts examples in all these colours and many

of my models posed in them (e.g. Gita, Tineke, Brigitta and

Astrid on my first weblog and more recently Claudia Allegonda).

It's not the easiest of frames for portrait photography and this

has to do with the shape of the small, solid frame. Here Daphne

joins their ranks and somehow this portrait stands out. In my

portrait photography I try to revive images seen in the streets

of Amsterdam when the glasses were new. There was more

restriction in the posing in those days and Daphne manages

the time machine effect in a striking way. To complicate things

further, the lenses have a major difference in Rx. The left lens

is noticeably stronger, creating an assymetry that adds to the

overall impression. Great!

Daphne 033

Glasses: Rodenstock (Maya), 1965

[L: -4.50; c-2.25 o / R: -2.25]

Daphne 032

Another fine portrait of Daphne in 1980's bifocals from

the Hastings area in England. I was looking for an effect

of reflection in the lenses and Daphne obligingly kept

moving her head until it was time to snap. I was much

less alert than usual because of my concussion that heals

in a tantalizing slow way. Thank you, Daphne, for your

patience!

Daphne 031

Daphne is in her late twenties so she will not be in need

of bifocals for another fifteen years. But it's always nice

to invite a young model to take a peep through the reading

segments into the distant future. The image jump was quite

noticeable here as the reading add in these bifocals is

+2.50 diopters. No doubt, the first owner of these glasses

was a grey haired lady....

Daphne 030

The first thing I noticed when Daphne tried these nameless

bifocals from Hastings was that she looked really at ease.

This has to do with the almost perfect Rx of the lenses,

less than a diopter from her own prescription. Everything

was almost right: spherical values, cylindrical values, axis

of the fairly strong cylinders - and perhaps the PD as well!

Here Daphne is posing in a concentrated way after I asked

her to look just over the dividing line between long distance

and reading correction.

Daphne 029

Daphne is the 9th Mayhem model who posed for me. In

her portfolio she described herself as a plus size model

and she added the quote "I wanna show that big girls can

be beautiful". Regular followers of my weblogs may long

have noted that I'm always looking for a lot of variety in

models. I liked what I saw in Daphne's portfolio but what

struck me most was that she was in glasses on all of the

pictures. She posed self confident in the glasses so I sent

her an invitation to do a portrait photo shoot in prescription

glasses from my collection. Daphne is a very down to earth

young lady and she kindly accepted the invitation although

it was not her primary aim when she joined Model Mayhem.

Looking back, her photo shoot with me did meet her aim

here and there - she posed in some plus sized frames albeit

not fitted with plussie lenses :). Many glasses with plus lenses

still wait for a great model who can pose in them. In fact, some

90% of the glasses which I acquired in England, Wales and

Ireland were once owned by hyperopic ladies. A category

hard to find in the Lowlands of Holland so I may have to

cross the North Sea for some photo shoots in the category

"bringing it all back home" :).  

Daphne 028

Daphne posing in the first of four pairs of glasses that

blended great with her features and complexion. These

nameless bifocals were acquired in one of the umpteen

hospitable charity shops in the Hastings area at the south

coast of England in 1999. My then life partner Coby was a

psychic who collected crystal balls and letter weights so

she liked the charity shops just as much as I did. We came

back home with enough crystal balls, letter weights and of

course prescription glasses to fill her large dining table.

Daphne 027

Glasses: nameless, probably 1980's

[L: -4.00; c-2.00 v / R: -4.00; c-1.50 v / bif add 2.50]

Daphne 026

Daphne posing in what I often refer to as Mirjam's glasses.

Mirjam participated in the catwalk at the opening of my

first exhibition. Last year she discovered that she had some

problems with her - so far perfect - eyesight when driving

her car at night. She went to a well known optician chain

but they refused to prescribe glasses because the correction

needed at daytime was too marginal. When Mirjam explained

this problem to me and Nel, we set out in a car at night. Nel

drove the car, Mirjam sat next to her and I sat on the back

seat with lots of lenses and glasses. Within half an hour I

managed to deduce the prescription that Mirjam needed

for night driving. She chose the Zenni glasses shown here by

Daphne and I ordered them for her. She has been using the

glasses for night driving ever since and is happy with them.

Daphne will be happy as well when the glasses of her own

choice are ready!

Daphne 025

Glasses: Zenni 2268

[L=R: -8.00]

Daphne 024

Daphne posing in the fourth pair of five Zenni glasses. This

is a fairly new arrival and Daphne is the first of my models

who posed in them. The frame is a bit larger than her other

four options.

Daphne 023

Glasses: Zenni 2695

[L=R: -8.00]

Daphne 022

Glasses: Zenni 3385

[L=R: -8.00]

Daphne 021

Glasses: Zenni 2376

[L=R: -8.00]

Daphne 020

Daphne looking at the sky - yes, not the ceiling but the

clear blue sky - while trying out the first of five pairs made

by Zenni. The lenses are -8.00, some four diopters above

the model's own prescription. Four diopters is an awkward

gap as the brain instructs the eyes "try to focus!". Looking

at the sky works quite well - there is no visual information

there and this helps to make the posing more relaxed. The

white background is a big screen that I installed in my garden

to give us some protection against the sunlight. This is one of

my favourite portraits in the photo shoot with Daphne. 

Daphne 019

Glasses: Zenni 2710

[L=R: -8.00]

Daphne 018

During her photo shoot Daphne kept switching from one

era into the other. Here she poses in an interesting pair

of glasses from the retro era. The first owner of the glasses

was Bettina, a MUA from the Frankfurt area in Germany.

She offered me three of her old glasses and instead of

sending them through the post, her partner Steffen called 

me up and suggested that we could meet in Amsterdam.

Bettina had a fine taste for unusual frames that suited her

round face. I was not surprised when Daphne selected 

these glasses for her photo shoot. The lenses are two

diopters stronger than her own prescription but the frame'

suits her just as well as it did Bettina. Nice!   

Daphne 017

Glasses: nameless, retro era, possibly late 1990's

[L: -5.00; c-2.25 o / R: -4.75; c-2.25 o]

Daphne 016

Glasses: Silhouette 1122, made circa 1984

[L: -3.00; c-1.50 v / R: -2.50; c-1.50 v]

Daphne 015

Daphne liked to experiment with all the different styles

in eyewear of the past. These pink and white "Lisette"

glasses by Elcé from France belonged to the mainstream

of what was seen in the streets during the 1980's. The

Rx of the lenses is one or two diopters below the model's

own prescription but some of this difference is compensated

by the proximity of the photographer. The glasses were

previously used in my photo shoots with Elena and Tineke

(first weblog) who both have a prescription with vertical

cylinders not unlike Daphne's prescription.

Daphne 014

Glasses: Elcé France (Lisette), 1980's

[L: -2.00; c-1.50 v / R: -3.50; c-0.50 v]

Daphne 013

Daphne posing in half rim glasses with strass, made by

Nylor at the eve of Beatlemania and everything else that

would soon follow. I clearly remember seeing several

chic ladies in these glasses when I was about twelve years

of age. The left lens is three diopters stronger than the right

lens. I bought these glasses at the "Waterlooplein" flea

market in Amsterdam during my early years as a collector.

Many of my previous models posed in these nostalgic Nylor

glasses and here Daphne joins their ranks, observing her

court photographer closely. 

Daphne 012

Glasses: Nylor, circa 1962

[L: -6.50 / R: -3.25; c-0.50 h]

Daphne 011

When Daphne tried these Cobra glasses she said that

they gave her almost perfect eyesight. The left lens is

half a diopter above her own prescription and the right

lens is nearly a diopter too weak but the cylinders are

nearly perfect, both in strength and in the position of

the axis. I bought the Cobra glasses at the "Waterlooplein"

flea market in Amsterdam during the 1980's. The frame

material is optyl, a novelty used by Christian Dior when

they took the eyewear market by storm in the mid 1970's.

Cobra zoomed in behind Dior, using the optyl material but

they made a deliberate attempt to design glasses with a

different design. Great! These Cobra glasses were also

used in my photo shoots with Elena and Lettie (first weblog).

Daphne 010

It's always interesting to see the choices made by my models

when they arrive and see the table with glasses around their

own prescription. Daphne was not shy to experiment with

some of the outspoken frames and these Cobra glasses are

a fine example. My hat from Tirol (Austria) came handy in

our attempts to dim the merciless sharp winter sunlight.

Daphne 009

Glasses: Cobra, late 1970's

[L: -4.00; c-2.50 v / R: -3.00; c-1.50 v]

Daphne 008

Glasses: Cazal, 1980's

[L: -1.25; c-2.25 v / R: -0.25; c-1.75 v]

Daphne 007

When Daphne saw these pink glasses by Pro Design lying

on the table she decided to give them a try. It's always nice

to look at the world through pink glasses. Unfortunately, the

lighting conditions in the garden and the alley were far from

ideal so we ended up in the hall for this portrait. The Rx of the

glasses is not unlike that of the ochre Dior - in short, some

diopters below the model's own prescription. The glasses were

first used during my photo shoot with Carla (first weblog) who

has an astygmatism not unlike Daphne's.

Daphne 006

Glasses: Pro Design, late 1980's

[L: -1.50; c-1.50 v / R: -2.00; c-1.50 o]

Daphne 005

Daphne has a prescription with rather strong cylinders

(-2.50 / -2.00) which often limits the options when choosing

glasses for a photo shoot. A good way to expand the options

is to use glasses with a considerable Rx difference between

the lenses. These "Gladys" glasses by Neostyle are a good

example. The left lens has the proper spherical strength but

only a weak cylinder while the right lens has a Rx equivalent

to the sum of the spherical and cylindrical strength. Each lens

on its own creates a blur but the brain is able to combine

both images into an overall result that comes close to the

proper prescription. The difference in strength between both

lenses is over two diopters. The "Gladys" glasses were also

used during my photo shoots with Clarine (first weblog) and

Karen who opened the present weblog. Here Daphne joins

their ranks and it's nice to see and compare the effects of the

glasses on the three models. The brown colour of the frame

blends well with the model's hair colour and the wall in the

background.

Daphne 004

Neostyle first came under my attention in the early 1970's

when they advertized with some great new frames. Their

models posed moody in cat eye glasses (illustrating that the

cat eye era was a thing of the past) and joyful in the new

big frames. However, the material and the shape of these

"Gladys" glasses suggests that Neostyle was already active

during the late 1960's. The frame shows the transition from

the small, solid frames of the mid 1960's into the big frames

that started emerging in the late 1960's. It took another five

years before the giant frames appeared and one could see

both the older and new styles in the streets of Amsterdam

around 1970. I bought these "Gladys" glasses at the famous

"Waterlooplein" flea market in Amsterdam during the 1980's.