Marike 004

In my photo shoots I try to revive images seen in the past, either in the streets or occasionally in books and even paintings. Marike arrived at her photo shoot in a red leather jacket and this influenced the photography in a subconscious way. One of my favorite photographers of all time is the late Ed van der Elsken from my native Amsterdam. Ed received wide acclaim for his photos of street life, especially the alternative side of what was seen in the streets during the 1960's and 1970's. My favorite series from his work was made at a fair on the "Nieuwmarkt" square in either 1961 or 1963. His model was a blonde with cotton candy hair, dressed in a jacket much like Marike's and sporting a pair of cat eye glasses with a prescription similar to the Viennaline glasses shown here. My wife and I were excited when we came across these photos during the mid 1980's and being an artist, she decided to make an oil painting based on one of the photos by Ed. The photos were in black and white and my wife had to guess at the color of the jacket. She chose a bright, vivid red and the painting was in our living room for several years. The preview of the Marike photo shoot comes closest to the atmosphere of the Van der Elsken photos but there's also a touch of them in this series with the Viennaline glasses.