Doreen 158

Almost identical with photo 156, this beautiful portrait of lovely Doreen in giant black hat and priceless 1980's Formlenti glasses by Christian Olivier concludes her photo shoot.

I wish to thank Doreen for her pleasant company, her stamina during the three hour photo shoot, and for her beautiful way of posing.

Another word of thanks is due to my partner Nel for the use of her garden and her fine collection of hats.

Doreen, looking back at all your lovely portraits, I find it unbelievable that you warned me in advance, "I'm not photogenic at all!". There is no way of telling that this was your first photo shoot ever. You took instructions quite well, from the start to the very end. Sooner than expected, I noticed that you got into your stride, simply by "going with the flow". It was my privilege and honor to work with you. I'm looking forward to our next photo shoot.

I conclude with a note to viewers. This weblog has now almost reached its full capacity. I will start a new weblog soon. Its title will probably be be "Lovely ladies behind crystal veil". To be continued....

Doreen 157

This striking portrait of Doreen in Christian Olivier glasses and giant black hat was among the previews. Here it is shown with some slight alterations in the editing.

Doreen 156

Great, almost majestic posing by Lady Doreen in black hat and priceless Formlenti glasses by Christian Olivier. I sometimes wonder if the first owner of the glasses used them in combination with stylish hats as well. She must have been a wealthy lady with great taste - the glasses must have cost her a small fortune. Her choice to have the frame fitted with Formlenti lenses must have been a deliberate one. There were several acceptable alternatives available in the late 1980's. The Formlenti accentuate the overall feel of luxury and "showing off". There is nothing wrong with a lady in minus ten glasses - all she needs to do is picking the right frame and lenses. This portrait of Doreen says it all.

Doreen 155

Doreen had one great advantage over most models posing in the Christian Olivier glasses - she was well able to see herself in the hand mirror. The Formlenti lenses in the glasses are only one diopter above the model's own prescription. The happy smile illustrates that Doreen was pleased with the combination of the black hat from Napoli and the white glasses by Christian Olivier.

Doreen 154

Doreen checking the merits of the new ensemble - the white Formlenti glasses by Christian Olivier and the giant black hat from Napoli, Italy.

Doreen 153

Just like we did in the previous series with the purple Silhouette glasses, Doreen tried another hat for comparison with the white hat. This black hat is one of the gems from the collection of my life partner Nel. The contrast between the white Christian Olivier glasses and the black hat is simply irresistible.

Doreen 152

Symphony in white - smiling Doreen in a giant white hat from my life partner's collection and the even whiter Christian Olivier glasses. Note the images in the lens in front of the model's right eye. Left to right: first, the carrier lens that catches the dark brown color of the model's hair. Next, the power rings that catch a mixture of everything - mainly the skin but also the hair and the hat. Next, a dark zone which must be the hair. Next, the accentuated white of the hat. Next, the grey shade of the hat. And last but not least, the image of the model's right eye. Great!

Doreen 151

Formlenti myodiscs were a wonderful invention of the 1970's, giving extremely short sighted people an alternative for the traditional Kreislenti with a circular bowl. From an aesthetic point of view, following the shape of the frame makes more sense than a circular bowl.  .

Doreen 150

One of my favorite portraits of the entire photo shoot with Doreen. Somehow all the ingredients are in harmony. The expression of the model's face is priceless. Thank you, Doreen!

Doreen 149

These Christian Olivier glasses belong to the real treasures in my collection. A bold, striking frame with a touch of luxury about it, and very special lenses which are now extinct in the streets. As a result, these glasses are often featured in my photo shoots, almost like a testing piece. Most of the models saw only a massive blur when they tried these glasses but Doreen could see fairly well through them. This why I chose these glasses as the "finale grandioso" of her photo shoot.

Doreen 148

Glasses: Christian Olivier (Formlenti myodiscs), late 1980's
[L: -8.50; c-1.50 v / R: -10.00; c-1.50 v]

Doreen 147

Beautiful, with a touch of irony - great posing by Doreen and arguably one of the best portraits in this series with the purple Silhouette glasses from 1994.
Many models posed in these glasses, e.g. Nel (001), Clarine (123), Farishta (067), Conny (134) and Petra (227) on my first weblog and Christien (122, 183) on the present weblog. Farishta, who recently agreed to do another photo shoot next week, can be seen wearing these glasses during the catwalk at the opening of my first exhibition with "Ladies behind crystal veil" (You Tube Lentilux).

Doreen 146

For comparison, here is a portrait of Doreen where the editing has been reduced to the bare minimum.

Doreen 145

An en face portrait of Doreen, showing the unusual but beautiful frame shape of these purple Silhouette glasses from 1994. The inside of the frame is colored pink but there is no way of showing that in a portrait.

Doreen 144

Askance look - "What do you think about this hat, Mr. Photographer?"

When I was six, I often stayed with one of my grandmothers who was a widow and a bit of an eccentric lady. She had breakfast served in her bedroom by her younger sister who lived with her. Then it was my turn to help my grandmother with the most difficult choice of the day. She disappeared behind a screen and came back in what would become the outfit of the day if it met with my approval stamp. When I said no or even when I seemed in doubt, she disappeared behind the screen again and came back with a new outfit. This went on, until I gave my approval stamp to an outfit. I suppose she missed her husband's advice but maybe it was her way to introduce me to the world of lady's dilemma's. She was also my first inspiration for glasses, of which she had half a dozen. This background came handy later in life - and now again in this photography project.

"I like both hats, Doreen, but let's take some more portraits with this purple hat if you don't mind".

Doreen 143

Concentrated posing by Doreen in Silhouette glasses - a lady who has not decided yet about the merits of the hats.... Both hats were kindly made available by my life partner Nel.

Doreen 142

Doreen comparing the combination of the purple hat and Silhouette glasses with the help of a hand mirror.

Doreen 141

Change of hats for comparison which hat suits the Silhouette glasses the best.... Note the tiny image of the fence in the background through the lens in front of the model's right eye.

Doreen 140

This portrait of Doreen was taken just after the preview portrait in these purple Silhouette glasses. It's a matter of taste which one is the best. I like them both.

Doreen 139

Looking at the horizon is a useful trick when the lenses in the glasses are near the model's own prescription but still not entirely comfortable. In this case it was the axis of the cylinder in the lenses that did not quite match Doreen's prescription.

Doreen 138

Doreen chose smaller hats for this series to let the purple Silhouette glasses shine all the more. Good choice!

Doreen 137

These beautiful Silhouette glasses were acquired in Austria, not far from where the Silhouette company has its headquarters, in Innsbruck. The shape of the frame is unusual but quite striking. Here Doreen is weighing its pros and cons.

Doreen 136

 

Glasses: Silhouette 1413, made in 1994
[L: -8.00; c-1.00 h / R: -7.50; c-1.00 h / var add 1.75]

Doreen 135

This is my favourite portrait in the entire series of Doreen posing in white hat and beautiful Silhouette glasses from 1983. Timeless, ageless beauty in every respect.

Doreen 134

"I heard your praise about my posing, Mr. Photographer. Did you really mean it? I never thought of myself in terms of being photogenic, let alone as a photo model. I'm speechless".
"I sincerely meant everything I said about your posing, Doreen. Didn't I tell you that we would make you photogenic?"

Doreen 133

This beautiful photo of Doreen was first posted in the series of previews. Here it is again, with some more editing. Hat off for the superb posing!

Doreen 132

This is the twin portrait of 131. Here Doreen is showing the effects in the lens in front of her right eye. The Rx of the right lens is only -0.50 more than the left lens but the power rings seem considerably stronger. Again, the rim of the hat can be seen between the power rings and the model's cheek.

Doreen 131

The sky is the limit for any model posing in Silhouette master pieces from the 1980's and Doreen was no exception. Note the interesting images in the lens in front of the model's left eye. One of the power rings catches some of the green background. The rim of the white hat can be seen between the power rings and the model's cheek.

Doreen 129 - 130

A beautiful summer ensemble - Doreen in flower dress, white hat and white Silhouette glasses made in 1983.
The lenses in the glasses are slightly stronger than the model's own prescription but she was not bothered by the bit of extra power.

Doreen 128

These striking white glasses were made by Silhouette, thirty years ago. The company was very helpful when I sent them a request to supply the year they manufactured some fifteen Silhouette glasses in my collection.

Doreen 127

Glasses: Silhouette 1097, made in 1983
[L: -10.50 / R: -11.00]

Doreen 126

Another beautiful portrait of lovely Doreen posing in glasses made by Pearle in the 1980's, with lenses of minus nine.

Doreen 125

Doreen checking the 1.50 reading add in lined bifocals made by Pearle in the 1980's. The demarcation line of the reading segment in the lenses is invisible. This has nothing to do with my editing - simply an example of the discrete combination of fairly strong minus lenses with a modest reading add. No doubt, the first owner of the glasses must have felt relief when she noticed that the reading segment was almost invisible.  

Doreen 124

Doreen posing in a beautiful pair of glasses made by Pearle in the mid or late 1980's. She could see her photographer quite well as the lenses in the glasses are close to her own prescription of minus nine.

Doreen 123

Pearle is a well known chain of opticians shops. From time to time, I bring them a box filled with glasses for the Third World. Here Doreen is posing in a pair of bifocals called "Pearle Vision", indicating that the chain also designed glasses of their own in its early years.  

Doreen 122

Glasses: Pearle Vision, mid / late 1980's
[L: -9.00; c-1.00 h / R: -8.50; c-1.00 h / bif add 1.50]

Doreen 121

As a temporarily remedy, Doreen and I moved some 120 degrees for the final portraits of her photo shoot. The conifers in the background will be familiar to many viewers. This portrait came out fine.

Doreen 120

A striking "quattro staggioni" portrait of Doreen in Napolitan hat and German glasses, taken during the final "hide and seek" phase of her photo shoot. The vantage point was chosen with care to avoid the reflection in the lenses as best as possible. Note the massive "frosted" power ring section in the right lens (from the model's perspective) and its striking contrast with the image of the sun lit fence in the background through the giant hat.

Doreen 119

Wide eyed Doreen posing in glasses that were made in Germany some three decades back. This series was made near the very end of her photo shoot when we were finally losing our game of hide and seek against the merciless sunlight. Adding some shadow and then converting portraits into black and white sometimes does the trick and I'm pleased with the way this portrait came out. The giant hat which I gave to Nel in Napels, Italy is black anyway :). Doreen's expression here is second to none. Great!

Doreen 118

Glasses: Gan Aimh, from Germany, probably early 1980's
[L: -7.50 / R: -8.50]

Doreen 117

Another beautiful portrait of Doreen in hat and Cardin glasses, captured after one of many compliments from my side. The eye contact and the lovely little smile set this portrait apart, even in this special series.

Doreen 116

Doreen was very much aware of the style and class in this combination of hat and Cardin glasses. Small wonder that she delivered some of the highlights of her photo shoot when posing in the Cardin glasses. It goes without saying that she received compliment after compliment from her photographer. Timeless beauty indeed.

Doreen 115

In spite of - or thanks to -  their unusual trapezoid shape, these beautiful glasses by Pierre Cardin are always chosen by my models and Doreen was no exception. Like many models before her, Doreen was in doubt whether the glasses would suit her, but the results exceeded all expectations.
Note the height of the Cardin frame. This frame size emerged around 1975 and it remained quite popular for over a decade. Those were the days in which all the classic rules went overboard, often with marvelous results. Forget about the eyebrow line and almost replace it by a powerful eyebrow line above it. The wild abandon in the design of that glorious decade was fantastic. These Cardin glasses are a splendid example.
Again, the hat bought during the 1970's by the late mother of my life partner Nel provided a perfect counter balance for the glasses.

Doreen 114

In between all the serious posing during a photo shoot, there is always time and place for a wisecrack. Here Doreen is captured in a moment of great spontaneity.

Doreen 113

Pierre Cardin designed many beautiful glasses during the 1970's and 1980's. This pair was sent to me by Martin from Cologne, Germany.

Doreen 112

Glasses: Cardin, probably early 1980's
[L=R: -7.50]

Doreen 111

"Do you have your series in these Anita glasses, Mr. Photographer?"
"Indeed I have, Doreen. Lovely posing, thank you! Shall we move to the next pair?"

Doreen 110

Rodenstock always avoided extravaganza. They followed the trends in fashion but concentrated on the design of frames that blended in a subtle way with the faces of their clients. This photo of Doreen is a good example of the Rodenstock philosophy, showing the glasses as an accent instead of a highlight.

Doreen 109

Doreen showing the mild power rings in the left lens of the "Anita" glasses. The lenses have good anti-reflective coating which greatly facilitated the editing.