Filling the gaps


I was not able to write blog posts while I was away in Spain but used my dA journals to express my opinions, via iPhone uploads.  This post fills in some gaps.
I have had enough of divas and their elucubrations, good luck to them all.  Everyone loves a diva, male or female, they do give us some entertainment. But they are pretty unbearable to be with.
Spain was delightful but so very hot. I got a number of shots - my very own -which I can't wait to develop and scan,  I posed for paintings, drawings and photos, even a calendar image  and in between, while resting because the heat prevented me from going out, I found the time to set up a new group on dA for models who are also photographers - no mobile phones photography is allowed, iPhone and iPhoto are not welcome in this group, sorry.
I share admin of this new group with the wonderful Iris Dassault. I love her work as a model and as a photographer and trust her artistic judgment.














And while in Spain I learnt a great lesson about commercial photography, namely that  it can be as artistic as any fine art photography.
A major Spanish department store, El Corte Ingles,  has used a reinterpretation of  Las Meninas by Velazquez to advertise its wares. I was completely bowled over by it when I saw it. What a fantastic idea! There is humour and depth in the remake and one of the most gorgeous male models I have ever seen plays the role of Velasquez but recast as a photographer - and am I right in thinking he is holding a Mamiya? I could not take my eyes off him, Velazquez never looked so good.


As I made my way  to the airport to catch my return flight a friend emailed me to tell  me that this week's Today, a BBC radio 4 programme  regularly broadcast on a monday,  was about grey hair finally being acceptable as beautiful and chic. Hooray. I will no longer have to put up with various remarks on how ageing grey hair is. You can hear the programme here 
Today has also had another interesting programme After I was gorgeous,  about being beautiful and what happens next, with icons such as Jean Shrimpton, Deborah Bull and others, including former Bond girl Tania Mallet  telling what it is like when they discover their famous beauty is going.   Definitely a programme that ties in well with my earlier discussions on dA about divas and the myth of eternal youth which sadly some still embrace.

(The two photos of Las Meninas by Velazquez and El Corte Ingles are from Mark Harden's archive and Love Spain, through Google Images.  The other two are modelled by Alex B and were taken by photographer Alicia Clarke)

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