Yousuf Karsh
I thought I would go back into the archives of my old photos and share some early experiences learning from the artistry of the experts who came before.
One of my earliest photographic influences was Yousuf Karsh. Born in the Ottoman Empire in 1908, he migrated to Canada and settled in Ottawa, where he would become well known for taking portraits of dignitaries visiting the capital. His breakout photograph was of Winston Churchill, just after he spoke to our House of Commons in 1941. It is said to be the most reproduced portrait in photographic history.
When I was 18 or so, and in the midst of one of my photographic phases, I took out “Karsh” from the Mississauga Library. It caught my attention for two reasons. The first was the enormous spelling of his name on the cover, and second, because it had a wonderful photo of Sophia Loren peaking out from behind a couch in a bright red hat.
The quality of the photos was exemplary, both technically and artistically, showing so many titans of the 20th century in a personal and intimate way. Naively, I thought, let’s try it. I went to Henry’s Camera and bought some Kodak T-Max 400 and popped it into a simple point and shoot camera. There was no way to adjust the aperture or focal length.
I asked my dad to stand by the light of an open door, which I thought might provide the kind of light similar to what I saw in some of the photos from the book. Looking at this photo all these years later, it has its merits. The lighting isn’t too bad. He has a natural, contemplative expression. But, I couldn’t do anything to it at the time because such equipment wasn’t as common place as it is today.
I’ve been taking time during the lockdown to make a new portrait of my dad in the style of Karsh using my newly learned skills and improved equipment. I’m very pleased with result, and more importantly, feel I’ve created an image worthy of sharing with others.