Colleen 196

All good things must come to an end.... This highly expressive portrait marks the end of this remarkable photo shoot with an experienced, beautiful freelance model. Colleen is the 51st Lady behind Crystal Veil.

A word of thanks goes to Richard, manager of the Porter House Inn for his kind permission to use the terrace for this and the up coming next photo shoot.

I wish to pay a big compliment to Colleen for her apparently effortless way of posing in no less than 45 pairs of glasses. It really all went like clock work. There was never any strain. What struck me were the subtle changes in her posing and the superb, credible eye contact, even in glasses that only created a massive blur.

Colleen, you are a young lady with many talents. An experienced model who knows all the tricks of the trade but also a beauty queen and a singer. I was amazed by your rendering of Anastacia's very first hit, "I'm outta love". Not every singer is given to that.

During the photo shoot, I offered you to see the photos on the display of the camera. Models are always eager to see the results on the display but you said that you are highly critical about your portraits so we left it at that. Needless to say, I hope that at least some of the portraits in this documentary are to your liking. You did a splendid job. I wish you a lot of success with your future career.

Colleen 195

Another beautiful "en face" portrait of lovely Colleen posing in Zenni glasses, Rx -12. The lenses are not high index but the company's standard 1.57. Again, Colleen manages a credible eye contact with her appreciative court photographer. Great!

Colleen 194

Here is another appearance of what looks like sunglasses, but in reality it's just the shade projected by the strong lenses in the Zenni glasses, minus twelve. After the trial and error with the oval SGS glasses, Colleen found the solid Zenni glasses much easier to handle and it just took us three takes before she had it perfect.

Colleen 192 - 193

Colleen checking the far side of the pub terrace for the last time, showing the mighty power rings in modern glasses by Zenni.

Colleen 191

These striking black and white glasses by Zenni were ordered in the long distance prescription of my partner Nel who subsequently chose them for use in everyday life. Zenni has an upper limit of -10.00 for progressive lenses so I ordered an empty frame and then had it fitted with progressive lenses by ciliaryblue in England. Note the myodisc effect at the edge of the left lens. Zenni did this extra work without any charge so that the glasses could make their journey, neatly and safely folded in their case. Up Zenni!

Colleen 190

Glasses: Zenni 2823
[L: -11.00; c-1.25 v / R: -11.50; c-1.25 v]

Colleen 189

"Hey Mr. Photographer, so nice to see you again!"
"The pleasure is entirely on my side, Colleen. Shall we move to the final pair?"

Colleen 187 - 188

Another couple of great portraits showing Colleen's excellent posing in Zenni glasses. Fashion has changed and big chunky frames are fashionable again, but in my opinion these tiny glasses do full justice to this beauty queen.

Colleen 186

Colleen is slightly longsighted and it's remarkable how well she manages a natural, credible eye contact through lenses of minus eleven and minus twelve. Radar eyes indeed....

Colleen 184 - 185

These tiny but subtle Zenni glasses are another favourite among my models as they suit many faces. Upon my request, Colleen is trying to compensate for the strength of the lenses by keeping her eyes wide open.

Colleen 183

Glasses: Zenni 3818
[L: -11.00 / R: -12.00]

Colleen 182

Again, this series of beautiful Colleen in contemporary glasses by Zenni suffered so much from the steam on the lenses that only a couple of portraits can be posted. However, this portrait came out great and in my opinion it's among the top five in this wonderful photo shoot. Colleen really surpasses herself here. Really marvelous posing and a superb, intense eye contact, suggesting that she saw me in full detail. Hat off for Colleen!

Colleen 181

Glasses: Zenni 2307
[L=R: -8.00]

Colleen 180

"Thanks, Mr. Photographer, I heard that. Am I released from this monster now?"
"You are indeed, Colleen, we will now switch to the final pairs and they are not so extremely strong"

Colleen 179

Colleen showing yet another special effect particular to blended myodisc lenses - the "half moon" next to her right eye. The half moon shows the gradual transition between the central "bowl" with its correction for extreme myopia and the positive carrier lens that surrounds the bowl. One down side of blended myodisc lenses was the limited field of view offered to people with extreme myopia. In that respect, the traditional Keislenti myodiscs are still the best. Always white ravens in the streets, blended myodisc glasses are now almost completely extinct and my latest sighting is about ten years ago. Thank you, Colleen, for your help in this experiment. Much appreciated!

Colleen 177 - 178

Colleen showing the Nigura glasses with blended myodisc lenses almost "en profil". The frame is getting slightly warped but here this disadvantage is useful, putting an extra accent on the effects of the lenses.

Colleen 176

Also called Lentilux, blended myodisc glasses were a great invention of the early 1980's. These lenses were made in an attempt to take away a part of the stigma around extremely nearsighted people that could not be helped with contact lenses. Blended myodiscs were a good alternative for the traditional Kreislenti with their all too apparent circular bowl, surrounded by a carrier lens. In my schoolboy days, there were no contact lenses so anyone with extreme myopia had to wear myodisc glasses. I remember seeing many girls and women in myodisc glasses and they always seemed a bit shy when they felt that you looked at them. By contrast, the first lady I ever saw in blended myodisc glasses looked quite confident and certainly not handicapped at all. This was in Kufstein, Austria in 1988. I knew nothing about blended myodisc glasses but the effects created by the magic lenses in the lady's glasses was fascinating. The play of light and shadow changed with each tiny movement of her head. After coming across a couple of blended myodisc glasses in a charity shop in the 1990's I recognized them as the same magic glasses seen in Austria and bought them without bargaining. Here Colleen shows some of the fascinating light effects in the lenses. The Nigura glasses were steaming up but Colleen was not bothered by that. The lenses are so strong that all she saw was a massive blur, steam or not.

Colleen 175

Glasses: Nigura, early / mid 1990's (blended myodisc lenses)
[L: -19.00 / R: -18.00]

Colleen 174

Some more fun posing - Colleen showing the real size of her eyes which is about one third bigger than the image produced by the extremely strong lenses.

Colleen 172 - 173

Here is a fun experiment for both model and photographer. Also precision work and a lot of navigating to achieve the best result. It looks as if Colleen is wearing sunglasses but in reality, the effect is caused by the way the extremely strong minus lenses create shades all by themselves. I like these photos for the mix of concentration and the amused look on the model's face. Great!

Colleen 171

Colleen showing the special effects of the light falling through lenses of minus fifteen. Mighty power rings and also a centrifugal effect created by the lens in front of the model's left eye.

Colleen 170

These glasses were sent to me by Steve's glasses shop in China, some three years ago. The oval silver frame is timeless. Note the shades in the central part of the lenses. This is caused by the extremely strong prescription of minus fifteen. The light is let through the thick sides of the lenses, sticking out behind the thin frame. The result is that the shady center of the lenses is surrounded by parts that catch the light.

Colleen 169

Glasses: Gan Aimh, supplied by SGS
[L=R: -15.00]

Colleen 168

These Actuell glasses have been part of my collection since the 1980's. They were bought for coppers and brass at the famous "Waterlooplein" market in Amsterdam. In those days, it was more of a flea market than it is now. Regretfully this is the only portrait of Colleen in these vintage glasses that can be posted here. The rest of the series was marred by the lenses that steamed up as soon as Colleen put the glasses on.

Colleen 167

Glasses: Actuell, mid / late 1970's
[L: -10.00; c-2.50 v / R: -9.25; c-1.50 v]

Colleen 166

The final section of this photo shoot is about strong minus glasses. I add this great, nostalgic portrait of beautiful Colleen in cat eye glasses to show the different balance between the eyes and lips when the glasses are not strong minus but mild plus. The same portrait in colour was posted as Colleen 026 but here it is again with some additional editing. Certainly one of the highlights in a strong photo shoot with a professional level of posing. Colleen, you are a gem!

Colleen 163 - 165

Three of the previous photos showing Colleen's excellent posing in vintage glasses by Nylor were selected to be transferred into black and white. Nostalgia at its very best!

Colleen 162

A photo shoot about vintage prescription glasses means portrait photography. However, when Colleen arrived at Bray Station, I noticed her beautiful skirt. Very much the style of the late 1950's and early 1960's. So here she is, posing in the style of half a century ago (skirt and glasses) with a touch of modern times (like the watch). Great!

Colleen 158 - 161

Colleen kept dripping good looks, not just in these vintage Nylor glasses but throughout her photo shoot.

Colleen 157

These Nylor glasses were kindly given to me by Peter, a colleague at work. Peter saw my first exhibition of portrait photography and afterwards he talked with his father who is now ninety years of age. Peter's mother died young and the father kept the house pretty much the way it was. Several of the mother's glasses were still kept on a shelf. When Peter mentioned my photography project, his father kindly agreed to let the glasses have a second life. During the past three years, the Nylor glasses were featured in at least a dozen photo shoots. Many models like them because the glasses stand for a glorious era from the past which is often a source of inspiration for the new generation. Besides, there is an intangible quality to the Nylor glasses. Somehow they seem to suit most models. Timeless beauty indeed. Thank you, Peter!

Colleen 156

After seeing Colleen posing in three modern Zenni glasses with a touch of the cat eye look, it's nice to compare these contemporary glasses with a vintage pair made by Nylor between 1960 and 1962. It illustrates that even during the heyday of the cat eye era, the most popular glasses had only a touch of the cat eye look.

Colleen 155

Glasses: Nylor, early 1960's
[L=R: -7.75; c-0.75 v]

Colleen 154

Arguably one of the best portraits from this photo shoot. Feel free to disagree....

At some stage of the photo shoot, Colleen said that my choice of vantage points was different from any photographer she worked with. It's always welcome to receive that kind of feedback as I have no clue how other photographers work. It would be great to attend one of Alain's photo shoots. All I can say is that the glasses often dictate the vantage point, showing a more prominent jaw line than elsewhere. And of course, it is my aim to show models the way they really are. Also, I like to portray strong, independent women with a mind of their own. The combination of these three factors leads to my perhaps unorthodox approach.

Colleen 153

These contemporary glasses by Zenni suit many faces. They make their presence felt, but there is also a mellow touch.

Colleen 152

Here is another pair of contemporary Zenni glasses with a faint touch of the cat eye era. Again, a favourite among the "Ladies behind crystal veil".

Colleen 151

Glasses: Zenni 2740
[L=R: -8.00]

Colleen 150

In spite of the damp in the atmosphere, resulting in steam on the lenses, this is an excellent portrait of Colleen in contemporary glasses with a touch of the cat eye style. Note the very effective use of the finger. Colleen is a master at this version of "minimal art". Many of her portraits would have lost some of their quality without the use of her hands. She seemed to know by instinct where to put her hands when I gave my instructions for the next vantage point. A perfect rendition of "Q & A"!

Colleen 149

Colleen posing in another Zenni pair with a touch of the cat eye style. Unlike the previous pair, these glasses are quite popular among my models and several of them now wear these glasses in everyday life. The glasses come in three coulours: medium brown, black and imitation tortoise shell.

Colleen 148

Glasses: Zenni 2836
[L=R: -8.00]

Colleen 145 - 147

More examples of fine posing by Colleen in contemporary glasses by Zenni with a touch of the cat eye style.