Lydia 180

"Slaínthe, Mr. Photographer!"
"Slaínthe, Lydia, we pulled it off. And if I may pass another compliment, you look lovely and quite credible in these myodisc glasses!"

This great photo of Lydia in Christian Olivier myodisc glasses concludes another enjoyable photo shoot in Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Lydia is the 52th Lady behind Crystal Veil.

A word of thanks goes to Richard, the manager of the Porter House Inn, Strand Road, Bray for his kind permission to use his terrace for this photo shoot.

A word of thanks to Lydia's companion for her pleasant company and for sharing her meal with the hungry photographer. Much appreciated!

Lydia, it was my pleasure to work with you! You are a young lady of few words but many great portraits and photos. The photos in your wonderful portfolio are entirely different from our efforts in Bray so I was pleased to hear that you liked all of the samples sent earlier. I hope the full documentary will be to your liking as well. You certainly added a touch of your own to the project and I wish you all the best in your future career as a model. Once again, slaínthe!

Lydia 179

Ladies first! Lydia in myodisc glasses by Christian Olivier, toasting with her companion. Be assured, this is Ireland and not a drop was spilled :).

Lydia 178

"Hey Mr. Photographer, shall we toast to an enjoyable photo shoot?"
"It will be my honour and pleasure, Lydia. Thank you for your lovely posing!"

Lydia 176 - 177

For the final series of her photo shoot, I asked Lydia to pose once more in the Christian Olivier glasses with the Formlenti myodisc lenses, Rx minus ten.

Lydia 175

A great "en profil" photo of Lydia posing in drop temple glasses made by Conquistador, about 25 years ago.

Lydia 173 - 174

"Lydia in Wonderland" was the phrase that ran through my head when this photo first appeared on my computer screen. To me, it's one of the best captures from this photo shoot. Feel free to disagree....

Lydia 172

These striking drop temple glasses by Conquistador were kindly given to me by my good neighbour Joke. In my opinion, the glasses suit Lydia very well and it's a series with great posing by Lydia.

Lydia 171

Glasses: Conquistador (drop temple), late 1980's
[L: -1.50; c-1.00 v / R: -2.00]

Lydia 170

"Only two pairs to go, Lydia, you did great in the Nina Ricci glasses!"
"Thank you, Mr. Photographer. My companion is the car driver and it's a long walk from Bray to Co. Kildare :)"

Lydia 168 - 169

Fine posing by lovely Lydia in chic glasses made by Nina Ricci over twenty years ago. Again, the tinted lenses add a bit of a mystery look.

Lydia 167

These beautiful Nina Ricci glasses were probably made for a lady in her early forties, in need for her first progressives. A lady of wealth and taste, it may be added.

Lydia 166

Glasses: Nina Ricci, late 1980's
[L=R: -4.25; c-0.50 h / var add 1.25]

Lydia 165

Cigarette and glasses, opus five.... The last puff, end of cigarette. Now you know that a model can pose in five different glasses during one cigarette, meaning that she had to switch glasses four times. All in all, I took over four dozen photos of Lydia when she was smoking that one cigarette. It's up to you to decide whether she was a slow smoker or we were a super fast model - photographer team....

Lydia 164

Sometime during the 1980's, these nameless glasses with dégradé lenses were yet another welcome find at the inexhaustible flea market "Waterlooplein" in the heart of old Amsterdam. The lenses were badly scratched, indicating that the glasses were used a lot although the Rx is quite mild. Lydia was not bothered by this at all. Better scratched lenses near her own prescription than lenses in mint condition that would have been a handicap while smoking. Besides, the glasses really suit Lydia quite well. The dégradé lenses add a bit of a mystery look. Great!

Lydia 163

Glasses: Gan Aimh, mid 1970's
[L=R: -1.00]

Lydia 159 - 162

Cigarette and glasses, opus four.... The cigarette gets shorter and shorter but the glasses get definitely bigger :). In my opinion, these Crown glasses suit Lydia very well. Fell free to disagree about the cigarette.

Lydia 158

Crown was the name of a well known optician's shop in Amsterdam during the 1970's. These giant glasses were a buy at the Amsterdam flea market "Waterlooplein" during the 1980's. In most cases, putting a year of manufacturing on vintage glasses is an educated guess but in this case I'm fairly sure it was 1975. A good friend of my ex-wife had just bought a very similar pair when I first made her acquaintance. I'm not sure if Crown designed and manufactured glasses. They may well only have stamped and sold them.

Lydia 157

Glasses: Crown, made in 1975
[L: -1.75 / R: -1.75; c-0.50 o]

Lydia 156

Cigarette and glasses, opus three.... Lydia posing in another pair of vintage glasses made half a century ago. These "Toxy" glasses by Rodenstock were kindly given to me by a lady with a fine taste for glasses although she always hated being dependent on them in certain situations. When I met her in 1996, she soon heard about my collection and gave me all her old glasses, covering three decades. "Toxy" was the earliest pair.

Lydia 155

Glasses: called "Toxy", made by Rodenstock in 1963
[L=R: -1.25]

Lydia 153 - 154

Cigarette and glasses, opus two.... These vintage Essel glasses from the early 1960's have only a minimal prescription (+0.25) so they were probably bought by a lady in search of a different look. Nowadays this happens quite often but half a century ago, this was quite unusual.

Lydia 152

Glasses: called "Coquine", by Essel, early 1960's
[L=R: +0.25]

Lydia 147 - 151

Cigarette and glasses, opus one.... I'm always smoking during outdoor shoots and at this stage, Lydia asked me for a cigarette. Time was running out fast so I asked her if she felt comfortable being portrayed smoking. Lydia was very cooperative and she had no problem whatsoever. Great!

Lydia 146

These imitation tortoise shell glasses by Francois Pintin were probably made in the early 1990's. They were a discovery in a Dublin charity shop, some ten years ago. The glasses were featured in several of my early photo shoots and subsequently shown during the catwalk at the opening of my first exhibition with "Ladies behind crystal veil".

Lydia 145

Glasses: Francois Pintin
[L: -1.25 / R: -1.50]

Lydia 144

At this point in the photo shoot, Lydia's companion suggested that it might be time for a change of looks. Lydia kindly agreed and her very long dark hair was transformed into a ponytail. Note the diffuse light in the lenses of the Kam glasses here and in the previous couple of photos. The photo shoot took place during the second half of the afternoon and the light gradually changed.

Lydia 142 - 143

If my memory serves me correctly, these Kam glasses were acquired in the Bray area, some ten years ago. At the time, I had no idea that the glasses would one day return to the area, let alone for use during a photo shoot. Life does bring its surprises :).

Lydia 141

Glasses: Kam, 1990's
[L: -1.25 / R: -1.50]

Lydia 140

My favourite portrait of Lydia in this pair of Zenni glasses, Rx -12. The element of disbelief in her eyes is great: "How on earth can anyone see well through such lenses?".

Lydia 138 - 139

Lovely Lydia showing the mighty power rings in another pair of Zenni glasses fitted with lenses of minus twelve, the prescription of my partner Nel. Note the fine decoration on the sides of the frame front.

Lydia 137

Lydia posing in another Zenni pair with lenses of minus twelve. Note the play of the light in the lenses and the additional work done by Zenni - free of extra charge - to make the standard 1.57 lenses thinner at the edges, creating a bit of a Formlenti effect.

Lydia 136

Glasses: Zenni 2608
[L: -11.00; c-1.25 v / R: -11.50; c-1.25 v]

Lydia 134 - 135

My favourite portrait from this series of Lydia in black and white glasses by Zenni, Rx -12. Note the Formlenti effect in the lens in front of the model's left eye.

Lydia 132 - 133

Lydia showing the mighty power rings in black & white Zenni glasses, Rx -12.

Lydia 131

These striking black and white glasses were ordered last year, with my life partner Nel in mind so the lenses are her prescription for long distance. To ensure that the glasses could be folded up properly, Zenni did some extra work on the lenses, resulting in a Formlenti effect.