Sjoukje & daughter Battice 056

Glasses Sjoukje: Monb, late 1980's (not used in any of my previous photo shoots)
[L=R: 0; c+0.25 h / bif add 1.75]

Glasses Battice: Flair (Jet Set), probably late 1980's
[L: +1.25 / R: +1.00]

This fine portrait of mother Sjoukje and daughter Battice concludes their photo shoot in the peat area called "Aamsveen / Ambtsvenn" at the Dutch-German border. Sjoukje and Battice are the 58th and 59th ladies behind crystal veil.

About a year ago, I invited Sjoukje and Battice to do a mother / daughter photo shoot, featuring prescription glasses from my vast collection. They both accepted my invitation and subsequently tried out a few dozen glasses. But alas, due to our busy time schedules, nothing came of the actual photo shoot until quite recently.

Ladies, it was a great pleasure to do a photo shoot with you! The atmosphere was as good as ever and the location slightly more adventurous than expected but nice anyway. It's always interesting to witness the reactions of new models on the glasses selected for the photo shoot. Some reactions are rather predictable but every model has her individual likes and dislikes. I think that both of you made an excellent selection from the glasses. It took me quite some time to choose the best spot given the light circumstances but once this was found, it really went all by itself. I almost forgot about my injured left hand and that in itself is a big compliment to both of you.

Sjoukje, I remember your initial reaction on my invitation - you warned me that you were "anything but photogenic". My answer was simply, "Don't worry about that. Several of my previous models had exactly the same doubts when I invited them. But eventually it all worked out fine and they were pleased with the results". Once we got started, the flow came in and it resulted in a number of great portraits, including the launch of half a dozen glasses that were not used in any of my previous photo shoots. We agreed beforehand about concentrating on glasses with very mild prescriptions. In the final section, you posed in some glasses with a strong prescription and this yielded some of the best portraits. It was quite awarding to hear your positive reaction on the samples of our team work and I hope that the photo shoot will remain a slightly eccentric but nice memory to you. And thanks for the coffee during the short breaks!

Battice, your proud mother told me in advance that you would definitely be a good, photogenic model with an ideal face for glasses. High expectations can be a risk but in retrospect, your mother was absolutely right. You delivered a number of marvelous portraits. Sorry about the inconvenience caused by the midges - the good thing is that photos survive much longer than midges do. There will be another glasses selection session soon and I trust that both of you will find a pair to your liking. 

Once again, thank you very much for an enjoyable afternoon that yielded a highly personal but fine contribution to my project. Really appreciated!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 055

Hard times or only a temporary inconvenience, this portrait of Battice in strong cat eye glasses by Zenni stands out in every way. The model's posing is superb - expressive yet credible, just like the Mary Black song. Thank you, Battice!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 054

Needless to say, the song "Hard times" is all about the miserable life circumstances of many Irish in the past but the lyrics can also apply to hard times in anyone's life. Sjoukje, Battice and myself had some inconvenient times during the photo shoot. The location was great, except that we clean forgot about the risk of midges in the peat around us. Apparently, the tiny insects liked Battice the best and as a result, she left most of the posing during the final part of the photo shoot to her mother. Yet she surfaced again, trying one of the cat eye glasses from my new collection.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 053

Glasses Battice: Zenni 283625
[L: -9.25 / R: -8.75; c-0.50 v / var add 1.75]

Glasses Sjoukje: Indo (Vanity), 2000's
[L=R: +0.50]

Mother and daughter posing in modern glasses but reminiscent of the times just before Beatlemania set in. Sjoukje's Indo glasses were acquired in Germany and not featured in any previous photo shoot. This striking double portrait was edited in black and white to put additional emphasis on the nostalgia effect. When this photo first emerged on my computer screen, I heard music in my head and that is always a good sign. The music in question was a great song from the first solo album by Irish singer Mary Black in the late 1980's:

"Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears
for we all sup sorrow with the poor
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears
Oh hard times, come again no more
There's the song, the sigh of the weary
Hard times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door
Oh hard times, come again no more"

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 052

This fine portrait of Sjoukje posing in modern Zenni glasses is one of my favorites in this photo shoot. She seems to reflect on what she just watched near the horizon. Pensive mood posing at its best. Thank you, Sjoukje!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 051

It took Sjoukje only a few minutes to get the knack of posing credibly in strong minus glasses. You'd swear that she is watching something or somebody near the horizon....

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 050

Glasses: Zenni 607225
[L=R: -8.00]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 049

Sjoukje was not shy to experiment with glasses from my new collection and this portrait shows this quality of the model in glorious plenty. The frame shape is slightly reminiscent of the Francois Pintin glasses shown by Battice in picture 028. However, there is a touch of the cat eye style here and the colors of the frame are very striking indeed. Ideal glasses for blondes, in my opinion. The model's pensive mood posing is excellent. Big compliment!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 048

Glasses: Zenni 781427
[L=R: -8.00]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 047

Near the end of the photo shoot, Sjoukje kindly agreed to pose in some glasses from my extensive new collection. This is the first of three Zenni pairs that caught her fancy when she saw them in the box. There is a touch of the cat eye look, yet the overall effect is rather mellow. Needless to say, the lenses created a massive blur but the model's posing is quite credible. Nice!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 046

Glasses: Zenni 274015
[L=R: -8.00]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 045

Lovely Battice posing to great effect in another of her favorite pairs. These glasses were a welcome find in Germany, some seven years ago. They clearly belong to the retro era but opticians in Germany had more variation in frames than their Dutch colleagues at the time. Also, I often noticed that German ladies were more inclined to experiment with eccentric frames than Dutch ladies. The Morie glasses were first bought by a lady in her forties and these were probably her first glasses with progressive lenses. The shape of the frame is rather unusual and the vivid colors of the eyebrow line make these glasses a real eye catcher. Small wonder that Battice - who does not need glasses at all - fell for the style. I like the dreamer expression here.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 044

Glasses: Morie, mid 1990's
[L: -3.25; c-0.50 o / R: -3.00; c-0.50 o / var add 1.50]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 043

A thumb rule for photo shoots of ladies behind crystal veil goes as follows:
"The more a model likes a certain pair of glasses, the better the posing".
Sjoukje was immediately curious when she saw these nameless glasses in the box. The glasses were part of a quartet kindly sent to me by a young lady from Germany called Sylvia, a few years ago. Sylvia thought it would be a pity to throw her old glasses out so she offered them for the princely price of one Euro each. She had increase after increase so the glasses were of no use to her anymore. This was the earliest pair, from the days when she did not need to wear her glasses full time. This peculiar but stylish type of frame enjoyed a short-lived popularity in the late 1990's and early 2000's. At first sight it seems that the lowered straight line would be in the way but a young lady with an almost identical pair assured me that the glasses were quite comfortable to look through. When Sjoukje put the glasses on, she said the very same thing.
This is one of my favorite Sjoukje portraits in this photo shoot - a lady of wisdom and fine taste. The model's expression is superb and the hand with the elaborate ring has a beautiful effect. Thank you, Sjoukje!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 042

Glasses: Gan Aimh, late 1990's
[L: -1.75 / R: -2.00]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 041

This is one of my favorite Battice photos, if not the top favorite. Excellent, sweet posing in a pair of glasses that suit the model's face perfectly. Hat off for Battice!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 040

The glasses shown here by lovely Battice were made for Casino Collection. The marble structure in the green frame is characteristic for the early and mid 1990's. The glasses were a find in Germany, some five years ago.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 039

Glasses Battice: Casino Collection, early 1990's
[L: -0.75; c-0.75 o / R: -0.50; c-0.75 h]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 038

Glasses Sjoukje: Silhouette 1328, made circa 1991
[L=R: +0.75; c+0.50 o]

As far as I can remember, these fine Silhouette glasses were not used in my previous photo shoots.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 037

Battice liked these nameless but funny glasses straightaway when she discovered them in the box. Small wonder - it's a nice, mellow frame with asymmetry in the colors on the front. The lenses are plano but with cylinders which cause just that bit of tension in the model's eyes. I like experiments with the effect of prescription lenses on the expression in the eyes of models. Sometimes it's more difficult to pose in glasses that are nearly right than it is in glasses that only create a massive blur. Anyway, I like this portrait very much. This is lovely posing indeed.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 036

Glasses Battice: Gan Aimh, late 1980's
[L: 0; c-1.25 v / R: 0; c-0.50 v]

Glasses Sjoukje: Pearle Optique, late 1980's
[L=R: +0.50]

Another fine mother and daughter portrait. Good posing by both models. As far as I remember, Sjoukje's Pearle glasses were not used in any previous photo shoot.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 035

Concentrated posing by Sjoukje in a pair of glasses made by Bon Lux from Italy. Sjoukje has perfect eyesight and as the distance between her and my camera was only a few feet, she had no problems with the accomodation. The lenses are only +0.50 and the glasses may have been used occasionally by their first owner as readers.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 034

Glasses: Bon Lux, late 1980's
[L=R: +0.50]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 033

Battice posing in unisex glasses made by Kam, probably in the late 1980's. The glasses were acquired in Bray, Ireland, some twelve years ago. Last year, I returned to Bray to do two series of photo shoots at the Esplanada and on the beach.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 032

Glasses Battice: Kam (Dynasty), late 1980's
[L: -1.25 / R: -1.50]

Glasses Sjoukje: Metzler (En Vogue), mid / late 1980's
[L: -0.25; c+0.50 h / R: -0.25; c-0.75 v]

Sjoukje's glasses were not shown in any previous photo shoot.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 031

The late 1980´s brought more refined frames and also the introduction of frames with a marble structure.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 030

Glasses Sjoukje: Filos (Daphne), mid to late 1980´s
[L=R: +0.50]

Glasses Battice; Vinovorm, late 1980´s
[L: -3.00; c-1.00 v / R  -4.00; c/0.50 v]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 029

Glasses Battice; called Ali, late 1980´s.
[L=R: -3.25]

Glasses Sjoukje; Viennaline, mid to late 1980´s
[L=R: +0.50  c+0.50 o / var add 2.25]

Another fine, concentrated mother and daughter portrait. Generally speaking, the agreed division of tasks was that Battice took the minus glasses and Sjoukje the glasses for mild long sight.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 028

Glasses Battice: Francois Pintin, probably early 1990's
[L: -1.25 / R: -1.50]

Glasses Sjoukje: Rodenstock (Dita), early / mid 1980's
[L: -6.50 / R: -6.75]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 027

Glasses Battice: Silhouette 1045, made circa 1980
[L: 0.50 / R: -0.75]

Glasses Sjoukje: Silhouette 1405, made in 1995
[L: +0.75 / R: +0.50; c+0.25 h]

After posing in a couple of master pieces by Christian Dior, Sjoukje and Battice were keen to try some examples of the great design by the renowned Silhouette company from Austria as well. Silhouette started back in 1964 but they had their international breakthrough in the 1970's. Nowadays they specialize in discrete rimless frames. It's safe to say that Silhouette was in the same league as Christian Dior during the heyday of the large frames. My collection hosts over one hundred of Silhouette glasses. The company obligingly supplied data about the year of manufacture of two dozen glasses from my collection. Hat off for both models for their fine posing in Silhouette glasses!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 026

Like the preceding series, the glasses seen here were chosen because of the compatibility of the colors. Both pairs were featured in just one earlier photo shoot, with Astrid and Lettie (first weblog). Battice's Armani glasses were a find at the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The OGZ glasses shown by Sjoukje were made in Italy but acquired in a Welsh charity shop just after the turn of the Millennium.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 025

Glasses Battice: Giorgio Armani
[L: -1.50; c-1.50 v / R: -2.25; c-0.25 v]

Glasses Sjoukje: OGZ (from Italy), late 1970's
[L=R: +1.25 / bif add 2.50]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 024

Glasses Sjoukje: Rodenstock (Sylvi), late 1970's
[L: 0 / R: -0.75; c-1.50 o / bif add 2.75]

Glasses Battice: Cobra, 1980's
[L: -0.25 / R: -0.25 / var add 1.50]

From the same series as the preview photo. Sjoukje's glasses were a buy at the "Waterlooplein" flea market in Amsterdam during the second half of the 1980's. Battice's glasses were a find in the French speaking part of Switzerland, some twelve years ago.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 023

Sweet smiling Battice posing in epoch making glasses made by Christian Dior almost forty years ago. It's safe to say that the arrival of Dior in optician's shops created a shock wave everywhere but the impact was especially tremendous in Switzerland. I was living there in 1976 and witnessed how the streets changed within a couple of months. Swiss ladies had always been a bit conservative in the choice of their glasses but now all of a sudden, they became front runners. The glasses shown here by Battice were a welcome discovery in the French speaking part of Switzerland, some ten years ago.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 022

Glasses Sjoukje: Christian Dior 2085, early / mid 1980's
[L: +1.00; c+0.50 v / R: +1.00 / bif add 3.00]

Glasses Battice: Christian Dior, 1976 or 1977
[L: -7.00; c-1.00 o / R: -5.75; c-0.50 o]

Fine individual yet united posing, resulting in an excellent mother and daughter portrait. Both models were well aware that they were showing some of the best frames created by the famous house of Christian Dior during the revolutionary first decade of their glasses line. Sjoukje's glasses are a fine example of tasteful extravaganza. Battice's glasses were part of the first Dior series ever, a series of glasses that had a tremendous impact and set the standard for all designers of couture glasses.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 021

A fine portrait of Sjoukje posing in bifocals made by Preciosa during the late 1970's. Excellent posing indeed.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 020

The photo shoot with Sjoukje and Battice took place at an observation post for wildlife at the Dutch - German border. It took me quite a while to find the best place to take pictures of the models. The top floor was too dark but fortunately, this one portrait of Battice in Morel glasses had enough definition, if only just.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 019

Glasses Sjoukje: Preciosa, probably late 1970's
[L: 0 ; c+0.25 h / R: 0 ; c+0.50 h / bif add 1.50]

Glasses Battice: Morel, mid 1970's (imitation wood front)
[L=R: -1.50]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 018

Glasses Sjoukje: Gan Aimh, 1980's
[L=R: 0 / bif add 1.75]

Glasses Battice: Metzler, c. 1970
[L: -0.25 ; c+0.75 v / R: 0 ; c-0.25 v / bif add 2.25]

These glasses were coupled with the colors in mind. Sjoukje's glasses were not featured in my previous photo shoots. The glasses were first owned by a clever lady with perfect eyesight who disliked to look for her readers constantly. By contrast, Battice's glasses were used in at least half a dozen photo shoots. The color orange was considered a must for blondes during the second half of the 1960's.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 017

What does a concerned mother do when her daughter is upset for no apparent reason?

"Dear daughter, may I ask, what's bothering you? Can I help you out?"
"You said at the optician's that these glasses looked great on me. But they are stupid, STUPID!"
"New frames are always confusing because they are different from what you were used to see in the mirror. Believe me, you will really like them within a few days"
"That's no good for me today. I think they are stupid and I HATE those tinted lenses!"                          "My child, the optician said you need those tinted lenses for your headaches. I really need new glasses myself, see how outdated my old Lozza cat eye glasses are.... but I let you go first and there is no money for two pairs. Now be a good girl and let's have a cup of tea together"

Thank you, Sjoukje, for your initiative in this posing arrangement. Much appreciated!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 016

Even when a mother and daughter get along great, there are the occasional days when things don't go all that smooth. Here Battice is acting the angry daughter - possibly after looking in the mirror and suddenly deciding that her new Essel glasses are not nice at all....
This is priceless posing, Battice, thank you so much!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 015

Glasses: Essel Boutique ("Natac"), early / mid 1970's
[L: -2.50; c-0.75 v / R: -4.75]

Battice posing in another pair of refined glasses by Essel, bought in the 1980's at the "Waterlooplein" flea market in my native Amsterdam. The newly invented tinted lenses were a hype during the early and mid 1970's.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 014

Glasses Sjoukje: Essel Boutique, early / mid 1970's
[L: +0.50; c+0.50 h / R: +0.25; c+0.75 h]

Glasses Battice: called "Tessa", probably early 1970's
[L: -5.00; c-0.50 v / R: -5.00; c-1.00 v]

The general trend during the early 1970's was that frames got larger and larger. However, there was no unanimity about the merits of the trend among designers and their clients. The large frames suited many faces but not all. ln this fine mother / daughter portrait, Sjoukje and Battice are posing in glasses that went against the trend of the early 1970's. Sjoukje's glasses were made by Essel, a brand then best known for their contact lenses. These glasses were a welcome find in a Welsh charity shop during the closing years of the past century. Battice's glasses were bought at the inexhaustible "Waterlooplein" flea market (Amsterdam) during the 1980's. The frame shape and suize was not uncommon in the late 1960's but the frame material may indicate a later year of manufacture. Thanks to both models for their wonderful posing. A genuine mother / daughter portrait!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 013

Glasses: Neostyle (Vela), made around 1971
[L: -1.75 / R: -2.00]

Nowadays, orange is a color seldom used in frames but between 1964 and 1967, all blonde girls and ladies were expected to wear orange glassses. The style could be seen in the streets of Amsterdam until the early 1970's and these glasses by Neostyle must have been among the very last orange glasses that were manufactured. Four decades later, Sjoukje is assessing the merits of the Neostyle glasses with the help of a hand mirror.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 012

This fine, pensive mood portrait of young Battice in "Silvana" glasses by Rodenstock was deliberately edited in color with a low level of saturation. Around 1969, color photography became widely available to amateur photographers in the Netherlands but the colors often lost some of their definition within a few years. The glasses were made around the same time and the low saturation provides a perfect blend with the color of the frame.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 011

Glasses Sjoukje: Rodenstock ("Toxy"), made in 1963 / 1964
[L=R: -1.25]

Glasses Battice: Rodenstock ("Silvana"), made around 1969
[L: -2.75 / R: -2.25]

For several decades, the Rodenstock company from Germany had the nice habit to give girl's names to each new series of frames. The "Toxy" glasses shown here by Sjoukje were kindly given to me in 1996 by a lady who always hated her glasses but never threw her old pairs out. When I made her acquaintance in 1996 and mentioned my glasses collection, she excused herself for a moment and returned with a big box containing a dozen glasses she had used during the preceding 30 years. A few months later, we went through her old photo albums and this gave me the opportunity to verify the age of each pair. In later years she could afford to buy a new pair of glasses almost every year but money was scarce during the first years of her wedding so she used the Toxy glasses until 1971, changing them for a rectangular silver pair by Silhouette. She was a beautiful lady of great taste and all glasses were part of a newly developing trend when she bought them. The Toxy glasses were among the front runners of the new style that soon made an end to the cat eye era.
Battice is posing in a pair of "Silvana" glasses made by Rodenstock six years after the Toxy pair. Six years seems short but during the 1960's, changes in fashion went quite fast, keeping pace with the revolutionary changes in popular music and politics. The Silvana glasses were a part of a new trend with larger frames that started during the love summer of 1967, culminating in the giant glasses of the mid 1970's.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 010

A good mother knows that she sometimes has to make a step aside to make her daughter shine all the more. Sjoukje is certainly a good mother and here we have one of the best portraits of her lovely daughter. Battice enjoys perfect eyesight sans glasses and when she tried these glasses, she had a comment or two about the asymmetric prescription of the lenses. But a model does not often get the chance to pose in vintage cat eye glasses and Battice recovered quickly from the initial shock, delivering this superb portrait. Hat off for Battice!

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 009

Sjoukje is looking straight to her court photographer through a pair of nameless glasses made in 1963 or 1964. Many frames had opal colored fronts in those years of transition from the cat eye era into a new fashion where everything was rather small and compact. The glasses were probably only used as readers by their first owner. The cat eye glasses shown by Battice were made one or two years earlier and although rather warped, they are still "photo shoot proof". The first owner of the glasses had an unusual prescription with a difference of 3.00 diopters between both lenses. Opticians later regarded this the limit and anyone with a more substantial difference between left and right was urged to buy contact lenses instead of glasses. The first owner of Battice's glasses did not have that "choice" as contact lenses only arrived around 1967, five years after the glasses were made.

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 008

Glasses Battice (left): Gan Aimh, early 1960's
[L: -0.50; c+1.50 o / R: -2.50]

Glasses Sjoukje (right): Gan Aimh, early to mid 1960's
[L=R: +1.25]

Sjoukje & daughter Battice 007

Another fine portrait of Battice posing in vintage Lozza glasses from the cat eye era. My collection once hosted piles of vintage cat eye glasses but alas, the old plastics started crumbling after four or five decades. Fortunately, this Lozza pair is still in fine shape. Like many models, Battice said she liked the cat eye style so I dug out this pair for her. Nice!