Monday, June 14, 2010

A hand written note

I ran in to Mannie by pure chance. I was up at AFI listening to his son John give a lecture to a group of young film students. It had been so long since I had seen Mannie. While we talked in the hall I couldn't help but be drawn into the sparkle of life in his eyes. I don't know why I asked if I could photograph him.

We brought Mannie a cup of Starbucks on the morning I photographed him. That was so typical for Mannie, a cup of Joe and a little conversation about life or politics or his grand kids. The shoot was really simple. A white roll of seamless paper taped to the garage door of his house and a camera.

These are the images that John had given to Vivian, his mother.

Mannie Blas


Mannie Blas

Mannie Blas

A week or two after John gave his mom the prints, I received a letter in the mail from Vivian. I haven't had a letter sent to me since I was in Iraq in 2003. I won't go on to much but I will say that Vivian and Mannie had a huge influence on me when I was young. It was after hearing their stories of travel and adventure that I decided to leave home at 19 and head for Europe to look for creativity and life.
Vivian's words were so touching and beautiful. I don't think I fully understood how impacting photography could be on someone until I read her letter.
Once again Vivian and Mannie have influenced how I look at life.

Vivian Blas
Dear Scott,
I was amazed when John told me about all the effort you put into taking photos of my husband, Mannie. However, when John presented me with 3 of the finished products on Mother's Day I was so moved that tears came to my eyes.
As you are well aware since the days of your adolescence and your visits to our home - I am a lover of art and therefore, I was highly impressed with your photographic artistry. You captured the essence of who my husband is. It's almost "too real" when I gaze on the expressions on Mannie's face which you captured most effectively.
I know that when Lisa arrives in town this June she shall also be quite impressed with your talent.
In closing I want to say "thank you" so very much for the photos but also for sharing with our family your talent.
Fondest regards,
Vivian Blas








I wanted to enclose one of my favorites from that day.

Mannie Blas

Mannie passed away this April and he will be missed. He has touched the hearts of many and I am honored to have known him.
I am trying to swear less because Mannie said "there are so many beautiful words in the English language that there is no reason to use swear words".

2 comments:

  1. smiles...a solid image which will give his family an image of someone they love - something to reflect on as the years go by - good job scott...

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  2. Mannie passed away this April and he will be missed.

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