Elsa Dorfman: Me and My Camera

[Pieter]

Working with a 200-pound, 20 x 24 Polaroid camera, one of only a few in existence, Dorfman has photographed friends, artists, and celebrities. At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston through June 21. https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/elsa-dorfman-me-and-my-camera

[Tin Can]

Since many can't attend, there is a movie about Elsa, 2017.

The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography

Rent it almost anywhere

I am

[Bob Salomon]

There was a camera store in LA called PanPacific, a large store, heavily into large and medium format as well as amateur equipment.
The owners son managed to acquire one of the Polaroid 20x24 cameras and set up a studio for it in the store where it could be rented.

Unfortunately for him the son was involved in insurance fraud and an ex employee turned him in and the authorities then found fraud on school and city contracts and they locked him up and his mother had to close the store after decades of operation.

Don’t know where that camera went after that.

This guy was quite a character. He drove a Rolls Royce to the store each day and parked it in the alley between his store and the next building. On one trip out to the coast we were going to lunch, I had strict orders to not let him order the wine! As we passed the alley going to the restaurant he suddenly stopped and said “my car is gone”. Turned out to be another insurance fraud.

[Peter De Smidt]

Bob, you have great stories! Maybe a memoir is in order.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, you have great stories! Maybe a memoir is in order.

A quick short one. At Rollei of America we had an assistant marketing manager who was very funny. When Rollei introduced the A26-C26 instamatic Camera he had the job of demoing it at the PMA show in Vegas.
The camera advanced film the same way as a Minox by pushing it into its shell and pulling it out.
He was well into his spiel when Sammy Davis, Jr. came to the booth and watched the demo. The guy never acknowledged Sammy, who was a Rollei collector, and continued his spiel. Sammy began to stare at the demonstrator and he finally interrupted the demo to look at Sammy and said “excuse me sir, you keep staring at me, do you know me”?

The next thing we knew Sammy was flat on his back on the carpet laughing with his hands and feet slapping the floor.
The demonstrator just finished the demo!

[Tin Can]

That's a good one Bob

Salesmen and Saleswomen all have great stories

[Tobias Key]

I watched the Elsa Dorfman documentary on Netflix. I loved how unassuming she was, despite the amazing body of work she has. First photographer I have seen who wears a tabard in the darkroom!

[Tracy Storer]

That camera went back to Polaroid before Steve was busted, though he did steal the Fuji 1200mm lens.

[Bob Salomon]

That camera we t back to Polaroid before Steve was busted, though he did steal the Fuji 1200mm lens.

Among other things, he got some Rollei from us.

[Oren Grad]

I saw the show today. It occupies the Ritts gallery, the room on the first floor that the MFA reserves full-time for photographs. There are 14 self- or self-with-others portraits, of which 13 are original 20x24 Polaroids and the other a same-sized inkjet copy. Various vintages are represented from early to late in her Polaroid career. Many of the pictures include balloons, reflecting her tradition of taking self-portraits on her birthday. Also shown are a handful of early 35mm B&W prints, in the glass cases. If nothing else, it's a good opportunity to see what 20x24 Polaroids look like "in the flesh".

200885 200886

[Mark Sawyer]

Just a note that those who enjoy the life and work of Elsa Dorfman might also be interested in Editta Sherman.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/arts/design/editta-sherman-celebrity-portraitist-and-doyenne-of-carnegie-hall-studios-dies-at-101.html

[robshepherd]

Mark! That's a wonderful story. Thanks for the link. Whenever I read something like this I think about other people doing similarly interesting things. How many of them do we never hear about?

Last week I watched the Elsa Dorfman movie after learning about it here. I loved it.

[C. D. Keth]

Just a note that those who enjoy the life and work of Elsa Dorfman might also be interested in Editta Sherman.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/arts/design/editta-sherman-celebrity-portraitist-and-doyenne-of-carnegie-hall-studios-dies-at-101.html

Thank you for that, I wasn't at all familiar!

[Vaughn]

I helped out a little when the 20x24 came to our university art dept. I printed 'ghost' images -- image transfers onto watercolor paper -- after the print was made (faint images as most the color went onto the main print.) Fun.