Tuesday, December 09, 2008



So many years ago my writer friend Ben Metcalfe had a 50s modern house in West Vancouver that had a brook running underneath it. Behind the house, where the brook came from Metcalfe had built a Japanese garden. He kept the very fine wine he made in the little Japanese hut. Metcalfe (seen here by the brook with his son Michael) had seen the picture of Susanne Tabata (not this one, as this Polaroid surfaced only today, long lost in an envelope). "Alex," he told me, "I want you to convince your Japanese/Canadian friend to pose here in my garden, you know..."and with the wink of his eyes I knew he wanted me to photograph the beautiful woman in the nude. I did ask Susanne Tabata and she did decline, to Metcalfe's disappointment. I managed to convince Tabata to pose for me wearing part of Joe Cohen's armour collection. Joe Cohen had the Sony concession for all Canada, he was a philanthropist and honorary Vancouver Police Chief. Every once in a while I went to him when I needed a broad sword for a shoot that required one. I photographed Christopher Gaze (below, left) as Richard III with the same sword.



To this day I wonder what would have been the result if Tabata had declined the session with the armour and acceded to posing like a Geisha.