I was out with two good friends in the field of rough stubble which rolls down from the wagon on wagon hill. I was trying to take portraits of Lansing and Moriah, ala Mr. Dirado, and I was failing miserably. I couldn’t find the words to say to make my subjects take the form of the portrait that I wanted to make. The mix of humour and impassioned authenticity that Dirado strikes when he makes a picture eluded me entirely. I am very aware that he has been doing this a long time and I am a novice, and that to expect any kind of greatness from my first serious foray into portraiture is a fool’s hope. This was not my first attempt at “Dirado type” pictures either, I had tried four times before in interior settings, and each time the pictures I took did not satisfy. I found that having a camera in hand made my interactions with my subjects rather awkward, and that the best photos I took were candid ones, which was not the way Dirado worked. I had hoped that taking on this project...
I met Stephan Dirado last fall here at UNH when his some of his photographs were in the museum. He gave a talk in the big lecture hall, and it was probably the most well attended artist talk that I’ve been to here. I was struck right away his easy manner, he seemed utterly comfortable in his skin, and when he talked to the room about his life as a photographer, it was like he was talking to a room full of old friends. This easy and comfortable way of being made an impression on me, and when I saw Dirado in Philbrook dining hall after his talk I approached him to thank him for the talk and express my enthusiasm for his photographs. When I introduced myself he made me feel as if it was an honor for him to meet me , as if I was the accomplished artist and he the doting college art student. It was quite remarkable, and I went away from the conversation feeling uplifted. Dirado must have this effect on many people, for most of his photographs are very intimate portraits which would ...
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