“You wait three years for what was promised.” That is how the photographs sent from my youth were signed. Almost half a century has passed since then…. I did not wait, did not wait… And then, like snow. I remember myself well — that I did not like being photographed, but that is how it turned out… I will dare to write about the author. He deserves it!
Vovka was lucky! Right after school he got into the cinematography course at the Kiev Theatre Institute named after Karpenko-Kary. In Soviet times that was very cool. An evening student, the youngest on the course. And the specialization “Cinematographer” had only just opened, thanks to one man who was recruiting that course. The students nicknamed him “Papa.” His surname was Smorodin. I think he brought many people up in the world.
After all, when we watch a film, we do not think about how it was made. What interests the viewer? “Action”! Of course the actors, the directors. And who “shot” it? Do we remember? So a cinematographer is a labourer in cinema. “Load, haul, shoot!” That is how it was… How much did a film camera weigh then? Well then — who knows? Only they know!
And cinema began with photography! Now you understand “what two big differences” there are between photographs of those years and today’s. Camera, film, exposure meter, lens, developer for the film, developer and fixer for the photographic paper, a special stand for printing, and also a red lamp. Everything had to be done in complete darkness. I remember you could switch on the red lamp to see what was coming out. And then dry the photos on a clothespin, on a line, and not touch them until they were fully dry. And then glaze them, or leave the photo matte, and look, and cry, because the result might not please you at all.
That is how my friend Vovka began his student cinematography work. He had to photograph a lot, and everything that caught his eye, and also do course assignments. And here I can already write about my part in his coursework. The notion of “model” did not exist in Soviet times. Only now can I say that I was a model. I was 15 years old. We lived then near the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. And the film faculty was on the grounds of the Lavra. I should note that in those atheist times the Lavra was only a museum-preserve, and there, sometime in the late 1960s, the film faculty of the Kiev Theatre Institute was organized.
I remember how Vovka would come to us and “ask leave” of Mama for me: “Let Ira go, I’m going to ‘sy mat’’ her!” (that means shoot her). My mama, of course, asked strictly, like, aren’t there enough little actresses? Well, there weren’t enough! Future actresses had a lot of work; they really were busy. And that is how I “became a model”! My mama, of course, did not lose her vigilance! Along the lines of “when will you bring the model back?” Vovka had to account fully and return me in one piece, “on time,” to the fourth floor with no lift. I should note that we did not have telephones then…
