Full text of the blog translated by Mark Donnelly: Betina la Plante: The Window of the Soul It would appear that there is nothing as easy as a portrait in photography. After all, you only need a decent light source and someone to portray. Taking this simple process and turning it into a unique moment, bringing out their real personality, no longer depends upon light or a model. A sixth sense is required, the ability to empathize with the subject so that they may let us see their inner secret, their personality, that look, which only an intimate moment can provoke. Portraiture is the search for the essence of personality, psychological versus physical. Betina la Plante (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1964) has a gallery filled with such treasures, a tear that hurts just by looking at it, furtive eyes, an intense, enigmatic and tender expression…It’s a parade of faces charged with magnetism and history. Betina shows us the narrative capacity of our skin from its marks and wrinkles. By using sharp contrasts, she shows us how our skin can tell stories and evoke complex biographies. Her photos go one step further than a mere description. She makes it easy for us to imagine the lives of her subjects just by looking at their face. Her love affair with photography begins at the age of 14 in the dark room where images dyed with red light appear out of nowhere by way of magic. Like most, she learns by lots of trial and error. In 2009, she decides to jump ship leaving behind the magic of the laboratory for the immediacy and control of digital yet still holding on to the principles learned in the dark room. As digital emerges so do the new photo sharing websites. Flickr doesn’t just become her gallery (interestingly enough she is yet to have an exhibition of her own although she has taken part in collective exhibitions) it also becomes a place for her to look at other photos from photographers from around the globe and get in contact with them. Feedback is constant. Her catalogue of faces begins to grow little by little. It all begins with her surroundings, her children and friends. She starts to move beyond the familiar boundaries and begins shooting other people. Even before taking the first frame she needs to spend time getting to know them and for them to know her. By doing so she is able to reflect this in her portraits. Bret Walker, who in this very blog advised us to shoot (photos) till our fingers bleed, isn’t just the only photographer you’ll find in her gallery. We can discover many more hunters becoming the hunted such as Jonè Reed. There are also a few portraits of the British actor, Terence Stamp. They all have the hypnotic capacity of his eyes, but there is one that stands out from the rest. He appears alongside a photo from his early days, a now and then moment. Only Betina with her trademark style is capable of showing us how he has gained in presence and elegance over the years. Betina talks about the privilege of knowing and working with Elliott Erwit as a casting and location assistant. She followed some of his advice and learned from observation. She never forgot to follow his best advice: have the main source of light at 90 degrees to the subject and place them against a neutral background. It works. She also lets us see her sensitivity for glamour, elegance and timeless sophistication. A pair of high heels with a touch of red velvet has become her icon on the net. She is much more than a brilliant gallery of portraits. Even though they are not in abundance, she is capable of showing us beautiful landscapes, flowers and a touch of colour. Light, genre, shape, motive or the model don’t matter. Above all prevails her intense and crystal clear vision.
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Luis Mariano González
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