Ginsberg

            On Saturday morning I didn’t go to the food bank because I was scheduled to work for a photography class at OCADU from 11:00 to 13:00. When I got there though at around 10:45, the instructor. Surendra Lawoti told me it would be about an hour before they needed me. I went out in the hall, tried the door of a nearby studio and was surprised to find it unlocked. I went in, read some poems by William Carlos Williams and then deliberately dozed a bit in a chair with my feet up because I didn’t want to be drowsy while I was posing later. That seemed to be enough to freshen me up.
            After 45 minutes I went back to the photography class. Surendra was still looking at his students’ homework so I sat down and read the rest of the Williams poems in my book and then started on Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”. Although I have heard and read bits of the work over the years, I confess that I’d never actually read it. What an amazing poem! It actually reminds me of some of my own stuff. I didn’t get very far into it though before it was time to pose. I only worked for the last hour of the class. It was mostly a lighting demonstration.
            I’d had problems with Surendra in the past because he’d been initially a bit too hands on, in the sense of trying to physically move me into position and also in touching my face with the light meter. I’d complained about it back to Tracy, the model coordinator and she sent a note to inform him that models were not to be touched.
            When Tracy booked me for this gig I found her wording puzzling. She said, “I recall you had some issues with Surendra and given that there will be a light meter involved again, let me know if you’d prefer not to take the job”. I replied that since it’s unacceptable to touch models with the light meter and Surendra has been informed of that, why should I worry about the light meter? The way she’d put it made it sound as if school policy had changed and that if I didn’t want to be touched I should turn the gig down. She got back to me that the school policy has not changed and so I took the gig.
            Surendra was actually very careful this time not to touch me with the instrument and even made sure he told his students not to do so as well. For the most part they didn’t, except out of awkwardness in dealing with a model and a light meter for the first time. They all seemed to appreciate working with a professional model.
            As I was leaving Surendra told his students that their next assignment was called “Hello Stranger!” They would have to approach and ask a stranger if they could photograph them.