Helena Bonham hates those bloody flashes

500-Weeks #12

Helena Bonham Carter is ready for her close-up.

Let me set the scene: I'm on the sidewalk of Wellesley Ave in Toronto. It is a busy, downtown street, with a constant flow of people and I am scurrying around, scrambling to pick-up my camera bag, lighting bag and tripod, among other photographic accessories. They had all been loaded onto a small luggage cart that I was pulling to the Sutton Place Hotel when a bump in the sidewalk sent the whole kit and caboodle tipping over onto its side.

It was one of those situations that make you question the decisions you make in life. Did I buy the wrong luggage cart, or am I hauling too much gear?

Helena Bonham Carter in Toronto, Canada in 1996

As my experience as a photographer increased, so did my technical ambitions. Once I had obtained a certain amount of lighting equipment and discovered what could be done with it in a studio environment, it became very tempting to try and create that experience everywhere I went. Even with severe time constrains, I wanted that amount of control.

At first, I had one camera, which went into one small camera bag. Then I added a second camera body and a flash, plus a few lenses, so I switched to a larger camera bag. Next came a second bag for a tripod and extra battery-powered flashes. Which was followed by studio strobe lights that needed to be plugged into the wall. More lights required extra light stands, and umbrellas to control the light with, plus extension cords, which necessitated an equipment bag. Sometimes I even hauled along fabric backdrops. 

Helena Bonham Carter warms up under the hot lights

I was a downtown based photographer, working mostly alone, with no car to put stuff in, except the occasional taxi. Everything I wanted to take had to be carried, all at once, by me. Past a certain amount of gear, I could no longer handle it, so I bought the luggage cart and loaded everything onto it, held in place with bungee cords.

At that time, The Sutton Place Hotel was the main venue for both the Toronto Film Festival and press tours in general, and my apartment was one block away. It was while I was pulling the cart over to the hotel, that it got off balance and fell over, spilling onto the sidewalk. As I tried to pack it all back on again, I realized that I had two options: get a better cart, or carry less gear.

I went with the less gear option.

I allowed myself two bags, one for each shoulder, and started to consider portability as a major condition of my location kit. I went through several different configurations. My first idea was to just use battery-powered flashes mounted onto light stands, but there were drawbacks. The locations I was working in would frequently be dimly lit, and it could be hard to focus the lens.

So I went looking for an alternative and thought, why bother with the flash? Maybe I could just get some bright lights. I settled on a pair of 650-watt lamps designed for amateur filmmakers. The boxes they came in proclaimed "Super 8 Quartz Movie Lite." They were small and got really hot if they were on for too long, but my editorial photo shoots rarely lasted more than a ten minutes. I also packed a pair of thick work gloves to handle them with. The bright light certainly made focusing easier.

Which brings me to Helena Bonham Carter, who was in Toronto in January 1996 to promote “Twelfth Night”.  She had come into the public's consciousness playing very mannered English characters in films set in the pre-and early 20^th century. Based on those early career roles, I kind of expected to be meeting a rather fussy, possibly uptight actress.

Boy, was I wrong. 

She came in, and my first impressions: 1) she's tiny (so many of the big names are), even in really thick-soled shoes and 2) she had a great complexion. Seriously, really, great complexion. I’ve photographed alot of faces, hers stood out. 

She sat in the chair I had set up, I took my first couple of frames, and no flash went off. Ms. Bonham Carter checked out the hot lights and declared "Oh thank God. I hate those bloody flashes". In a charming British accent, of course.

She then had a running dialogue with the person she came with and her liberal use of profanity caught me off guards. I don't swear that much, even less at work. Not so for Ms. Bonham Carter. Quite the potty mouth.  

She got comfortable in front of the bright lights, and proceeded to perform for my camera beautifully. With each click, a different look, a change in positioning.  A bit of a smile, a slight look away, a more serious look. Fantastic for me.

I actually photographed her again, the next year, Maybe I'll post those photos some time.

The Acme-Lyes I sued for these photos

In the years after these photos were taken, Ms. Bonham Carter’s more eccentric side – and kooky fashion sense - came more out in the open. Both in the characters she played – one of my favourites was Marla Singer in “Fight Club” – as well as Belltrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies among many, many others.

I also noticed the nicotine-stained fingers, then found this quote from Ms. Bohman Carter, which seemed to sum up my impressions:

“I drink booze, I smoke, and I'm hooked on caffeine. I actually have been known to swear at times and belch and even raise my voice when provoked. And I'm not physically repressed!”

Source: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/helena_bonham_carter_414275

Technical stuff: Cameras: Square photos shot with a Rolleiflex TLR with 75mm f/3.5 Schneider Xenar lens and outfitted with a Beattie Intenscreen ground glass using Agfapan APX 400 B&W negative film. Rectangular photos shot with a Bronica ETRsi wth 75mm f/2.8 Zenzanon-PE lens using Fuji Super-G 400 colour negative film.

Lighting: Tungsten, two 650 watt Acme-Lites aimed through white shoot-through umbrellas. Key light from camera left and fill from 90 degrees to camera right. I had to squeeze the light stand in between two beds.