A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet the Poet/Singer/Songwriter Leonard Cohen in Saguenay Quebec. I have always been an enormous fan and rarely does a week go by when I don’t listen to one of his truly great songs. Although we only spent a few precious minutes with him, he was gracious enough to allow us to take a few shots. This shot was my favourite of the few shots we took.
It was a hot sunny cloudless day and the sun was still fairly high which meant I had to be on the lookout for shadows in the face. I therefore set my flash to minus 2 which would fill in the potential shadows. This shot was originally processed in colour and I really like how it turned out (maybe I’ll post the colour version sometime). However there is something timeless and mysterious about Mr. Cohen’s music and I knew when I took the image that I’d likely process it in black and white. Also, his suit and hat were just screaming to be photographed in black and white.
I’d like to thank Leonard Cohen (and his UNBELIEVABLE ensemble of musicians) for the fantastic concert where he received at least 15 standing ovations, and for allowing me the pleasure to take a few shots. My only regret is that my wife (who is equally an enormous fan) wasn’t there to meet him with me. She was resting at the hotel since she was tired from the 5 hour drive from Montreal.
