Portrait of Julia Jackson, 1862. She was Julia Cameron’s niece and her favorite subject. Julia Jackson was also the mother of writer Virginia Woolf.  From Photograph magazine.  Dec. 2016.

By Paul Goldfinger, Photography Editor @Blogfinger.

The Met in New York had this to say about our guest photographer :  “One of the greatest portraitists in the history of photography, Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) blended an unorthodox technique, a deeply spiritual sensibility, and a Pre- Raphaelite–inflected aesthetic to create a gallery of vivid portraits and a mirror of the Victorian soul…”

I wish I had written that sentence.

Julia Margaret Cameron was British, but she spent much of her life in India and Ceylon.  She worked with a technically difficult technique that involved harsh chemicals:   albumin printing from wet collodion negatives.  Some exotic artists today enjoy  using methods like this, but they must be really dedicated.

In her time, Cameron was criticized by other photographers because of her artsy soft-focus results, but painters were more likely to  appreciate her work.    I am a big fan of those 19th- early 20th  century impressionistic photographers.

Cameron’s work is currently being shown at the Cleveland Museum of Art until Feb. 5, 2017.  So, if you are traveling for fun and games in Ohio, do stop in Cleveland for this photo exhibit.

MARIAN McPARTLAND, jazz  pianist.  “Our Love is Here to Stay,”  by George and Ira Gershwin.     Speaking of pioneering (British)  women, Marian McPartland   (1918-2013) was a “trailblazing” jazz star at a time when there were few women in jazz.  She was a composer and the founder of a record label.  From 1978-2011, she was known for her famous radio show “Piano Jazz” on NPR.   I used to listen to her play and  interview musicians. Marian performed all over the world, and she was still composing as she approached age 90.

Marian McPartland performs at age 90.