Last week in the New York Times, I noticed the obiturary of Peter Gowland, "a Photographer Whose Women Graced 1,000 Walls". This was of particular interest to me as I am in the midst of a special project photographing women of substance who are over 50 years old. These brave women have allowed me to first  photograph them without any makeup. Then, when they were dressed up for the camera in their favorite attire, I tried to capture the essence that defines who they are.  I figured Mr. Gowland may have special tips for me.

I noticed that Mr. Gowland was deemed "America's No. 1 Pin-up Photographer". The Los Angeles Times claimed that "he had taken the cheesiness out of cheesecake". I was amused to find out that Mr. Gowland had written a book in 1953 called "How to Photograph Women." This was a book I had to buy!

As I flipped through this book when it arrived last week, I noticed that he had a warning for all male photographers. "Don't get personal: never use your photography as a means of making dates or getting a girl out in the woods."

Boy, have we come a long way since the fifties. More on Mr. Gowland's book later, as I find further advice from Gowland that is too funny to ignore.