May 2001
President's
Message
Portrait of ...
Portrait Of ...
Helen Sophrin
My photographic adventures began when my uncle sent me a present for my 16th birthday and told me to buy something I would like. My choice was a Kodak folding camera and a book entitled Elementary Photography. My pictures in those days were just of my friends and family.
After high school, I went to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I was among the first women to be hired and was placed in the optics department where we repaired binoculars and telescopes. We would strip them down to the shell, replace parts, recement lenses and get them ready for the next trip out. This gave me an appreciation of how things tick.
Several years later when I worked as a lab technician, Christmas bonuses were given out. That was a real windfall for me and off I went to Willoughby’s, the neatest camera store in New York City. They had everything related to photography and their sales people would answer all questions. One of them directed me to a Rollieflex. Film was cheap in those days, so I was able to take pictures freely.
One position I held was as a photographer’s assistant and one incident still stays with me. I would watch my employer make multiple prints at the same time. It looked so easy as he slid one piece of paper on top of the other, so I tried to do likewise. At one point I panicked and pulled them out of the developer too soon. When he came in he exclaimed " What did you do? Those faces have no blood in them." I never tried printing more than one picture at a time after that. And when I look in the developer these days, I say to myself "is there enough blood in that face?"
Around 1945, I was married and living in the heart of Manhattan. Everything was changing around us and it was very conducive to roam the streets and take pictures. Although I like nature. having lived in the city most of my life, I seem to enjoy people and their surroundings. During that time I took courses taught by great photographers at the Photo League.
During the time my children were growing up, they were my main subject. The Rollie always hung in the kitchen, ready to be used, and my kids are well documented.
After retirement, I decided to make enlargements of my New York negatives of some 50 years ago. Charlie Shambelan suggested I join the Camera Club. That would set me going, I thought. The only trouble was we had monthly assignments. Well, I’m still working at doing both things. I still have many negatives to work on but that means I’ll always have something to keep me occupied.