DAY 305

PORTRAITS

Eyes to the Soul

LOUISE LOMBARD, ACTRESS

If there was one of my portraits that I had to choose as an example of an image showing the sum of a subject’s soul, it would have to be this one of Louise Lombard, shot on color transparency film and cross-processed to produce a contrasty negative with saturated color and muted skin tones.

To see this image printed life size and to gaze into Louise’s transfixing eyes is to dive into the blue ocean of her soul—truly this is one of those portraits where the eyes stare back, relaxed and intense at the same time. Adding to her unblinking gaze is her subtle and enigmatic smile, which further draws you in and makes you ask yourself, “Are her eyes smiling too?” This image was exhibited and later acquired for the archives of the National Portrait Gallery in London. —SA