Peter Gowland, Hassie and Honeywell strobe
For teen-aged photographers of my generation, Peter Gowland was known long before Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresson or Alfred Stieglitz. Gowland was the guru of pin-up/glamour photography that drew us to Popular Photography magazine long before we had the gumption to dare risk buying a Playboy at the local convenience store.
Gowland died last week at age 94. He leaves behind three generations of photographs of buxom bikini-clad beach bunnies, scores of make-shift photography studio how-to ideas, camera gear he invented (he even had his own camera: The Gowland 4 x 5), appearances as an actor in World War II-era movies, photography books he authored and thousands of followers who, when awash with the hormones of a teen-ager, believed having a camera would get us the girls.
It didn’t work. But the idea was pretty good at the time. Adios, Mr. Gowland and thanks for the memories.
