John Robertson Photography - My Blog

Nov 10, 2025

Lee

I finally watched the film about Lee Miller yesterday. Personally, I didn’t feel it lived up to the hype, though Kate Winslet played the role convincingly. Too many parts of Miller’s life were either glossed over or rushed through as if the filmmakers were working through a checklist. Then again, it’s a feature film, not a documentary—entertainment first, accuracy second.

As a former Rolleiflex owner (how I wish I’d kept mine!), I couldn’t help noticing that—unlike me—Winslet’s character didn’t wander around with a battered old lens hood hanging off the front. Aaargh—flare! They did, however, get the flash solenoid right. No Contax anywhere, sadly. In my second newspaper job, I was handed a Rolleiflex and told to stop using my own Nikon 35mm “toy.” Infuriating at the time, especially since I’d already used it at the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, alongside their Pentax bodies and Hasselblads. But that clunky old Rollei taught me a lot about composition—and about making all twelve frames count.