Text by Kitchie Ohh, Copyright 2024
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In Memorium
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A Muse in Grief
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“Sometimes, you meet someone and, in an instant, you connect with them and know no matter what your relationship becomes, you will be forever comforted by their mere existence.”
It’s true. The man who said that would know, of course. I think for as much as he felt it about anyone, more people than he realized felt that way about him. Who is he, you wonder? Musician, writer, photographer extraordinaire, and my friend, Micael F. Bann. Quite a few of my previous posts here include photos taken by him under his alias of Victor Devilbliss.
My very first photoshoot occurred in 2013. I hadn’t planned on doing more, or doing anything with the resulting photos. But something just clicked and I wanted more. It took me a while to work up the nerve. The first first step came unexpectedly. Social media served me up an ad for a retro-themed magazine called Retro Lovely. I began following it, loving the posts and images. I wanted to be among them, but didn’t think I was good enough. Then, I saw a call for submissions for a spinoff of this main magazine called Kat Club. I decided I would go for it. With the permission of the photographer from that first shoot, I sent in a few images. On April 24, 2015 my picture was promoted as being included in the latest issue. Sadly, just before going to print, the entire Retro Lovely line folded. At the time, all issues were being traditionally printed and sold through mail order. The cost and effort just was not feasible, long-term, for a one-man operation. I was bummed but so proud of myself for doing it!
I went on to do three more shoots before stepping onto a set with the incredible Michael Bann, a.k.a. Victor Devilbliss, creator of the Retro Lovely Magazine line, in October 2017. Looking back, what’s incredibly funny is that I booked that photoshoot due to being a huge fan of the artist scheduled to provide hair and makeup, figuring it was probably the one chance I would ever have to work with her. The legendary photographer was secondary in my decision. Funny how that shook out. I never worked with that artist again but developed a close friendship with Michael and shot with him seven more times in his studio, his home, and other awesome locations requiring significant road tripping. I submitted our photos to various publications and was always excited to share when accepted.
Somewhere in the middle of that friendship and photography, Retro Lovely Magazine found new life. It was reborn in mid 2018, through a more cost-effective print-on-demand platform but with the same meticulously curated content for which the original publication was known. I was trusted with the news before the relaunch, assisting with proofreading the website copy and submission forms before they went live. I was excited for him. We had discussed at length how much he loved it and how devastated he was when he had to give it up. While it was a project he enjoyed and poured himself into, it came with pitfalls of course. He had developed quite the aversion to models and photographers who begged and bargained to appear on covers; who contacted him with horror stories about others to persuade him not to accept submissions or work with them; and so much more. He navigated it all without ever compromising who he was. I was extremely honored, and incredibly humbled when he messaged one day with a “so I was thinking…” and then a few minutes pause, which was a very Michael thing to do. I was expecting a novel-length message to follow about some crazy thing he experienced or an idea he had and wanted to bounce off me. Instead, it was a photo from that first time we worked together, mocked up for the cover of his magazine. I had barely grasped what it was he was showing me before several more messages came through pointing out how the set was perfect because he was able to shoot wide and the picture lined up for a wraparound cover. I finally understood and Retro Lovely Magazine No. 14 published in August 2018. He shocked me further by later telling me that he also sent a few photos from this set to a ‘hot rod’ magazine. They had chosen one to include in their upcoming issue. It was a publication that was a regularly mailed subscription and was also available in retail stores and newsstands. When it was released, he sent me a video of him entering the local Wal-Mart, finding the magazine on the shelf, flipping to our page, and purchasing it. He surprised me one more time after that, in April 2022. After our final spontaneous road-trip, destination photoshoot, I found myself once again, unexpectedly, on the cover of a Retro Lovely publication, this time it was Cassandra which had a very glamorous, opulent kind of feel to the images it contained. He made sure that I recognized that the title of the magazine was made to look like the glittery surface of the table in the photo. Of course it did. That was the kind of detail he just loved, the small things that made huge difference if you took the time to notice.
On set for photoshoots and in between, we often talked about life in general; family, work, relationships, anything, everything, and absolutely nothing, because sometimes you just need to talk nonsense and laugh. He was really good at that; at listening, remembering details, and making people feel at ease. It didn’t matter if you knew him for decades or days, he left an impression. Michael accepted people for who they were, brought out the best in them and and captured that in his photography. There are countless people who would say the same and then some. In fact, many of them poured good thoughts, prayers and energy out to him when he announced in early June that needed to take a brief break from everything – photos, music, Retro Lovely – due to a medical issue. Shortly after that announcement, he shared the gravity of the situation with all of us. He was diagnosed with a large mass on the back of his brain. It would require near-immediate surgery to remove it. Despite the seriousness, Michael posted with all the irreverence and humor we loved about him right up until that surgery. And never posted again.
Technically, he made it through the procedure. Complications afterward proved fatal.
He entered the hospital on June 7, and left this world June 21. It won’t ever be the same. I don’t just mean that for me. I don’t think he would have ever, in life, acknowledged the impact he had. I hope he knew it was enormous and reached so far. I still have not wrapped my head around the fact that he is gone.
How do you say goodbye to someone so much larger than life itself? You don’t, really. You remember, fondly. You cry, you laugh, you create, you keep them alive through you. I’ll close this the way I opened, with words from my friend, Michael Bann, who will be missed more than any words can ever express.
“The days after my last, think of me with peace. Recall a smile I drew from you, though new ones will have ceased. The weeks after my last, remember love I gave you, forgive the times I let you down, it was not my wish to do so. The years after my last, let my memory hold you. Know you meant the world to me, though I’m unable to console you.”
Photos shared here are from our first shoot and our last shoot.
In loving memory of Michael F. Bann, March 25, 1965-June 21, 2024.
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Kitchie Ohh is a full-time professional fundraiser who has worked with a number of health and human services nonprofits in the Philadelphia area over the last 20 years. She found her passion for modeling after a pinup-style photoshoot in 2013. Since then, she has worked with many talented photographers, stylists, hair and makeup artists in a variety of styles. She has been featured in- and on the covers of – multiple print and digital publications. Over the years, she has branched out from pinup studio modeling to serve as a figure model for live sketching, walked a runway, and was part of two campaigns for Philadelphia designer K. Vaughn.
In addition to her philanthropy-focused career, she has volunteered with art, historical, and community organizations, and even the events team of a local brewery for a while, pre-pandemic.
You’re just as likely to find her whipping up something deliciously plant-based in her kitchen or knitting a sweater as you are to find her on a photography set. Her motto is “be both.” The model and the homemaker, sultry and sweet, serious and silly. All the things, all at once. To access additional articles by Kitchie Ohh, link here: https://tonyward.com/kitchie-ohh-theres-always-one/
