Archive for March, 2010

Striptease Burlesque photo exhibition at Spring Gallery, Shanghia, China

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

..December 2007.. ..Shanghai..

Waca standing next to the giant window mounted prints at JIBO Arts, a week before being moved to the Spring Gallery for the Shanghai version of Striptease Burlesque.

Striptease Burlesque Photo Exhibition
The Spring Gallery
December 9, 2007- December 16, 2007
Opening Reception December 9 at 7PM

The Spring Gallery
Address: No.5. Lane 209, Nanchang Rd. Shanghai 200020, P.R. China
Tel: 021-64737578Fax: 021-64734802
www.springgallery.net e-mail:springgallery@163.com


Fragile

Monday, March 29th, 2010

..September 2009 New York..

I’ve crossed Oceans of Time with only the voices in my head, memories I want to remember and forget, plenty of thoughts, and a pocket full of doubts.
1aaa


The Scientist and The Seal

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

..August 2006 East River Park..

Pinkie Special…The scientist and the seal. Pinkie is a scientist during the day. At night, she turns in her white lab coat for more provocative attire performing as burlesque dancer at the Slipper Room.

This was me in B/W natural light. Not aggressive with the camera. Trying to be someone else. I was very laid back, to reliant and not assertive.

It’s a good pin-up shot. As close to a pin-up I can do still being an environmental portrait. Good composition. The strong look in Pinkie’s eye is most important to me. Very confident. The seal is odd with a smile on his face….

In a warped way you see my sense of humor.

12-PinkieSpeciala


Chasing the Dragon….

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

..November 2004 Somewhere north of Las Vegas, The Valley of Fire..

The dusty desert road transcending down to the Valley of Fire has as many curves as a coiled cobra ready to attack. My rented 1978 white Cadillac wasn’t made to handle this type of driving. The fat-ass of the Cadillac fish tailed across each twist in the road kicking up thick clouds of dust.

It was easy to see why the Valley was named “The Valley of Fire.” At dusk the fading hot red sunlight cascades through the cracks in the surrounding mountaintops and paints the valley floor a fierce blinding red and yellow.

I have a fear of being outside New York. I don’t feel comfortable in any other place besides New York and Europe. I confront my fears by forcing myself to drive through towns like Chandler, AZ, Taos, NM, and places too small to show up on maps. It’s not the stringy tumble weed or tall emerald green pine trees that make me uncomfortable. It’s the people. The truth about the US is that a lot of people between New York and LA, with the exception of Chicago and Las Vegas, are humorless, naïve, Jesus freaks.

At the end of the roller coaster road, a hamlet of trailer homes welcomed me at the floor of the valley. There are lines of weather beaten silver aluminum trailers that look like a maze. Small rusted bicycles randomly propped on top of crocked fences hammered into a dusty floor. Menacing stray dogs dart between the trailers. Greeting me by smelling my crotch and pissing on my shiny car tires.

Everything about this place is foreign to me. I’m from the big city, dressed in stylish clothing, college educated, and have traveled the world. My appearance is opposite of the locals. I have a hair cut that resembles a Mohawk not spiked in the air. I walk quickly as if I were walking down Broadway on a weekday afternoon and speak with a heavy New York accent.

To the locals I may resemble a Martian. After my crotch was sniffed by the stray dogs, the locals got their first glimpse at me. It was probably bizarre for them to see a foreigner wander around their trailer homes, like a bad hallucination.

1aaa


Ms. Kazuyo Funato

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

..March 2010.. ..New York..

My portrait of Ms. Kazuyo Funato is being used by CBC documentaries. She is featured on an episode of Love, Hate, and Propaganda, about the Tokyo Fire Bombings.

I was fortunate to photograph her for the From Above exhibition. An amazing experience.


Squarepusher

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

..June 2003.. ..New York..

Portrait of Squarepusher for Outburn Magazine.


Anita Cookie

Friday, March 19th, 2010

..June 2006 DUMBO & Williamsburg..

I saw Anita Cookie in a bar entering a burlesque show. Set up a photo with her 2 weeks later. She wanted to portray a little girl trapped in a woman’s body. It best suits her burlesque character.

She had a couple of ideas but wanted to do a shot nude in public. I wasn’t as committed to the idea because it had been done often. But also because I wanted something a little more comical and the idea of have a little girl trapped in a woman’s body.

A number of looks from playing on a dirty sidewalk to holding a teddy bear while wearing lingre on a street corner. Wearing red lingre and holding the teddy bear. If these photos didn’t look good it will be my fault. She was very concise with her vision for the photo. I enjoyed taking this one the most. I just hope I got the shot.

This shot with the teddy bear made it to the last edit. The final shot used for the Striptease Burlesque exhibition was the photo of her sloppily tied to a light pole yelling or laughing. This teddy bear shot is still one of my favorites. This session was one of the most successful of the Striptease Burlesque project.

1aaa


Minoru Tsukiyama-san (part 2)

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

..October 2009..    ..Takabashi, Tokyo..

Minoru Tsukiyama-san

Shop Keeper


Minoru Tsukiyama-san

Friday, March 12th, 2010

..October 2009.. Takabashi, Tokyo..

Minoru Tsukiyama-san
Shop Keeper
Takabashi, Tokyo


The Edge of the World

Friday, March 5th, 2010