Notes from the Field

So my Sunday started like most Sunday’s, wake up far too early and take my girlfriend to work. We made the decision about a year ago that we could live with just one car. Sunday is one of those days that I wonder about that decision. The good part of it is that I don’t sleep in and waste most of the day.

I needed the car because I had not one, but two shoots on the schedule for that day. The first shoot was with two models that I had met on the ModelMayhem.com site. For a photographer like me still trying to get comfortable with photographing people, MM is a great resource. I cannot tell you how much I have learned with the models I have met on MM. (As I have mention in previous posts, you may find some naked people on MM, so your are warned).

I will post some images from that earlier shoot later in the week. But what really got the juices flowing was a chance to photograph the cast of the local production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. A friend of mine, Jenny O, is a member of the cast, and a few months ago we had talked about working with the cast on a shoot during a rehearsal.

On Thursday Jenny O gave me a call saying that the shoot was a go for Sunday.

Now normally I might have said no. I am still pretty burnt from the week of workshop fun with Joe McNally and Syl Arena, and of course my first wedding shot that I had done less than a week ago. I had driven 1500 miles in less than 7 days and I needed a break. But when you get a call to photo something like Rocky Horror, with 7-foot tall transvestites, you quit your bitching and you pack up the gear and go.

If you are like me and always looking for something to shoot, I recommend finding the local theater group, university play or community college outreach program that puts on programs like this. They always need press, you need great models, and hair and makeup are already done for you.

So I show up at the Truckee Meadows Community College Theater and I am immediately running into guys in drag, well over 6 ½ feet tall. If you count the hair and the heels, we are talking 8 feet.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter, 8 feet tall with heels and hair.

The makeup and the flare are in full effect. All I have to do is setup some sort of lighting that doesn’t mess this up. You could shoot these actors with a broken headlight from a 1983 Plymouth Arrow and a disposable camera and come away with a good shot.

Janet and Brad

You can see from the images that the cast is really into their characters. They were so much fun to work with, and so happy to have someone there to capture the moment. One of the best things about this job is to see someone’s face light up after you take a picture and they see it on the back of the camera.

Columbia (Karen Donathan) and Magenta (Jenny O)

I can’t also say how impressed I am with the production and the cast. While I am not a huge fan of musicals and plays, I have always like Rocky Horror and this cast takes it to the top. The sets, costumes and singing ability are out of this world, it is hard to believe we have a production like this in Reno.

Riff-Raff

For more information and tickets, please check out the following link. Swing on by if you are in the area.

Janet and Rocky (John Frederick)