CHEAP CAMERA/10 SECOND TIMER SELF-PORTRAITURE

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Freaks Come Out at Night

Felt like it took me forever to finally finish and post that last entry...but lemme tell ya' somethin' - the instant it was up and I had tweeted that it was, I indulged in a hankerin' to celebrate. It was nearly 11:30 at night, the air temp was uncannily warm, and I was all over the idea of staging a nighttime shoot...something I hadn't done in ages...


(Snapped on 8/06/10)

My first nighttime shoot, took place this past summer in the cemetery at my favorite - Old Chapel. Part of me was admittedly apprehensive about tromping around the cemetery at night, but surprisingly it had little to do with being scared about something supernatural occurring - I was more concerned about the chance that I might get hassled by the po-po. Best I could tell though, technically I wouldn't be trespassing since the gate at Old Chapel stays unlocked...

Along with my usual equipment I packed a flashlight, since I never use the flash on my camera and (obviously) the cemetery would be dark...and I have to say - I was pleasantly surprised by the dusty, grainy effect that the dim lighting bestowed upon these pics..

I shot for two hours straight, all the while absentmindedly wending my way to the farthest side of the graveyard. It wasn't until I had decided that I was done, broke character, and turned back into me - that I realized how far from my car I had wandered - and at that point I did get creeped out. I guess I had been concentrating so hard on the pics. that not only had I forgotten to worry about the possibility of getting in trouble, but until that moment I hadn't let the fact that I was in an ancient cemetery...completely alone...in the middle of the night - mess with my mind in the slightest. Once it had sunk in though, a wave of fear swept over me - yipes! I spastically collected my junk, hot-footed it across the seemingly endless sea of old graves, and made it safely to my car without incident...*phew*


(Snapped on 8/07/10)

The next night I took a break from editing the Old Chapel pics. (as well as the spoils from two other shoots that day) to top off an already productive 24 hours by staging an impromptu paparazzi thing in my driveway. Had I known in advance that my cute, little car would spend the evening as the best supporting actress in these pics. - I'd have given her a bath beforehand, but ah well...

This night I took advantage of having access to a power source - using a clamp lamp instead of the flashlight. And in order to shoot from an angle more accurately mimicking that of a paparazzo, I set the camera on a ladder rather than my trusty thrift store table. 


(Snapped on 8/11/10)

Although the quality of the photo above clearly sucks, the story behind it bears mentioning... 

This summer I had the pleasure of being body-painted (a first for me) and not by just any ole jackleg artist - but by lauded body-painter Brady Neher (featured in the October 2010 issue of Illusions Magazine!) We got started early in the day, in the hopes that we'd be done in enough time for me to display Brady's handiwork that night at the local county fair.

After 8 hours of painting my totally naked body (see below) Brady then spent an additional hour and a half - painting over the pasties and thong which we intentionally omitted for the first set of pics., but which were paramount in (hopefully) keeping me from getting arrested for indecent exposure at the fair... 

I threw on a little tank dress knowing that I'd have to walk a good distance from the parking lot back to where the rides were set up, and I was nervous about marching through the hordes of strangers wearing nothing but paint, pasties and a thong...especially since I was all by myself...

Fortunately, it's a short drive from my house to the fairgrounds, because it was hot as a muthah and the a.c. in my car doesn't work. But I managed to arrive, park and disembark before I started sweating through Brady's brilliant masterpiece. 

To say that I was dealing with a tough crowd that night, would definitely be an understatement. I mean think about it - it was tractor-pull night at the Clarke County Fair - a veritable mecca for grade A, small-minded rednecks (did I just say that?!), they literally had no clue what to make of me. And it wasn't just funny looks they were giving me, folks were most forthcoming with their derogatory remarks. But I just smiled and continued blazing a trail to the spot where I'd planned on taking my pictures...all the while wondering if I was gonna get my ass kicked in the parking lot on the way back to my car, later on...

I set up my table and camera, waited for the Sheriff's deputies to pass (I've never seen so many cops in one place in my life!) slipped outta the little dress, set the timer and raced over to get into frame...

After the picture was snapped, I went back to my camera to examine the photo and I hated it. I reset the timer, all set to try again - when suddenly the most tragic thing happened! One of the pasties fell off, landing sticky-side-down in the gravel...oh NO!... 

Knowing that I'd never get the now crusty pasty to stick, and that I couldn't pose for my photos without it - I was crushed to have to call it a night. As I put my dress back on and glumly packed up to leave, one of the ride operators motioned for me to come over. I explained what I'd been doing and why I'd quit so abruptly and he high-fived me for attempting it at all, it was nice...

I returned to the fairgrounds the next afternoon, during that quiet time before the rides are running, and the only folks there are some farmers, their kids and their livestock, along with a handful of carnival workers. I was dressed like a beauty pageant winner in a floor length gown wearing a tiara and tons of whorish make-up and so needless to say, I stood out...yet again. 

The very first person with whom I spoke (the guy who told me where to park) noticed my interesting attire and when I told him I was gonna take pics. of myself with the farm animals, he enthusiastically asked, "Wait, you're not the painted lady...are you?!" as did several more people before I left, I was ecstatic! I had been so disappointed that after all of Brady's hard work, I had failed to properly photograph myself causing the scene that I'd imagined. But learning firsthand that even a few people had heard about and in some cases even seen the "painted lady", and thought that what "she'd" done was badass...convinced me that none of the effort was for naught...


(Snapped on 8/11/10)


(Snapped on 8/12/10)

The dead-in-the-road pics. happened on a summer night, after it rained for the first time in weeks. As soon as the rain had quit, this lovely steamy mist hovered over the road out front of my house and I couldn't help but think that in conjunction with my car's headlights - it would make for a pretty spooky scene. 

Obviously, I didn't devote a whole lot of time in deliberating over the components of some complicated costume. I stripped down naked, stuck a headband in my hair, drew dark lines around my eyes, parked my car at the end of my driveway facing the road, illuminated the roadway using the headlamps - and in no time I became fresh roadkill...over and over again...

Whenever a motorist approached, I simply hopped in my car, turned off the lights and ducked down til the vehicle passed...easy peezy... 


(Snapped on 10/24/10)

Last weekend, in honor of the Halloween season - my kids and I and a couple of friends, piled into my car late at night, and drove to a purportedly haunted town in West Virginia...our mission - to scare up some spirits (or vice versa). Never one to pass on an opportunity to photograph myself whenever a unique opportunity arises, I warned everyone in advance that I was coming prepared (with costume and camera) and would likely be snapping self-portraits.  

Thank you so much - to my friend (the other adult on the excursion) who kept all 4 kids occupied out front of the old jail, patiently listening for the moans of long since dead prisoners - while simultaneously affording me the luxury of pretending to be a ghost, myself...

'Twas a truly excellent way to cap off an already stellar night...


(Snapped on 10/26/10)

Which brings us to my most recent nighttime photo shoot...the one following my blog post the other night...

Just up the road from my place, is an abandoned house with a car port overflowing with trash and debris and god alone knows what else. I've been wanting to do some kind of shoot there for awhile now, but until the other night - I knew not what.

I put on a sparkly little party dress and my jeans and a jacket over top, so that I would look less conspicuous if someone happened to drive by me on my midnight jaunt to the site (no one did). Once there, I removed everything but the dress and added a boot to one foot...and with only the flashlight providing minimal light, I got...my...self...down...in...that...mess...

2 comments:

  1. You really do taking amazing photos. One of these is a photo favourite for October :)

    xx Dee

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  2. I saw that tonight on Twitter - THANK you, Dee! I really appreciate your goodwill...you're quite a gem!

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