Cadillac Barbie’s Disco Brunch

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to shoot some promo photos for The Bag Ladies, a local group men who have been putting on makeup and dresses and hosting fundraisers to fight HIV/AIDS in central Indiana for 30 years. The “Bag Lady in charge,” Cadillac Barbie, asked me to bring my camera to a brunch show they were having.

I took a lot of shots for the ladies, and while event photography isn’t my strong suit, I got some photos that I just love. And although they don’t really fit any of the galleries on my websites, I wanted to share a few from the show.

You might recognize a couple of boys who’s posed for me in a few of the photos. And you’ll see my beloved Jay, at the end.

Here’s Cadillac Barbie, herself, acting pretty much like (s)he does in both personas.

I love this shot.

And this might be one of my favorite photos, ever.

This boy has contacted me and asked about posing for me. We’ll see how it plays out.

I love a drag queen with a goatee!

A begging schoolboy.

A portrait of Cadillac Barbie.

Another great shot.

Performance Art

This all started because we were at a bar a couple of weeks ago and one of my models/friends said that he wanted to have a slumber party at our house. He said, “We can drink wine and have hors d’oeuvres, and we should all wear night gowns.”

Ever since then, I can’t get the thought out of my brain that I need to buy this . . .

To be honest, I have sort of wanted an ostrich feathered dressing gown ever since I was a little kid watching reruns of “Green Acres” (which Jay won’t let me watch, anymore, on TV Land because he considers Oliver’s insistence that Lisa Douglas move to that farm to be some form of spousal abuse). But now that I have a reason to have one — the host of a gay male/models’ slumber party has to look impeccable, after all.

Besides, as Lady Gaga said during her interview on 60 Minutes last night, life should be a long piece of performance art. I couldn’t agree more.

I can see it now: a year from now Jay and I will be living on the second floor of a brownstone in Chicago (or New York) and on Saturday mornings I can step out onto our balcony in my gown, sip my coffee and eat scones, and greet the gay boy passersby on the sidewalk below with a wave and a few complimentary words. Can’t you see it?

It may even become my de facto ensemble to wear during photo shoots. I have to be comfortable when I’m working, after all.

Here’s the gown, if you’re dying to see its specs. (You know you secretly want one, too.)

Namaste

I’ve always loved architecture even though I grew up in the 1970s, at a time when architects were throwing up big, marble squares in most cities. I’m glad that in the last few years “design” and “architecture” have been merging. For the last year, my favorite new building has been Aqua, in Chicago; and before that, I was infatuated with the Shanghai World Financial Center.

But it seems there’s a new construction project getting ready to start in Mumbai, and from what I can see, Namaste Tower is going to be perfectly gorgeous.

It’s designed to resemble two hands held together in the traditional Indian greeting (Namaste). The building’s exterior is supposed to resemble henna tattooing.

It’s almost enough to make me want to go to India when it’s done. For more, check out this page.

Phase Two (AKA: Get Us the Fuck Out)

The Republicans regained control of the Indiana General Assembly by campaigning heavily on unemployment/jobs. They have been in session for slightly more than a month. These are the subjects of the primary bills that have advanced so far:

• A bill to write an amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage to prohibit same sex marriages and civil unions, AND goes so far as to prohibit private companies from offering domestic partner benefits.
• A bill to promote charter schools that some say will decimate the public education system and encourage enrollment in parochial schools.
• A bill to make it illegal for an employer to ask his/her employees if they have guns at the workplace.
• A bill requiring all doctors to tell, in writing and verbally, all women seeking abortions that “life begins at conception,” whether said doctors believe this or not.
• An Arizona-like bill that would allow police to demand proof of citizenship from immigrants. 

How many bills have advanced about jobs? ZERO.

Do you want to know my feelings on the anti-gay marriage bill? You’ll be surprised. I have no feelings about it. This is the fourth time a bill like this has been introduced since I’ve lived in this state. On the previous occasions, I have been on the front lines keeping it from passing. I have stood in the snow at statehouse rallies; I have canvassed neighborhoods talking to businesses about why this kind of legislation would hurt them; I have pulled out my checkbook time and again at fundraisers and events; I have called my representatives; taken time off of work to personally visit my representatives; and rallied my friends over and over to do the same. I’m done. This debate is going to be going on in this state until a) we are all long dead, b) national legislation or the U.S. Supreme Court acts on the federal level, or c) the Republican party gets its way.

As for the other pieces of legislation? In a sick and twisted way, this is all helping me. You’re aware that Jay and I have had a plan to eventually move on in search of a bigger city with more opportunities for artists. But now? I can’t get out of this state fast enough. Thanks to the bigoted douche bags in charge, who think that guns and the Bible will solve every problem and homosexuals, the brown people, and a well-educated populace are enemies number one, two, and three, Jay and I have a renewed fire under our collective asses. It’s like all the reasons we’ve talked about moving are amplified, or being thrown in our faces.

I want to be a resident of another state by mid-summer at the absolute latest. And we have moved into a much more aggressive phase of making this happen, which involves a new realtor (to be selected next week, after interviews), new job opportunities, and a much more focused plan. By luck and coincidence, it appears that we’re taking four of our best friends with us. And while I’ve never been an “abandon ship” kind of person (you can live anywhere you choose, and my decision to leave is not a personal reflection on you), I don’t think this would be the right time for any like-minded person to come to me seeking reasons to stay in Indiana. For a state that’s been worried about “brain drain” in the past, I’m afraid we haven’t seen anything, yet.

Okay, I’m done ranting. It’s been a long time since I’ve written a political diatribe like this. I almost feel the need to apologize for it. I’ll do my best to get back to my usual posting material tomorrow.

2012 Hunk of the Month

Well, here it is, the Amazon.com link to my 2012 calendar!

Hunk of the Month Wall Calendar, 2012

You can pre-order it on Amazon.com, and to be honest I want a lot of people to do that so they want me back again next year. But I’ll also have 100 or so calendars to sell on my own, so you can hold off for an autographed one, if you’d like.

I’ve also seen the PDFs and I like how it’s come together. I like the fonts and layout, they did a great job. A few months ago, the publisher told me that I’d have my calendars by June, but last week they said it’s already at the printer, so I wonder if I might get them early? I hope so.

Next up, I’m working on three things: a secondary website for my photography that’s going to be sexy, and scandalous, and gorgeous; a second art auction in New York City for later this spring; and a third thing, early in the negotiating stage and so I’m not ready to talk about it yet.

But let’s just say that if it becomes reality, I’ll be more excited about it than all this other stuff, including the calendar.

Nick, Posing for the Art Series, Drifters + Wanderers

See this photo with the second photo of the set, which is a nude and therefore not safe for work, on my website in the Drifters + Wanderers gallery.

Lucy, Dressed

During the ice storm and cold weather of last week, Jay thought it was best if Lucy wore her coat. She looked like a cross between a muppet and a little monk.

Lunar New Year Celebration

Jay and I were invited to a very special dinner tonight at one of our favorite restaurants, a belated celebration for the Lunar New Year, at Sandra Rice and Noodles. The owners spent their day off cooking for us and eight other “favorite” customers. I wish you could really see how much food is on the table in these photos.

They made some traditional Vietnamese New Year’s dishes, including a cabbage soup (for good luck), sour melon soup, roasted chicken and pork, as well as a few staples from the menu. Here are Ha and Sang, sister and brother, the two owners.

Their story is an inspiring as their food is delicious. Ha, the sister, was given asylum and fled Vietnam just as the war was coming to an end in the mid 1970s. She was forced to leave her baby brother. She came to the United States but spent the next 25 years looking for him. Finally in the late 1990s she found him. He had grown up and was working in a restaurant in Saigon. She secured him a visa and because he knew the restaurant business, they decided to open Sandra Rice and Noodles.

Here are Ha and Sang, with another couple from the evening, Kyle and Erin. Jay and I clicked with them and we’re going to have dinner and a play date for our dogs soon.

Fantastic night, and this restaurant is high on the list of things I will miss, whenever Jay and I leave Indianapolis.

New Headshots

I’ve had a fair bit of headshot work recently. It seems to be January is a big month for people to get new headshots, or at least that’s been my experience for the last two years. Here are some of my favorites (three actors and two businesspeople).

I’ve revised my price structure a bit for headshots, as well. It’s now $235 for any headshot or basic portrait session, or $110 for any college student (with a valid college ID).

After the Ice Storm

Day two of being shut in due to an ice storm and I’m reduced to watching Universal Soldier on Netflix instant view. It might not be the most intelligent movie I could choose, but Jean Claude Van Damme was cute when he was young. Nice fanny, too.