For some reason, I thought Blaise was taller. I was all prepared for her to be an amazon, had figured out the angles I'd need to take some good shots.
I was also prepared for her to be a jerk. Popular blogger, writer, photographer, it was entirely possible that she was no good, that her fame had turned her Bad.
Minute I saw her come in from the rain, all that was wiped from my brain. She walked in with a thousand watt smile, and was excellently shorter than I.
The first day we hung out, we walked through the rain to find an adequate place to take some photos, ended up first at a laundromat, where she happily stood in a small alcove while I shoved my camera in her face. Then she happily sat in a Japanese restaurant while I got wasted on sake and, again, shoved my camera in her face.
She's just a swell dame, loves Buffy and photography and writing and reading, talks dirty and calls guys Chicken Pot PIe when appropriate. It's probably a good thing I was just visiting, or I'd have most assuredly made a damn fool of myself.
Tags: 3.10.08 polaroid polaroid 680 blaisek bazima new york lunch moments later she was stealing my smoothie! lips toasted bagel freckles her favorite scarf lou o' bedlam louobedlam.com Lou Noble portrait
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Met Elizabeth for breakfast, where I continued my drinking binge with mimosas. Over french toast and an omelette we talked about the differences between LA and NY, oogled each others' cameras, then decided to brave the thirty degree weather to take some photos, at which point E-liz showed off both her prowess as a shooter(directing me with ease), as well as her proficiency as a model(she nailed the O' Bedlam pose effortlessly).
Lots of laughing, as the lady is both hysterical and adorable. And here I was worried, much like I'm worried whenever I meet someone from the internet. Thinking about it, of all the times I've met folks from flickr, I don't really think I've ever been disappointed. Perhaps it's because I've got excellent taste in people. Maybe it's because I try to only meet people I consider solid photographers. Maybe I'm just lucky.
In any event, I recommend it highly.
Tags: 3.9.08 polaroid polaroid 680 elizabeth weinberg professional photgrapher and a swell dame, to boot new york so fucking cold i spit icicles this photo sponsored by Canon Lou O' Bedlam fun fact: my grandfather used to own several camera stores in LA sold so many canon cameras, that they'd often send him on trips egypt, greece, france. there's albums and albums of the family's trips all over the world. apparently, i even went on one, while still in the womb. strangely, i don't remember that trip lou o' bedlam louobedlam.com Lou Noble portrait
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I'd made plans to meet Defekto and Jeremy at the Whitney Museum in Manhattan. Took the train, feeling like I'd gotten a handle on this "New York Transportation" thing. Then the train told me that it would not be making all its stops. So I got off and waited twenty minutes for another train that I eventually decided would never come.
By the time I realized I was a baller and could just take a cab, Defekto and Jeremy had already begun making their way through the Whitney. By the time my Moroccan cabbie dropped me off, they were near done. By the time I made it through the twenty minute line to just buy my ticket, they were waiting for me at the elevators.
Oh, by the way, the Whitney's full of modern art. Really modern art. I fucking hate modern art. I bunch of two by fours standing up to make a maze? That's not art. That's a playground.
We made our way to a bar, a bar that had fat people and booths lit by red bulbs at chest level.
I got drunk. Because that was the theme of the vacation, me drunk. We talked photography, parties, the death of Polaroid, and our favorite topics, ourselves.
I tell ya, it's been two years, the Tod Brilliant Wedding, since I last saw these guys, and they definitely were missed. Defekto was one of my first insiprations on Flickr, a man who has been able to create a rock hard style through his Polaroid photography, a style so strong you can see a shot and instantly know it's one of his. I think that's a damn rare thing, and it's something I've been striving towards for years now.
Talking to the man makes you want to do more with your art, get off your ass and get famous already.
Good times.
And yes, it took but two drinks to get me so drunk all the Polaroids I took that day were crooked. Crooked, people.
Tags: 3.9.08 mamiya c330 kodak portra 400vc DEFEKTO new york subway bar the man, the legend, the nose that was bitten by a teeny tiny dog lou o' bedlam louobedlam.com analog film Lou Noble portrait
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More drinking. I'd show you the pretty people I've been hanging out with, but no scanner. Plus, what with my drunk hands, I'd screw up the scan anyway.
Sufficed to say, the folks I already know in NY have been awesome, and the folks I've just met? Also awesome.
So come out, keep my "meeting awesome people in NY is easy" streak going. The bar apparently is open until 4am, which...well, that's just madness. My kind of madness, this weekend.
Tags: new york drinking o'connors lou o' bedlam louobedlam.com Lou Noble portrait
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I'm in the Big Apple. Yesterday was cold enough my hands went white, but some wine and pasta and creme brulée put paid to that madness.
Now it's early morning, still drunk, and I have all day to keep that going.
Ah, but tomorrow, tomorrow night, I'm gonna be at this bar that I don't know where it is, but there it is on the flyer, so come, have a drink, pose for a Polaroid.
I'll be the black guy dressed not quite warm enough, with the 680 in his hand, and the belly full of booze.
Tags: PARTY NEW YORK lou o' bedlam louobedlam.com Lou Noble portrait
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