Dance After Dark Photography

It’s a slow night, even by night shift standards. I’m sitting here playing with my little green ball, thanks to Kym. You have the thanks of the entire night crew as well because now I don’t flip (and drop) a quarter all night long. At least when I drop this (and I do, trust me) it just goes “foof.”

So… I was feeling quiet and contemplative, but having talked about my ball I find it hard to get back to that. *grin*

Last night was mildly embarrassing and very amusing. I’d been at work for about two hours already when I realized that my pants had ripped. Perhaps “ripped” isn’t quite the right term. Maybe I should say “parted like the Red Sea.” It was enough to make me look down and exclaim, “Holy Moses!” (Not that that would be unusual when perusing my personals. Of course it goes without saying that I get that all the time. *grin*)

So my black leather trenchcoat became by black leather kilt, and I did my best to stay sitting all night. I couldn’t help snickering, and I couldn’t resist sharing the tale with co-workers (though I did my best not to inflict the “room with a view” upon them.) The running joke was that I’d installed a new flap for easy access. Whatever you do, don’t think “pet door.”

You did it, didn’t you? I tried to warn you.

Of course, Matt pointed out that he now understood why my ball was small and green, as well as why it kept falling off. Try not to think about that either.

So now I, Walker, being of sound mind and (now) wearing sturdy pants, will sign off for the evening.

My last few journal entries have been a bit on the downside, so it’s time for an upswing.

I made the decision to set up a second website for the dark elements of my photography. I feel like it’s out of place next to the colorful travel photos, and I believe I’ll be better off keeping Digital Renaissance as a professional website strictly for design & normal photo work.

After going through several names, I decided on DanceAfterDark.com. I felt that the name was appropriate, and I already have an idea for the title graphics and a few signature images. The hosting isn’t set up yet, but I have registered the domain.

I’m excited about the new website because I feel like I’ll be able to move into a more artistic arena. I won’t have to constrain myself to “normal” professional standards. I intend to keep the quality of photos high, of course, but I’ll be able to experiment and get out more of the ideas that are rattling around in my brain.

Perhaps it’s all a matter of perspective and semantics, but I feel like this is a good new direction for me.

Besides, it’s easier to spell than Rennysance… Renas… Uh, Renaissance! *grin* I didn’t think about how many people would have trouble with that one.

I know Iraq is a hot issue and everyone’s knee-jerk reaction right now is to express concern, but I’m worried about a specific individual. I’m not happy with the military action in general, and I would rather that we hadn’t gotten involved. However, I have no delusions that I could possibly change it.

I haven’t heard from Jahala since October, and normally she sends at least a short letter every couple of months. Some people might say it’s strange to worry about an ex-girlfriend, but we broke up shortly after she joined the military and remained friends afterward. The last I heard from her, she was due for some leave time and planning a visit to Orlando. It would’ve been nice to hang out again.

For those who are wondering about the subject line, it was one of the most memorable from when Jahala and I used to exchange e-mail. It has become my default tagline when I can’t think of anything else quirky enough.

Tonight I laughed at myself a bit. Self-identification can be a funny thing. If anyone asks what I do, I generally identify myself as a photographer first. That’s how I think of myself, though to be honest my photography isn’t what pays the bills. Even when I worked entirely freelance, the design work (making business cards, logos, brochures, etc.) was what brought in the money.

I find it amusing that the answer changes depending on how the question is phrased.

“What do you do?” I’m a photographer.
“Where do you work?” I work at Company X, doing something that has squat to do with photography.

Perhaps this is not as profound as my mind is making it. I’m running on caffeine and very little sleep right now, which means one of two things: either I peer into the Neitzschean abyss or I start channeling Larry, Moe and Curly.

Trivia about the subject line: Each symbol in the zodiac is associated with a two-word phrase. For Aries, it is “I am.” Coincidentally, that is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

Today has been a strange one thus far. I had intended to get out and enjoy some sunshine, forgetting that the sun is destined to stay away for the next few days as we slog through amazing amounts of rain. I was hoping to get a few shots of the sunrise from the new Riverwalk here in Sanford, but that idea went right out the window and promptly got very soggy. Instead I’ve been sporadically packing.

Getting stuck inside on a day when I wanted to be out with a camera is more than a little frustrating. I look out the window and it appears mostly dry right now, but the sky is that bleak, featureless white that says there will be no early end to the bad weather. I suppose I could go out and do some B&W work, but I’d already geared myself up for the vibrant colors of sunrise.

Speaking of photography, I’m doing my best to set up shoots with local freaks. (Those who don’t know me, don’t take offense. I use that term affectionately. It describes myself and most of my friends.) I’m happy with the images on my website, but the People galleries still seem pretty vanilla despite a bit of vinyl and a few swords.

Also, it seems like my focus is on travel photography. I think that’s mainly due to the fact that mountains are easy to find. Granted, you can’t ask them to move a little to the left or turn so the sun hits just right and I don’t think there *is* a reflector big enough, but flipside of the same coin is they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Of course, my tendency to get antsy and run off for a one- or two-day trip has helped immensely in building my travel portfolio.

I’ve been toying with the idea of running two sites: one for my design work and “normal” photography, one for the darker side. It would make sense, though it would mean an extra expense for hosting. Perhaps I’ll set up a subdomain and run it with a different look. We’ll see.

Well, this evening was a lot of fun. Once again I have taken up my mantle as the Social Faerie for the Coven list. For the newly-reinstated monthly dinner gathering we ate at TGIFriday’s. The turnout was more than I’d expected, so we crammed about 13 people into table space for ten. James showed up so Ed didn’t have to be the token black guy, and my friend John was there to represent the scary biker contingent. Chaos ensued. Much fun was had by all.

For those who don’t know, FloridaCoven is a mailing list for Florida net.goths. I earned the title of Official Social Faerie a few years ago because I somehow managed to meet 2/3 of the list within a month of joining. Also involved is my mystical ability to nag people into attending group outings. (Mwahahahaaa! Fear me!)

Info on the list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaCoven/

Our top story tonight:

I’d called Friday’s ahead of time to reserve a table for tonight’s festivities. I was running a little late, so I called again to let them know I was still coming. Spoke with Angie, a very nice young lady, and she said there’d be no problem holding the table. I said thanks, and I thought I hung up. Secure in the knowledge that I was alone in a car with the windows rolled up, I launched into a bad impression of Christopher Walken singing “If I Only Had A Brain.” Then from my phone I hear, “Um… Sir? Are you okay?”

Oops.

Captain’s log, stardate… Saturday.

Ah, the joys of photography. I’ve done a lot of work on my website recently with more to come soon. I had a photo shoot mid-March with Patty, and I finally added some of those images plus a few from other shoots in recent months to the main galleries.

I’m trying to line up some more photo shoots in the next month or two. Alas Leu Gardens, my favorite botanical garden, no longer has an orchid greenhouse. It was damaged in a hurricane and they tore it down rather than trying to rebuild it. I’d like to do some more macro shots with flowers, but I’m not sure where to go.

I want to shoot with more people, too. In particular, I’m looking for unusual models. Tattoos, piercings, interesting hair, etc. I start off with edgy ideas and end up shooting something that, to me, is fairly straightforward. I’m trying to stretch my style a bit. I will be going to a big fetish show called Purgatory in Charlotte this June, which should help. Road trips are always fun, and I look forward to shooting side-by-side with Bill, the event’s official photographer who invited me up there.

And now I’m off. Set course, Mr. Sulu. Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.

[archived entry: April 10, 2004]

Nothing is more daunting than a beginning, yet nothing holds more promise. I would rant and ramble about the difficulty of first setting pen to paper, but we’re talking about electrons and bits of light here. It’s not quite the same, though there remains that slight tremor when one’s mind goes as blank as the page.

I began keeping a journal for entertainment purposes only, to while away the endless hours on the night shift. Read at your own risk. Your mileage may vary.