Professional Photography in America Today.

  The fast-paced rock 'em-sock 'em professional photo life forged ahead today.  In fact, pretty early today.  I barely had time to grab a cup of coffee when Brady's opened at 7:00m and get to the shoot.  At 7:30 I was in the bowels of a large local institution to get images of a new computer system in action.  End user in Kentucky, local contact, many emails, confirmations, and cell phone messages flying around the ethersphere.  

  There is always a problem in a photo shoot.  You know it's there, you just don't know WHERE it's coming from.  Could be equipment.  Could be weather.  Could be drunk company reps.  Anything.  But it's going to be SOMETHING.  You just watch for it.

  Recently I was on a shoot for a new luxury hotel.  Ad agency in Washington state, designers in California.  Developers here.  The designer PDFed the layout featuring a verdant landscape flowing down to the waters edge.  I get out to the site and its a brushy, overgrown, mosquito-plagued dump with vehicles inexplicably shuttling to and from a deserted ruined playground.  The road in had become famous as un area de axion maxima for (get this) gay, illegal aliens.  Flamboyantly coiffed latios in flip-flops and tank tops standing around on the rubble, waving down the next car while swacking mosquitos.  Just to get over the curb you needed a shotgun, deep-woods OFF and a machete.

  I shot from the ground, water and air and never found a verdant view.

  Back to this morning- I'd questioned the contact like he was under indictment about WHO was going to be my model.  All I needed was one gloved hand but I pushed him like I was shooting poolside bathing suits.  This person had to LOOK professional.  No 305 lb nurses aides with aching feet that were going to be fired tomorrow.  I needed a squared-away representative of the professional work force.  He assured me that he had JUST the person.

  She looked appropirate-gowned, scrubbed and gloved- and all I needed was a fingertip.  Funny thing though, I couldn't seem to get that fingertip going.  I needed that fingertip to ACT!  Point here!  Touch there!  The glove was all bunched on it and I couldn't seem to describe the projection I wanted.  Finally I reached up to adjust it and show her what I needed......

  And she didn't have a finger under the glove.  Amputated.

  All I needed was a joint and a half.....and I get a model missing two joints and a half.  She was a trooper, but I couldn't work around an air finger.

  Going back this afternoon.  Never thought I would have to count digits on a hand model, but there it is.

  There's always a problem in a photo shoot.  You just never know where it's coming from.