Live Wire Records New Years Eve Shoot

One of the great things about being hired anonymously over the internet for short-notice gigs is you never really know what you're going to get. Obviously sometimes this can turn into a disaster; you could show up to a white supremacist rally or the Republican National Convention and get some great shots of something you're not sure you really want to show anyone. (This hasn't happened to me, yet.) Other times you get taken for a wild ride to places you may never have gone with people you may never have met and treated like part of the family.

This is what I got to experience new year's eve 2009 as I was the official documentarian of local Hip Hop record label Live Wire's outstanding party.

The night started out at the Heathman Hotel; a three room suite well prepared to ring in 2010. I was early so I I had the opportunity to shoot the guys getting ready, I felt quite under-dressed as each of them came out of their rooms dressed to the nines in tuxedos and suits. As guests arrived for toasts and some pre-party laughs it became clear that it was going to be a much different night than I'd invisioned in my head.









After everyone was ready and most of the guests showed up a small group of us piled into a stretch Hummer limo and went out to dinner at The Chart House restaurant. The inside of the limo was covered in colorful lights and reflective surfaces and luckily the lens I had for the ride was fast enough to capture some decent images without a flash even while the limo was driving around!







After dinner it was off to Urban Studios where Live Wire had a VIP area reserved, the place was packed and for the rest of the night everyone pretty much just partied straight through to the new year.

















After the club kicked everyone out we boarded a party bus to drive us around for a while since no one was ready to call it a night. Well, some of us were. I debarked back at the hotel once the bus made a short stop and parted ways tired, sweaty and buzzing with energy.

Truly one of my favorite shoots of the year and a great way to end it. I hope to do some more work with these guys in the future.

The Balance Has Shifted

For a while now I've been toying with the idea of taking a voluntary cut in hours at my day job to open up more time to develop Sky Blue Iris and at the beginning of December I worked up the courage to approach my boss about it. He seemed hesitant but agreed that due to the lack of real work and the fact that less hours = less payroll $ he couldn't see a reason why it was a bad idea. He asked for some time to think it over.

I had a meeting with him yesterday and he told me that he'd talked it over with the owner and they've agreed to give me the time I asked for. As of next week I'm working 3 days at the day job and 2 week days off, meaning that I'll now be home more days per week than not, meaning I'm super excited. I can't stop thinking about all the photography related things I'll be able to do on my "days off" now! I can seriously sculpt the business, advertise, meet clients, edit photos, actually TAKE photos, add to the blog, add to the site.... man, I'm getting all flushed and goofy just thinking about it.

The change does come with some equal and opposite reactions though; less hours means less pay and we're on a budget (who isn't) already. I've had to raise the price of my standard package by $200, which still puts it beneath the current market average (a number that I'm just making up right now), though it will mean I need to reevaluate the ads to add some more value. However more time for SBI means more opportunities for PR work from my sometimes-employer Media Maison, which will fill the gap when it can.

All in all it's a positive step towards independence; self-employment is my goal and that will mean that I don't have the stability of a 9-5 job with a steady paycheck (and benefits, yikes) but I'm ok with that. People have done it before, I've seen them, they look just like me.