Sunday Beer Bust. I'd never been to it. I don't really go out more than once or twice a month on my own volition. Aside from photographic endeavors, I'm a homebody. I usually sit at home grilling on my computer, while all four of my self-employed or student roomates shuffle around me. Lots of people come over to hang out. But I usually just sit there on my computer.
I go through phases, and I'm not always like that. Just recently. I'm not a total potato. I like to snowboard, hike, cook, have sex too. And I just made myself get up and help my roommage cook breakfast.
Yet, I find myself making myself not think about photography. I'm sure that if the universe would grant me with a part-time job (and by the universe, I mean that i'm sure its just me), i wouldn't think about photographing so much, because I wouldn't be dependent on it to eat (okay that's not true--my friends and family have always been really helpful with that, but i am most certainly dependent on photography to feel as though i am making a contribution).
I'm being facetious. Or not.
So when I go out to photograph, I am usually awestruck by the superfluous world happening outside of me. Its a bit patronizing on my end, I'll admit. Luckily I do have some party experience. I'm don't have an appreciation for raging nightlife like I do sweeping landscapes and meticulously crafted wine; however, there is a great cultural motivation ingrained in the art of social planning--the integration of technology, activism and the repetition of generational patterns of saying "fuck you," to name a few. So when I went to the Wrangler, shot for a while, I wasn't exactly surprised to hear that more than one of the patrons was, shall we say, taken off guard. Historically, gays have not had the most pleasant experience with cameras, as it has not traditionally been in a gay person's best interest to be photographed. Outing in the press has long undergone scrutiny on all sides of the spectrum, ever begging the question of the benefits and drawbacks of outing as a form of social honesty. The head security guard was apprehensive about the individuals who may be seen, and who may lose their job, so I immediately agreed to only show the images of consenting people; while I do believe that showing gays in mainstream media can do a whole lot to enlighten and desensitize the discriminating population, I don't believe that one person's livelihood is worth the fight started by someone else. I also question the benefits of having a clear motive to "show the gay lifestyle." When the primary motive is to show, what else is there to show? And showing particular behaviors like drinking, dancing and looking pretty without a comprehensive glimpse on gay lifestyle if there were one has potential to perpetuate a stereotype to the non-gay world, but this argument is based on the acceptance that there should be a gay world and a non-gay world. At the end of the day, although I admittedly love the camaraderie and exclusivity, I just don't believe in the segregation. Further, I see every shooting endeavor as a way to show the subject to themselves. Its far more important to me to feed a culture back to itself than it is to fit it into something outside of that entity. But if I had it my way, we'd be outside all of the time. But the world is the way it is.
So I am going to do two things with the photos below:
show you a some of the personal work I've been doing with my friends, who happen to be big, fat homos too, as well as some outake photos from the Wrangler. Click on 'em if you want to see them larger. Just please excuse my slip ups in watermarking and don't take 'em without permission :)
