Glamour & Glitz Girls

I accompanied my husband to Las Vegas this week, he was there on

business. Any thoughts, comments, advice, rating are welcome. Thank

you.

A great shot. It certainly captures the feel of the place. How much did you win?

Thank you.

 

I don't gamble or drink, so I'm not much fun in Las Vegas. I did see "Phantom" which was the most spectacular Andrew Lloyd Webber production I have ever seen. That alone was worth the trip.

Classic composition and tones. Warm regards...

Hey Linda, Nice work! This is one of those photos, years from now you will look back and say, "wow, look at those outfits." I like your composition and presentation here. Regards, Doug.

... They are making you take the shot... Diana Arbus, would have dropped dead :)

 

 

Joe, thank you!

 

 

Doug, thanks. Those outfits were so bright; neon pinks and greens. I thought they distracted from the image of the women. When I first asked them if I could photograph them, they were very cold and annoyed and said "NO". They thought I wanted to photograph myself with them. When I explained that I just wanted to photograph THEM, they lit up and happily began smiling and posing for me.

 

 

Janusz, I was trying to think of which photographer from the fifties, who shot those sad, freakish people on the street, was. It was her, Diane Arbus. I had looked at her work years ago, but then forgot who she was. Thanks for telling me that. BTW, I don't think these ladies were freakish, just interesting and unusual.

 

 

Linda... what I ment is that they are making you to take the shot the way they want it... you take what they give you... in this respect... it is not like Diana... I am just suggesting something from The Dark Side of the Moon... if you ever wanted to explore it. Although, judging by your style I don.t think this would be your cup of tea :)

O.K. I understand what you are saying. That is an interesting comment. I thought they were simply happy to have someone take a shot of them, rather than using them as background for a shot of themselves in "Vegas" with a couple of showgirls. I'm not sure what you mean by "Dark Side of the Moon". Are you talking about the "dark underbelly", the "other side of the coin"?

 

 

 

... with Diana... They would pose thinking they are getting picture of what they wanted to present of themself. She would cut through that and reveal something about them which they would prefer to hide from the world... oftentimes from themself. As it frequently happend... in their basic subjectivity, many of them would not even know about their qualities she was after... :)

 

 

Diana was brilliant, perhaps a genius. She was extrodinarily perceptive. She was able to capture the vulnerablity, and in some cases the insanity, that lies underneath the costumes and masks of ordinary people.

 

I did take a few shots of these women candidly, before I spoke to them, I didn't care for them. What these women seem to be portraying, in my mind, is some 50's ganster idea of what a hot women should be. I don't think any woman would really believe that these crazy, garrish outfits were a good presentation of themselves, even with the smiles. I don't know if you noticed but the outfits were designed to show bare breasts, these ladies wore t-shirts to cover them.

 

You got me thinking about the work that Diana Arbus did, and thank you for that. I googled up a few sites about her. This is a quote from the SFMOA (The San Francisco Museum of Art) website.

 

"Arbus revolutionized the art she practiced and her achievement continues to be a wholly original force in photography. Her bold subject matter and photographic approach produced a body of work that is often shocking in its purity, in its steadfast celebration of things as they are. Her gift for rendering strange those things we consider most familiar, and uncovering the familiar within the exotic, enlarges our understanding of ourselves. Even the earliest examples of her work ? in spite of their stylistic similarities with other documentary photographers of the period ? betray elements of Arbus's distinctive sensibility through the expression on a face, someone's posture, the character of the light, and the personal implications of objects in a room or landscape. These elements, animated by the singular relationship between the photographer and her subject, conspire to implicate the viewer with the force of a personal encounter."

 

All the best.

 

 

The B&W treatment gives a sort of timeless feel to the Las Vegas scene. I like it!!

They say interaction with one's subjects is key to successful photography, and here you have shown it 'in spades' (talking about Las Vegas!). Best wishes ~ Mike

Thank you both for looking and commenting. I appreciate it.

Magnifica toma,Linda.Excelente luz y b&w.Asi como un magnifico ambiente y expresiones captadas.

 

Un cordial saludo -Tolo.

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it. All the best.

Linda, I'm sure that in colors they look much more " crazier" than in B/W. you did well in composing them ;-))

The colours were bright neon hot pink & orange and a frightening fluorescent lime green. They were so bright they were almost blinding. Thanks for commenting. All the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun shot Linda! I think it needs something though, more puch (contrast)? I don't know, cant put my finger on it. Still a very nice shot, I agree that b/w is a unique way of expression for it, otherwise viewer would have been distracted by garish colors..:)) Regards...LJ

 

I think you are right, it is lacking punch. I rented the movie "Fur", it's called the imaginary life of Diane Arbus. Maybe I will learn something. Thanks for commenting, nice to hear from you.

 

 

I'd like to suggest a book about Diana..."Diane Arbus" by Patricia Bosworth.

Film "Fur" is one of the most embarassing films I have seen. It misses the point completely, exploiting sensational aspects of her life as imagined by writer and producer. Film does much harm to Diane's image. I was surprised to see Nicole Kidman in it... and lost quite a bit of respect towards her as an actress afterwards :)

Thank you Janusz, I will look for that book. I appreciate your educational advice. I haven't watched the movie yet, tonight I hope. I don't doubt that you are correct, I am sure it is sensastionalized. That's Hollywood. They aren't in the honest, documentary, biography business. I'll let you know what I think. Thanks again. Warm regards.

 

 

It's a good representation of Vegas fare Linda, but it needs more punch to show some of what you actually shot in colour.... and not just the girls. The background detail could be more prominent to accentuate their attire. I thought maybe trimming off the right door might produce a more "in your face" effect and meld with the background detail, helping to bypass the posed look.

Hi there, it's good to hear from you.

 

I felt that this was lacking punch, but didn't know how to fix it. In this version here I darkened the background to make the ladies stand out more. Your idea is good, the whole scene looks more starkly garrish. I like it. Thanks so much for taking the time to do that. All the best.