chookooloonks life list update: number 16, photograph 1000 faces (the blogher10 edition, part 1)
The inimitable Maile.
I'm finally going through all the portraits I took at BlogHer, and similarly to the EVO conference, I took so many that I'm going to have to share them with you piecemeal over the next few days. I figure the best way to share them with you is in (more-or-less) the order that I took them.
I arrived a day early for the conference, because my friend Maile (pronounced "Miley," like the Cyrus), above, asked me for a favour. Maile is the designer and creative mind behind Epiphanie bags, these amazing camera bags that look just like designer handbags, but inside, they're totally kitted out to accommodate your expensive camera. (I have been known to gush about these bags in the past.) Since Maile is a photographer herself, she's embarked upon a photo project to show real photographers using her bags. She asked if she could shoot me while in Manhattan. I was thrilled to say yes.
I met Maile and her friend and assistant, Lauren (shown below) Thursday morning in their hotel room, and we made wardrobe choices. But before we left to hit the streets of New York, I made sure to grab a photograph of each of their amazing faces. They're lovely, aren't they?
Lauren.
Speaking of "hitting the streets" -- I, like a moron, decided to wear my highest platform heels for Maile's shoot. (You know what I'm about to say next, right?) As we got ready to shoot in Times Square, possibly the most POPULOUS SPACE ON THE PLANET, my heel got caught in a crack in the sidewalk and honey, DOWN. I. WENT. And there was no grace in this fall either, my friends: arms flying, legs flailing, and I'm sure I had a violently contorted face, you know, for full grisly effect. It was horrifying. You would've thought that would've been enough of a scene, right? But oh, no, not for me: running to my aid were about 8 cops in full riot gear (New Yorkers are sort of twitchy about terrorist activity), picking my pathetic body up off the filthy sidewalk. Luckily, other than my ego, I wasn't even bruised. We thanked the cops, and kept going.
As soon as Maile has published the photos of the shoot, I'll let you know. I'm hoping she didn't get any shots of the fall. Even if she didn't, though, I'm sure all the surveillance cameras in Times Square did.
Sigh.
Anyway, after a terrifically fun shoot (dust-biting notwithstanding), I headed back to the hotel to wash up, put on some fresh dignity, and head out for a couple of drinks at my friend Maggie's hotel room.
There were a lot of familiar faces there, like Alice:
... who, in addition to flashing her radiant smile, above, also showed me her sex kitten face, as well:
Rowr.
I also got to meet Cassie for the first time in person:
Cassie is a young blogger out of Chicago who invited me to participate in her project "A Letter to Your 20-Something Self." In person, she's as warm and sweet and kind as she looks in the photograph above. A real treasure.
I was also able to meet Alma:
Alma.
The first thing I thought when this happy woman walked in the room was man, she has style. I mean, really, turquoise with black-and-white polka dots? BRILLIANT. So really, it wasn't any surprise to learn that she's a really talented designer. It was lovely to meet her.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stay very long, because I was kindly invited to present an award at the SocialLuxe party that was happening a few blocks away. When Jenny and I arrived at the party, there was a line out front. We took our place behind this beautiful woman:
"Are you Karen?" she asked.
"I am!"
"I'm Shannon," she said. "I love your 1000 faces project."
"Great!" I immediately responded. "Mind if I take your picture?"
She looked a bit stunned, bless her heart; she had no idea I was going to ambush her. But seriously, there was no way I was going to let that face get away without taking the shot. She was radiant, and such a good sport.
(Incidentally, in addition to presenting an award at SocialLuxe, I also received an award: Best Eye Candy, which I share with a really exceptional blog, I Heart Faces. Thank you to all of you who voted for me. I'm really honoured.)
Anyway, as you can see, Thursday was a really good start. More on the next few days to follow.
Images: All photographed with my Nikon D300 and 50mm lens.
Song: Sunshine by Keane