The Notorious Chrystyne

Just got through editing shots from a recent shoot with Chrystyne, aka "Disco Bitch" despite being very sweet and not noticeably disco. Less than ideal conditions (me, her and up to four other people in a tiny Red Roof room on a rainy Saturday) but we got some nice shots, including this playful little number. This was a paid shoot, and somehow she and I caused some brouhaha because she chose to do this shoot with me at the hotel over doing a couple free shoots at the group event later in the day -- a couple photographers saw it as a slight to their artistry and made some noise to that effect. To my mind, despite W's best efforts, this is still a free country and she can work with whomever she chooses, especially outside the confines of the group event. I didn't even know there was a controversy until a day or so before the shoot. So anyway, for that reason, for purposes of this blog she is "The Notorious Chrystyne." She's indicating that she'll submit some of the shots to a publication, so keep your fingers crossed for my first REAL magazine tearsheet.

This photo also brings to mind The Notorious Bettie Page -- the recent Bettie Page biopic, starring the astoundingly beautiful Gretchen Mol as Bettie. Saw it last week, and enjoyed it quite a bit, although there's not a whole lot of story to it. It was an interesting snapshot of the times when photos that are fun and tame by today's standards were scandalous to the point of holding Senate hearings. Sadly, the pendulum seems to be swinging back to the more repressed days of old. Now, if a broadcaster slips up and lets an 'f-bomb' get past the tape delay, or Janet Jackson gives the world another peek at her nipple, the fine will be up to $320,000 per incident, just recently increased tenfold. But, if you own a coal mine and choose to ignore safety standards and workers get killed, the fine is in the $10,000 - $25,000 range. So, the lives of all the miners who died in the Sago mine disaster earlier this year now add up to less than someone on live TV or radio saying the word 'fuck' -- what's that say about America and Republican values?

"They train boys to drop fire on people, but they won't allow them to write the word 'fuck' on an airplane because... it's obscene." -- Marlon Brando as Col. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now.

Sorry for the less than fun-filled tone of this entry. Back soon to the regularly scheduled frivolity. :)