Friday, January 11, 2008

great photographers

Yesterday I went to a talk by a photographer who calls himself "the world's greatest party photographer." The fact that he attributed this sentiment to other people did not make it any less clear that he thinks it's true.

He talked for what felt like about six hours but was probably more like one and went off on tangents like the one about time in the [some decade]s when he smoked a ton of "reefer" and really identified with the praying mantises on his farm.

I started taking pictures like this, which I think captures the mood:

Toward the end, Barkley and I were just silently giggling. A favorite quote: "This picture really cranks the space, doesn't it?" For the last 10 minutes or so he talked much less and just showed incredible photographs from a party he shot last summer. (The thing about being the world's best party photographer may well be true.)

Here's a photo of the cocktail party afterward:

Really cranks the space, doesn't it?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Wait, so he only photographs parties? That's quite a small, glamarous niche. I think I'm going to declare myself the world's greatest photographer of something I'd like to do all the time. Tubing behind a boat on a balmy summer evening? Reading near a window while it's snowing? Can I be the world's greatest photographer of either of those?

Dog said...

Cranks the hell out of it.

towwas said...

Barkley thinks the quote was actually "The space really cranks in this photo." So whether the photo cranks the space or the space cranks itself, I'm still cranky. Bwahhahahaha I crack myself up.

David J said...

I happen to be the world's greatest portrait photographer of the world's greatest party photographers.

Cheryl said...

I want to be the world's greatest photographer of my bedsheets.