Photography as an homage to "The Wizard Of Oz"!

Good evening, Steemit! Hope everyone has recovered from the holiday's. Traveling for the last few weeks and visiting friends and family in Pennsylvania, the days ran away from me. Now that I'm back in Minneapolis, I've been digging back in to the community and I've been seeing such great author content and engagement. That, and seeing STEEM climb back, along with the usual engagement that made me fall in love with Steemit in the first place; it's got me excited for 2017.

As I've said many times here, 2013 - 2016 was a turbulent time for my career as I scaled the rungs of the LA photography scene. As of my last trip to Los Angeles to shoot my annual NOIR event, I slept on a hard wood floor several nights, so believe me when I tell you the accession is far from compete [...I haven't "arrived"]. But, making any splash in a city that's heralded as the mecca for aspiring artists, is no easy feat. 

There's a short list of worst shoots and experiences during those few years on the west coast, and happily I can say, a fair amount more of outstanding ones. Between the extremes of that scale, though, there are shoots I'd just call "memorable". The photos I'm going to share tonight fall in to that category. I was sick, and had pulled a muscle in my back attempting to schlep a 50lbs back pack with all my clothes and photography equipment in an attempt to avoid paying addition carry on fees with Spirit airlines [...it worked, but at what cost?]. 

My client's name was Cheryl and as I scaled the ornate stairs of the historic Culver City Hotel, I was struggling to "push through" for what would likely be a two hour shoot. When I got upstairs, I was doing my best to contain my discomfort. I met with Cheryl and the hair and make-up artists. Cheryl was quiet when I introduced myself. I talked with her about her ideas and she reacquainted me with her original hopes of recreating a sense of "The Wizard Of Oz". I vaguely remembered her bringing this concept up when she first contacted me about booking a session [...during this period, I was genuinely booking more work than two of me could handle, and sadly, the details of these shoots were hazy, even at the time].

Cheryl laid out three dresses, all part of a specific arrangement she'd made. A gorgeous sparkly gown, and a green dress intended to represent the Wicked Witch of the West. She had poppy flowers, a leather bound copy of the book, and even a lifelike stuffed animal that did look a believable resemblance to Toto. I knew what my rate was for this shoot, and as I absorbed the lengths [...and cost] to bring this concept to life, I found the ability to ignore my illness, fatigue and lethargy and to become focused on this project. It was, without a doubt, extremely important to her.

I took in the surroundings of the Culver City Hotel ballrooms and commented "This is beautiful!". Always looking for interesting places to shoot in LA, I asked her "How much did you spend on this?!". She kind of, sheepishly put her head down and replied "$1,000". My eyes widened, as I was now doing the math for this extravagant location, my rate, the dresses, and our hair and make-up team. Cheryl wasn't a rich girl. This was a Hail Mary, and we talked in a small room across from the bar.

She was diagnosed with....something. It wasn't cancer. An autoimmune disease, but she told me she'll be sick for a long time. The gravity of all of this was hitting me, putting in to perspective my insignificant temporary discomforts, and how trivial they were. She told me about how the film had impacted her and how long she's been wanting to bring this these photos to life. She told me about the history of The Culver City Hotel and how it was right down the street from MGM Studios, and how, between shooting, Judy Garland and the cast would come there. The munchkins were notorious for out of hand, drunken escapades in the very room we were standing. 

By the end of our conversation, I was humbled and determined to make this one of the best shoots of the year, and I'm happy to say, it was. Like so many of my clients, Cheryl was a first time model. She relied on me to direct her, and walk her through our shoot, which I did. She only improved as our shoot went on. I remember seeing her channel characters like Dorthy and The Wicked Witch. Looking at the back of my camera and seeing dramatic images, knowing they were exactly what she'd hope for, and being reaffirmed that this is the best job in the world.

Since our Wizard Of Oz shoot, Cheryl and I have stayed in touch through Facebook and I'm happy to say, she appears to be doing well. She's recommended me to friends on the east coast, and I've worked with them as well. In the years I've been traveling and shooting, I still think she's been the most organized, committed client I've had the pleasure of working with. She approached a specific concept, painstakingly thought out to the smallest detail, and was able to present it all to me without micro-managing; just trusting me as the artist to breath life in to this theme. What a dream client!

Thank you for reading. I post often so if you aren't already, please follow my blog @kommienezuspadt!