Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Chapter 120 - December 31, 2013 - So long 2013


Hi everybody. Happy New Year's Eve! Another year goes by. I'm gonna get right into it and tell you a couple of Fashion Confessions. Remember, this blog is about now and the past. Mostly about the past because I feel bad about some things, well kind of.

You know, in my business I worked with a lot with art directors. I remember one time, I went up to Germany to show my book around. It was when I was living in Paris. Anyway, I went up to Germany and went on a few appointments. One time I went int o see this art director who was having lunch, Roast Beef and Mayonaise, I can tell that because it was all over my book. Anyway, she started looking at my book and going through the pages very fast. And while she was eating her sandwich she said to me, "I've seen all these pictures before Und der are so many people who can do this. I see nothing new." Then she stopped at a photo I did and said, "Und Dis is YOU. Dis is very personal, und dis is you." And she started pounding on my book. She was crazy, but she was right. It was a test I did for myself. I still remember the image.

Another time, I was in London. I was shooting for a British magazine. I was at the magazine meeting up with a fashion editor. Well, the art department came down to get me. He said, "You have the cover. It looks great. Come by and see a mock up before you leave." So after my meeting with the fashion editor I stopped by the art department. Well sure enough, there was my photo and it was the front cover and two thirds down the front cover it said in big words, "Vaginal Health." I mean, come one, give me a break. How am I supposed to put that in my book without laughing. It was a good shot though.

Another time I was in Italy. I'm going to go off on a tangent here. I just remembered something. My agent there didn't pay me for like two years. I'd done a lot of editorial, but they just took their sweet ass time in paying me, so one day I just sat on the agency couch until they paid me. I sat on that couch from 10 am until 8 pm. The owner finally cut me a check. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I met up with an art department at a magazine I always worked for and on the way out I remember one of the world's top fashion magazines was on the same floor I was on. Well, I went to the reservation person at this top magazine and I said, "I have an appointment with the art department." They looked at me curiously and they said, "Oh really?" and they called the art department. They said, "There is a gentleman here who says he has an appointment." Well, there was a bit of a talk between the art department of this magazine and I said, "Oh! My New York agent must have made the appointment. Either way, I remember you said - no problem." Well, the head of the art department finally said, "OK, OK," and I went down there and saw them. It was a good meeting, but I never saw them again.

You know, I worked with some great art directors. It's amazing when it clicks. 2013 was a good year, but let's toast to 2014. Hope there's a lot more clicking going on. Anyway, have a good night and a good New Year. Love, B. Nice

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Chapter 119 - December 18, 2013 - Way Back When


Hi everybody. I'll call this blog, Way Back When. I guess I call this blog way back when, but it kind of applies to how I am now. You see, I've got to adapt. I'll talk about that in a minute.

Let me tell you about a fashion confession first. When I was shooting in Australia, I got a job to shoot on a sailboat. We went to the Wit Sunday Islands, just north of Brisbane. I carefully picked out a crew of people to go on the shoot. I say "carefully" because I had to spend a week with these people on a 31 foot boat. Check all weapons at the door. Anyway, it was a great shoot. We spent a week on the boat. I slept on the deck, under the stars. It was a great shoot. At one point I remember we were trolling for fish. I caught a Spanish Mackerel. We pulled it in, the captain dressed the fish and we cooked it right there on the grill. You can't get fresher than that. Another time, I went scuba diving with the captain. We were scuba diving and spear fishing. I was in charge of all the fish and lobster we caught. The bag of fish I had was on a long tethered line, and I looked back and I saw the blood coming out of the bag and then I saw a big shark following me. Well, I decided to drop the bag. When we got back to the boat, the captain said, "Where's our catch?" I told him what happened and he went back for the catch. Funny, I never did see him again... just kidding. He got back and we had a great meal. Oh yeah, that reminds me. One time I was scuba diving from the boat. I looked down real deep into the abyss and there was some shimmering light coming out of the darkness to me. It must have been a big school of fish angling their bodies to look at me. The sunlight was glimmering off of them. Very cool. 

I guess my shoots always introduce me to some animals at one point. I remember once, I was horseback riding. I got off to have some lunch, sat down on a dead tree and started to have my lunch, and all of a sudden these animals came out of nowhere. Like squirrels, chipmunks, they were all over me. I guess they weren't used to seeing humans. Pretty crazy. I felt like Dr. Doolittle. Another time I was looking for locations and I looked up. There was a bald eagle nest right above me. A feather came down and landed right at my feet. That was pretty cool. Another time I was horseback riding and my horse was really nervous. I looked over to my left and there was a giant bear standing up smelling the air. I got the hell out of there pretty quick. The point is, it always was an adventure shooting. I never knew what to expect.

Before I mentioned about adapting. One time I was on a photo shoot with a famous model and she took a sweet ass time getting ready. Well, by the time she was ready it was dark. So I said, what the hell am I gonna do. I talked to the fashion stylist and she went to look at the clothes. This is when you know you have a good fashion stylist. So check this out. I was supposed to do swimwear on the beach. The stylist changed the whole story real quick. She pulled out all the black swimwear and we went down to the beach and we shot everything at night with a strobe. It looked real cool. So, you see, you can't freak out, you have to adapt.

You know, it's just like what I'm going through now. I just have to adapt, not freak out. Easier said than done, right? Lately I've been kind of depressed. I mean, come on. Who wouldn't be after everything I've gone through? Anyway, I have to remind myself to think about the future and positive things. My friend here who's writing this for me brought over another DVD of images and seeing them makes me happy. They are images from the trip we took. Anyway, this is B. Nice signing off. Have a good week. Love, B. Nice