// FiveTwentyThree

Remember I said I was doing a Q&A?  I meant it.  It just took me awhile.

† From Techphilospher :

What do you do to support youself?  Are you making a living from modeling and photographer or do you have some sort of regular job?

I’ve always considering saying that you are an artist just means that you are too lazy to get a real job, so yes, I am an artist.  Right now all of my income comes from photography, as I have taken a step back from modeling for the time being.  I also blog with Nixon at Haute Macabre, but as of yet, we are not making any profit from it.

If you were going to buy a relatively inexpensive zoom lens for a Canon XSi to take pictures of birds and other far away things, what would you buy?

I’d save my pennies and get a slick piece of glass!  I mostly shoot with a Canon 24-70, and they run around $1300.  Worth every single penny, though.

Any chance you are coming to Wizard World Philly this year?  Do you know any SG’s who are?

I am not attending that show, but I WILL be at Comic Con in a few weeks in San Diego.  I have no idea who will be at the Philly convention, but I always did have a great time at the Wizard World shows, so you should try to make it over there.  And – if you’re in Philly, go check out the Mutter Museum.  I have not had the chance to go, as every time I find myself in Philadelphia it’s on an incredibly tight schedule, but I hear it is delightful.

Are you still watching Battlestar Galactica?

Nope.  I got completely bored with it about 2/3rds through Season 1.  Liam is still watching though, and keeps telling me that it gets super awesome, but I lost interest.  I’d fall asleep during every episode, which is never a good sign.

Tentacle porn?  Really?

Uh… yeah.  I never got around to watching it though, and just deleted it because I needed some room on my hard drive.  Tim has it, and I’m visiting him next month, so maybe I’ll check it out at his house.  I’m not really one for porn, but it seemed like it would be full of the lols.

† From TC :

NYC Accent – did you have it bad?  Do you still have it?

I have spent nearly 30 years covering it up, but it on occasion slips out.  I can’t seem to say the word “drawer” (it comes out like “draw”), and depending on how fast I’m talking or whom I’m talking to, it definitely creeps in.

Who comes up with the theme for a shoot – you, the girl, or both?

Well, it’s a bit of a group effort, really.  I tend to avoid “themed” shoots, since I feel like if you don’t execute it perfectly, it looks like crap.  Most of the time, the model will present to me her ideas, and I can then figure out if it’s logisitically possible.  If it is, we go with it, and if not, I try to figure out a way to make it work.  Honestly though, I really prefer just shooting raw, simple things.  I like to focus on the model rather than using a ton of props or effects, since a lot of times the girl can get lost in all that.

Do you own your own lighting or do you rent / borrow / steal?  What do you use?  Were those your Alien Bees?

Good fuck, I WISH those were mine.  They were Cymagen’s, since I couldn’t fly with my kit (it would totally fall apart being handled by the luggage guys).  More of then than not, I shoot with natural, diffused lighting, but when I do need extra fill I have a really basic hot light kit.

Did you know any made guys?

Not that I know of, but then again, you never ask about work.

† From Bob :

Why “Fractal”?

I could go off on a long winded explaination that I made up after the fact, but really, it’s just because fractal_reality was my email address when I applied for SG.  Back then, in early ‘03, the site was so small that I never thought it would mean anything.  In retrospect, I probably would have picked something a little less esoteric.

Sicilian Witch?  Literally as in Wiccan, or figuratively as in a permutation of “wise woman”?

A bit of both, actually!  My friend Del dubbed me that one night, but I was actually raised Wiccan.  My mom converted to it when I was about 9, but I haven’t practiced in ages.

What camera do you use to shoot your sets?  What’s that gizmo attached to it?

I shoot with a Canon 5D, and usually use the 24 – 70 lens I mentioned earlier.  I occasionally use a 50mm 1.8, but the former is much more versatile.  The thingy on top of the camera was a transmitter gizmobobber for remotely firing the strobes.  It made me feel all fancy, using all that grown up equipment.

If you didn’t find this terribly dull, I could do it again sometime!  Next time I shall find photos to insert, but I am being far too lazy at the moment.

I went to visit Nixon this weekend.

She found a dead fowl.

Like she does.

I’m not sure who that guy behind her is, but he did have a spatula, and was rising it to the heavens.

I was bored last night and took one of those Facebook quizzes that tells you how insane you are.

As you do.

I didn’t agree with any of the options, so I wrote down my own.

chihuahuas eating a giant ant

pregnant clowns high fiving while their wombs explode

suction cup bras headed towards two bald women whose wigs blew off while milking a praying mantis head

sad rabbit with enormous feet sitting on a pine cone

bat slug.  this one was easy.

vagina rug, like those bear rugs in hunting cabins

butt with arms giving two thumbs up

badgers climbing a stingray

magicians with freddy krueger gloves bitch fighting on clouds on top of upside down pigs

seahorses with gun heads smoking crack pipes with crabs fanning them with grape leaves

Stupid Facebook.

More from the Nuclear series I shot of Mika a few weeks back.  More might pop up elsewhere in the ether one day, but that day is not today.

I’ve become a little obsessed with True Blood this past week.  I watched the entire first season on Apple TV over three nights, and am now trying to figure out the magic of the Land of Torrents to find Season 2.  I love that it’s a Buffy for grown ups.

The opening sequence makes me want to drive through the Bayou with my lomo cameras.

I drank too much coffee today & am failing at getting anything accomplished, so instead I’m posting this so that I can keep watching it over and over again.