dalekboy | Danny's Photoshoot Meme

I'm game.

I may even be game for the photoshoot.

We've vaguely discussed this on occasion since making me turn out well in photos is a challenge (at least I think so).

The userpic above is one of the few decent ones I have.

It's interesting. In some ways my first response would be I really need to have a long, sit down chat with you at a con, as I've intended to do for ages.

But then I immediately had a fully formed image pop into my head.

A bathroom mirror frosted over with condensation. The shot is from close behind you, so the back of your head is of out of focus. From your body language you're leaning heavily on the sink with both hands. The mirror has had a single hand swipe taken down through the condensation, and it's through that gap that we can see only the right side of your face, as you look up from under your brow. Only that bit of your face is in focus. Don't know if you're exhausted, pissed off, hung-over, but there's a serious 'don't fuck with me' vibe behind the look.

See, on one hand I'd like to get a really nice portrait shot of you, probably set outside, with you looking off to the distance. The only feature of your face that would make that hard is your nose, I still think it's doable, but may need a much better photographer than me. You wouldn't try to hide it, but I'm wondering about the sort of angle and lighting needed so it doesn't distract from you.

The other would require a major set-up. You in extreem sweaty close-up, boxing gloves held close to your face, you're in the middle of a truly visious boxing bout. You're probably blurred from movement, lips drawn back in a snarl as you throw a punch, maybe a cut on your eyebrow leaking blood. This is not someone to mess with.

Sexy? Really? I hadn't thought of it that way. It was just a raw visceral image that popped into my head. No idea whether you're dressed or have just hopped out of the shower - just that look, shot back from the mirror.

Though that said, after I replied I thought a series of steamy mirror shots with you could be interesting, but I have no idea why, or how they'd be shot.

I've told you about this one before. White background, you in foreground, screaming with anger at the camera. Really, really pissed off. Probably a black and white photo.

I know people don't tend to take you seriously when you're angry, so I want a photo of you where those same people see it and go, "I don't want to be on the receiving end of that temper!"

If need be, I'd spend hours winding you up, talking to you only about things that make you furious, then discounting them offhand. By the end of it, I'd want you screaming red-faced into the lens. And then, get the shot just when you're glowering at me as you take a breath before you start again.

Or you dressed as Marie Antoinette. No idea where that comes from.

I can see that.

I'm noticing anger is a theme so far with these. Not sure if that's just me being an angry little man, or I like it because it's primal, raw, and honest. Maybe it's just because we all have to spend so much time being good little people who don't yell.

This would either take a major photoshoot, l33t Photoshop Skillz, or both.

You know the famous James Dean Times Square picture? I want something like that with you. But it's the balance of the other elements that's the hard part.

I want you walking along, head down, and everything close to you in the shot is of significance and relevance to your cultural identity. People, dress, images, writing. And around that little bubble of your culture, is the loud raw Western culture trying to break in.

Either that, or it works opposite, so you're in Western dress, surrounded by Western things, and around the edges of the shot is your world.

The hardest thing with this concept is to get the visual balance so it doesn't look like you're trapped (seemingly unwillingly) in a bubble of your own culture, but instead looks like you carry that heritage with you, no matter where you are, because it's a part of you, as opposed to attached to you. If that makes sense.

Focus is on you and your child, on top of a huge Uluru type rock, so we can see the landscape spread out behind you, and you're playing or dancing. Not sure about clothing, but probably light and flowing. Both lost in the joy of the moment.

Excellent! Because you inspired the whole idea in the first place. No really. I was laying in bed resting, and kept having the same visual with you crop up, which I then kept spinning off into other ideas, which got me wondering how I'd shoot other people, hence this post.

Okay, so the visual I kept getting was you at Lake Ballard, or some other huge salt lake, at sunrise or sunset. Probably sunrise. And generally it was a intimate look at your face in the soft morning light, examining the shapes and lines, with the flatness of the salt lake stretching back behind you to where it meets the sky.

From there I had a bunch of other ideas. I did idly wonder about a couple of simple nudes in that same environment, maybe even posed similar to the pictures I took of myself (http://dalekboy.livejournal.com/140417.html) there. What was funny was that I'd quite forgotten that you'd commented on that post until I went back to grab the link address for this reply, so now I'm wondering if my subconscious has been mulling that over all this time :)

The other idea I had would require a huge finished picture to do it justice. Big close-up of your face, very tightly focusing on the reflection in your eye. Depending on the composition, we may only see the area just around your eye. The reflection is of the salt lake environment, so land and sky essentially, with a stargate in it. So the ring of the inactive gate reflected in your eye sits halfway between your pupil and the outer edge of your iris.

I have? I don't remember that, but then I'm hopped up on painkillers at the moment so...

Actually, probably inspired by your River costume at one con, I think you're another salt lake person. Moving, dancing, never still. Actually, photographed in low light on a long exposure, with with just a couple of flashes so we get a still moment in amongst the lines of blurred movement.

Another thought, though I have no idea how I'd photograph it to look good, would be you as captain of a down and dingy space freighter. Something that wheezes and grumphs along, only two steps up from being steampunk. Or maybe not captain, but the engineer, complete with grease marks on your face where you've absent mindedly scratched while working on something.

Actually I would have happily taken tonnes of piccies last time we caught up, but I just wasn't up to it.

I actually think a dancing series similar to the one mentioned above. Long flowing shapes, long exposure... I think you'd pull off some nice artistic nudes, too, but I have no idea what environment would suit. Some people I just go 'desert', or 'forest.' You... actually, solid black background with just a hint of light showing some curves but leaving everything else black... that could work.

You... I'm not sure about... Would like to hang with you a lot more before I committed to anything too solidly, though there has been some photographic discussion in the past between us. A couple of those ideas would be good, be possibly a little pedestrian.

But even though I'm a bit vague, and think I could come up with something better, you're someone I see laughing. No idea why. There's a couple of people that just scream laughing at me. You don't scream it, but you do insist it's a good idea quite loudly.

Just a good, head thrown back, solidly laughing and enjoying life.

Perhaps...

But empowerment and action can come from other things too. Laughter, sex, knowledge...

That said, I love righteous fury. As opposed to just being angry about thing not going one's way, I like the anger where it doesn't matter if this goes my way or not, it's just wrong!

Me please! I generally do not like having my photo taken, but you taking it wouldn't bother me, I think. And I'd like to hear what you come up with as a hypothetical photo-shoot for me!

You're definitely a nude, something simple and classical. Partially because with your body shape that wouldn't be most people's first choice, and partially because having been to a nude beach with you, I know you have a gorgeous body that should be shown for how beautiful it is.

Actually, I say simple and classical, but you with a cheeky grin would work.

You're another easy one, and another nude, albeit one with a lot more work and some photoshopping.

I have this idea of you with lots of body make-up to give you a nice earthy granite look, towering over the countryside as a giant earth-mother figure, proud and awesome. Maybe with the sun peeking over your shoulder.

Kind of an odd one, and I'm not sure I could pull it off with - woman in the moon. Kind of a weird, almost subliminal series of shots, with your face over the moon, but subtle. So you look at the series of shots, and then on a second look realise there are lines and shapes that make a face when you look.

The one I'd most like to get, and the one that would be hardest to achieve because the emotion is so big and obvious, would be you laughing. So there's the moon over the countryside at night, and you slowly become aware that it's laughing.

I think you'd make an awesome harlequin figure. One side of the face red, the other black, with opposing red and black make-up highlighting the mouth and eyes. At least that's a gut reaction.

You're an interesting one because on one hand you've got a beautifully compassionate and expressive face, which it would be easy to work with. So naturally I'm leaning towards weird, harsh, broad looks where that's hidden or hinted at behind a facade.

And actually, you have a good body too. No idea how I'd use it, frame it, or anything, but you're one of the few guys I know with a body that lends itself to nice stylistic nude work. Or at least seems to.

Before I answer... WTF is a "Two Virgins" shot?!

Wait, googled it. ...Nah...

Not sure what I'd do individually, but if you guys were together for the shoot, I'd be tempted to get you both in matching suits and do a Kray Brothers or Alexei Sayle "Didn't You Kill My Brother?" style shot.

Actually, I like the idea of you both together. You're such a fabulous team. A table with two laptops on it opposite each other, with each of you screaming and gesticulating wildly at stupid people on the net.

Other version, one of you is screaming away, the other is sitting quietly enjoying some post or other.

I have three immediate ideas, possibly because I've known you so long... that said, I'd be tempted to catch up for a good long chat before ever making solid decisions because you've been off adventuring, so I may see a completely different person than who I'm picturing now.

But!

You walking along the top ridge of a rooftop, with the city or suburbs as your backdrop. Actually, the place you've been living for the last year or however long would have been perfect. You're walking the ridge and your eyeline is on the toe of the foot held high out in front of you, with a sort of thoughtful look. You're not concerned with the roof or the stuff around you, you're enjoying walking on the ridge.

You moonbathing in the Botanical Gardens. I'd want to get you, the moon and the lake in shot, so might take some doing. It's the sort of shot where photoshopping it will never work as well as getting it all in camera on a long exposure. Actually, would probably want to use a good telephoto lens and shoot from as far back as possible, just to try and get the moon filling a good portion of the sky.

You in a helmet that's a bit too big for you, and army clothes that are a bit too big for you, the wind blowing through your hair and you screaming at the world from the turrent of a tank. You wouldn't see most of the tank in the shot, but enough to know what it was you were commanding.

Actually, would have killed to photograph you with a big pregnant belly... so that's kind of absorbing my thinking at the moment...

Though you sneaking up behind your unsuspecting hubby in an exaggerated cartoonish manner with a feather has some appeal...

May have to ponder this some more...

You're so the down and dirty practical type!

Though of course then I want to get a soft feminine photo, all girlie. But that doesn't last before the image of you in the middle of a giant super-soaker battle comes to the fore, relentlessly and joyously drowning your opponents.

Now I'll need to look through my old photos. Depending on the camera, i may well have been going, "Is that in focus?! I can't tell!" Or I may have been going, "She's a fine looking woman... why does she look like that in the photo... ew!"

You can unscreen me if you like:)

I think they all sound like marvelous ideas, although the third one might be a bit tricky these days - I have dreadlocks now, so the wind doesn't blow through my hair quite like it would have done previously.

The second one, though - that would be my pick, because I have in fact *been* moonbathing in the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, albeit many years ago. On the North Lawn, so within sight of the lake. Did I tell you that and forget, or is it rather spooky coincidence that brought you that idea?

I can't remember if I replied to this or not!

You can unscreen me. :)

I was pretty sure you were dreaded up, from one of your Flickr photos and such that I looked at ages ago. I think the tank one would still work with the dreads tied back. Mind you, they're dreads, we could thread wire through them to shape them a bit.

Or rent a huge wind machine!

The rooftop is probably my fav. I can just see the look of concentration on your face as you look at your toes, your arms held out for balance. There's a matter-of-factness to a lot of things you do that comes through in your body language, and I've always loved it.

The moonbathing you told me about. And it's just so perfectly you that I'd love to take it. But you're also one of the people that I could spend days photographing. You have so many facets to your character that I've seen and would love to try and capture. That's why I mentioned catching up with you again, because who knows what else you'd surprise me with!

I tend to stick my tongue out when I concentrate, you'd have to work with that:)

And wiring my dreads is a good idea! I've been sticking shiny things in them lately, which is fun, but I think you may have just inspired a whole new use for those glittery pipecleaners you can get at craft-stores, which I never saw a purpose for until now.

We should catch up one of these days - Jai's been muttering about a brief trip to Canberra to make sure it's still there, I should ask if he has actual dates in mind so I can see if they work for you!

You hadn't, but now that you have...

Oh God, so many ideas!

Actually, the Kray Brothers thing would be so awesome with you. But first preference, and yes, it's old and been done, but I'd love to do a whole big run of shots of you as the Tooth Fairy! Problem is, people would think we were ripping off the Tooth Fairy from Supernatural, but I don't care. We know the truth!

It'd actually be easy to get a really nice portait of you. You have a great face. But at the same time, you do extreme so very well, it's just too damned tempting to run with it. So...

Giant Scotty sitting and chatting with Godzilla over a ruined Tokyo. I have someone else this would suit also, but would work well with you.

Naked Scotty, in a tunnel somewhere, covered in blood and gore, holding his dolly out to the camera.

Actually, naked Scotty all bedraggled looking into the mirror, and behind his reflection is suited, professional looking Scott. So many possible expressions for pro-Scott - amusement, a cheer-the-hell-up look, disdain...

Oh! Perfect! Close shot of you, deadly serious, deep in thought, looking into the middle distance as you try to ignore the distractions. Around you, all different versions of yourself. Angry, amused, nervous, disappointed, delighted, etc. and all of them yammering away at you.

Now if only we had someone who had the photoshop skills... :P

The tongue out is actually right there in my mental picture of you on the roof. Seriously. I know that look so well. I mimed it to Sharon earlier, complete with tongue :)

You could wire your dreads and become Medusa!

And yes, would love to catch up! You can see my ~~demon-spawn~~ son!

Damn, I've got a feeling of something running just below my conscious thoughts, but can't crystalise it...

Can you point me at some photos of you to help kick me off?

I'd definitely like to try the former sometime and I've seen enough of your photos to believe that you could pull it off.

The latter is very different but what the heck I'd be willing to give it a go. Probably because it is so far out of my comfort zone I'd like to go there and find out.

Oh and go ahead and unscreen me. :)

For you I really am going to need some links to recent photos. How long has it been?

You've heaps of photos of me, and I think a fair few ideas :-) Don't know if you've had any new ones since the last time we talked about this. I'm posting though because I'd be interested if you have any idea about how you'd shoot Sparrow. (gosh, that sounds wrong -grin-.) You can unscreen this.

It's odd, I've had a really hard time nailing down any sort of concept or look for you. That's happened with one or two others, but I could tell you exactly why I had trouble with them (I'm not going to tho') whereas I have no idea with you... except maybe that you're someone I just need to have more contact with.

However, eventually I came up with something I thought you'd pull off. Not entirely happy with it, but it's a starting place. I think a series of shots with you in elegant evening dress. Not sure why I went for that, but it felt right.

The other that occurred is a shot of you, in a high corner office over-looking a city. So you have the big office, great desk, huge glass walls, a commanding view of the city, and you're there, leaning back on your desk, wearing a fabulous suit and a confident expression. You're the absolute pinnacle of the successful business-woman.

Then I'd like to have pretty exactly the same shot from the same angle, you in the same clothes, sitting on the floor playing with your kids. the pics would be placed next to each other in the same frame.

I've actually almost taken the sort of photo I think you'd be great for here (http://dalekboy.livejournal.com/152330.html). The Arse-Kicking Angel of the Lord. It's just that the pose with the hand is just a bit off.

But a whole sequence of these would be sweet. Big surly angel with a "Don't fuck with me," attitude and smallish wings. Arms crossed staring at the camera. Wielding a huge sword. Surrounded by demons and standing in a "Bring it on!" pose. There's so many great shots we could do, and you could so pull that off.

One of the things I love about you is also your ability to pull off the ridiculous well. So another two that spring to mind are one of you in a suit, looking surly and mean while drinking out of a tiny, very delicate, china teacup. I'd want it just being brought to your lips as you glare at the camera, with the cup dwarfed by your big hands.

The other version of that, you sitting down at a childs tea party set, pouring pretend drinks and having an absolute ball. Not sure if there would be children or toys on the other seats. Of course we'd probably have to seriously reinforce your little chair!

And yes, I'm aware that it's obvious who you are because of the link, but I'm still not going to unscreen you because I'm odd like that :)

Remember I said I was mean? Dude, throw me a bone here, you're talking about nearly a quarter of a century! Your perceptions of how you've changed and how you've actually changed and how others would see that change are all different.

It'd be hard without a chat to see who you are now, but without even the faintest idea of your face? The other person I asked for pictures I see at least once a year! LOL

So come on, pony up! *grin*

I had two with you, both of them harsh ones, which is odd because you're small and delicate looking. Or maybe that's why they occurred. I do love opposites.

One is you in army fatigues, in the middle of what is obviously a major battle, snarling and firing a machine gun or uzi. A totally "Don't fuck with me," one person versus insurmountable odds and isn't going to back down moment.

The other is in stark black and white. A long street, and for the whole length of the street, lying on the ground, are men's bodies. All big men, body-builder types, all oiled so great muscles and lines, and we can't see their faces. No idea if they're alive or dead. There's no-one else on the street except for you, and you're walking over them, on them, straight at the camera, a determined and grim expression on your face.

Part of me is trying to figure out what you'd be wearing, because it sort of feels like you should be wearing something, and part of me thinks you should be naked. I actually think naked would work best. Having see you naked, you have beautiful soft lines to your body, which would be a great counterpoint to the muscled lines of the bodies. But I can't quite shake the feeling you should be dressed, and I can't nail down what would work.

You're a hard one, partially because a portion of the sort of things I'd like to do have been done with you already. Then there's the painfully obvious ones which I'd just like to do because you're my mate, and I know you'd get a kick out of them.

Worst thing, at some point while lying around yesterday, I came up with one that I thought would be great, and would work. And do you think I can come up with the bastard now? Been trying to remember since you posted.

So will have to get back to you... There's something swirling around in the back of my head.

One of the things about you is you're such a fabulous model because you're up for anything. If I said I wanted you stripped naked, covered in green goo and chicken feathers, hanging upside down from Sydney Harbour Bridge, I probably wouldn't have to work too hard to convince you. You'd go, "No... he must have something amazing in mind, and I'm only going to see it if I do this, so..."

Of course, it suddenly occurs to me that suggesting something like that would be a great practical joke. "Film in the camera? Why would I want film in the camera?"

Sparrow's a hard one because I'm not around her, so I haven't got much of a feel for her. That said, I have two ideas, one Sparrow based, one with you and her.

The set-up for the Sparrow one would be the key. You take a beautiful and elegantly arranged room with lovely furnishings, so nice art dotted around the place, some stylish personal effects. Then pick a spot in the room and set off a reasonably strong and firey explosive on the floor, so you have the burn lines and damage reaching out from that point.

Then it's a toss-up between Sparrow being sat at the epicentre of where the blast occurred, and getting a good black and white shot of just that - baby in the middle of the blast damage. Or exactly the same shot, but framed on either side by you and James in the foreground looking horrified at the destruction your little girl has created. Naturally for either version, the cuter and sweeter she looks, the better.

I'd call the shot "Parenthood" :)

The other one that comes to mind is you standing in a fighting pose, a knife or blade held out towards the camera in readiness to attack, and a "I'm going to fucking kill you!" expression on your face. Your other arm is holding Sparrow as she breastfeeds.

I'm game. Here's a batch of my Swancon costumes if that helps to identify me:

http://pics.livejournal.com/stephbg/gallery/00005w3s

We did the "So this is your first Swancon?" panel together this year.

Okay, came up with it a few days ago, but this has been my first chance to post.

I've got two, which could actually be related, kind of.

One is a preacher. Could be old style, but I'm actually leaning towards the Yahoo Serious preacher outfit from Reckless Kelly. Not sure of the setting, but I reckon you could pull that off.

The other is a classic highwayman style look. I think the sort of picture would be very much you standing there filling the frame, a gun in each hand. Colour would be desaturated with a tinge of blue.

Can you see how they could be related?

I know who you are :)

Sorry for the delay, busy week.

Not much detail, and in some ways you've picked some costumes that almost suit what I've been thinking. I reckon you'd make an awesome Queen Boadicea, or a similar style of warrior queen. No great details, but I reckon going hell for leather in a chariot, and screaming like a banshee is a good starting point for the shoot.

Sorry for the delay, busy week.

And yes, the pictures were brilliant, because you looked way different to the person I was picturing from your description, which completely changed the way I was thinking.

I reckon we'd have you done up as the Hammer Horror idea of what the 1800s gentleman scientist looked like. So all old tweed, etc. Keep the beard, because I think that works for it.

We have you in a drawing room, obviously explaining or warning about some monstrous thing that's loose. Naturally all your fellow scientist types are looking skeptical.

What I'd be tempted to do is, almost as a subliminal element, we can just barely make out a face peering in through the window. Not sure if its scarred, monster-like, or animalistic, but if you really looked hard the creature would bear more than a passing resemblance to your scientist character.

The interesting part would be getting me to scream. I wouldn't want to frighten the horses :-)

Thanks! I've also enjoyed reading about your other ideas, even while not knowing the people involved.

Nothing to screen here: open 'er up.

Well, it's a photo, so you could just pretend to scream. Hell depending on the angle, we may not even need the horses :)

I went for the screening because I thought some folks might be self-conscious about some of my ideas, especially if they did/didn't like them. Then I realised it added a whole new level of, "I wonder who the hell that is?!"

You're a good one, 'cos I love your skin. So first we'd have to flay that off and hang it... no wait. Sorry, where was I?

Ok, got a couple of ideas. Love to get you in a retro-future Jetsons style outfit and setting. Especially if we were playing with those 50s/60s stereotypes, so you're in the bizarre outfits, doing household chores with weird faux-modern equipment. Or reading a magazine while your robot does the chores.

Another would be to put you in a fairly tight battlesuit, and get you in a fighting pose. One leg stretched out behind you as you crouch down with one hand on the floor, looking towards the camera. All business and ready to go. I don't know why, but the weapon I'd like you armed with would be a futuristic staff of some description, held back behind you in your free hand.

Actually, that's one I could see your partner in as well. A gothic hitech Royal chamber, with her in an elaborate queen's garb on the ultra-modern throne in the background, with you in the above pose in the foreground - Queen's Champion.

Actually just came up with a third. Don't know the setting, but I suspect a hitech lab of some description. A series of shots that use 3D graphics after the fact to break you up and peel away parts of your skin to reveal robotic parts underneath.

Actually, could be cooler if done in an old garage somehere. Oh! Perfect! The previously mentioned engineer character with her one-step-above steampunk tech, in her dirty old overalls. You're like the classic car being rebuilt by an enthusiast.

First in the series could be your head, maybe getting an eye replaced, followed by various chunks of body and endokeletal structure which would allow us to concentrate on the engineer a bit, but still have your head there, silently commenting on what's going on with its expressions. So there could be a shot where the engineer is holding up two identical left arms and you're looking at them and frowning trying to decide between them. Or there's been a mishap and part of your unattached torso is on fire, the engineer has the fire extinguisher held ready to blast the flames, and you're looking on horrifed at the whole mess.

Danny's Photoshoot Meme

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Re: Hope this helps

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