Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

The 50 Photographers show at Crocker’s Mark Gallery was a big success! The place was completely packed:

Here is my photo:

The Story:

I am close friends with a woman named Roz. She is a psychologist here in town who has been very generous with her time and expertise. I adore her, and she adores me. I’m so lucky to have met her.

Anyway, she and her husband recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, and they had a wedding vow renewal ceremony at their house. After the ceremony, I walked around to get some candid shots of people at the reception. I was outside on the porch trying to be stealth, and I was taking pictures of this woman: Roz’s mother. She was engaged in conversation with other people, then at one point, she looked over at me and mimicked my tiltted head pose – just a little. I smiled at her and leaned my head a little more, then she leaned her head a little more – lean, lean, lean, CLICK!

I was instantly so pleased with this playful moment that I ran inside to show the picture to Wayne and Jake. It’s one of those pictures where everyone who see it smiles. I love that about it.

When I later showed it to Roz, she said that things between she and her mother had been a bit strained lately, and she thanked me for reminding her of her mother’s playful side. That’s the reason for the title.

I couldn’t be more pleased by my picture. There were others I was considering, but my favorite photographer is Henri Cartier-Bresson. In his photography, the capture of the decisive moment usually happens when he observes something happening between other people or outside of himself. In this instance, the image reflects an interaction between me (the photographer) and Roz’s mom.

I’m big on interaction. Reciprocal interaction is kind of what I live for. I need to put a price on this image, but if it doesn’t sell (or even if it does), I know who this reminder is for. It’s for Roz. She’s getting a print of this no matter what!

My photo didn’t place in the contest, but I couldn’t have been happier with my choice and with the fact that Roz and her husband came and seemed to really enjoy themselves. I knew a lot of the other photographers, and I was so impressed by so many of the photos in the show.

There are so many things to share about Friday, it’s hard to know where to start. First, the winning photo was entered by Kelly. She took this on a meetup in Durham. I really love the lines and colors in it and am so glad she won.

She’s glad, too!

Some others I want to share (click to go to photo page):

My personal favorite (even though I have no idea why)

Jake’s (because I like him and because I was there when he took it):

Link to the other images in the show.

Oliver’s show at 101 Cafe was great, too. Jake and I went there with Kelly and Chad. Great little cafe, perfect for a photography show. All the work was his. I’m pretty proud of him. Must have been a HELL of a lot of work. I am a big dork and was WAY too excited that I was in a picture he had included in the show. Just my hands, but I really love the picture. His whole family was there, too. Yay for Oliver!

He and I both had pictures up at a benefit at Slim’s. Oh, I hope they sell! I want my efforts to go to the cause.

I have photos in two shows this First Friday. One is the Flickr Raleigh Social Group summer project. There are 50 of us who signed up to be in the show, so there will be as many as 50 photos hanging on the walls. One of them is mine. I’m not telling you which one because we submitted in seeeeekrit! The show will be juried, and there will be winners. It will be held at Crocker’s Mark Gallery at 613 W Morgan Street in Raleigh, next to Moonlight Pizza. I also have two photos up at Slim’s Downtown (227 S Wilmington St). I donated these two for a benefit for a friend’s grandmother’s cancer treatments.

Also, my friend Oliver is doing a First Friday show that’s just his work (he also has two in the Slim’s benefit). That will be at Cafe 101, located at 444 S Blount, near the corner of Davie.

I saw Dottie had posted the Manga version of herself on Flickr yesterday, so I made one of myself, then a few others did, then a few others. Last night, Jake and I were looking at the Face Your Manga Group pool and cracking up at how this has spread in the last day. Well, this morning, I woke up and logged in to the Raleigh Social Group, and I thought I had gone to the wrong pool. Check this out:

Here’s mine:

I love the internet! Here’s the link to make your own.

When I moved to Raleigh, I knew one person: Christopher Thurston. He and I dated in 1987/88 when I was living briefly in Athens, GA (Which is why I always call him “my ex from the 80s.” I left Athens for Oberlin College in Ohio, and as these things often go, he and I broke up soon thereafter. We lost touch for years, but reconnected when online social networking was young – I think on Friendster, if memory serves. Back in the day, music was a huge part of our relationship. I was young and interested, and he was a little older and knew stuff, and in our short relationship, I soaked up a lot of new information and favorites. He’s the one who turned me on to The Velvet Underground, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and my favorite band of all time, Throwing Muses. He and I have both changed in lots of ways, but we are both still VERY into music. I went and got that degree in Vocal Performance at Oberlin Conservatory, but that’s not what I’m really talking about. I’m talking about myself as a music fan. I’ve never stopped listening to new music and going to gigs. “Gig girl” has been a central part of my identity since I was about 12, and not much has changed. It’s the same for him. He’s continued to participate in musical projects of all kinds playing both bass and double bass. He does some DJing, too. Xopher is the one who hosted me when I came to check out Raleigh as a potential place to live, and when I got here, I lived at his place for the first few weeks. He’s one of my best friends now – as is his mom, as a matter of fact!

Back in the day:

Now:

Me and Xopher’s mom, Margaret:

The day after Valentine’s Day last year (2/15/2007), I stopped into King’s Barcade (R.I.P.) to see a performance called Love Hangover. There were pairs of performers – usually a man and a woman – singing duets. A friend of mine named Billie sang that year with a guy named Roger Gupton. Their performance that night really blew me away, and I was so happy I’d decided to stop by before heading over to The Pour House to see The Old Ceremony. I met Roger that night. After some months and another performance or two, Roger became a regular reader of (and commenter on) this very blog. He dropped in around the time of the baby birds on the back porch and a period of illness, when he introduced me to the neti pot. He and I became friends, and we decided to spend some time together rehearsing. He sings and plays the guitar. I do both as well. He has more guitar experience. I have more voice experience. That project has been a little backburner lately, but I’ve not lost hope that we’ll get it done.

And so anyway, a little while back, on the day of Katy’s wedding, I ran into Roger at The Borough during the wedding’s reception/after party. He told me that he was trying to get together a new band and was looking for a bass player. I looked across the table and said, “Roger, you need to meet Christopher.” And apparently, Air Croatoa was born. I got to see them for the first time weekend before last. What a success! I’m so pleased that the world remains so small.

And so let me present to you Air Croatoa:

• Roger Gupton – guitar & singing
• Gina Dalmas – guitar, singing and assorted instruments
• Jubal Creech – percussion
• Xopher Thurston – double bass

(Speaking of small words, check this post by my friend Hugh from yesterday.)

My upcoming weekend is jam-packed!

While I’ve met one “chocolate drop” (Justin) a few times, I’ve never had the opportunity to see them play live. At least not Live live. I did, however, see video of a full show they did in Amsterdam a few months ago, and it knocked my socks off. Even though they are from here, they don’t seem to play here all that much. Tomorrow night, they are playing at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Their concert will be followed up by a film, but I can’t stay for that, because it’s The Crab Man Jake‘s birthday! Not sure exactly what will ensue, but I’m sure it will include food, beers, and hilarity. Yay!

Taken from the Fabchannel show

Saturday is still a bit unclear for me, because there are many things going on, but what I do know is that I will be finishing up my night seeing John Darnielle (lead singer of The Mountain Goats) and probably several other bands at Bull City Headquarters. They are playing a benefit called “The Eye Opener: A Celebration of Trans-Continental Awareness”. This benefits a group of transgendered North Carolinians who are on this trip to India. I don’t know a lot about the group, but I do know that when John plays locally, I go.

Here he is at a recent benefit in NYC. You know, so you can kind of imagine the awesomeness that might ensue:

Sunday is a small brunch for my friend Robert’s Birthday with my favorite people ever. I’m hoping there will be lots of hats.

And so to review, I will be everywhere. Maybe I’ll see you!