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Comments
I was so impressed with the time Shelby Mayor took to talk to my disabled 6 year old son last April. Most people were hurrying by and we stopped to watch. He gave my son a business card and some play money and joked with him. He was great! A nice guy in real life and a terrific cast member!
I need to meet Shelby Mayer and Freddy Fiddlesticks whenever my next trip takes place, but especially Shelby Mayer.
I like the picture, but can you tell me if that is photoshop or a real effect you use?
Thank you Jennifer- that is a fair question. The short answer is…. Photoshop. The answer I would prefer to submit is a little longer, but I hope it provides some perspective on this particular photo series.
As you look through photographs of actors and performers over the years, but specifically, during the heyday of Hollywood glitz and glamor, say the 1940’s and 1950’s, with entertainers acquiring “larger than life” status, it should be noted that those images were nearly always heavily retouched. (Actually, that trend hasn’t completely vanished today)… The “perfection” of those images was created using various means, including airbrushing, soft focus lenses and filters, and glamorous lighting and makeup. During the 1960’s, when I first began working as a photographer, those items were regarded as tools of the trade, not unlike “burning and dodging” prints for maximum aesthetic impact. Today, most of those techniques are enabled using Photoshop, one of, if not “the” standard platform for photography today.
Here’s the tricky, if not controversial, component. Depending on whether the intent is to create a look and feel, or to change the reality of a scene, Photoshop techniques are often considered either tricks or tools. With the “Citizens of Hollywood” series, my objective was to capture some of the history and nostalgia of showbiz and to give each performer a glamorous, if not romantic aura through the use of selected focus and striking colors. My goal was to capture the “over the top” aspect of their delightful street theater. If I could have used film and printed them in the darkroom, the results would have been the same, but the “tools” would have been different.
I apologize for the lengthy response, but I do hope that I answered your question.
Gene
We LOVE seeing Ready Freddy Fiddlesticks!!!!
I hope to see Ready Freddy next week, I totally missed him in October!
Hehe, I knew…but only because Shelby’s alter ego posted about it on FB a few weeks ago 🙂 Turns out he and another performer who has now passed had actually rescued these when they saw them rusting backstage.
These guys are hilarious! Our last trip, September 2010 was the first time I stopped for a moment to see what they were all about.
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