The Power of a Good Photographer (and cameraman, too)

When I first became friends with Durham rappers Toon and The Real Laww, Toon told me "You know, I don't think we'd be where we are at in our careers if it weren't for Saleem." Saleem, known around the Dirty D as kid ethnic, is an utterly fantastic person, amazing graphic designer and talented videographer who began shooting Toon and Laww a little over 1 year ago. The first time I saw him, he was making a promo video for our next Luchadoras wrestling match.

It was eight o'clock in the morning and he was on roller blades...with a camera.

What?

With no dolly to use, his girlfriend just puled him around by a bungee chord attached to his belt. And he made the amazing video below.

Needless to say, I am fascinated with his work. And I think I finally understand how important it is to have good promotional materials and solid networking connections.

Videos are desirable and easy for promoting, but posters, photos, and non-video 2D media hit a whole range of targets. First of all, if a poster is well drawn out and meaningful, people are going to want that poster, It's almost free marketing. Like Andy Warhol and his Marilyn Monroe prints, PBR and all the cool Pabst branding, if you can create neat image that appeals to the current art and pop culture, you are bound to draw some support.

And if you are a model, artist, musician, or just have any kind of work to show off, a good photo can be your golden ticket to a lot of different places--like future performances/shows/exhibits, the front page of a local blog or even the newspaper.

When I see photos taken by my favorite fire photographers, Paul Corey of Beguiling Shadows Photography, I say "Holy cow! Did I really look like that!" His shots are amazing.

Another beloved photog friend, Jon McClain, takes photos that are out of this world. Probably 'cuz he's and alien. Just kidding! But you can see for yourself at his current Raleigh exhibit (details below).

The moral of this story is keep up with photographers and videographers, back up your files, and drink PBR :) Also, support local artists.

Love,
The Amazon Queen

PS- About Jon's exhibit--Birds and Bees--at Cup-A-Joe in Mission Valley, Raleigh, NC. Jon says,  "Depending on how deep you want to go, it a collection of shots from here in town. I chased bees the first summers of my photog life, hummingbirds, next, and most recently, you and the other birds I've been shooting. I go there on wed from 3-6 and sat 1-4 just to hang out. And on Saturdays i try to do something to draw a crowd."