Vegas Baby!

"FIGHTERS FIGHT" :

Just got back from Las Vegas where I shot an ad campaign for the WEC cage fighting league. I had an amazing experience. It's definitely my favorite professional shoot thus far.

Cage fighters are such inspirational photography subjects. Each one has a unique history of violence recorded in their face. Broken bones. Scar tissue. Missing teeth. It's fascinating how these experiences shaped their personalities. I've learned that the great physical traumas these guys endure do absolutely nothing to dissuade them from stepping into the cage again. If anything, they use the pain as motivation.











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That last photo my favorite shot in the series. Moments before, this man mounted his opponent, beat his face in and drew blood. It took both fighters a while to realize that they should stop attacking. He got up and walked to the corner to towel off the blood on his face. I ran into the cage and said "Please don't wipe the blood off... just look here... Ok?" Coming off of all that adrenaline, he looked so peaceful. And he had this expression on his face, as if he had just killed a man or maybe it was more like he had just defended his life.

THE CAMPAIGN :




The ad campaign ran throughout the country. They actually started putting up some of the shots in NYC while I was still on the west coast. Here are a few snap shots I tracked down.








EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE OF THE SHOOT:

I was very fortunate. I got to stay in a nice room in the MGM Grand Hotel during the week that the De La Hoya vs Mayweather fight was going down. It was one of the most hyped boxing matches in the last 25 years or so, and the MGM Grand was ground zero for the battle to take place. The entire building was literally shaking with all energy from the visitors and celebrities walking around. It made it difficult to do simple things like get food or even enter or leave the place, but I didn't mind so much.





I'm not that big on gambling or nightclubs, so I spent my free time exploring downtown Vegas or "Old Vegas". Its more laid back, with less tourists and more locals.





I eventually befriended a few of the dancers from Cirque du Solei. Many of them are from all over the world, Canada, Africa, France, etc. and I had a great time getting to know them and hearing their stories. I got to be a good pal of one of the dancers named 'Manu'. She's a French / Vietnamese Break Dancer from Canada, who was kind enough to give me a free ticket to the show she dances in: "Cirque du Solei: Beatles' Love". This was my view of the show, she's the one in the bottom center of the photo spinning the umbrella:





I don't normally enjoy live theatre. But I really had a good time. A large part of it is that I love Beatles music. And also that my seat had a great view. The show is performed on a stage that is 360 degerees, and is extremely dense visually, with a good 25 people on stage at any given moment, running around, flying through the air, dancing, acting, or what have you. It was nice to be above it so I can take it all in at once. And the fact that I knew some of the performers made the experience much more enjoyable.

Overall, I'd say that I really like Vegas a lot. I got to spend some time in the desert and mountains, which was very relaxing. And meeting some locals made the experience a lot more richer and down to earth. But I also tried to get in a more traditional experience too, shopping, visiting the different casinos, catching a show. etc.

EDIT (7-21-07):
Some of my friends messaged me to say that they they find the hedonism of Vegas repulsive, like the gambling addicts, drugs, strippers, etc. are basically examples of societal failure. But I really don't dislike it personally. I think that as a photographer my role in life is to explore the world and document the different energy I see and just sort of a provide a mirror for other people to look at.

Its not really my place to judge people so much but instead just try my best to understand them and portray them to others. Maybe that's a cop out. I don't know. But for example, I'm really happy to hang out with violent people, as much as I would be to hang out with peaceful people. And if I have any issues any of them one way or the other, I probably wouldn't be able to do this project properly.


LOS ANGELES :

I spent the remainder of my free time in L.A. chilling with my friend's Jade, Cidney, Shang and "Beanie Bear" (a.k.a. the cute puppy below). It was pretty laid back. I accompanied Jade on some model castings. And then we all went to some great restaurants. And just chilled and chatted. A perfect ending. =)