Fuzzypictures's Weblog

Twenty years ago. I was working at the Essex hotel doing a press release, on what I don’t remember, the show never happened. Because of our location, W 57 between 7th ave and 6th avenues, being in the penthouse people would visit our location Saying a plane crashed into the World Center building then disappearing because one really couldn’t see anything from where we were.The staff came up and told the show was off and they were walking home because all traffic was limited and trains along with busses were at a standstill. I don’t remember who I worked with but there were only two of us so we started putting things away. It was just the two of us. We boxed the TV monitors then boxed the sound amplifiers and rolled everything into the center of the dance floor and took the elevators down to the ground floor and left the building.I lived a few blocks away so I went home. When I crossed 7th avenue I could see the smoke billowing into the sky. When I got home I turned on the TV news where I could see what happened or really what was going to happen.Having worked for CBS there were lots of tradies I sat through, like 12 hours of the Challenger blowing up, over and over. I think it was 12 hours before we went off the air.So the only living friend I had was my dog and her red ball. So we went to the park on 54th street and 12th avenue. Shadow loved chasing her ball. I always brought water for her in a foldable bowl which I carried in my pocket.A pair of F-something jets circled the island, NYC police boats crushed up and down the Hudson River and Apache Gunships flew overhead. I wondered who they were going to catch, the damage had already happened. The smell of burning flesh or garbage permeated the air I felt sorry for the poor souls affected. I hoped there were some survivors but looking down 12th avenue it didn’t look good.I knew NYC had changed maybe all of America or the world but here by my side was my faithful dog caring her ball in her mouth as we walked home. Yes, I could feel the pain of others but what could I do for them, then or now?So Shadow and I walked home-sharing our love between each other, what else is there? I remember Malcolm X’ saying “The Chicken’s have come home to roost. “So that’s my 2 cents

Blue Oyster Cult  toured with a big old Laser which they pointed on the drum symbols shining out in the audience. It was pretty cool but I was glad I wasn’t out there because it seemed awfully dangerous to me. Do lasers cause blindness? I liked some of their  songs like (Don’t fear) The reaper. #BlueOysterCult #DontFearTheReaper #The. 

As I was walking backstage towards the lighting console  when I heard a crash from the Cults crew loading the laser into the wooden traveling crate. I just kept on going leaving some very angry troops to deal with the mess. 

The whole tour was like that for me, one thing after another. This was my first tour out of SeeFactor having known Bob See since the Fillmore East where he was the technical director and I ran one of two follow spots with my friend Kenny Mednick.

Ted was crazy and I am not sure he still is but it’s rock and roll, his whole new is a little strange. After the show the roadies cleared the stage of our amps and they  loaded the truck. The truck was a 24’ with part of the bed cut away so we could go from the cab to the bunk beds in the box. There were four of us now traveling in the truck now me, and the equipment manager and two other fellows. 

Zipping out of the forum on to the interstate  we found heavy traffic which pissed of the driving crew, I am not sure where our next gig  St. Lewis. The guy riding shotgun rolled down his window and threw his empty Heineken bottle at one of the cars on the interstate.Oh no this is what we were headed for I thought as I slipped into the back bunkbeds and closed my eyes, I had seen enough for today.

Arriving  late at night checking into our rooms I was paired with Craig the equipment manger. The hotel was jumping as we found out. Looking out our window the next morning St. Lewis was hosting a Shriner parade which was always a fun event. You know the Shriners wearing funny hats riding tiny motorcycles around in circles. 

Craig taught me the “Ted trick”, Ted had a solo highlight which including breaking of a fish  bowl placed on his amp stack with Teds guitar sounds. Ted would do his solo and reach  the hugest note and bam magically the fish bowl would shatter while I bumped the lights to white. 

The trick was Craig was off stage behind the amp line with a BB gun aimed at the fishbowl.  What was learned their were thin fish bows while some were thicker. One night we ran into the thicker one,   the trick didn’t work all the time. This night Ted did his run to his climax Craig fired the BB gun as I waited for my cue but nothing happened. Ted started his run again Craig fired again nothing. Ted looked over at him in panic an began his his run again while Craig grabbed a hammer and snuck behind the amps  and when Ted did his run again while Ted climaxed while Craig reached over the amps and hit the fishbowl BAM the fishbowl shattered and the audience cheered . 

On to the next venue. Ted didn’t like my lighting he chewed me out for having blue lighting on the band to begin the set  while Ted was in red. Later I found out Ted didn’t like red. But he did like very young girls  I found out when I opened my hotel room door and Teds was in the next room. The hallway was full of very young girls waiting for an audience into Teds room. 

I just went my way  down to get something to eat where more young ladies roamed around, Actually I think the hotel was full of young ladies.

Later the tour ended returning the equipment back to Seefactor NYC. Bob let me know I had been replaced with John O Watkins who lasted for many years. John O Watkins survived with Ted for many years while I moved on,

I moved where I don’t remember where, work is like that along with our minds. Years flow on we all moved somewhere. But through Facebook I found his son commenting on my posts but I didn’t know the difference between then. I remember John O  Watkins from the Fillmore East where he worked on the stage crew https://www.powellfuneralinc.com/obituary/john-watkins-jr but time and drugs had it’s effect on me as it did for so manny others. 

But there was a facebook link from his son https://www.facebook.com/people/John-O-Watkins/100000699867566  showing his fathers history.  

 But their was his son John Watkins with his profile was picture of a guy in a T-shirt with a camera obscuring  his face.  How I am I gonna figure who’s who? But John had a picture posting some of his father press clippings made sense to me. Seems there is a dynasty in the here in the Watkins story.

Ok here it is Saturday and what have I done ? Years ago I started the day listening to a NJ collage radio station playing a Allen Watts teaching series tape. Today I listened to a Ram Dass CD teaching session.Hummmmm

Allen Watts started me on a long journey to find the lost little boy I had become. It’s not easy touching the elusive truth nor facing reality. I still have a hard remembering who I want to be or was.

I’ve decided since Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are such creeps that I would write personal stuff on my Fuzzypictures web blog. It began by me posting my pictures but since I am not doing that right now I thought I post some remembrances of my life for a few chuckles. That way Zuckerberg won’t profit from my ramblings or know more about me.

I’ve not been shooting much these days for various reasons, one having to do with lack of creative ideas, the other is my health. I just struggle some days to just get out bed, pain is exhausting. Then there the daily news feed about our glorious leader who because of his horrendous acts against humanity the press has to print his every outrageous word. The man is a con artist leading his family of crooks across our precious land raping and pillaging leaving only piles of burnt money .

But I digress from what I wanted to say today. My wife was using the house to update a friends portfolio. I do have a system off separating my used card in stacks then I edit out the bad ones and put the cards in a plastic bag so I have some idea what to reformat and use again.

Mary picked up a disk and saw that there were images on it and asked me about. I realized what with every thing else going on I hadn’t gone through this stack. I gave her an empty one from the plastic bag.

This young woman asked me to shoot some Shibari images of her. I saw she had some Yogi pictures in her portfolio so I’ve wanted some of that in my portfolio and said yes. She arrived and had this beautiful energy open to about anything. I turned on some lights and off we go

She found a T shirt in my closet and brought it too me and I said why don’t we cut it up with a razor. Yes. I always like to give people a prop and some directions if need be which helps relax them so this is a start.

We shot a few images with this T shirt but the best of the lot is the first one here I think

We also found this satin outfit and some cord rummaging around and Raylinn put this on which I think turned out lovely

Some details of the outfit.

She kept inventing ideas off this camisole and silver cord.

Then she pulled the camisole down. Most of these images are her posing without too much direction.

Raylinn seems to be a natural model, at least for this genre and very flexible

The lighting was all wrong for the Yogi shoot so I moved the couch in front of the black paper while she played with a hank of hemp.

Kiss ‘keep it simple’ one light coming from the left and she played with it

better than some models I’ve shot with. What makes a professional model professional?

All I had to do was pull the trigger and a bit of editing here and there

she knew where her audience was

This turned out to be a lot of fun

She had to run, probably to another shoot so we never got to see any images together

but we made another date to shoot some more and show and go thru her images. After all this creation was partly hers, as I said all I did was turn on the lights and press the  thingamajig on the camera.

I had to cancel that shoot but we texted each other saying yes she wanted to work again but I never heard from her again. One of her Model Mayhem portfolios disappeared in a puff of smoke. I again texted her asking if she was alright again but no answer.

Some things disappear vanish into thin air. A mystery leaving behind a few pixels as proof, proof of what? Are these moments reality I am never sure. I had forgotten about these images but now they are here.

What I found out later is she’s decided to go in and entirely different direction trying Fashion instead of art nudes. That’s fine with me but she could have said that to me. Then I would have understood, it’s no skin off my nose.

She does have two Model Mayhem sites https://www.modelmayhem.com/4216678 for art/nude and another for fashion https://www.modelmayhem.com/Reylynn

We all have to eat and we can choose whom to sit with.

jene