Life is interfering w/ my Steemit!

It’s been five days since I’ve made an update here on Steemit. The longest hiatus I’ve taken since joining the site over two months ago. I’m not happy about it.

Life has been fucking with my Steemit priorities this week. I subconsciously knew that I’d begun working a few hours in to my daily routine for Steemit blog posts, but I hadn’t realize the psychological stress of not having time to contribute to the site. It really bothered me!

So what’s been encroaching on my Steemit diligence? A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the annual Old Hollywood boudoir event I do called NOIR. You can read more in “How creative branding evolved my photography career!”. NOIR is in it’s fifth year, and it always makes money. The downside is, it’s a greedy, selfish bitch that takes over the following 4 - 6 months of my life. I’ve been on a steady course, transitioning from photography to comic book illustration, but I’m not making enough to live yet, so I find myself coming back to hosting the NOIR event this month, and next in both Minneapolis and LA.

I had to finish all the promotional material for NOIR, editing new photos of a production shoot I did back in August. New ads. Updating the website, telling the story and being meticulous with the submission form for deposits. It’s exhausting, but I announced the event a week ago, and I’ve been getting a booking or two a day since. The money is at a dire time as the fall is always slow for freelancers. I’m so grateful I have something so well known and revered that I simply half to announce the dates with a nice package and bow, for it to be successful. 

The other thing that’s been hampering my time at the writing desk is….well, again…photography. The thing that I’ve been trying to get away from. This weekend, though…my friend and famed Vegas burlesque entertainer, Roxi D’Lite was in the Twin Cities for Minneapolis Burlseque Fest. Roxi and I had shot together this past spring during Viva Las Vegas, and we’d make some remarkable photos together. It seemed silly for us to not try for another shoot, even with our hectic schedules.

Hectic ended up being an understatement, and I found myself being pulled from Steemit, making calls, texts, production runs and endless plans to get things laid out for this last minute shoot. Our mutual friend Elektra and her fiancé Kris were amazing, making calls on our behalf getting me and Roxi a cool place to shoot. Thursday night, we locked down a cool mid-century modern home in the Minneapolis suburbs. We had some great VEX latex courtesy of Bondesque in Uptown, Minneapolis. Roxi did hair and make-up, and by 5:30p.m. […with only about three hours of preperation and planning], we were off, making images that’ll be sure to best our previous collaboration.But then, a previous location we reached out to contacted us back and gave us permission to shoot the following morning. We were all exhausted, and Roxi had two performances the following night, headlining the MBF. The thing is, this wasn’t just some bar. It was Constantine in downtown Minneapolis, and one of the most “Larscentric”locations I’ve ever seen. 

Dark, almost like a dungeon. Leather everywhere, and lit by over 300 candles. It really seemed to good to pass up. Later that evening, Roxi texted me and asked if I’d want to shoot her and Elektra […once of my closest friends and most notable models/performers in the Twin Cities] together. They also had more latex dresses from Bondesque, and that’s when it just became stupid to pass up.

And like that, we were all up early Friday morning. Managing what became a rollercoaster of a shoot. Some of the wardrobe didn’t fit, trips back to the switch wardrobe, time restrictions with the bar, time restrictions with Roxi making it to the theater for her tech rehearsal. It was bananas, but we’re all professionals and beat back that stress, getting shit done. The images from Roxi and Elektra are going to really shake things up on the internet. I’m releasing one of them here on Steemit first.

Driving Roxi back to the theater Friday night, I did tell her about Steemit. I showed her some of my successes, and those of other friends I’ve brought to the site. She’s really intrigued, and a great writer in addition to her many talents. She was kind enough to put me and @vermillionfox on her guest list, and the following evening we both lost our burlesque virginity to a stellar night at LAB Theater for Minneapolis Burlesque Fest. 

In addition to all this madness, I had two other client shoots, one even later Friday evening, and one at 7:00a.m. Saturday morning. It would have been a memorable long weekend, had it not been for the fact that it was all a blur.

It’s over, and I’m happy to be back here at Steemit. Enjoy the behind the scenes looks at the shoots with Roxi and Elektra!

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