Land Sail Racers, Models and Photographers Mix at Primm

by Julie Kasperson

On my many trips to Southern California, I take the 15 Freeway south, which passes through Primm or Stateline. There you can find a few casinos, a golf course, an outlet mall, and a store that sells lottery tickets. On this particular Sunday in March, I spent hours battling the southbound traffic out of Las Vegas to meet with other photographers at Primm for a group shoot at the Ivanpah Dry Lake Bed.

I’ve always wanted to do a shoot on the dry lake bed. Now I was finally going to be doing it! We met up with various members of land sail racing clubs, who were there competing in a week-long America’s Cup event. Their national organization is called the North American Land Sailing Association (NALSA). Las Vegas has a local contingent called SASSASS (Sunny Acres Sipping, Sailing and Soaring Society). On this day, with 50 mph winds blowing, more sipping than sailing was taking place.

There are 13 square miles in the Ivanpah Dry Lake Bed, most of which are in California. You need a permit from the BLM to have access to the lake bed, but we were guests of the land sail racers and were able to attempt a photo shoot with their permission.

Most of the models were “no shows” for the shoot. I can’t say I blame them, considering the harsh conditions we encountered. We did manage to photograph models Brenda Andrade and Lionell Gray, who withstood terrible shooting conditions with hardly a complaint.

After we wrapped the shoot, we were invited to dinner in the main tent by the racers. I was able to meet club members from Santa Cruz, CA, Las Vegas, and from other locations around the U.S. We stood up to the challenge of high wind, blowing dust and dirt, and had survived. My Mustang looked like it had been on a bad off-roading trip. I would like to try my hand at racing a wheeled vehicle through the wind someday. Just not in 50 mph winds! I was told 20 mph is the max that they feel comfortable racing in. After seeing some vehicles topple over in the windy conditions, I can see why.

The Ivanpah Dry Lake is a stark, dramatic location for a photo shoot. Its flat, smooth surface, broken up with cracked, parched earth, has been used for countless photo shoots, film shoots, and commercials. I will return one day, and hope to have calmer conditions to shoot in.

Photos (click photos for larger image)

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All photo credits: Julie Kasperson,

© 2012 Julie Kasperson - All rights reserved.

-VegasJules ( Julie Kasperson ) can be contacted through her facebook page.

Vegas Rocks! Magazine Awards 2011

(Click individual photos in slide show to get larger image.)

by Julie Kasperson

I had the opportunity recently to attend my first Las Vegas red carpet event. These kind of events happen all the time in L.A., and in Vegas the red carpet signifies a nightclub happening, a movie premiere, or an awards show.

Sally Steele is the publisher/owner/CEO/Editor-In-Chief of Vegas Rocks! Magazine, a local magazine which has been publishing for seven years. This is the second year that she has put on an awards show. Steele performed in rock ‘n roll bands in the ‘80’s, and started hanging out with and photographing top rock bands like Aerosmith and KISS in the late ‘70’s. Her magazine is the only local independent publication to consistently report on the rock ‘n roll scene here in Vegas. She is a big supporter of local talent, as well as a reporter of the activities of more internationally-known bands and artists.

The theme of this year’s show was “Rock ‘n Roll Guitar Heroes United!” In attendance were Steve Stevens, winner of “Rock Guitar Legend” with his wife, Josie. Stevens is best known for being Billy Idol’s guitarist and playing on such hits as “Rebel Yell” and “Eyes Without a Face” among others. John 5 won “Best Rock Guitarist” and after witnessing his performance onstage, I can see why. He has worked with such artists as Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Meat Loaf, Scorpions, and more.

Sebastian Bach of the rock band “Skid Row” was present to perform during the show and present as well. He proved to be an amusing and talented addition to the show. Wayne Static of metal band “Static X” accepted the “Best Metal Frontman/Performer” award. Carmine Appice was given the “Drum Legend Icon” award. I remember him when he performed with Rod Stewart. Vince Neil of Motley Crue was presented with the “Lifetime Achievement in Rock ‘n Roll” award.

I was one of about 4 women “shooters” or photographers to cover the red carpet arrivals, show, and after-show backstage gathering. I loved being there for all of it: the LucyVegas models escorting the bands down the red carpet; seeing and getting to talk to legends like my favorite Steve Stevens backstage; capturing moments onstage that as an audience member I would have never gotten to do.

Especially sweet for me was when my friends from local metal band Redeemer got to walk the red carpet. I have known the band for over a year, and have followed them, photographed them, and got excited for them when they were nominated for “Best Vegas Hard Rock Band.” They didn’t win, but it was great to be there and cheer them on.

There were a lot of photographers there that do events like this every day. It’s not a big deal to them, just another night in Vegas. To me, well, it was an opportunity to see some local bands perform, watch some rock legends strut their stuff, and to wear my first press pass, proudly. Excited? Yes, I was. A night I won’t soon forget. I’ve been going to rock concerts since I was 15 years old, and an opportunity like this, to go beyond the “velvet rope,” to go backstage, to photograph rock idols in performance, was for me, quite amazing.

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All photo credits: Julie Kasperson,

© 2011 Julie Kasperson - All rights reserved.

-VegasJules ( Julie Kasperson ) can be contacted through her facebook page.

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View Photo Album Directly

Vegas Rocks! Magazine Awards 2011

Worldwide Photography #11: Las Vegas by Abduzeedo

These original photographs of Vegas can be seen on flickr.com via the original post links below. ( Great pics !! )


Worldwide Photography #11: Las Vegas | Abduzeedo | Graphic Design Inspiration and Photoshop Tutorials

LV Glam a Bright Spot During Memorial Day Holiday

This was my second LV Glam in two months. I’m still nervous about my skills, because I keep comparing myself to the pro photographers who work alongside me, shooting the models that attend every month.

LV Glam is the brainchild of Adam Martinez of Vegas Music and Film. It is a live networking event and provides a creative platform for the photographer, model, makeup artist, body painter, fashion designer, and hair stylist. May’s networking event went into its new summer hours, from 4-8 p.m., and for me, it keeps on getting better and better, month after month. Much to my happiness and delight, we had three male models to work with: John, Anwar, and Zack, in addition to the four female models present, which included Victoria, Princess and Heather. We also had a talented MUA (make-up artist)/hair stylist named Sabrina, and three fashion designers: Beverly, Victoria, and Zack.

I think I felt more at ease this time around, considering it was only my second Glam, and I was surrounded by so much talent and creativity. The property where Glam takes place is in the heart of the Arts District, in Downtown Las Vegas. It becomes a focal point of activity during the monthly First Friday event. But for now, it was ground zero for fashion and glamour.

I was very happy to see male models attend this month’s Glam. My interest and focus is on the male model, and it’s been difficult for me to convince male models to attend Glam. The event is free for models; photographers pay a $25 fee to attend and shoot. Both times I’ve attended the shooting goes past the official ending time; there are no time limits where creativity is involved. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in what you are doing with a model that you lose track of time and are having so much fun that you don’t want to call it a day.

Some LV Glam Photos By Julie Kasperson

( click photo to get a larger image )


Anwar

Heather

John

Zack, Princess, & Anwar

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All photo credits: Julie Kasperson ( click pictures to enlarge )

-VegasJules ( Julie Kasperson ) can be contacted through her facebook page.

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LV Glam Helps Make Downtown A Fashionable Place

Whitney

This year, with the encouragement of friends and mentors who are already professionals in the photography field, I ventured forth into the world of professional photography. I had my first professional photo shoot in February. I hired a male model and had a photo shoot with him in the L.A. area, which was very successful, considering I have a long way to go in accomplishing my goals of becoming more knowledgeable and skilled as a photographer. Events like LV Glam help me to become more skilled and confident in that pursuit.

I attended LV Glam at the end of April with my friend and fellow photographer Andrew Kirchner. Andrew introduced me to the organizer and producer of the monthly event, Adam Martinez. Adam Martinez is a Las Vegas based production, feature film, fashion, talent, commercial & event photographer with 27+ years of experience. Adam works with "state of the art" digital cameras & laptops or traditional film photography. He has been listed in the Nevada Production Directory since 1993 (see www.nevadafilm.com), has been a University of Las Vegas Nevada fashion photography instructor since 2000, has a degree in Commercial Photography, is an award winning photographer and has10,000+ Nationally published images.

On June 7th, 1992, Martinez created the Las Vegas Strip Bikini Photo-Shoot, a photo day event that was for aspiring models and photographers. It was held every Sunday at the Glass Pool Motel on the Las Vegas Strip till August 1999. From 1992 –2004 he’s produced photo images for 15 national magazines, two which he has owned since 1996 -- Vegas Music and Film Magazine and Ring Sports.

LV Glam is promoted online on Model Mayhem, a social networking site for models, photographers, Photoshop “wizards,” make-up artists, and other artistic professionals. It is also promoted on other online websites. Photographers pay a fee of $25; models do not pay a fee to attend. It’s a networking event that brings together creative professionals: models, photographers, make-up artists (or MUA’s), clothing designers, hair stylists, and body painters for a glamour photo shoot.

An artist’s studio and property is the current monthly location of LV Glam. With the weather warming up, LV Glam will be held the last Sunday of every month, from 4-8 p.m., at 1302 S. 3rd Street @ Colorado (across from Williams Costume Company). It is usually held earlier in the day, but the hotter weather dictates that the event start later and end later, so that models and photographers won’t wilt so much in the heat of summer.

I was the only female photographer out of six photographers. There were five female models. Sometimes there are male models that attend as well. The number of attendees fluctuates from month-to-month. I will be attempting to bring male models to future shootouts, because my photography emphasis will be on male models. But for now, any experience is good experience for me. All the models were patient, professional, and very attractive. They change outfits at least once an hour, and pose for the photographers both inside in the artist’s studio, and out in the yard for exterior shots. Other nearby Downtown locales are used, like a graffiti wall down the street from the studio, and during the time I was at the photo shoot, we took one model out in the middle of the street, much to the entertainment and curiosity of the passersby and the public bus riders.

The next LV Glam will be Memorial Day weekend, on Sunday, May 30th. I will be taking time off from my day job to attend. I really enjoyed meeting the models, fashion designer, and photographers that were there at my first Glam. I know future Glams will be just as fun and exciting for me and for others as well. For aspiring photographers and models, it’s a great place to be for networking and using your creative skills.

Photos By Julie Kasperson

Cassie


Princess
All photo credits: Julie Kasperson

-VegasJules ( Julie Kasperson ) can be contacted through her facebook page.

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