Okay, I missed Studio 54, Limelight and their ilk, but the spirit of hedonism is alive and well at Webster Hall. I was at another event when a couple of friends dragged me to see a fashion show at WH. The fashion show was a bit of a bust, but afterwards we wandered around the club.
I have never seen a more diverse group of people- ages, races, sexes, sexual preferences, hair styles, body types, body adornments…and the most interesting part was how totally unconcerned everyone was at being photographed.Usually the subjects get suspicious or self conscious when someone is shooting them while they are in
public, perhaps doing something they are not supposed to be doing, or maybe the management hassles you, but on this night, I only got confronted once by the friend of one my subjects. And when I showed
her a few images- thank goodness for digital- she decided that since I was shooting women & men from behind, that I was an equal opportunity offender & calmed down.All I can come up with is that I think nowadays everyone is so used to being photographed, documented, their every movement & thought shared electronically with their close friends, or total strangers, that
someone taking pictures become invisible. And people have less inhibitions about being seen in a less than flattering way, as long as they are seen.What also amazed me was how many people were just sitting around with their friends, but they were not talking to them, no, they were on their cell phones, their electronic devices, reading, texting, surfing, who
knows what, totally oblivious to the music & mayhem going on around them. Call me old fashioned, but I always thought the idea of going out was to get away from work & other distractions, and relax & have fun. For these people, they want to stay connected all the time, but at the same time they are becoming more and more isolated.
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