Assignment #1
Waiting for the Short Bus
Originally uploaded by Word Freak. After a fitful first night of sleep on a vinyl mattress with no bottom fitted sheet (I doubled over my queen sized duvet) I awoke bleary eyed with a tickle in my throat. I must've gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
After this morning's photojournalism class we went on our first photo assignment in Belleville: Locate and photograph a person of our choice, capturing the essence of their character, shooting in full manual mode (for my first time).
In my haste to get ready I picked up my Roots zippered sling photo kit bag while it was still unzipped.
My camera fell about a foot from the ground. Enough to crack my new Hoya super circular polarizing filter on my new Minolta 28-70 2.8 lens. The lens itself was undamaged, save for a screwed up thread. I don't think that lens will take another filter again. :(
About half of us PJ students piled into two cars and headed to a local mexican eatery for lunch. We used the four-sixty air conditioning on this beautiful, 25 degree weather. A gust of wind blew off my hat and I tried to quickly grab it, but jarred my hand against the roof of the car, wincing in pain. It's now all swollen and purply and likely sprained or broken. :( At least it's not on my right (shooting) hand.
I did end up getting some decent shots that afternoon though. :)
I followed a woman pushing a carriage with six toddlers in it.
I caught up to her and got her story and some fun photos.
Later on in the night, Angela (another PJ student) and I went to the local 24-hour A&P where I spent $90 on groceries. We were trying to find a decent place for our first people-watching writing assignment.
The town was pretty much a ghost town. There were hardly any people about at 10pm at the 24-hour A&P (our original location idea) so I thought we'd head towards the VIA train station. Closed already. We drove around the downtown and passed by Cabaret, where "We are not just a bar, we are an experience." So we decided to complete this assignment there and have an experience.
Cheap beer, rockin’ tunes and hot women. What more could a guy want? At Cabaret in downtown Belleville they almost live up to their credo: “We’re not just a bar, we are an experience.”
On a slow Tuesday night, this experience includes Carly. She takes the stage as an Eminem song bellows from the speakers: “Shake that ass with me. C’mon, baby. Shake that ass with me.”
A friendly, blonde waitress in a light blue, clingy top comes by to offer a drink as the entertainment continues on stage. Carly saunters across the stage to one of the two brass poles, wraps one of her toned legs around it and wiggles her butt.
As the song comes to a close, the DJ tells us she’ll be back soon for round two. A middle-aged man sitting alone near the stage applauds loudly and lets out a “Woo!”
In between rounds, one can hear hits from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s such as Supertramp's "Cupid's Choke Hold" and "Raise a Little Hell" by Trooper, while the waitress comes around offering shooters in multicolored test tubes.
Three hosers at the bar head out for a smoke as a middle-aged guy wearing a fanny pack comes in, takes off his black leather jacket and orders a Molson Canadian from the svelte brunette bartender.
Green, yellow and red words march across an advertising pixel board nearby. “MONDAY NIGHT AMATEUR T-SHIRT CONTEST… 9PM START… LADIES SIGN UP AT THE DJ BOOTH TODAY!” Ladies, this place is not just for the guys.
“TOONIE THURSDAY! TWO DOLLAR DRAFT, TWO DOLLAR WINGS AND $12.50 PITCHERS.” Perhaps this wasn’t the best night for a true Cabaret experience.
A nervous-looking bespectacled man in his fifties clutches his Bud Light at his back-corner table and holds his hand in a pensive pose on his mustachioed face.
Carly returns for round two wearing a white thong, matching satiny bra and two-inch white heels, all illuminated by the black lights above the stage.
She gyrates to another bass-heavy song, easily undoes her bra and jumps up high on a pole and slithers down effortlessly. The routine continues until the song winds to a close and the DJ informs the sparse crowd, “That wraps it up for Carly. She’ll be available in the VIP room gentlemen. Don’t be shy! Up next is Katia….”
This blonde confidently struts on stage with her black, patent leather, knee-high stiletto fuck-me boots. She slowly makes her way around the stage in her purple corset, caresses the rear, mirrored wall and turns to the audience with a smile.
- Word!