Mardi Gras 2009

My second trip to New Orleans was sadly greeted by the death of Antoinette K-Doe on Mardi Gras day, February 24, 2009. Within a week, the city had lost two music legends, with Snooks Eaglin's passing just a week before. This series of deaths may have planted the seeds to try to get Fats Domino to pose for the project. I honestly can't remember how it started, but I began asking everyone I knew, "How do I get in touch with Fats Domino?" and all the answers were pretty much the same, "He's old, don't even think about it." Well, I did think about it, and I kept asking whenever it seemed appropriate.
In the meantime, it was imperative I ended this trip with more than just two pictures. So I called a few musicians I still knew. Jon Cleary was one of them, and he very graciously accepted to pose. After scouting a few walls in his neighborhood, I picked him up and took photos in front of two different walls. The inspiration for the pose usually comes with the wall. In a nutshell, here is what happens: I see "something" in the wall (a character, a symbol, an animal etc.) or I get a feeling from it, and I try to create some sort of interaction between the model and the structure. In a way it's like a dance, a waltz between the wall, the model and me.


Two days later, Tom McDermott was the model. After a particularly fun photo shoot (Tom really got into it!) we had lunch, and sure enough, I popped the question, "Do you have any idea on how to get to Fats Domino?" Guess what? He DID!! It turns out, Tom had been giving piano lessons to a dear friend of Fats. However, he had the same warning, "Fats is old, and he doesn't remember much, so don't count on it." Yet he was willing to talk to his student...