David Alan Harvey Workshop, entry 12: Times Square, p1: Elvis gets angry but Naked Cowgirl seems OK with it; professional posers demand to be paid (warning: explicit content)

Towards the end of my Times Square shoot, I looked down the street and saw Elvis walking toward me, in the form of an impersonator. He was plugged in, rockin' and jivin' to whatever he was listening to - Elvis, I presume.

As I had started out trying to shoot an essay on Mormon Missionaries, then, when that failed, turned to street preachers and then, after I failed to find any, turned to Times Square - I decided to look at the life on Times Square kind of in the vein of it representing its own sort of secular religion, where people go to find the blessings of happiness and signs of their own self-worth, connection to the universe and even recognition from above  - even if only in a most fleeting way.

Just about anything that I would see could be construed to qualify, but certainly Elvis more than most. The real Elvis lived hard and fast, all right, but was none-the-less possessed of deep inner faith. What a gospel singer he was! Can anyone listen to his rendition of How Great Thou Art and not feel some kind of connection to the eternal divine, be they Christian, as Elvis was, or something else?

There, hanging from him, was the cross that stood for the Christianity that Elvis believed in.

Surely, if he chose and dared to carry such a symbol of the love of Christ, then this impersonator must be a kind man - as the real Elvis was known to be.

The Elvis impersonator quickly spotted me. As unlikely as it seemed to me, he seemed startled to discover that I was pointing a camera at him.

He was not happy. In fact, Elvis Impersonator was angry. He suddenly came marching straight at me, an intimidating look upon his face.

Closer he came, fast, angry - too close to allow the lens that I had on my camera to focus upon him.

Closer yet - trying his damndest to frighten and intimidate me.

Then, he was right in my face, one lens of his sunglasses practically ramming my lens. Just after I shot this image, I could not help it - I started to laugh. He stepped aside, and stormed off. Christ said, "Judge not that ye be not judged," so I am reluctant to the judge the man, but on the surface, despite the cross that he carried, it would appear that he did not have the love of Christ in him.

That's ok - he was just an impersonator, anyway.

Here is another impersonator - of the Tin Man, from the Wizard of Oz. He has good peripheral vision. After I took this picture and lowered my camera, he immediately turned toward me and demanded that I pay him.

There is a profession of impersonators here on Times Square. They make their living by posing with tourists while their friends or loved ones take pictures of them together. To pay them for posing with your family or friends is one thing - but they have no more right to demand payment from passersby who snap their image and do not pose with them than does anyone else. If everyone demanded the same, and all photographers yielded, street photography would die.

That must be why Elvis was angry, too - I had photographed him, but had not paid him. I didn't pay the Tin Man either.

Same with Tickle Me Elmo. Somehow, those big eyes caught me as snapped this picture of him posing with a man who I presume did pay him for the honor. Elmo then demanded payment from me. I did not comply. He shouted angry words at me as I walked down the street away from him.

The thing is, Elmo, Elvis and Tin Man, when you make a spectacle of yourself in the most densely-crowded piece of out-in-the-public real estate in America, where everyone has a camera and people are wildly shooting everything they see, as they have every right to do, people are going to photograph you and you can't make them all pay.

Just stick to demanding payment from those who pose with you, and let it go at that. Don't make these beloved, delightful, sweet, characters that you have chosen to impersonate look like mean, greedy... well, you know.

Here is an actual example of how the impersonator payment business model works. This woman calls herself the Naked Cowgirl, although, thank goodness, she is not totally naked, nor is she a cowgirl. I've known cowgirls, and she is not one of them. I'll bet she's never sat on a horse and chased after a cow, nor competed in a barrel race in the rodeo or rode a bull.

Those are the kind of things cowgirls do.

So she is an impersonator, too.

Still, she is close enough to naked that I did what David always does on Burn when one of the essays that he runs includes a picture of someone who is even close to naked - he puts in the "explicit content" warning. He says he does it to protect himself. There is nothing pictured here that will not be seen by every innocent eye that walks through Times Square when this lady is out on the street, hard at work. Still, David has posted the warning for less than this, , so I figure I had better, too 

Anyway, here is the Naked Cowgirl, collecting money from some men whose eyes she caught. They have now paid for the privilege of posing for pictures with her.

The lady in green does not appear to be impressed.

She poses, as the men photograph their friend with her. Afterward, I went in to the bank in the background to get some money so that I could buy a pretzel. There were some ladies in there who were also getting cash from the ATM. They were talking about the Naked Cowgirl. They were totally grossed out and disgusted.

The more famous Naked Cowboy was no nowhere to be seen. From what I googled, he sued the Naked Cowgirl for infringing upon his trademark. That was two or three years ago. He must not have won. Or maybe they reached a settlement. I suppose with a little more Google research, I could find out.

Maybe one of you readers who have more time than I do will research the answer for me.

The shoot is over. She knows I have taken pictures that include her, but she does not ask for payment. She is okay with it. She knows she is a public spectacle and people are going to photograph her. Through their photographs, her fame will grow. For reasons that I cannot understand, even more men - and some women, too, I am certain - will want to come and pay her for the honor of posing with her.

So there you go: Times Square, New York City, New York, USA, Planet Earth.

I found this lady posing with an impersonator of a man who has been one of my favorite actors since I saw the film, Pulp Fiction. This impersonator does not ask for money from anyone.

This impersonator simply doesn't care, or have any feelings or thoughts about it one way or another.

It is now late Friday night, January 20, and I have begun to tell the story of the things I saw as I roamed about Times Square, hoping to pull myself off Humiliation Road and come up with a presentable essay for the Loft Workshop show.

I will finish my Times Square adventure tomorrow, Saturday, January 21, in a series of action entries that I will begin to post shortly after I get up - which might not be all that early, and will continue until I go to bed tomorrow night.

On Sunday, I will move to the final day of the workshop and the evening presentation and will show the slideshow titled, At Home With David Alan Harvey. This includes the essays shot by all the Loft Workshop students. Again, I will save the images from my own slide show until then. None of them will appear in this blog until then. What you see here and will see in the posts tomorrow are and will be outtakes, 

After that I will do a followup and that will be it. This series will be done.

Comments

[twain12]

wow..didn't know impersonators would get this upset about nonpayment...good to know if i ever make it to NY. Hast off to the cowgirl, that takes guts, but my favourite picture is the last on . I love the girls pose and expression, besides Samuel L. Jackson is one fine actor.

[Grannyj]

Okay then- I am already breathing easier- I know you have finally stepped off Humiliation Road. Love these photos. And I agree with twain- the girl with the Samuel L J just pops.

[Logbook - Wasilla - Beyond]

They sure can. If the cowgirl had her way, it would not only be hats off but everything else, too.

GrannyJ - yes, I seem to be stepping off humiliation road. I'm glad you both like the girl with Samuel LJ.