Tuesday, October 25, 2011

"PWI": PHOTOGRAPHING WHILE INTOXICATED by David Rheingold

While drinking and driving don't mix, alcohol and cameras are a heady cocktail. Intoxicated people, especially normally reserved people, love the stages parties provide. People act like C-list celebrities desperate for paparazzi flash glare. Amateur photographers actually have quite an easy job as blurry or off center photographs just lend to the feeling of a party!

I love "On the Dock" as this is during Prohibition. A young woman tilts up a bottle while there's a subtle hike of her dress with a hand holding a cigarette. There's a strong sense that she's intoxicated, but there's also the hint of much more to come. Along these lines, there's also "Beer Can."

 
At some parties, not only do the social veneers come off. The clothes can come off, too. ("Umbrella" and "Belly Pinch".)


As the party goes on, there's a sense of delirium, and amateur photographers are quite adept at these shots. ("Flowers" and "Four Drunks".)



The key is to have a photographer who can outlast most party victims so that the final gasps of the party can be documented!