Victoria Privates © Leland Bobbé
This portrait is of burlesque performer Victoria Privates. Whether in stage costume or in everyday clothes, Victoria has been one of my favorite subjects to photograph. Find my blog post titled x.to Image awards 2009 in my awards category to see what she looks like when she hits the stage.
827 © Leland Bobbé
827, 4 in a series from a road trip.
Tigger! © Leland Bobbé
Known as the original “Boylesque” artist in New York, Tigger! has proven that burlesque performers don’t have to be women only. A true innovator, he is one of the reasons that burlesque has had such a rebirth throughout the country. A quote from Tigger! “If you have difficult politics you want to shove down their throat get them to laugh and their throats are wide open and you can subvert and do all kinds of stuff . . . just entertain them and you can slip the knife in a 100 million different ways.”
Rosabelle Selavy © Leland Bobbé
I recently photographed Neo-Burlesque performer Rosabelle Selavy, a regular at the Slipper Room. I love this costume and to me it represents what New York City Neo-Burlesque is all about.
A quote from Rosabelle:
“When I was 13 I lived really close to to Disneyworld and went every weekend. I think I’ve been inspired creatively from being in this weird place where there are always mermaids, fairies and mascots. I grew up thinking I could be a mermaid or some other make believe character like my gorillas. I think the fairy tales inspired me but it’s more real to me if I could make it go wrong somehow . . . more perverted than I think fairly tales really are. Burlesque has allowed me to do that”
Deposit Church © Leland Bobbé
Another building that caught my eye in upstate NY. Led Zeppelin had a Stairway to Heaven… is this the Doorway to Heaven?
Yellow Kid © Leland Bobbé
A county fair in upstate NY. I was attracted by the color, it was just a matter of seeing it . . . a shot just waiting to happen. He was just uncomfortable enough to give me an interesting quirky expression.
Nelson Lugo © Leland Bobbé
Nelson is a Neo-Burlesque show host who is also a magician and escape artist. I love the antique hammer that he brought to our shoot to use as a prop . . . and those boxer shorts rock! One of my favorites.
Man at the Bar © Leland Bobbé
One of my favorite photos, I shot this at a Blarney Stone bar across the street from Penn Station. I used my body to block the window reflections on the subject creating an inside/outside effect. This shot brings to my mind the line Vincent Gallo used in his film Buffalo 66: “. . . spanning time.”
Cactus Rose © Leland Bobbé
Cactus Rose, 3 in a series from a road trip.
The guys over at Workbook ran a really great piece about my Neo-Burlesque book project on their relatively new blog this week with a mention of my latest awards… Thanks WRKBK!
