A lot of people (myself included) would pay good money to get VIP media access to the world's top nightclubs and photograph the beautiful people. Chris Macdonald, or cmacspix as he's better known on clubZone gets to live the dream and get paid for it. I sat down for a little post Calgary Stampede Q&A with the man behind the lens to get a better idea of what it's like to be a Nightlife photographer.
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(Hard at work... is that a fist full of drink tickets?)
So Chris, how long have you been shooting nightlife for?
Well, I’ve actually been shooting travel and people stuff for years now and sort of fell into the nightlife scene just over a year ago. Last year I was at the Calgary Stampede, and ended up doing a gig taking shots of the female bar staff at the Wildhorse. At that point it was a no brainer and finally realized how fun it was to combine two things that I love… photography and partying!
Ok, so a year of late nights, free drinks and other peripherals pretty much qualifies you as a veteran at this point. What's the biggest mistake that you see rookie photogs make when out at the clubs?
Being boring! I've watched a ton of shooters who don’t interact with their subjects... You’re out at the clubs, have some fun! If you’re having a good time with the customers it makes it a more fun experience to have a photo taken. Just make sure you don't accidentally change one of your settings because you're 'partying' too hard! (i have duct tape over my lens focus button!)
Also, never ever ever let anyone play with your camera… I don’t care how cute she is, I’ve seen that end in disaster far too many times!
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(I'd let these girls play with my camera)
Speaking of cute girls, there are some seriously hot looking people in your photos. What’s your secret?
Come on man I can’t break the photographer’s code and let you in on that secret. I will say my camera does tend to have a mind of its own often acting like a metal detector... it just finds the hottness!
I’m pretty sure that you just referred to your camera as a hottie-detecting metal penis.
No... What's wrong with you?
I don't get out much. Okay, let’s move on... You just got back from covering the Stampede, what was the craziest thing that you saw/experienced?
Well at first I was a bit shocked at the amount of sex that happens in the club bathrooms but you get over that pretty quickly, after a day I was more shocked if there weren't 4 or more legs in a stall. It's pretty much a constant stream of random debauchery; you get a lot of girls making out, bikinis, and hot cowgirl outfits which is great! There were also a surprisingly large number of guys wearing borat bikinis and animal print speedos. I’m still trying to burn some of those images out of my head.
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(The preferred alternative to the Borat bikini)
Wow… so apparently aside from waxing your bikini line what are your top 3 tips for people hitting up week long festivals/parties like the Stampede?
1 - Plan out your days/nights, go early... and stay there! Lineups to get into venues are the biggest frustration of stampede. Figure out where you want to go, and get there early. Sure it may feel like you’re the only people in the joint at first but trust me, when it’s peak time and the place is packed you’ll be thankful you got in when you did.
2 – Leave the sandals and white sneakers at home - Stampede parties go from afternoon until late in the night and you'll be hiking and partying all over town... cowboys party hard, and cowgirls party even harder. That means lots of beer spillage and stepping on toes in crowded venues (cowboy boots hurt!). I bought myself a pair of black sneakers this year especially for stampede that I could ruin at will! They made it through an all day pub crawl of silliness and a wet and wild foam party!
3 – The more outrageous the better - Stampede is all about partying with no borders. The crazier your outfit or gimmick is the more attention you'll get and more fun you'll have. It’s not like you’ll see any of the people here again so go nuts. The worst thing that will happen is you’ll end up in one of my galleries hahaha!
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(Tiger print underwear guy eventually ditched the icky girls to go hunt salamanders)
That`s why when I wear my borat bikini out I steer clear of any venues you`re shooting at. So time for a shameless plug, aside from www.clubzone.com/cmacspix where else can we check out your work?
http://CMACphotography.com has a link to some of my other work
Wicked! Thanks again for sitting down with us and shedding a little light on the mysterioius life of nightlife photographers!
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