Cadavers, Cats, and thoughts on Greenscreen Photography

Jan

Cadavers, Cats, and thoughts on Greenscreen Photography

This week I’ve been on the road. Bouncing between the iceboxes of Washington, New York City and Chicago, I left my Tampa palace where we ate dinner outside on my patio, every day, since Thanksgiving. Now, all jets point toward for the tundra that global warming forgot.

Mars the Cat stalks alligators at the palace.

Sigh. And did I receive any sympathy from Matthew? No. Instead, I was texted a steady diet of Mars the Cat photos as he stalked around the pool and kept the house safe from invading squirrels and sneaky geckos.

And what a trip! I actually am heading to Chicago next, to do some green screen photography for the Travel Channel, and then I’m back to paradise for a week or two before the psycho February schedule starts.

One interesting little tidbit that arrived in my email this week, and bears a Blog Spotlight all it’s own. (I never know where these posts are going to take me, I just start writing.) This email was an RFP for photography at an Orlando convention hosting a group of scientists. I almost never read the RFP — request for price, for those not in the know — usually I look at the hours, the venue, and put together my quote. Of course, I have to see if it’s straight convention, event photography or green screen photography, or both — maybe a red carpet meet and greet — but those require the “glance” before firing off a proposal.

Something caught my eye. “Cadavers”. As in, “…photographer must be comfortable photographing cadavers.”

Whaaaa?!!

Now, I know many, many convention planners think their group isn’t the most exciting. Perhaps even a bit dry, such as those frisky scientists. And I did have one hospital group meeting planner — early in my career — glare over her half-moon glasses at me and shout:

“WE DO NOT LAUGH HERE!”

To which I replied, “Uh, oh, you hired the wrong photographers.” Not only was I shooting their very funny event, but so was my mother. She has a more snarky sense of humor than I do.

I don’t know why they never called again. A mystery.

But to actually call the attendees cadavers, well, that was a bit shocking. Think of the great interractive green screen photo execution I could come up with under the theme “WE ARE AMERICA’S CADAVERS AND PROUD OF IT.”

And, in fairness, I have no challenge photographing dead people. You don’t have to worry about them saying “I LOOK FAT!” or “OMG IS MY SKIN REALLY THAT BLUE HUE?”

But, alas, unfortunately, for this event — sigh — we were completely booked. What a pity.

It did grandually dawn on me the meeting planner wasn’t calling the attendees cadavers, but rather, they held workshops where autopsies were performed. I figured this couldn’t be that much different than photographing the live liposuction demonstrations at the plastic surgery conventions, so I was comfortable. After all, I’m sure when that person gave their body to science, they fully expected to be sliced and diced on a convention floor next to a Micky Mouse meet and greet in the adjacent ballroom.

Really, I’m positive they’d be totally ok with that. I know I would. Of course, I’d be dead.