"Dan, you son of a B!*@#. I just wanted to call about the photos you took of me......"
Uh-Oh. this is the point a photographer panics. What did I do? Usually this would be a very bad message. Unless it's from comedian Lenny Clarke.
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of shooting him and his wife Jenny for Cape Cod Life, while we took a trip on their boat to Martha's Vineyard. Topics of conversation ranged from Vince Wilfork's love of fishing, to his wife's bass-capturing prowess, to his knowledge of who lives in which sea-side house, as we rode into Menemsha harbor. He was generally hilarious. But this wasn't your typical glitzy celebrity photo shoot. There were no stylists within miles. No makeup or hair to fuss over, no primping. Just Lenny in the raw.
To have your picture taken for a magazine!! I have a general "don't leave the house rule" when it comes to sweatpants. Heck, if my wife is home, I often opt to go straight into jeans when I wake up in the morning. But here we were, doing a photo shoot with a 57 year old man in sweat pants. However, what Lenny lacked in wardrobe, he made up for in graciousness. He was willing to do whatever it took to get the shot. When we jumped off the boat near a fishing shack, I spotted a random pair of white boots. When I sheepishly suggested he put them on, "No problem" he responded. Then I saw a random clam rake- "Hold this." Again, "No problem". As I centered him on the blue door, and ran to grab a couple lobster trap buoys--he comes alive. He sensed we had the shot, and it was go time. He grrrrrd like a tiger (theoretically), laughed like a maniac (literally), and truly made love to the camera. "This man is a professional" I thought to myself. That day I officially became a fan, and by the sound of the voicemail he left me, he was pretty pleased as well.
