The Velvet Rope

I’ve always been fascinated with nightclubs, dance music, and the escape it all provides – and I’ve worked in many of them doing various things, including covering them for local publications. A lot of people would cover the scene like standard event candids, but I always insisted on capturing nightclubs with the vibrant background present. While capturing the candids magazines wanted with my own style, I’d also photograph a variety of nightlife art – interesting angles, perspectives and characters. I used a Nikon N70, but often got my best results from my Olympus Stylus Epic. It was a FANTASTIC pocket camera – simple, sharp, bright, very compact and cheap. Amateurs and pros alike used the camera. I’d shoot Fujifilm 800, which always had a slight edge over Kodak’s equivalent in grain structure.

I’d always wanted to do an art book with my series. It was a passionate subject of my photography – this series just stopped after several years of doing the Fort Lauderdale, South Beach and Miami scene… but I’m looking at resurrecting this with new art in a the new digital/social/COVID world. Gonna be interesting!