Wonkette and Towleroad use my photos

Apr 28, 2010 by David Shankbone    4 Comments    Posted under: City, Internet, Media, Photography

Allow me to share a bit of a thrill, because a couple of blogs that I follow–Wonkette and Towleroad–recently used my photos.  It’s cool to see blogs I read using my stuff.

The writing and comments on Wonkette helped me to stop taking my own politics so seriously, and that was incredibly welcome – thanks Wonkette!

Here’s my photo with their Chuck Schumer story from Josh Fruhlinger’s post (click to read):

Okay, the comments below about the Chuck “Moobs” Schumer photo were predictable, hysterical and I say in good humor to my senator: serves you right.

I was at the end of the 2007 New York Gay Pride Parade taking photos for Wikipedia articles (like the woman who illustrates “Dyke” – that woman died of cancer, and her friends wrote me to say how proud she was to be an encyclopedic example).

Senator Schumer finished the parade and I asked him if I could take a quick shot, and he ignored me.  He was just standing there waiting for his car (I overheard).  I asked again and he gave me a look of annoyance, and then started talking to one of his assistants.

Then I snapped this photo.

He flashed a look like You just don’t give up and turned away toward another aide, so I didn’t take another.  I was dejected.  Since I wanted to make my senator a part of my Creative Commons art project, this is what I had.  Maybe he was tired; maybe he was sick of people after New York’s gay pride; maybe he thought I was paparazzi; who knows.

It’s not the worst photo, but…there’s moobs.

Fast forward three years, and–lol–he should have been nicer to a constituent!  From the Wonkette comments:

and there’s more…click here.

Another favorite blog of mine, Towleroad, used my protest photo from the Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives premiere (also licensed Creative Commons).

I’ve photographed Andy Towle a couple of times, once on Fire Island and then at the massive anti-Proposition 8 rally he co-organized at Lincoln Center (both shots are on his Wikipedia article).  That protest also produced this cool shot of Whoopi Goldberg on “The View’s” article as well as the “Sexuality in Star Trek” article.

Interesting thing about the shots from Trannies - I was one of the only press photographers who went over to snap the protesters.  There were tons of press there, though.

Click the image below to read the story:

Click here to see all 2010 Tribeca Film Festival Creative Commons images hosted at Flickr.

Keep up with my Tribeca posts on Twitter.

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