SANDRA'S STARE

Back at the end of 2006, I got together with an old friend who I hadn't seen in a few years. Just to catch him up on what I was doing, I showed him my photography portfolio - mostly images of distressed cars and neon signage around L.A. He happened to be Sandra Bernhard's manager and after seeing my pix he invited me to come to New York and shoot Sandra at her New Year's Eve live show at Joe's Pub. Considering I'm not much of a people shooter and my portfolio truly reflected that, I questioned his intent, but he seemed secure and satisfied that I'd be good to shoot Sandra. I guess he was looking for something different and a little out of the ordinary (kind of like Sandra). I had carte blanche to shoot her backstage and onstage. She was a totally 100% willing subject - as this super up close Polaroid shot can attest. I mean when you're sticking a bulky, analog Polaroid SLR 680 SE in someone's face as close as it can focus, well you know that they're game. I shot about two boxes of Polaroid 600 film but this shot was my favorite.Sandra Bernhard Polaroid portrait by Lydia Marcus shot December 31, 2006 in NYC. Photo taken with a Polaroid SLR 680 SE using Polaroid 600 Film.

This photo has been submitted to JPG Magazine online as part of their Polaroid Portrait competition. If you'd like to vote for this shot go to http://www.jpgmag.com/photos/716532.