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Celebrity autograph shows are springing up everywhere. Astronauts and television personalities, movie stars and science fiction heroes, are all making a living on the road meeting their fans, signing autographs, and getting their photos taken. One of the first of these types of shows was Glamourcon, a place where the fantasy girls of every 16-year old kid gather to show their wares.
Being a photographer of many beautiful women myself over the past 45 years, Glamourcon was an obvious draw. The primary reason I attended my first of these events was because one of my favorite models was scheduled to appear, Michelle Bauer. Having worked with her previously, I looked forward to the chance to see her again. Michelle was her usual wonderful self, but unfortunately, that was many years ago and I don’t believe she attends these functions anymore.
Now Glamourcon has changed and evolved, and of course there are others to meet and photograph. Each generation spawns a bevy of new beautiful faces going before the camera in various states of undress. At the 40th gathering here in Los Angeles on November 18-19, 2006, I decided to drop in again and see these new models and to see how the event itself has changed.
Justine Joli, one of the hottest fetish models currently working, was my inspiration this year to attend. I have admired her work for a long time and when I heard she was named the Glamourcon Girl of the Year, what better excuse to travel up to the Radisson at LAX. Now the one problem with an event such as this is that not only do you get to meet all these beautiful women, but that you get to meet them! What I mean is, how many times have you looked up to a celebrity only to be immensely disappointed when you see them in an interview or in person, and then find out that they can be a real idiot, or worse.
So with a bit of trepidation, I decided to meet with Justine. My verdict: Justin Joli is a fantastic girl with a great personality, as well as those killer looks that have made her so famous. I could not have been more delighted at meeting her in person. I hope to one day have the opportunity to work with her.
Over the years I have photographed some extremely beautiful women. I have also had the opportunity to work with many other models that I have turned down. The reason was that I found no matter how beautiful they are, if they are stuck up jerks, I won’t waste a pixel on them. Justine was gracious, intelligent, and articulate—a combination impossible to beat—and commodities that are often too rare. These are all aspects of Justine’s beauty which cannot be underestimated. She is also a very hard worker. When I was talking with her, she mentioned she had gone the past 37 days without a break! Now that’s dedication and professionalism. She took the time to talk with me, and also with all the other fans who stopped by to say hello. Unlike some others who will immediately press you to buy their photos and autographs, Justine never pushed, and therein lies one of the secrets of her success.
Glamourcon is full of people like Justine. For the most part, the women I talked with were similar in that way. Unfortunately, not all fit that mold, being insistent from the beginning that if you want to buy something you were welcome to hang out for a while, otherwise, hit the aisles. Luckily these were few and far between.
One complaint I have often heard about Glamourcon is that it has become a stage for Playboy, shoving everyone else aside. I have to agree that there is an over abundance of Playmates. Some would say that there’s nothing wrong with that, but it does, in many cases, relegate the beautiful women who have not graced a gatefold to second class citizenship. Going back to my first visit with Michelle, there were a few centerfolds while most of the others were stars of various men’s magazines and B-movie Scream Queens. Maybe there is not enough call for that. After all, you mention Playboy, and it will be an immediate draw. Without the input from the Bunny set maybe Glamourcon would not remain as successful as it is. Hard to say, and we’ll probably never know.
Walking the floor, you watch all that silicon on parade. This to me, is a bigger problem than anything else. Playboy still says that they feature the Girl Next Door, but only if you live near a rich girl who has a breast augmentation surgeon as their best friend! And this brings to mind another complaint in that since a majority of the women who do appear at Glamourcon are Playmates, and are probably very well compensated for being such, I have to wonder at the huge prices charged by many for even a simple snapshot. I can certainly understand selling their photos and autographs, but charging for simply taking a photo of your favorite model sitting at their booth, seems a bit much.
This was definitely a practice not in effect the first time I attended. Now I could understand if these photos were of a professional quality, posing with a backdrop and decent lighting, but to charge $5 to $20, or more, simply to stand up at a table surrounded by gawking guys is a practice I wish would be remedied at future events. As I say, I have no problem with the girls making a living and selling their products, but I hope they would understand that many of their admirers are probably not in their tax bracket.
Again, this is not a practice followed by everyone, but does especially seem to be the case with the Playboy crowd. I want to mention a notable exception: Samantha Grace. She collects and wears vintage clothing and she does this with style and beauty. I very much enjoyed talking with her and she had no problem letting me take a few photos. Thank you Samantha for living up to your last name.
Of course, sexed-up women are not the only people you will meet at Glamourcon. Many vendors besides the models hawk their collectibles, too. Several artists were in attendance, my favorite being the pinup artist Olivia. Having met her on many previous occasions at gallery showings and other events, it is always a pleasure to speak with her. She is prolific in her art, but also recognized as one of the all time best. How many connoisseurs of fine women can say they don’t own a collection of Olivia memorabilia, postcards, books, and calendars? My wife and I have several of her paintings adorning our walls. A favorite is one we purchased from Olivia a couple years back of Julie Strain—a charcoal study that is simply amazing. A disappointment at this show was that Julie was not in attendance, but I hope she comes back to future events.
Glamourcon is a cool place to go to meet the most beautiful women in the world, but just remember that if you go, be prepared to part with a lot of your money. However, you will be guaranteed to always find some gems such as Justine and Samantha, women who understand that taking your clothes off is not the only thing that makes you desirable and sexy. |
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Glamourcon Links
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