Philly Chit Chat

First of all, WOW Thursday already. Here at Philly Chit Chat, I like to do an entry a day, but I do take Saturday and Sunday off, I have to sleep at some point (right now its 2:30AM). I usually have about 300 – 500 visitors on any given day, but I guess I was discovered this week and have about 700 unique hits daily since Tuesday. I hope the momentum continues as there is a lot to cover in Philly for you, I have a few fun stories to write about in the next few weeks, if I could just stay in some evening, there are a couple great restaurants opening up that you will get to see and hear about next week, and hopefully I will have the first Jennifer Anniston photo, which I will share with you even if it’s picked up by a publication.

Now for the long time readers of Philadelphia Paparazzi, er I mean Philly Chit Chat, I couldn’t give you the best shots from yesterday, as there was a bidding war and a stipulation is the photos can’t be seen before they are printed. On to today’s entry: I love a parade, but when all the action and people are at Broad and Locust, where they’re filming Marley and Me http://www.marleyandme.com/index.html well then McDonald’s brings the parade to the people* OK check the next entry, the photos have been published.
Chicken looks for and gets photo op (Press release states: McDonald’s Offers Chicken Options from Morning to Night with Launch of Southern Style Chicken Biscuit and Sandwich)Decides to see how to get attention to their new chicken sandwich and decides the best place is across from the $10 million budget movie production, probably a good move for them, not so good for Owen Wilson or the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. Good thing Sharon Pinkenson is in Cannes.kinda funny seeing the string band play the Chicken Song and parade participants doing the chicken dance* (remember the FREE CHICKEN SANDWICH PART) * May 15 – On the House: McDonald’s Invites Customers to Try New Chicken Offerings – McDonald’s is giving its customers a chance to try the Southern Style Chicken Biscuit from 7:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., or the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on May 15, with the purchase of any medium or large beverage at participating restaurants while supplies last. McDonald’s expects to give away more than one million Southern Style Chicken Biscuits and five million Southern Style Chicken Sandwiches during the national sampling event.*
but draws little attention away from the “Movie Stars” that have invaded our city. (Let’s see thats McDreamy, Owen Wilson, Ellen Barkin, Demi, Ashton, Parker Posey, and soon Jennifer Anniston. This City is crawling with celebs and I am going to get very little sleep in the coming weeks.) Fans on the island watching the filming outside the Bellevue. They had nice little cameras and cell phone cameras.
Theres dreamy. Now when I pull out my big gun, it draws all sorts of attention fromPR, Production folks, Owen’s bodyguard, who thought it would be a good time to block my shots.

but I have seen a few fan photos, and they are just as good as mine. hmm theres that big head again. (I really can’t show you all my good photos as they have gone out to papers and People etc…after they are published I will show you them. I don’t like to undercut my market.
more fans. And who was it recently that said Philadelphians are cool and don’t care about celebrities. That stuff has gone hand and hand with celebrities since the days of the Studio Industry shopped out their stars for PR, oh wait, they do that now. Last night Jennifer Anniston and John Mayer went to the paparazzi hangout, THE WAVERLY INN, now don’t think that doesn’t give me permission to shoot her when I get my chance. Don’t manipulate the media in celebrating your new relationship, but prevent me from getting a shot of you when you come to town. I will ask first of course, if she says no, well you know I probably won’t take it. But if she says nothing, well that sounds like a yes to me.
Shooting went on for hours, but I had to return to my day job

Where I could oversee all the action. Owen is near the red fire hydrant

these girls are pointing to him
Contrary to what Philebrity stated last week about Philadelphian’s being too cool to care about celebrities and there was no need for paparazzi in Philly, check out all these Philly Paparazzi:

http://phillyist.com/2008/05/14/whos_that_head.php

http://nightlifegay.blogspot.com/2008/05/marley-and-me-filming-today.html

My photos are on the Inquirer now:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20080515_Marley___Me_films_today_at_Inquirer.html

How excited am I that a photo I took of Demi Moore in Philadelphia, Pa last week, ended up in People Magazine Online today.  It was accompanied by a story about Demi, Ashton and family eating at the Continental Restaurant. I knew about this meal, but it was Mother’s Day and I just couldn’t do it, plus I did make that promise to Demi that I would never shoot her again for the rest of her stay, and that to me includes the kids.  As the other paparazzo is moving to NYC soon, it will be up to me to capture these moments.   Tonight I was waiting for Jennifer Anniston, but she didn’t check in yet, and now from the story at the top I see she’s in Orlando with John Mayer.  Maybe she’s not in that scene tomorrow. Brrr it was cold out there on the sidewalk.

Last week I shot an amazing concert. It was in Philly, but the Philly Sound was in the house at Radio City Music Hall. Masons: This is a once in a lifetime event. The four Divas have never sung together and they are making history by singing together and in front of an orchestra. Join with us as we celebrate our Laboratory’s 50th Anniversary of helping humankind.(This shot that I took appeared in yesterday’s Inquirer announcing Patti Labelle being honored in Philadelphia by Radio One as “Mother of the Year” ) There’s a lot of other labels I would give her, hottie of the year, awesome singer of the year, inspiration of the year and someone I greatly admire. I have to admit one of the many benefits of being a celebrity photographer is getting to see amazing events and amazing people.
One thing I didn’t know about shooting at Radio City Music Hall is that it is an ordeal. Maybe if I had it all to do again I would just have paid the $200 to see the concert, but then again I wouldn’t have these awesome shots to share with you. After finally making my mind up to shoot it instead of watching it, I got credentialed at the last minute, that was easy part. We were to show up 2 hrs before the start time, which is the norm, and then the hard part. RCMH has their own rules and regulations about shooting, then the “Talent” has rules and regulations. Certain “Talent”, did I mention Miss Ross was on the bill?, didn’t want to be photographed from the orchestra pit like everyone else. She wanted to be photographed from the “RIGHT SIDE OF THE HOUSE” and only for 60 seconds. Well the photogs did not want to hear this, and they threatened to walk, the really big agencies, but I did not want to walk as I really wanted to see the concert. I have to say I was the lone hold out, because I am from Philly and I want to get Patty, as much as I want to see all of them perform. Finally better heads prevailed and we would be able to shoot Miss Ross for her entire song, but still only from the “Right side of the House” (that’s important for you to remember) Each women would sing 5 songs. We would shoot the first song, but for Miss Ross, we could only shoot the 3rd song.

First up – Miss Gladys Knight. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG “Neither One of Us”; Gladys Knight was and is a phenomenon! The true embodiment of soul, blues, struggle and passion. “Midnight Train to Georgia” they were dancing in the aisle. Did I mention when you shoot at RCMH, or most concerts with multiple acts, you only shoot the first or second song, then you are ushered out. Well for this event it was just one song. We shot KNEELING in the row near the orchestra seats. Have you ever kneeled for 5 – 10 minutes on concrete, it was HORRIBLE and painful. Then after the song we were tapped on the should and had to run up the aisle before the next song started. Can you see how far the stage is, about a NYC block – LOL Then it was back down to shoot Chaka Khan; she started out with Chaka, Chaka, Chaka Kahn let me tell you. It was worth the pain, just so exciting to shoot these women and witness this historic event which benefited the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, which celebrates 50 years of critical heart research this year.
Then the GODESS came out styling and singing. Thank you Donna Karan for this coat she sang. You know i was so into shooting her, I have no idea what she sang on the opening as I was overwhelmed with joy (I have seen Patti about a dozen times, but to get to shoot her at RCMH was too awesome for words, plus I was in a lot of kneeling pain.) After this song, as I was running to the back of the house, Patti talked about her life and career, which was not without tragedy. In July 1989, she lost her third sister Jackie to cancer. Patti’s two elder sisters had similar fates, with her oldest sister Vivian dying in 1977 (at the height of LaBelle’s success) and the second-eldest sister Barbara, dying in 1982 from colon cancer. Her brother, father and mother also passed away around the same time, making Patti the only living member of her extended family. As we got into position to shoot from “The Right Side Of the House, we started to walk down the ailse on the right side of RCMH. I heard Patti bring to the stage the Bluebelle’s, Sarah Dash and Non Hendryx (“Keep it Confidential” baby). They went into “Lady Marmalade”. Afterwards Labelle announced that she and and former groupmates have returned to the studio to work on a new album and will be touring this summer. (They have turned to a combination of old and new to help them mastermind their return to the charts; Philadelphia soul pioneers Gamble + Huff and rocker Lenny Kravitz) (So I am a little less pissed off at Miss Ross at this moment, because I wouldn’t have been able to sneak this photo from the back of the house)She was Motown’s brightest star, the one with guts enough and ambition enough to make her dreams come true, no matter where they took her. Rules that apply to others have never applied to Diana Ross. She won’t let them. CALL HER MISS ROSS and shoot her from the Right side of the HOUSE!!! Which is the “LEFT SIDE OF THE STAGE” – Stage Right, House Left, Stage Left, House Right,
Finally after 4 minutes into “Stop in the Name of Love” someone informed Miss Ross she was facing the wrong direction and we got a few photos

Miss Ross did not attend the press conference after the show. But I wasn’t complaining.

All in all, it was an amazing day, I am a wuss and had tears in my eyes for each and every performance. Thank you Miss Ross, Miss LaBelle, Chaka and Miss Gladys!

Who were those crazy folks along Broad Street Thursday?

Cirque du Soleil has returned to Philadelphia in the form of KOOZA: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning.
The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor. The Innocent’s journey brings him into contact with a panoply of comic characters such as the King, the Trickster, the Pickpocket, and the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.
owwww he looks like he’s in pain
The end..here’s the website:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/kooza/tickets/philadelphia.htm

I finally shot Demi Moore. Some philly people on blogs gave me a hard time about shooting her. Seems some a few Philly folks think our city is too cool to have paparazzi and worship celebrities, even though most of them swoon over Alycia Lane, and every Philly sports figure that either crosses their path or their kids paths; When I started this blog, I wanted it to be original content, I want to bring news and photos that might be interesting to the readers whether it’s a store opening, Mark Wahlberg doing a Toys for Tots gig, Thom Cardwell hosting some kind of event or Demi Moore walking through Rittenhouse Square. Maybe folks are satisfied with their celebrity news 2nd hand, cut and pasted from other sources or rehashed a day later after its been written about in the NY dailies or other papers.So it goes last Friday it was lunchtime for me, I went to the Square where there had been so many sightings. I heard rumblings that she was spotted sitting in the WINDOW, the WINDOW “I don’t want to be noticed” of TRIA. BTW: The week before Demi was eating outside at ROUGE (I saw her there, with Parker and the dog, but you know what I didn’t have a long lens, and I didn’t want to disturb them by getting in their face and shooting them [true story; I knew I would see them again, Philly’s a small town]). This time I had my long lens, but I couldn’t shoot them because there was construction going on across the street from Tria and there was no decent spot without disturbing their lunch, and seriously I don’t want to frazzle them. I decided to wait til they left the restaurant. They did and I began asking Demi for a photo. She gave me no response, not a yes not a no. Finally I mentioned a few things to her, one of which I am going to see you all weekend in NYC at the Donna Karan event and I would be able to shoot her on the red carpet, but those won’t be taken in Philly, and satisfy the readers who keep hearing about Demi sightings. Then I said, “I promise I won’t take anymore photos of you, or bother you for the rest of your stay here.” Demi finally responded “OK two photos”, and she counted them off. I thanked her, Parker laughed and they walked off. I like to shoot paparazzi style, which by definition is just candid photos, this is partially why people love paparazzi fotos and always will. We like to see stars when they aren’t acting and just being themselves; Demi Moore, along with indie queen Parker Posey, headline “Happy Tears” from filmmaker Mitchell Lichtenstein (“Teeth”). “Tears,” which Lichtenstein wrote and is directing, follows a woman (Posey), prone to self-aggrandizement, who returns to her Wisconsin home and must deal with her bitter sister and her father, who suffers from a rare form of dementia. Moore plays the sister, fed up with dealing with the hateful father. (Demi was living up to her bitter sister personification when I took these shots) Here is another photo which was picked up by the “Gossip Girls” blogI’d like to give a little love to Parker Posey. Who on occasion has given me a photo or two in NYC. (I shot this in 2006 at the “For your consideration premiere, it appeared on my “Confessions of a Paparazzi” blog; Parker is not a big poser, so thanks to her for giving me this fun shot) Parker is quiet, has never gone out of her way to live the big life, and a photo of her would not garner the attention of one like Ms. Moore who was on Vanity Fair pregnant, twice, got a complete body lift at age 40, married a guy 17 years her junior and then just 2 months ago went to Germany and had leech therapy and told Letterman all about it. She creates the buzz for herself. (See my self portrait in the window behind them)Most people I ran into or received emails from, loved the photo and the write up. Most thinking it was the first time something like this had happened to me, but I have been doing the Philadelphia Paparazzo thing for about a year now, getting shots placed in various publications in the City, and nationally and internationally; placing them on my blog, seeing my readership increase over the year and well I think people in Philly do want to see celebrities and is’nt that why Joey Sweeney created the cleverly title Philebrity (I know I am obsessed with that name, it fits my mission to a tee). I think what I do is less intrusive than photographing a murder victim’s grieving mother, brother or daughter etc, but you know what, it’s called “the news” and its acceptable, sometimes those photos even win Pulitzer’s. So as long as there are people of interest to photograph in Philly, then I will be there to capture them, and I will do so with permission when possible. Talk about intrusive: Its not like I stood outside of Demi’s apartment building in NYC like these guys, and she smile for them. (oh you’re probably wondering why I know that’s her apartment, I’ve never been there, but I know where it is. Maybe she would prefer that plan of action?)http://www.splashnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/splashnews_spl17455_001.jpg In Demi’s defense, I have heard that she is sweet, nice and generous to fans.