Tag: LA Derby Dolls

The Flying Luchadores

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The Flying Luchadores from Jeff Gatesman on Vimeo.

 

Nicky dives from atop a stack of speakers onto the head of Cassandro. This, of course, riles Cassandro and his teammate, who consequently takes it out on Nicky and her teammate, which covers up the fact that Cassandro has climbed up to the balcony. If it sounds crazy, it gets even crazier…

What’s he going to do from the balcony? Well let’s just say it’s Mexican wrestling and payback es una perra! Click on the video at the right to see the whole thing.

This is the scene as I saw it Thursday night at the Mayan Theater. It’s Lucha Va Voom and that means Sex and Violence all in the name of fun! The wrestling is staged, the dancing girls real, the booze is cheap and the comics are pure cheese, and I couldn’t stop smiling all night.

I’ve been to Lucha Va Voom several times and have had the opportunity to photograph a couple of the shows, including the legendary girl fight. If you’ve seen it you know it’s high energy fun, and if you haven’t you ought to one day. I have some galleries dedicated to Lucha: wrestlers, burlesque and the girl fight. Check them out and get a print or coffee mug with your favorite Luchadore or luchadorette.

And if Lucha Va Voom seems interesting to you, check out my photos from the LA Derby Dolls roller derby matches.

 

My Image honored in 4th Photography Masters Cup

One of my photos from the Derby Dolls collection has been honored with Nominee status by the International Color Awards’ Photography Masters Cup.

Derby Dolls starting line
Click to enlarge

This is an enormous honor for me as my image has been selected by some of the greatest names in photography, publishing and advertising from National Geographic, Phaidon and Esquire to Christies of New York. As a Nominee my image will be featured in a film presented by World Photographic Arts Films, and may be chosen for publication in The Photo Paper magazine.

This image comes from a series shot during one match between the Sirens and the Tough Cookies of the LA Derby Dolls roller derby league. You can see the entire series here. My focus for this collection was to capture motion through still photography, but I also managed to capture some nice intimate moments. None of the moving images have been photoshopped beyond normal tone adjustments as has been suggested: they are simple “old school” in-camera effects achieved using a flash and dragging the shutter.

Photography Masters Cup