The last time Mike Brodie had a show in LA, I took his picture. He was wary of the request until he saw I was gonna use a Polaroid 680, at which point his eyes lit up and he got into it.
This time, 7 years later, the appearance of a Polaroid thrilled him not at all. I think he'd been asked for too many autographs, too many photos, the show was much more crowded than last time, and it was a very different scene.
Instead of lighting up, he calmly agreed, but then instantly realized he couldn't do it. "Gotta get my dog in the shot, where's my dog? I can't do it without my dog. Find my dog, we'll do it." Then he was on to the next person, autographing their copy of his new book.
And I was off looking for the man's dog. At first I thought he was just blowing me off, but when, after only a few minutes, I came back with his dog, he was legitimately jazzed.
Also, I FOUND THE MAN'S DOG. Gallery full of hipsters/gutter punks/old art people, and I found his dog. Also, gallery filled with dogs!
And then of course I take a picture that's just a bit too dark and I'm furious.