"celebrity" is such a weird concept for me. thursday as I was shooting, I thanked my lucky stars (pun intended) that I don't make my living as a celebrity photographer... paparazzi, event shooters etc...It's just not my cup of tea. I wasn't there to shoot celebrity's, but in one of my non shooting moments I stopped to watch as molly arrived and stopped for photos on the red carpet. hoards of photographers and cameras were flashing and calling her name. "molly, right here", "molly, give us a big smile". I was bugged for her. Although certain obligations come with certain jobs (like molly on the red carpet) I didn't envy her.
I was talking to one of the bouncers from The Republic, the restaurant in west hollywood where the party was, and he was saying that he has met and seen hundreds of celebrity's come in and out of his restaurant. One thing that he has learned is that they deal with all of the same problems we do...self esteem, family issues, money troubles, debt...money and fame don't make a person happy. So the bouncer and I, as we were solving all the worlds problems, came to one of my favorite conclusions: happiness is a choice.
So I will choose to be happy with my journey as a photographer, as should the celebrity photographers and the celebrity's themselves.
...and I will remain happy that I am not paparazzi.