I met Laurie at the Manchester Drag Symposium, they came up to me after my talk and quietly complimented me on my work, I was immediately taken with this beautiful seemingly shy creature and we kept in touch after the event... So when I returned to Manchester a few weeks later we made a date for a photoshoot.
I arrived to a hungover and sleep deprived Laurie and we laughed at the fact that there was a builder literally filling the other side of their window delicately painting the sill (and blocking my main light source to my horror!)
This was only our second meeting so we chatted, had a laugh and looked at some art work and inspiration. I asked Laurie about Violet Blonde; their drag character - I wasn't prepared for the hard truth of why they'd created such a monstrous drag persona but took it in my stride as ever and understood the desire to go against the grain...
However I was here to shoot Laurie as that was the person I had met and become interested in. What I LOVE about photography and particularly photographing people in their homes is the intimacy it creates - a precious couple of hours or so really getting to know someone and connecting with them. If there's a bit of a vibe between you, you know it's gonna be a good shoot and its integral to the photos you make together...
After an initial bout of the giggles and apologies for the chain smoking we got to work (by which point the builder had gone thankfully!) It felt very natural from the start and I wanted to catch Laurie's spirit, his sweetness and a sense of freeness... It was playful and lots of fun - we just clicked in both senses of the word!!
I left Laurie's with a skip and a hop, that old familiar feeling of falling in love a bit, meeting a new muse and having had a beautiful afternoon and a creative exchange with another artist. I left them resting before their next gig judging a drag competition later that night... and no doubt another adventure... !!
I'm currently collecting people I am drawn to within our community for a book of 'beautiful queers' to be produced in the future...