What a weekend! I’ve been pretty busy shooting the past week. After shooting several assignments this week for the Houston Chronicle, I decided to take Friday night and shoot something for myself. I had seen that the Half Pint Brawlers were coming into town for a midget wrestling show and I knew that I had to check it out. I saw Puppet and his crew go at it a few years ago and walked away with some interesting images so it was a no-brainer. Steven aka Puppet, the owner of the group was gracious enough to grant me access to the show and everything else I wanted. Much to our surprise, the crowd at the Meridian was heavy and ready for a show. The show was pretty amazing to say the least. Puppet, his trainee Turtle, and Kato gave a heck of a performance that left everyone’s jaw on the floor. The show started off with Kato, who was celebrating his 46th birthday, giving 2 girls (who paid $120) a collective lap dance, continued with one girl paying $1020 cash to staple a twenty-dollar bill to Puppet’s scrotum, and finished up with a few rounds of actual wrestling. An otherwise dark Meridian was furnished by a nice wrestling ring and lit by some powerful spots so the images were pretty neat, especially given the look of ISO 4000 out of the 5D mark II. The photo essay entitled “The Bloody Midgets” can be viewed over at TODDSPOTH.COM.

Coincidentally the same event (an import car show) I saw the guys perform at a few years back was happening again on Sunday.

I knew the event owner and managed my way in on Sunday. It was an import car show that I hadn’t attended since the first year. The actual car show was pretty tame (the import car scene in Houston has died out as of recent years) but Puppet and the crew put on another great performance. Where Friday’s show was rated R, Sunday’s show was rated PG, given the “family” atmosphere. It was definitely nothing compared to Friday, but the outdoor light was nice and the clouds added to the mood and feel of the images. I arrived early, positioned myself in a spot where my backgrounds would be at least semi-clean and got some neat stuff.

As for today, happy Inauguration Day!

*Note: The first 11 photos in the gallery below is the edited essay that appears on my main portfolio website. The additional photos are outtakes from the essay. The second gallery features images from their performance at the car show.