Photo Shoot, Insanity, and a Discovery

Yesterday I had a Photo shoot for work. Unfortunately it wasn't as planned as past shoots have been. If I wanted to I could probably write a really good film out of it, that sounds like such an LA thing to say sorry for that. But the truth is I've seen films with less content then my day yesterday. I
 only want to share one part of the day with you though.
We hired the models somewhat last minute. But I managed to get two models in time for our two day shoot, one model per day. Model One, I'm going to call her Anna for the purposes of this story. Anna was our Model for yesterday. Anna sensed our time crunch and took advantage. She emailed me the night before the shoot demanding more money. It wasn't a question it was more of a Statement. "You will pay me this much money because you can."  
"SAY WHAT?!!! Oh no she didn't!!!"
(As you may remember from my last photo shoot post I had a model no show on me. And so I already had all kinds of hatred towards models and now I'm convinced they're evil.) 
I almost had a heart attack. I didn't get her request till 10:44 pm and so getting the new dollar amount approved was going to be tricky if not impossible. I tried our director, but no luck. At 5 am the following morning, the morning of the shoot Our director text me! I was not awake but due to my panic the night before I Slept with my hand on the phone under my pillow, clenching it like a child with their woobie. Safe to say I jumped right out of sleep. Luckily he approved the new price. So we were still on. I get to work as usual, check emails, and give our model a little courtesy call letting her know the price is fine and we'll see her at 9 am. She didn't answer but I left a message and didn't panic at the time. 8:55 comes around and I decided to call her, straight to voicemail. I called again at 9:10 Straight to Voicemail. Finally I call at 9:25 straight to voicemail. I send her a text with calm but stern verbiage, all the awhile plotting how to hunt her down and make her suffer. Finally she calls me back and informs me that her car broke down. This seems to be a favorite story of models, if there are models reading this the jig is up the truth is out and you have to come up with a better story!!!!!!
"Where are you at?"
"Near Dodger Stadium"
"OK hold on we have a passenger Van, we'll pick you up"
 That's right we had to pick her up and we still had to get her ready even after that. Again we needed this shoot to happen. After piling everyone in the company van it becomes clear someone will have to take their own car. I won the drawing. We head off in search of our wayward model and when we get to the post my iPhone says she is located I become a little concerned. Yes she was around Dodger stadium, but she failed to mention it was Frog Town. A not so pretty part of LA, also she failed to mention I would be looking for a warehouse. YES I said a warehouse. See for yourself.

Here's the view of the set up to the right of the gate opening I came through:

So the first thing that came to mind was, "This Bi*#$, Partied hard last night at this club and now has us picking her up from the club she passed out in." But no it wasn't a club however it was a Art Gallery/Print Studio/Sculpture studio/Tattoo shop/Artist shelter. It was like walking into another world once I went inside. And the second she gave me the full run down on the joint I instantly fell in love. The Owner Damien, who doesn't live there, has rented out the space and at an EXTREMELY reasonable rate to different artists as a place to create. An artist himself he knows how to speak the language and has been through the struggles that come with following your dreams. It was because of this that he Created The Nomad Gallery.  After just minutes I knew we had to shoot there and I started wondering if they had a room for me. It was just that cool. But don't take my Word for it, See for your self.

http://www.nomadlosangeles.com/ 

They Love Lucha Libre Wrestling, major theme in the gallery. They even host Lucha Libre Wrestling.

This is Coco one of the many four legged tenants of Nomad. Oh yeah and my new best friend, See how she poses for me?

One of Two wrestling Rings they have, This one is used for band performances.

This a hidden gem, but one that shouldn't be so hidden. The owner humbly told me he doesn't have a head for marketing. And So I say to you readers in the LA area check this place out, send them some love and support. We need more places like this in LA. Forget the Hipster joints owned by millionaires who have bought their cool. Help the true Artists thrive!