A Chance Encounter With LomoAmigo Neil Gaiman

Through a series of lucky events, I had the pleasure to meet and photograph the one and only Mr. Neil Gaiman.

Lomography has turned me on to a lot of things that normally I don’t think I would have encountered. These sorts of things not only include neat little photography tricks and tips but also interesting endeavors outside of the photography world. I can partially credit Lomography with my discovery of Beirut. And surprisingly enough, reading has been one of these things as well. I don’t normally read much – however, when LomoAmigo Neil Giaman continually showed up on the site concerning his photography adventures, and the fact of his recent marriage to one of my favorite pianists, I was compelled to research him further and start reading some of his books.

And then I started seeing some fliers around my hometown announcing that Neil Gaiman himself would be appearing at the local theater for the 10th anniversary celebration of his legendary work American Gods. And although I was in the process of reading one of his novels, the fact that tickets to the event cost money turned me away from any desire to go. So as the weeks passed, I ran into more and more fliers which made me despise my tendency to hold onto my money more and more. But as the event of Mr. Gaiman’s event came closer, my luck began to change.

While sitting at home on June 22nd, a friend of mine posted on his Twitter that he had a free ticket for anybody who wanted one. With the event a mere 30 minutes away, leaving me with just enough time to get to the Portsmouth Music Hall if I sped, I raced towards the coastal city, met my friend outside for the ticket, and entered the hall.

After waiting apprehensively for a few minutes, a guest sponsor appeared and introduced the crowd to Mr. Neil Gaiman. He was then given 25 minutes to talk about whatever topic he desired, which he used to deliver 3 short readings from his celebrated novel American Gods, giving the overly zealous and excited audience a good appreciation for how the novel was intended to be read and heard. This was followed by an interview by New Hampshire Public Radio’s Virginia Prescott, from their program Word of Mouth.

So after the program, I waited inside the music hall to see if he would come out to say some words. But he didn’t appear. So I ran outside and waited for him by the stage and then in the rain for a good 10 minutes, but to no avail.

After that I went to a local diner to eat, and when I walked out of the fine local eatery, right before my very eyes was Mr. Gaiman himself, surrounded by two women from the theater guiding him to his hotel. I quickly pulled the LC-A+ and Ringflash out of my pocket and ran up to him. He was astonished to see an LC-A+ and agreed to let me take his photo.

As I prepared to take the photo, one of the women with him asked me if I wanted her to take the photo for me so I could be next to him in it, a question to which I let a strange disapproving glare answer. Before I could respond Neil interjected, “No, he knows what he’s doing. He’s got a Lomo.”

So Neil Gaiman, everybody, represents Lomography in the real world just as much as we would like to think he does.

And if you’d like to hear his reading and interview, you can stream or download the mp3 here: www.nhpr.org.

Related reading: Neil Gainman Shoots with the LC-A+

The Lomo LC-A+ is known worldwide for its amazing features: automatic exposure, extended ISO range, and multiple and long exposure capabilities. Get your own Lomo LC-A+ now!

written by fivedayforecast on 2011-07-11 #news #books #reading #lomography #lc-a #neil-gaiman #portsmouth #news #new-hampshire #the-music-hall