Good evening, Steemit! It’s a great day here in Minneapolis. It was hot, and I’m sunburned, but all worth it. @guthrie’s birthday party was today and it was as close to perfect as a celebration can get! We had his party at a park this year, changing course after the last few years at my house. What a difference. My stress was reduced by half, at least. Still a lot of stuff to buy and lug from home, still a ton of money on food, drinks and gifts, but so nice to bypass three days of cleaning for an 8 hour party, just to clean for another three days. @guthrie had an awesome time and he proclaimed “…best birthday of my life!”.

Oh, yeah! And how about this big rally today? I haven’t been hinged on the markets but I saw in passing between the @guthrie party and the toy set up that followed, STEEM hit $1.80?! So good to see those numbers climbing back to where we were before the Bitcoin scare a few weeks ago. Myself, @tarotbyfergus and @mada were all talking about how we’d become spoiled during those weeks of inflated SBD prices, so now that I’m at my most broke, it’s all welcomed news.

Tonight’s Steemit post will be a visual summary of my friendship with Las Vegas tattoo artist, Lisa Del Toro. Lisa came to me years ago wanting to shoot during one of my first trips to Vegas […actually, as I’m writing this, I think it was my very first time]. I remember taking a six hour bus from LA to Vegas for $12. While I was cramped in a seat by the window, I was frantically texting our make-up artist who appeared to be having a complete psychotic break. She flaked, and Lisa picked me up at the bus station. We drove to the nearest mall and we paid $50 in product to have her make-up done at a MAC counter […emergency trade secret for flaky MUA’s].

Out first shoot was at The Artisan Hotel, my favorite place to shoot in Vegas, and I can credit Lisa for taking me there for the first time. We made pictures that evening, even sneaking in to the chapel location where we were promptly busted by security. I said “Awww, man. Really? We can’t shoot here? It’s so cool!” and after a pause […and in the most “Vegas” thing that’s ever happened to me there], he said “Maybe if you give me $20 I’ll let you shoot for another 15 minutes.”. Done!

Lisa and I shot again two years later. She set up an incredible vintage boutique near downtown with dozens of midcentury modern furniture and lamps. The sun had gone down and it couldn’t be more appropriate for my dark pinup style of photography. Lisa is an outstanding model in addition to being a brilliantly talented artist. I was falling in love with every image as I’d check my camera roll.

Our most recent shoot was, again, during Viva Las Vegas. We arrived late at night at her tattoo shop and made great use o the space, lighting different areas of the room with candles and lamps. In addition to our usual pinup poses, I also shot pieces from her handmade jewelry collections […again, no limit to Lisa’s talents]. I thought it relevant to share these with Steemit as I just received a text from her this week asking when I’ll be back on the west coast, so with any luck, I’ll have new photos of Lisa Del Toro by the end of the year.

Thanks for following and reading. For more photography, art, illustration and thoughts on life, please follow me @kommienezuspadt!