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The Art of Las Vegas: On Fine-tuning Your Powersof Observation
by Lorraine A. DarConte


I've never liked Las Vegas-I don't gamble, I abhor magic shows, and Wayne Newton just doesn't do it for me. But like many of you reading this magazine, I am periodically "compelled" to make the pilgrimage to the land of excessive lights, flashy entertainment, and Elvis impersonators in order to attend PMA's (Photo Marketing Association) yearly blockbuster event.

As a former editor of PTN (Photographic Trade News) I understand the appeal of Las Vegas for many vendors, retailers, and photographers attending the show. One can spend all day on the show floor and still find plenty to do after (or before) "work" hours. Hotel rates also are very reasonable, and most hotels offer endless buffets of fairly edible food, often free of charge, that seems to stretch from one end of the strip to the other. Hence, Las Vegas is a desirable town for holding and attending conventions, conferences, and what have you, especially compared to cities like Atlanta, which shut down early and can't begin to offer the diverse array of "amusement" a place like Vegas can.


Changing Scene
I attended my first PMA some eight to 10 years ago when Las Vegas was still known as "Sin City"-an adults-only, smoke-filled, hard-drinking, prostitute-crawling, gambling palace. And since I don't smoke, play cards, or have any use for hookers, the place held little appeal for me. But all that has changed in the last five years or so. Las Vegas is now touting itself as a place to bring the whole family. The mostly underground, seedy side of the city still exists, just not as overtly as before. Sex is still peddled on the streets by small groups of people who push fliers into the hands of passerby's, and the Yellow Pages has scores of escort services to choose from. And of course, there's still gambling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nevertheless, change is definitely in the air and there's plenty of other things to do, see, and photograph, which is the whole point of this story.

With the fairly recent addition of "theme hotels" such as the Luxor (a pyramid-style hotel complete with its own Sphinx-size Sphinx), New York, New York (featuring a roller coaster careening above its colorful, art deco skyscrapers), the Bellagio (with its beautiful Tuscan architecture), Treasure Island (which boasts a front entrance guarded by a fierce-looking, spear-throwing Neptune), and Paris (with its truly delicious cuisine and fine replica of the Eiffel Tower), Las Vegas is a mere shadow of its former self.

The best part of this city's transformation, at least for me, is all the "works of art" that are incorporated into the buildings and grounds of these million-(and billion) dollar casino-resorts. No expense was spared to recreate about a dozen or so little pieces of heaven-or Europe, to be more exact. Each establishment is like visiting a new country. It's "faux Europe" featuring art, architecture, music, and food from around the world. It's like Disney's Epcot Center without Mickey and Minnie Mouse (though it does have giant M&Ms and larger-than-life clowns). If you concentrate, and are able to block out the ever-present ding-ding-ding of the slot machines, blaring horns from passing cars, and the usual noise made by a crushing horde of people, you can pretend for just a moment that you are indeed strolling along a chic "Rue" in Paris, or about to step onto the Circle Line for a cruise around Manhattan. It's really that good.
So this year, after a few hours of glad-handing and sucking-up on the trade-show floor, I bee-lined it for the strip to photograph the "art" of Las Vegas-which features everything from the sublime (Caesars' charging horses and MGM Grand's gold-toned "atlas") to the silly (an angry King Kong at Circus Circus, and the aforementioned oversized M&Ms) to the sensational (Luxor's magnificent Sphinx and Paris' gorgeous fountain). And no, I didn't take a single photograph of Vegas at night with its eye-popping light displays-it's been so done!

Treasure Hunting
During the three days I trekked up and down the strip (about 6 hours a day-my feet were killing me!), I spent a lot of time chasing the light (before noon, one side of the strip is in light, after noon, the other) and looking for "hidden treasures." There is so much to look at (and so many people and things vying for attention) that one can easily miss the gems among the rocks. Caesars Palace and Treasure Island, I believe, offer the biggest payoffs in terms of sheer quantities of fun stuff to photograph (though my favorite image was taken at the MGM Grand). Caesars Palace is chock full of marble statues, Roman fountains and a 4.5-acre "Garden of the Gods" filled with imported cypress trees, manicured shrubbery, fountains, and of course, a rather imposing statue of Caesar himself. The "winged Venus" that sits in front of a reflecting pool at the hotel's entrance has a constant parade of tourists posing in front of it, which can make it difficult to get a clean shot (hence, the need for Adobe Photoshop).

Treasure Island, a pirate-themed casino-resort, resembles an 18th-century sea village complete with two fully-rigged ships anchored in "Buccaneer Bay." The ships (which periodically, and without warning, sink in the bay) feature wood-carvings of dragons, mermaids, and skull-and-crossbones. And the front entrance to the hotel has the most exquisite stone-carved "Neptune" and winged woman. The trick when photographing in Vegas is to look up, down, around, and sideways…constantly. Mike McEnaney, the current editor-in-chief of Photographic Trade News, said, "I can't tell you how many times I've walked through [Treasure Island's] doors and never saw those statues ("Neptune" was featured on the cover of the February issue of PTN at this year's PMA).

As a New Yorker (now living in Arizona), I particularly enjoyed walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and getting up-close-and-personal with Lady Liberty, who shares a small but bustling harbor with a couple of water-spouting tug boats. Overhead, a bright yellow roller coaster carrying screaming tourists dips and twists around the crowded Manhattan skyline. New York, New York, complete with intricate art deco work on many of its buildings, offers up an unparalleled variety of colors and shapes in which to point a camera. And the pizza and hard pretzels aren't bad either.
Although not all the casino-resorts on the strip are quite so photogenic, the Luxor, MGM Grand, Mirage, Paris, The Venetian, Harrah's, Mandalay Bay, The Monte Carlo, Circus Circus and Excalibur all offer enough opportunities to keep any photographer busy (and happy) for at least a couple days. And if you dabble in computer-imaging, the possibilities are practically endless in terms of creating impact, compensating for less-than-perfect weather and eliminating distracting wires and other annoyances. I reworked a number of my images in Photoshop because, as you know, a little tweaking can sometimes turn a good image into a great one.

All images were photographed using a Canon EOS Elan with a 28-80mm lens, and a variety of films including, Fuji Velvia, Fuji Sensia, and Agfa Scala. No filters or flash were used. Computer-enhanced images were first scanned to Photo CD, then reworked in Photoshop on a Macintosh. Although I don't normally gamble, I think I hit the jackpot with many of these photographs. Viva Las Vegas!

A book is currently in the works.

Lorraine DarConte is a frequent contributor to Rangefinder. She is a former editor of Photo District News and currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Her Vegas images are currently being compiled in book form.