FIGHT CLUB

"Hey Ryan, do you want to go to a fight club on Friday night?" How could I ever say no to that question. I was invited by frank151 to shoot along with Matthew Charof at an underground fight club. I was ecstatic to say the least. The mere fact that it was a fight club was not even the reason for this excitement The real reason for my excitement was that the festivities would be taking place at my favorite dim sum spot.

That's right folks, this fight club was at a certain dim sum spot under the Manhattan bridge. I initially wanted to try and obtain pictures that would juxtapose the two cultures: Williamsburg hipsters mixing with the decor and tackiness of a large dim sum restaurant/banquet place. People were openly smoking pot and cigarettes in front of the “house party” style bar littered with PBR’s and flannel. However, I obtained only one photograph of said contrast. This was mainly due to the fact that the people who put it together literally transformed the space with a full on ring and everything. The only person there associated with the restaurant was this one man who was watching Chinese soap operas on a PC.


I shot mostly with a small flash that I got for around 20 dollars. While not as controllable as my larger vivitar 285, I really like the one button design (on or off) and the simplicity of this cheap non-diffused tiny flash. I have a small diffuser for this flash that I thought I would use, but so far I am liking the results without it (and the diffuser adds a few inches of girth to the whole setup). Did i mention how tiny it is? I should mention here that unless otherwise noted, all of my flash work is done with this tiny flash. It fits in the pocket of any jacket and is a pure joy to use.

Compact Wonderment

The action got heavy and I found myself in the front row. I wasn't out of place because everyone and their mothers had cameras.

Many Lenses

Matthew was shooting some slow motion on his 7D and was also able to find his way to the front. I was able to get this snap of him taking footage as blood streamed out of a fighter's lips. Blood was definitely around during the whole event.

Matthew in Action

Hands and Fluids

I got one frame I liked without the flash. The aesthetic makes me feel like how I imagine the fighter to feel after that beating he took.

While waiting in line before the event, I met a girl named Sarah who was waiting for a friend. (Special bonus for reading: Sarah is the girl in the photo above who was almost kissed by the fighter. She didn't kiss him because he was all bloody). Turns out as I made it to the front of the arena, she was already there. I obtained a photograph as she was being propositioned by one of the boxers. On a side note, the “friend” she was meeting happened to be a chick, Maya, who I knew from college. At that moment I recalled exactly how I knew her. I had worked for a spell as a television engineer at the college tv station, and she was the prize of a “bachelor” type show. Playing on her inability to remember this fact, I said “Hmmm, I’m not sure how I know you”. On a double side note, Brent Williamson, a gallery owner in Binghamton, NY, was also in attendance. I had my senior photography show at his space called "Jungle Science." I will include his photograph for evidence's sake.

If you follow that hair on the bottom up to the red cross, Brent is the dude with the camera strap on his left shoulder.

Maya

My favorite shot of the night was one of the first shots I took. As a fighter was getting pumped before a fight, he pounded a single person in the audience. The inability to see either of the subjects except for their arms really drives it home for me. The fighters here are not well known, and I don’t even remember their names being announced. Here you have fighting for the pure relationship of fan and fighter, without the Vegas bets or the bright lights, but with all of the fun and passion.

Pound
Though there were a lot of photographers and videographers at this event, I would really like to go back, and we are planning to. Matthew has cut up and slo-moed his footage and included some of my photographs in the final edit, so we will have a video up soon. Stay tuned as well for a mini project I might be doing about the Garment District. I have one roll shot, and if I can get a few more rolls I want to put together a small essay about the area. If I cannot get access again, I will just post what i have in the next blog.

P.S: I am going to get my wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday, and hopefully I can get my roll shot while recovering. If not, I will have to do some photography in my house, which should prove to be interesting. I really hope I dont miss the Chinese New Year parade over the weekend, of which I was hoping to do a time lapse (you can see view the end of it from my apartment window).

Thanks for reading.

Ryan John Lee