Rebecca Smeyne's Year In Photos

Paper's intrepid photographer Rebecca Smeyne can take on any situation -- from a dog fashion show to a hot-ticket New York Fashion Week party -- and capture something amazing. Here, she recaps her favorite shots from the year.


January: Actually Huizenga
This was a shoot in the California desert with L.A. artist Actually Huizenga. It was a long, adventurous day of guerrilla-style location shooting. I like this shot because the silhouette of the mountain and the color of the sky are so dramatic, and she looks a bit possessed. The desert at night is a spooky place and I think this captures that feeling.


February: Dog Fashion Show
My first job of February fashion week this year was a dog fashion show. Lassie was there. And this bejeweled chihuahua.


March: Trendy Gems Day Spa
This photo is from a perfectly odd, pleasant, and thought-provoking performance art event that was day-spa-as-art. In this photo, artist Angelina Dreem is practicing some #garbagewave healing. I like this photo because of the white-on-white, the unusual layering, and the #garbagewave hat.

April: Cocky Boys in Liberace's Looks
Mr. Mickey sent me on this shoot, where I shot a a gay porn star modeling Liberace's actual clothing. It was a very intimate shoot: just me, Jett, his friend and a pair of whippets playing around in a gorgeous art-filled estate out of town, in the middle of a thunderstorm. The pool shots were my favorite because of the rich colors, the graphic pattern of the raindrops, and his isolation in the frame - it feels like a fantasy.

May: Dizzyland
Dizzyland is Trey La Trash's party at Gage of the Boone's DIY queer arts space The Spectrum in Bushwick. It's full of inventive, avant-garde drag queens and other fun characters. I love all the looks in this crowd, they're freaky and colorful in a way that's not cliche.

June: Pride
I love shooting people on the streets near the piers during the Pride festivities; it gets rowdiest in that area -- this year, I saw a group of teenagers crush someone's car by dancing on it. I like this shot because the action is raw, the colors are saturated, and it has lots of shiny textures.


July: Queens of Summer
This is a photo of Macy Rodman in our summer swimsuit feature, which was shot featuring all Brooklyn drag queens. Macy is one of my fave personalities in the drag scene, so I was psyched we were able to cast her in this shoot.  Her countenance is often pouty like that of an adolescent (although not in this image), and she styles herself in a high-fashion meets hot-mess-on-purpose sort of way -- it's an interesting combo.

August: At Home with Prince Rama
This was probably my favorite shoot of the year. I love the energy and sense of spontaneity in the photos, plus both of the Prince Rama sisters are total babes. They're incredibly sweet people and tireless artists; time just stops when you're in their world.

September: Nicki Minaj at SHADE for Alexander Wang
This was one of the craziest parties of the year. An elaborate harajuku-style bash in the South Street Seaport Mall after-hours for Alexander Wang, this event would have been remarkable even if Nicki Minaj hadn't popped out for a surprise performance.


October: Night out with Susanne Bartsch
Susanne is a legend, and so is her apartment in the Chelsea Hotel. This photo was taken in her bedroom while she was getting ready to go out to co-host a party with Cher. Within the frame of the photo, her eyes are small, yet the authority of her gaze is evident.

November: Lady Gaga's Art Rave
I think we've all heard about this monstrous affair. This photo was taken at a moment of peak insanity in the evening, i.e. the moment when people were trampling each other to get close to Gaga after she walked in the front door and started climbing around on all the Koons sculptures before ascending the stage. I like the photo because it communicates the excitement, all the way down to this drag queen's tonsils, and gives a sense of the fabulous looks in the crowd that night.


December: Bushwick Gone Basel
This photo is from the Bushwick Gone Basel party in Miami. It was a memorable party in many ways, but this bus depositing a fresh bunch of characters on the sidewalk outside around midnight was a high point.