Richard Simmons and Beauty Queens Shake Their Hips

When I found out that the contestants for Miss USA would be participating in a hula hoop contest hosted by Richard Simmons, I could not pass it up. I knew the event was going to be a lame, staged and controlled media opp inside of a badly lit mall. But I just had to see Richard Simmons in person. So we decided to use it for our weekly Monday photo page. The event was just as lame as I thought it would be, yet somehow still really fun to shoot. And FYI, Richard Simmons somehow has more energy than he did 30 years ago.

Movers and Shakers

Here are some scenes from last night's Movers, Shakers and Innovators Showcase at the annual Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend at the Orleans. I love burlesque!

Burlesque Rainbow

My task for this week's issue of Las Vegas Weekly: take photos of beautiful and sultry local burlesque performers for our burlesque cover story by Kristen Peterson. My inspiration? Alberto Vargas, of course! Sadly and pathetically, I had never heard of Vargas until early last week, when Weekly art director Ryan Olbrysh sent me a couple dozen of the famous pin-up painter's images to work from. We decided to shoot each performer on a different candy-colored backdrop, and used the Vargas poses as inspiration. The best thing about photographing performers is that they already love the camera, and the camera loves them right back. I hardly did anything at all. I am in love with the rainbow effect of seeing all the images together. Below is a key to who's who.

red = Miss Karla Joy
pink = Dixie Evans, the Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque
orange = Vi Vacious
yellow = Kalani Kokonuts
green = Tempest Storm, Burlesque Legend
blue = Cha Cha Velour

Sahara's Last 24 Hours

The Sahara closed its doors for good at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 16, 2011. I was there to document the last 24 hours of operation inside the historic hotel casino, starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday. It was one of the toughest and most physically exhausting assignments of my life. But it was also one of the most rewarding. Here are 24 photos from the Sahara's final 24 hours.

(find tons more Las Vegas Sun Sahara coverage, including awesome stories and historic photos here)

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 2:21 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 3:28 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 5:03 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 5:53 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 6:52 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 8:07 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 8:21 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 9:51 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 11:22 p.m.

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 11:51 p.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 1:05 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 1:50 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 2:02 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 2:57 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 5:33 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 6:33 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 10:02 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 10:11 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 11:17 a.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 1:36 p.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 2:06 p.m.

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 2:13 p.m.