Every year, on the Tuesday before Halloween, local drag queens will garb themselves in raiments of sequin and glitter, and emerge to the much adoration of their fans. For it is the night of the Annual 17th Street High Heel Race.

I’ve photographed the foot race from the curbside in the past few years. But this year I had an idea to get much more involved. To photograph the drag queens as they got dressed and ready for the event. And I knew just the group I wanted to photograph.

The Four Ladies.

But I had no idea who they were. I sent a mass email to various friends who I thought might have a connection. And within a day, I’d gotten in touch with them. And they were every bit as gracious as I imagined they would be. They saw my photo work from past years and were excited about the idea. They told me to swing by Fiddleheads, the local salon on 17th street to photograph them getting ready for the race. They also said I could accompany them on the street rather than standing by the side.

As soon as I arrived at Fiddleheads, the night kicked into high gear and I damn near wore out my shutter button. I’m neck deep into packing and moving, but here are a few teaser images of what is to come.