Losing track...

Hard to believe it was over a year and a half ago that I spent an afternoon and evening with the wonderfully talented Katie Reider and her band. They were appearing at Peach's Grill out in Yellow Springs, and I asked if they'd mind if I did some band photos and such to expand that part of my portfolio. They set up but couldn't soundcheck for a while, so they had nothing better to do than sit for pictures for a couple hours. Really friendly and gracious, they had all sorts of patience as I tried various things (I think I'd just gotten my Lensbaby, and was trying it on everything) even though it was pretty chilly out. They ended up using a number of the shots in the design of the band website even though it was built a few months after the shoot.

I haven't really kept in touch with Katie and the guys. I've seen their show updates on MySpace and have considered making it out to see them, but haven't quite managed, since I'm traveling so many weekends. Then there was a MySpace bulletin this morning entitled "Katie Reider Benefits" -- so I opened it, and it turns out Katie is having radiation treatments for a tumor behind her eye, and there have been several fundraiser benefits to try to offset her medical bills.

"Some people have been asking where to send donations. Here is where you can do that.

Stonewall Center
Attn: Suzie Simpson
1160 N. High St.
Columbus. OH. 43201
*make checks payable to Katie Reider"

I wish Katie all the best for her treatment and speedy recovery, and if any of you can chip in, I'm sure she'd appreciate it. Or pick up a CD or buy a few songs from iTunes... you'll be glad you did.

This also points to a larger problem, because it seems every few months I hear about another musician or artist in the area who falls ill, or has an accident, and they have no insurance coverage or money to pay for treatment. So, their friends and fans will do a couple benefits, but honestly, I can't imagine even the most successful local benefit show raising more than a couple thousand dollars, which is a drop in the bucket in terms of medical costs. And for every musician/artist you hear about, there are hundreds or thousands of everyday people who find themselves in the same situation because of the expense and difficulty of purchasing health insurance. I'm sure most people who are trying to make a living as an artist or musician are pretty likely not to have insurance, just playing the odds hoping they don't get sick or anything.

I'm still amazed that so many people think that public health care is such a terrible idea. The recent stink over the S-CHIP program and Graeme Frost actually has some people saying that "oh, they should have to sell their house and business and go into debt to pay the medical bills because their kids were critically wounded in an auto accident" instead of saying "wow, the program that let his family PURCHASE discounted health INSURANCE sure was a good thing. It's probably helping lots of other people, too." We're already paying for universal health care, just not receiving it. I heard the math the other day, that if you compare Canadian taxes (which include most health care costs) against US taxes AND what we pay for health care, the Canadians come out money ahead. But the health insurance industry has lobbyists... all the US citizens have are Congress.

All I ever wanted

Welcome fans of Katie West...

Katie posted this top photo on her blog as part of her "gone fishing" message. She's going on a little vacation, that thing people in other countries seem to be able to do on a regular basis. But I was honored that she posted another image from our shoot, and am surprised at the attention it's immediately getting in her Flickr stream where she has quite the devoted following, deservedly so. Katie will also be going to a place where there's water actually clean enough to set foot in, another thing I'm a bit envious of. I'm sure she'll return with an array of beautiful photos to share. Have a great trip Katie!

Here's another of Katie from that same shoot as part of MY "gone fishing" message. Well, just a little road trip up to Toledo for another group shoot -- I swore I wouldn't subject myself to the August heat up there, but as Andi says, "I can resist anything except temptation." The forecast calls for a slight break in the stupifying heat wave on Saturday, and this time I'm traveling light: one digital camera, a couple serious lenses, a couple of "toy" lenses, and even taking my film camera just to see if I still know how to use it. Probably will even dress for the weather, even if it's not the most flattering look for me.

You have one last chance to see the "Summerotica" show this Saturday from 10am to 3pm at the S3V3RANC3 Gallery in Detroit. Was thinking I might need to pick up my pieces this weekend after the show closes, but I will probably just leave everything up there, as there are a couple Detroit events on September 15 where the work may get displayed, and a couple of friends have generously offered to wrangle things to get the pieces to the right places when needed. More on that once details are firmed up.

The drive to Toledo should be interesting, as I-75 goes right through Findlay, Ohio, where the recent flooding has been much in the news. Not sure if there will be anything to see from the highway or not. (On edit, this photo is from earlier this week showing 75 underwater. It was closed for a couple days, but has since reopened just for me.) All the recent midwest floods are making me consider adding flood insurance to my policy, even though I'm told I'm not in an "at risk" area for flooding. Guess that means coverage shouldn't be very expensive then, eh?

The rise of the model/photographer

Learned from Candy's Blog that yesterday was "Blog Against Sexism" day. Trust me to be a day late, but it prompted me to finish an entry I started a week or two back. Now, I'm not sure how well I could defend a blog full of nude women against charges of sexism, although from what I hear back, the models I've worked with feel I'm professional and respectful, and they often recommend me to friends, including several who thought I would be a good person for first-time models to do nudes with. Not sure if that makes me non-sexist, or if it's even relevant to the term. But I do what I can in my own way.

But that's not really the topic I had in mind... What I wanted to mention was a trend I've seen of women models picking up the camera to become damn good photographers. Now, this is not an entirely new thing. One of the more famous examples is Ellen Von Unwerth, who went from modeling to the top tiers of photography. A somewhat less prominent example coincidentally presented itself last night as I was looking through the book Lynn: Front to Back by Lynn Kohlman, who did a lot of fashion/glamour modeling in the late 60s and early 70s, but then picked up the camera to become an excellent photographer. The book is quite powerful -- in addition to presenting some of her modeling work, and a lot of her photography, it largely deals with her battle with cancer, and there's a startling photo spread at the front of the book. On the left side is a simple, gorgeous nude of her from her modeling days, and on the right, a stark shot of her with double mastectomy scars and a shaved swath on her head with a long incision closed with staples. Well worth checking out for yourself, but I digress yet again...

Back to the trend of models becoming photographers... KC is someone I've had the chance to photograph a few times, but from day one, it was clear she had her eye on being a photographer. She managed to find an excellent situation with a mentor who provided her with a lot of resources and taught her the technical side of things, but her work just seemed so fully formed and polished right out of the gate, she's obviously a natural. Excellent photoshop skills and fashion sense, she has taken a lot of inspiration from V Magazine, and hopes to be published there someday. If they're smart, they'll grab her. She also does some great self-portrait work. In the meantime, she's moved from tiny Anderson, Indiana, to the big city of Dallas, landed a sweet photographic "day job" that most photographers I know would kill to have, and is talking with a new magazine about being one of their main photographers. So besides being talented, smart, beautiful and motivated... she's just recently turned 19. Hard not to be a little envious of her work and success, but I wish her all the best.

Athena is another model I've worked with several times who has been photographing models herself for a while now. She's also multi-talented in doing makeup, and designing/making a variety of clothing -- I believe she made the lingerie she's wearing in this shot. Like KC, Athena is also 19, and has virtually unlimited potential for growth.

One definite advantage the female-model-turned-photographer has over someone like me... they've been doing makeup and steeped in fashion culture since their mothers first let them wear lipstick, so it's completely natural for them to know what make-up will complement a specific outfit, or how to do dramatic makeup and have it look right, and the built-in comfort level models seem to have working with female photographers. And they've had the chance to observe a wide variety of photographers to pick up ideas on technique, lighting, how to direct a model, where to find locations, and how to "be a photographer." Plus, "young and beautiful" has definite advantages over "old and grizzled" in this realm. Or am I veering away from the "blog against sexism" course?

While I've not (yet?) worked with her, I've admired the work of Katie West for months. While she has done some modeling with other photographers, her real strength is her self-portrait work. Simply remarkable images made with the most basic gear generally in the humble surroundings of her apartment, the personal intensity reminds me of Francesca Woodman's work. In fact, while a lot of my plans for a road trip up north this weekend have fallen through for various reasons, I'm still planning to go to the ©POP Gallery opening on Saturday just for the chance to meet Katie. Maybe some of the brilliance will transfer if I shake her hand.(On edit: didn't get to meet Katie... realized when I go there that it would be like trying to pick Cindy Sherman out of a crowd. Also, I fixed the link to Katie's website.)

There are loads of other examples, but I'll just bring up one or two more here. Michele, aka Grafix Chik, is something of an accidental model, I think mainly by virtue of knowing a few photographers and being so damn lovely that we all badger her into posing for us. Her photography is wonderful, even though she just considers it a hobby. Some of the best self-portrait work I've seen, she has a great sense of visual whimsy that comes through whether she's shooting still lifes, herself, or posing for other photographers. When she wants to, she can do sultry as well...hell, I doubt there's anything she can't do.

Lastly for this entry, I can't forget Andi, artist and photographer first, and ocassional model, again by virtue of hanging out with other photographers... sometimes even dating them! Scandal! That seems to be one pitfall of being a female photographer... male photographers will often ask you to pose for them. I doubt it happens much in the other direction though... of course, very few male photographers that I've ever met would be suitable for anything besides, perhaps, a Diane Arbus-style portrait showing the ravages of age, alcohol, and/or junk food. Not sure if that qualifies as sexism, or just plain asthetics. There's a reason 99% of my work is with women...

Again, there are scads of other excellent female models-turned-photographers, and female photographers... just time and space limitations prevent me from including more now. Feel free to nominate some of your favorites in the comments, and maybe this post will get a "part two" entry sometime.

So, have I addressed sexism and its attendant evils with this blog post? Not sure... I'm reminded of a joke song called "Chicks, You're Our Equals Now" sung in sleazy lounge-lizard style, which on the face of it, celebrates gender equality while cluelessly including the old sexist language and ideas it purportedly speaks out against. The ironic cluelessness is pretty brilliant in its own weird way. Maybe that's what I'm doing here... praising the female model/photographers I know while showing sexy photos of them, amid a sea of nude women. I guess I would say I'm all for equality, but believe there are differences between men and women, and it's those differences that make life interesting. Or maybe I'm dead wrong... I suppose a lot of sexism is a result of cluelessness, not actual malice. So, feel free to clue me in with your comments.

Katie West

Katie West by Gary Mitchell, originally uploaded by avolare.

Katie did a nice entry on her blog and her Flickr page featuring one of the shots we did this past Sunday... will elaborate more soon, but wanted to try the "blog this" feature of Flickr. Here goes...

Welcome Avolare Fans

Gary M photo., originally uploaded by avolare.

Katie West posted another image from our session a while back on her blog/Flickr, so welcome to all the folks who followed the link here from her page.

Thanks Katie... I'll get another installment to you soon. :)

P.S. Katie's having a print sale, so if you're interested in picking up some cool prints at a bargain price, check 'em out. Of course, you have to pay in Canadian dollars, which are now officially worth more than US dollars, so not the bargain they once were. ;) Thanks, George...

Commercial

Here's a shot of good old Boyd in a ticklish situation with Vivian Irene Pierce and Maddy Raye. Boyd has just released his latest edition of Black Swamp Girls which includes a variety of nudes, portraits, and fetish photography in Boyd's trademark style. It's a little tricky to find his stuff on the Lulu site due to their "content rating" system, so you may need to log in to a Lulu account first. I might also suggest that you purchase the "Digital Download" version of the books rather than the actual printed copies... You can download 2 or 3 different titles for the price of one printed book, there's no shipping charge and you get to see them right away, they may even look better than the print version, plus Boyd will earn more royalties. Win win win!

Boyd also has an exhibit opening at the Collingwood Art Center on May 4th. His last one was a fine time, and this one should be even bigger and better. Bring your checkbook...

Other news in the world of high finance, the elusive Katie West is having a limited-time print sale to help extricate herself from a financial nightmare of landlord proportions. So it's a good chance to pick up some of Katie's prints dirt cheap while helping her out. Tell her I sent you. ;)

In the Gallery Garden

By Gary M, originally uploaded by avolare.

Another fun one from the recent shoot with the famed Katie West. Check out the comments on her Flickr page. :)

Kathleen Encore

Here we see more from my shoot with Kathleen back in warmer weather. Katie is always such fun to shoot with, and when we work together, we end up with so many images I love that it's tough to choose. I posted a few earlier in this entry, but revisited the pictures last night, and I thought I'd share a few more with everyone. She's an exceptional young woman, and I'm looking forward to working with her again and again.

Identity Krisis

I would never have thought of it before, but one of the challenges of working with models is keeping the models' multiple names straight... most models have their real name, a stage name, plus nicknames, not to mention their MySpace names. Or they will go by different names on different modeling sites. For instance, here we see one of my favorite subjects, known as Kathleen on her portfolio, but she's Katie to everyone, except when she goes by her tongue-in-cheek alias of "Latoee" -- the result of a typographical error by her marching band director in high school. And that's one of the simpler ones. For obvious reasons, it makes sense for models to use an alias, especially on modeling portfolio sites. Sometimes it's as simple as Susie going by Elizabeth, or something more "exotic" like Cheyanne or Sativa. It also doesn't help that I've worked with multiple Heathers, Ambers, Brits, and the variations on Kristen/Kirsten/Christine, etc. And last names are no easier... one model vacillates between her maiden name, her married name, and her stage name. With some, it's public knowledge, such as the model who goes by "Sleep to Dream" -- everyone knows her real name. But other times, it's hard to know the level of secrecy surrounding the alias, and how to refer to the person with different people.

So, when the phone rings and the woman's voice on the other end says "Hi, it's Heather" -- it sometimes takes a couple more questions to figure out WHICH Heather is calling. As problems go, it's a pretty nice one to have -- knowing so many beautiful models that I have trouble placing the face with the name sometimes, but posting these shots of "Latoee" just brought it to mind.

Gonna Make Ya Sweat

Here's AngelD, busting several moves of many, from the dance floor at IGUN in Bowling Green last night. It's actually two clubs on the same block who have their "Goth Night" on the same night, but it's sort of one event. Not to reveal trade secrets, but I saw a lot of "my" models there: AngelD, Sara, Charity, Katie, Heather, and several potential models. It's been a huge resource for models who work with the noted Boyd Hambleton... it's part of how he can be so prolific. Boyd's been a great source of encouragement and information since I first met him last year, and his frequent group events have helped me develop my skills as well as my network, so many thanks to Boyd. Boyd's impressive body of work has also been very influentual and inspirational for me. Also shouldn't shortchange my girlfriend Andi, who is essentially the one who connected Boyd (and me) with the IGUN crowd. Besides being a kickass photographer in her own right, has also been a huge source of encouragement for me and has introduced me to many of my favorite models...not to mention her infinite patience with my photographic pursuits, and for not being jealous of my shooting with so many beautiful (and frequently nude) models.

By the way, I use the term "my models" not in the sense of possession or ownership, but simply as shorthand for "models with whom I have worked" and as a certain term of endearment. Almost without exception, I've found the models I've worked with to be delightful and charming, and I wish only the best for them. So, while there has been some controversy in the forums about the use of the term, I'll still refer to these beautiful women (and men now and again) as "my models."