Showboating

Wow... Jael (shown in these shots with her boyfriend) just posted a batch of images from our shoot to her OMP profile, and received FOUR showcases, plus one with another photographer. For what it's worth, she had some slight additional retouching done to the images I provided, but I guess I can't argue with success. The ones posted here reflect her retouching. Congratulations Jael!

In addition, Destiny here sent some of our shots in to FHM for consideration, and they're asking to see more, so that's a good thing as well. Looks like we may do an "emergency" shoot this weekend to give her a few more shots to submit to FHM and one or two websites that are showing interest. Congrats Destiny!

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall..."

I chose this image for no other reason than I thought it was somehow emblematic of the subject...

Lately it seems there is a lot of bad shit happening to good people I've met through photography. Without going into specifics, I'm hearing about people being fucked over by friends, family, lovers, roommates, landlords, banks, employers, schools, doctors, lack of doctors, managers, models, photographers, "the man" and the world at large. I know there's nothing new in this -- it happens every day, everywhere, and has since the dawn of time. Perhaps I'm just expanding my circle and getting to know MANY more people socially than I did before. I think also I'm picking up more on problems big and small from the confessional nature of people's blogs and MySpace and such. But any more, it seems the mission of our society is to fuck over our fellow man and woman whenever possible, as it's the only way left to keep up, let alone get ahead.

I'm also getting more insight into the "Catch-22" nature of being broke in America in 2006. (Which is still better than being a lot of other places.) Many of the models I'm working with are in their early 20s, and it seems a lot has changed in the 20 or so years since I was that age. While I've never been close to being rich, I'll admit, I've been pretty fortunate in many ways. But it seems that my broke-ass friends back then had an easier time than my broke friends today. It also seems that today these 20-somethings are less prepared to deal with the problems, and are less likely to be able to depend on parents or family to help them through the rough patches.

On an individual basis, the situations will be dealt with one way or another. I guess by being sympathetic to the challenges facing so many people, I'm aggregating and somehow amplifying their problems in my mind's echo chamber, where they've been compounding over the past year and are now pointed straight at my liberal bleeding heart. I do what I can to help when I can, or at least try not to add to the difficulties. But it's almost as if all these problems were pouring down on one composite person, rather than raining down more or less evenly on everyone. It just seems now that nobody can afford an umbrella to protect them on the rainy days.

Showcase!

Another OMP showcase, and as good a reason as any to repeat and enlarge this shot of Oakley's lovely posterior and legs. Looks like I'll get the chance to work with her again soon, so stay tuned for more fun with this understated beauty.

Oy Canada!

The day after the Dirty Show, we needed to wait until 3:00 to pick up the unsold pieces, so Andi and I were just driving around Detroit trying to find an interesting diversion when right by the General Motors HQ building, we saw the signs that said "Tunnel to Canada." As a joke, one or the other of us suggested we go to Canada for a couple hours, and it turns out that Andi had never been to Canada. It seemed like as good a time as any for her to expand her horizons a bit, so I doubled back and we got in the line to pay the toll. Dumb move.

At the Canadian customs booth thing, the lady cop apparently didn't like my explanation that we were just going to look around Windsor since we had a couple hours to kill, and that we didn't have birth certificates, and decided to have me pull into the area for a vehicle inspection. Two inspectors had us get out of the car while they "tossed" the contents, going through every nook and cranny of the interior (the least they could do is vacuum while they're at it) and everything in the trunk. They didn't seem to like the fact that I had my lighting equipment in the trunk and asked a bunch of questions, and they found a bag with a cigarette holder I'd bought months ago as a prop for a photo shoot with Barbie (see photo), so they gave me a dirty look for that once I explained what it was. After a while, they handed me a yellow sheet of paper and told me to go in and talk to immigration, who stamped the form after another batch of questions about why a photographer might be carrying photo equipment. Finally they decided that we weren't a threat, and let us proceed. So, we actually get into Windsor, saw a couple Tim Horton's and a really boring looking casino and basic generic downtown buildings, but by this time I decide that we'd better not spend a dime in Windsor or risk having to declare and go through the whole thing again on the return trip. We'd seen the line of cars for entry INTO the US stretched well back into the tunnel, so we basically just tried to turn around and cross back over, not knowing how long it would take, but suspecting it would take even longer. But there was a game going on downtown, and some sort of logjam at the booths, and it took us forever to even get into the line to get into the tunnel to go back across the border. Finally we get into the tunnel, and through the tunnel and into the area with the US customs booths, so we picked a line (the slow one, of course) and waited for a repeat of the hassles we got from the Canadian side.

Sure enough, the guy didn't seem to like that we hadn't brought birth certificates with us, so he made me open the trunk and get out of the car, at which point I mentioned that I'm a photographer and had photo gear in there. He makes me stand aside and starts looking through the trunk a bit, and he pulls a little portfolio book out of my bag -- it was all art nudes that I'd assembled to take to the Dirty Show. I didn't know how he was going to react, but he opens it up and starts flipping through it. He says "You take these pictures?" and I said I did, then he smiles, puts it back in my bag and closes the trunk and says "Ok, you folks go on and have a nice day." I guess having a portfolio full of nude female models is ONE way of proving you're not a Muslim fundamentalist.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that in my prop bag was also the gun used in these shots of Barbie... while it's only a toy pellet gun, I did color the orange tip black for the shoot, which is a no-no. Not to mention the handcuffs from the shoot with Sativa... and it wouldn't surprise me if Andi didn't have an X-acto knife, needles, scissors and such in her "magic bag" of crafty stuff. Luckily, for once, being a "nudie" photographer actually kept me OUT of trouble.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Well, The Dirty Show 7.5 is now history, and I've now officially been part of an art show. It was really an impressive selection of work, and not quite as "Dirty" as the name implies. Yes, every piece did have an element of nudity or sexuality, but all of it was artistic. Some very raw, some extremely refined, some almost subliminal. A lot of it had a real sense of humor about it, too. I was told that they rejected something like 11 out of 12 pieces submitted, so if that's the case, it was a pretty elite crowd. Some very well known names, and a number of international submissions even. The most expensive piece I saw was $13000, the least expensive was $40. Sadly, it seemed like a pretty low percentage of hanging pieces sold... I'd guess it was about 1 out of 8 or 10. It was suggested that the collectors/buyers may not have realized the show was going on, since it's traditionally held in February (hence the name Dirty Show 7.5), so perhaps that was the problem. Neither of my hanging pieces sold, but a few prints sold from the "Museum Store" (Thanks Chris).

The show/party itself on Saturday night was pretty cool... saw several models I've worked with, met one I'm scheduled to work with next month, and saw/met a number of other photographers and artists involved with the show. While not quite the total debauch I was somewhat expecting, there were a number of women wandering around topless with electrical tape pasties, a human sushi bar, and a variety of "acts" performing on the stage, and the like. Then again, we left rather early, so perhaps things got more out of control as the evening progressed. We stupidly obeyed the posted "no cameras" rule, but it seemed like we were about the only people without cameras there, so perhaps some images from the event will surface soon.

Thanks to the Dirty Show organizers for letting me be a part. Again, thanks to Dan, Chris, and of course Andi, my "Smut Mule" for all their help in motivating me to get my act together to enter, and their help in getting the work where it needed to be, when it needed to be there.

Ready Ready Teddie

A little different look for me, here's Teddie from a recent shoot.

Candy says...

If you read this blog regularly, you know I'm not above repeating a compliment. Looking over the blog stats, I saw a couple visitors coming from the January archive of Candy's site that I didn't recognize. Turns out there's an entry with some very kind comments about our photo shoot (apparently her first "non-boyfriend" nude shoot) and some of her favorite shots from the session. (This is in addition to another entry she made about "her first time.") She was a little cautious before the shoot, but soon got into it and has really blossomed into a confident, almost fearless model who is working with some great photographers on the east coast. I need to find a way to get back out there, or get her here before long. Thanks again Candy!

Honors...

Well, this weekend is "The Dirty Show" and it's an honor to have a couple pieces hanging in the show, and I've been scrambling to get some prints ready for sale in the "Museum Store" at the event. Or another honor I'll mention now and again is when an image gets a "Showcase" on OMP. But I would say one of the best honors for me is when a model chooses to feature one of my photos as the main image on her portfolio, especially if the shot is not "brand new." As I'm writing this (subject to change, of course), the stunning Sarah Ellis has a photo of ours from last spring (above) as her main OMP image. Sarah has shot with most of the top photographers in the midwest, and you just have to click the link above to see the scads of great images on her portfolio page. But she is currently featuring mine as her main image, and wrote me a nice note to let me know she's back from her summer vacation and is ready to shoot again. In this game, I have to think that ranks as one of the nicest honors I could wish for. Thanks Sarah! :D


Speaking of honors, the shot of Sarah with the sandals above won a prize in the Nerve Photo contest a few months back... the theme was "sexiest picture of someone wearing just sandals." She should have swept the awards, but the judge had a strong "pro grunge" bias... oh well.

Defying expectations...

Tried to write a meditation on expectations, but it's getting late and what I wrote came out sounding all wrong, so I'll just take advantage of a fine opportunity to simply shut up.

Here's the exotic and charming Miss Dre, who came all the way from Philadelphia for the Columbus event. Again, a somewhat rushed group shoot situation with limited wardrobe options, but it was great to have a chance to meet her and work with her -- perhaps our paths will cross again.

Blast from the past...

I was looking at the calendar, and it turns out that yesterday marked one year of me doing "model photography." (I'd sporadically done concerts and industrial and sports and such for years before.) The first attempt was a camera club group shoot with Victoria (shown here) and it started out with technical problems (for some reason, mine was the only camera that wouldn't work with the club's flash gear) as well as introducing me to the usual group shoot pitfalls. I like to think that I have improved a lot over the past year, both technically and creatively. Thanks to all the wonderful models and helpful photographers and other assorted characters I've met since then who have helped make it a great year. Here's to the start of year two...

Moonlight Sonata

As I'm catching up, I figure I'll post a few selections from the sets as I edit. Probably no great insights will be shared, except maybe a little peek into the variety of work I'm doing. Here's "Moonlight" also from Nashville, from the same group shoot as Syl (see below). A couple nice LensBaby shots among these, partly out of necessity. In the available darkness, using the f/2 Lensbaby was a good option to shooting at f/4 at 1/4 of a second with my primary lens. She only brought one outfit, so unfortunately, she's wearing the same thing in the same settings in shots by other photographers at the event. At the time, I didn't realize it was her only outfit, or I would have borrowed something from another model for her to wear. So I'm standing apart by being tardy... yeah, that's the ticket.

Syl

Long overdue, here are images from a quick groupshoot session with Syl from Nashville. These were all done within about 15 minutes, hence the same wardrobe throughout. And no nudes were allowed at the shoot, so that wardrobe option was unavailable, too. Kind of an odd shoot location... a nightclub connected to a shuttered Mexican restaurant, but got a few interesting things out of it. The folder got misfiled and I'm just now getting to editing them. Oops... naughty photographer.

Angel of the dust...

Regular readers of this blog know how prone I am to feature the lovely AngelD among my entries. Her enthusiasm, energy, confidence, grace, physique, humor, charm and beauty make her a complete pleasure to work with.

Well, she's just started her own photo blog, and while there's not much there yet, I'd suggest bookmarking it (or clicking over from my link at right) because I imagine she'll have some pretty interesting things to say, as well as plenty of beautiful images to share.

Ooooommm...

Just a quick update... a couple shots from my recent shoot with Nikki and Sativa received OMP showcases, one on each of their portfolios, because they are just getting around to uploading images. The meditative one was an idea I've had floating around for a while, and have unsuccessfully tried a time or two, but I think Sativa has the perfect hair and physique and all for the shot, and she did manage to pull off just the right expression of calm reflection, even with Nikki's legs wrapped around her waist. Congratulations ladies... I bask in your reflected glory.

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.

Out with the jive, in with the love...

Another shot of Gaea from a session a while back that has yet to be fully explored and exploited. *Moves Gaea to the crowded front burner...*

Also, turns out that in addition to getting a link from Don Nelson's "Hotel Room Nudes" blog as mentioned yesterday, looks like some of Don's fans have been kind enough to link to me as well. Thanks to the good folks at Fluffytek in the UK, a lovely model from Chicago known as The Original Jada, and Cheryl from the blog "Claiming My Inner Bitch" who warns that some of my material may be "patriarchetypical" -- which I don't mind because my link is under her heading of "Drop. Dead. Gorgeous." Thanks for the link love, y'all!

Welcome "Hotel Room Nudes" fans

Wanted to thank Don, photographer extraordinaire, for kindly linking to me from his outstanding blog "Hotel Room Nudes" and welcome all of you who are fans of Don's blog and clicked over here. He's a tough act to follow, to be sure.

I also want to thank Don for taking the time (back in November of last year) to share a little of his experience and some useful advice when I posted in a Model Mayhem thread asking for information on doing a hotel room shoot. I was concerned about whether the hotel would give me a hard time or throw me out or worse for doing nude photography. What I found most helpful, and I still recall it regularly, is the simple idea that for the duration of your stay, the hotel room is your home, so whatever is OK to do at home is OK to do in a hotel room. I've found that idea to be comforting when I get a little nervous about dragging a bunch of camera gear into the hotel, accompanied by a beautiful model. I tell myself, "for tonight, this is my home." Of course, nobody is more at home in a hotel room than Don. Seen here is the most beautiful model from that particular junket, Candy (who also has her own excellent blog). Thanks Don, for your encouragement then, and the link now.

Dirty thoughts...

Well, I've been waiting to hear, and it's official... two of my images have been accepted for inclusion in "The Dirty Show" (aka The Dirty Detroit Show) which happens September 22-24 in Detroit. It's a showcase of erotic art from photography and paintings to sculpture and even performance art, and actually attracts some quite respected names to participate, so I do feel it's an honor to be among them. One of the photos accepted is this shot of Valentine that's among the most popular in my online portfolio. While it's probably pretty tame by the show's standards, the second image is a bit more explicit than I feel comfortable posting on this blog... guess you'll just have to come to the show to see it.
Special thanks do Dan and Chris for encouraging me to submit to the show. Of course, at this show, "submit" has a variety of meanings.

Different strokes

Sometimes I'll really like an image, but the model just doesn't even seem to notice it. Go figure. This is Natalie with a little LensBaby help. I like it. Should I care if anyone else does or not?

Beginner's Luck?

Meet Teddie, a recent addition to the cavalcade of beautiful women who have been kind enough to pose for me. She responded to a listing of mine, and was interested in posing but was unsure because she'd never modeled, let alone done nudes before. (She says not even the "camera phone with the boyfriend" poses -- how rare is that these days?) She really wanted to pose, but was afraid that *I* would not be satisfied with the results, so I proposed an impromptu test shoot. We kept the setup to a minimum, and she had no hair or makeup stuff with her, so we just went for the very basics. Here are some of the many images I'm very satisfied with from the shoot... as far as I'm concerned, she passed the audition. And she has set up a second shoot with me, so I guess I passed the audition, too.