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.