Come on Darkness...

So come on love
And lay your body down, next to mine
'cause what we're longing for has withered in the light
Come on darkness
Lay your body down on us
We've been calling you for so long now
We're weary of your name
Come on blackness
Let me breathe you in
'cause with this clattering and din we are calling you
-- Come on Darkness, Camper Van Beethoven

Just one last reminder that Friday is the opening reception for Dark Visions at the Collingwood. Click the link for details. I'm honored to be invited to participate in the show, and I'm looking forward to seeing the "dark" work the other photographers will be exhibiting. Hope to see you there.

Should be a lovely weekend... it's strange how my mind has sort of been "on hold" in anticipation of this show. I'm hoping that after Friday, I'll be able to mentally cross it off my to-do list and move on. Looks like the day job crunch should be abating some next week as well, which will be a relief.

The image is Iris, finding the balance between dark and light.

Back to nature...

Another attempt at the outdoor nude, this time a small wooded area in central Indiana behind another photographer's home. Steve (aka Saxony) was kind enough to loan me his home studio and give me the run of the place, so many thanks again to him. The model was game to try a variety of ideas, and I think this is a pretty nice result. It was her first "real" photoshoot, let alone nude and outdoors, but she seemed at ease with the situation, although I don't think she's planning to take up modeling. Another shot from this day (done indoors) is one of my "Dark Visions" selected for the show this Friday. I do hope you're all planning to drive, fly, or space-shuttle in for the opening party from 6-10pm. The show will hang through the end of June, and will available to view by appointment. See you there!

Weekend update...

Welcome visitors from afuckaday, the beautiful blog with the unfortunate name...here are a couple of shots of the stunning Carlotta for your consideration. Blog comments encouraged.

Home again after a weekend in Toledo town... another Collingwood group shoot Saturday. Had a couple cancellations and a couple short sessions, but ended up adding a shoot with a new model, so a pretty productive day. I think I did okay for not having more detailed ideas (just hasn't been time to think the past couple weeks), and enjoyed a few nice surprises. Hope to get some stuff edited soon to share with you. Thanks to the lovely models who braved the dank basement...

Andi got a ton of tremendous images at the shoot. Trying hard not to be too envious, but she just makes it look so easy. :) Well done, sweetie. She's becoming the queen of cash and prizes...

Delivered my framed prints for the "Dark Visions" show, and one of the images is potentially a bit too suggestive for the venue, and not the one I'd guessed might be the problem. Because I want you all to come out to the big show, I'm keeping them under wraps for now... here's more details on the show if you think you can stop by.

After the shoot, about 20 photographers and models descended on the unprepared Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner... quite the spectacle, with some of the models in pretty sexy outfits, one model painted blue, and an intimidating-looking photographer or two, one small child was heard to remark "Mommy, there are scary people there" as we loitered around the foyer waiting for our table. ONE waitress was tasked with managing not just our group of 20, but similarly large groups on either side of us, so it ended up being about a 3-hour tour. A 3-hour tour... a long wait for a lot of people tired and hungry from a busy day's shooting, but a fine time was had by all.

Spent today rather leisurely hanging out with Andi... sleeping late, a bit of shopping, a bit of fine dining, a trip to the antique mall where we found a few treasures and met a lovely potential model (fingers crossed), and then stopped by two different beaches just to stroll around. Took a few shots, including this little mandala that Andi made, and a number of dead fish that seemed to be all along the beaches. All in all, an enjoyable weekend, and I still have tomorrow "off" so I'll need to decide what's the most urgent matter to be dealt with. I suspect I'll do some editing, so I'll hopefully have more goodies to share with you soon.

Another weekend, another road trip...

Although technically last weekend's road trip happened Sunday night and Monday, this will make five straight weekends I've gone out of town. Smart of me to pick the season of the $3.50 gallon of gas to do all this driving. The car I have was purchased almost accidentally -- it was the loaner I was driving when my mechanic pronounced dead my last car, and he'd take the dead one in trade. It's OK for what it is, your basic four-door sedan, but sometimes I ponder other options... maybe something larger that I could use to actually haul prop furniture, etc. Maybe something smaller for better mileage. Or maybe something like this. Right after I win the lottery...

Or maybe a vintage ride would be the way to go... certainly can come in handy for photo shoots, even though you really can't tell that this is an old Firebird that Iris is lounging in, it still manages to create a distinctive vibe.

Corporatism

More distressing news for photographers... probably best for me not to comment directly on this other than to suggest that any photographers or models (or pay site subscribers) read it and reach your own conclusions. Seems consistent with previous behavior and some of the many tales I've heard tell. It's a shame... they had a good product, but their business practices seem pretty ruthless. Best of luck (?) to the defendants...

This shot seemed appropriate to the situation... it's Ginger, with ropework by Boyd.

On Edit: I found this group to have a lot of interesting war stories about SG and similar sites. And this site. At the request of models, I've shot 2 or 3 sets intended for SG, but for various reasons, they weren't ever submitted, which is probably for the best in retrospect.

The Beauty of Nothingness

These two shots are good examples of work I particularly enjoy doing: the unadorned nude. No fancy set or location, no elaborate make-up, wardrobe or even jewelry. Simply a beautiful model in a striking pose. Nothing in the way. The top one is a bit enhanced with a tint and some diffusion, but it seemed to fit the languishing stretch. The bottom one is crisp, accentuating the energy and strength of her stance and the motion of her hair. Thanks yet again to Kristina...it's just a pleasure to shoot with her and share these images. She's also a showcase machine...we posted these separately on the same day, and both were recognized on OMP (along with a bunch more on her portfolio from recent shoots with other photographers). I have more shots standing by that I hope to post soon, so stay tuned, but for now, enjoy the nothingness...

Hang in there...

Things should settle down a bit after this coming weekend...yet another road trip, but first have to get a lot of things squared away, including finishing framing the pieces for the Dark Visions show which is next Friday. Have heard from a few folks intending to stop by the opening night reception, so that's good. If you're around, drop by...should be a good time.

So, I ask you to indulge me a bit while I get my Blogger back to semi-normal, and muddle through the week without my usual frequency of insightful essays. :/ To tide you over, here's a couple of Nikki from a while back, looking darling.

Same Ship, Different Day

This is a New Yorker cartoon that had a special relevance for me (and Andi), so thought I'd share it and the story behind it. I frequently end up in Toledo for shoots and other events, and generally the best deal for a place to stay is the Red Roof Inn. Not perfect, but usually clean, sometimes comfortable, and stay 10 nights get 1 night free. Woohoo.

Have probably stayed in 15 different rooms there, and every room has the exact same "artwork" of a boat on the shore of a small lake. Every room. I'm sure whoever created it put their time and talent into it, and were quite proud to have it reproduced thousands of times. But I can't help but wonder why the Red Roof people didn't mix things up a little... is it just this one location that has this painting, or all the ones in Ohio, or every one of them? Last time I was up, we tried a different place, the Knight's Inn. They had a different painting in the room there... a still life of some flowers. But in case we couldn't get enough of a good thing, they had TWO of the same print hanging in the room, no more than 10 feet apart. Not a diptych, but the exact same print. Something mildly disturbing about that for some reason.

I remember seeing something a while back about some artists that travel around to hotels and motels, and once they're in their room, they detach the framed prints from the wall and then do elaborate artwork on the wall in the area covered by the frame, then carefully re-attach the frame. So, if you are clued in and have the tools, you can check under your room's painting and possibly see some original art underneath. But more likely, the only people who will see it are whoever redecorates the room next time, probably moments before the wall is to be papered, painted or demolished. Talk about a limited audience.

Probably should drop a nude in here, just to continue the tradition... this is the model formerly known as Eilispidh, but who now goes by Raelyn Mouse. A whole new category of model name confusion emerges...

Up All Night

I know I've been neglecting the blog a bit of late... the day job complications are, well, complex, but slowly sorting themselves out. Have cut way back on shooting, other than prior commitments, in an effort to try to catch up. Have also been working on selecting and finishing images for the "Dark Visions" show, as well as another show later in the summer. And kind of by accident, I put together another little something that I may unleash on the public before long...got so wrapped up in it that I ended up pulling an "all nighter" -- just looked out the window at some point and the sun was coming up. Been a while since I did that, but it was pretty cool to be that focused after several weeks of being "scattered, smothered and covered" by the events surrounding me.

Here are a couple more of Carlotta, just because I can't go wrong with her. Right?

Jael Time

Couple random shots of Jael and Dave having some fun from a while back... Blogger seems to have "improved" things a bit and made it so it doesn't work on Safari for the Mac. Grumble.

Jackie Oh!

From a fairly recent shoot with Jackie... the nude part of which was briefer than I'd have liked, but for external forces...

Lucky Charms

Here is Kristina once more from a shoot earlier this year. Had the pleasure of shooting with her this past weekend and hanging out...as sweet as she is beautiful. This one might be a bit more revealing than most of her other images, but I just love the simple straightforward beauty of it, and just a hint of bashfulness. Apparently she likes it too, as she posted it on her OMP... our third showcase from that shoot.

The second image is another shot of the lovely Carlotta... I'm still trying to work out details for another shoot with her during her midwestern swing. This is from last year's session which is going to be hard to beat... I just posted this one to keep things stirred up on my OMP, and surprise... another dinger. Both these women have been very lucky for me, and I consider myself fortunate to have worked with them, and hope to do so again soon. ;)

Destiny's Top 20

With less than a week of voting to go, our friend Destiny has made it into the Top 20 in the FHM "Digital Darlings" contest. Thanks to all of you who have supported her so far, and I'd ask all of you to take a minute to Give Destiny a "10" Vote. The top 20 girls get to travel to a tropical island to do an FHM photo shoot, so it would be cool if she can stay in the top 20 for the last week. Vote early and often!

Sadly, looks like none of my endorsed candidates made it into the finals for Maxim Hometown Hotties... well, still exciting to have a few pictures on the site and know a few of the contenders. Maybe next year...

Dark Visions

Been invited to participate in a group show at Collingwood Arts Center... the show starts June 1 with an opening reception from 6-10pm. The others are Boyd Hambleton, Alizarine (aka Andi), Springheel, m erocrush (aka Melvin Moten), Eric Cain, Lazyi, and VIP. Some of these folks do considerably darker work than I do, so it'll be interesting to see how everything fits together.

Been considering what pieces to include in the show, and have actually shot a few images with the "Dark Visions" theme in mind. Planning to include the shot of Iris that's on the "flyer" here...it's been getting some nice attention, especially over at DeviantArt.com and is a pretty good fit for the theme. I'll keep the others under wraps to hopefully entice you folks in the area to attend the opening reception. Hope to see you there!

Unspoken

Nothing to say? Guess I can't go wrong posting a few shots of Sarah Ellis, featuring make-up and body art by Loretta K... masks by AutoZone. Have a great weekend folks.

Disrobing...

When a model asks me what to bring to a shoot, on the list of suggested items is always a robe or a long coat so they can cover up between set-ups, or if we decide to wander around where we might be seen. Funny how few of them actually have a robe to bring, or remember to bring it along. When I'm checking my lights, sometimes they'll wear the robe until I'm actually ready to shoot, and once in a we'll grab a few shots with the robe. Here we have "Kaleidescope Eyes" striking a dramatic pose, Valentine with some characters, Sarah Ellis using a dress shirt as a cover-up while in the makeup chair, and Penny just looking adorable, as she always does, in a robe I got at the Salvation Army. It may be gaudy, but at least it's comfy.

Kristina

A couple showcasers from a set with Kristina I just finished up editing... always fun working with her, she's full of energy and ideas. Her portfolio is full of amazing work with loads of top photographers. It feels nice to be in such good company. Look for more with her soon. ;)

No Worries

Ended up having a very nice weekend up in Toledo, where Andi and I started with the opening of Boyd Hambleton's newest gallery show at the Collingwood Arts Center, Sessions. (Here's Boyd looking moody in the smoking lounge outside the show.) The show will be hanging for a while longer, so if you're in the area, contact the Collingwood and make arrangements to check it out. Some outstanding new work from Boyd on display, with an improved presentation of images compared to last August's show. Never one to stop moving, he's already planning for the next show to open June 1, which will include a selection of 8 or 10 different photographers, and I'm honored to be among those invited to participate. The show will be called "Dark Visions," so I've been working on selecting images, and considering new ideas for the theme. More as this develops.

Saturday was the night of a bonfire/party in honor of Rose, who earlier that day had graduated from college. WOOT! I'm not usually much of a partay animal, but this was a nice relaxed gathering of friends surrounding a bonfire in an open field, and ended up being a very good time. As I've noted before, she's been a favorite model of mine since I got serious about photography again, and I'm hoping that wherever she settles down isn't TOO far away, or at least that she'll be coming back from time to time. Congratulations!

Sunday's highlight was an impromptu photo shoot with a Andi and Boyd featuring a couple of models Boyd's been working with quite a lot recently. Don't have anything to share just yet, but the sneak previews are really nice. And some naughty stuff in there, too. Boyd was also kind enough to give me a couple quick ropework lessons, so perhaps my technique will be a little more improved next time that opportunity arises.

This shot is Diann, shot at the Collingwood a couple months ago. I'm lucky enough to be working with her again later this month...

Weekend Worriers

Just a few from Vanessa that I thought I'd share with y'all. Another busy weekend, so probably no blogging proper until Monday, but I'll give you a full report if warranted. Some of the other more distressing personal matters at hand are showing signs of getting sorted out (knock wood), but still a bit too soon to tell.

Voting is still open for Sheena and Detiny on the Maxim and FHM contests, so please take a minute and vote.

Appetite

Hate to admit just how long these shots of Oakley have been "marinating" between the time they were shot and the recent completion of the editing... various factors kept it on the back burner, but things in her life have simmered down a bit, and she's decided to turn up the heat on her modeling. (Lunch will be arriving soon, can you tell?) The last shot and some of the others show marks from some rope we were noodling around with earlier. The ropework wasn't good, so those shots may not get posted here, but perhaps elsewhere. Not wild about the flip-flops, but she didn't think to bring shoes to a nude shoot. Maybe next time she'll have some FMPs or something suitable.

Kickass

Here's Jen looking ready to kick some ass. She's a pool-playing buddy of Richard Waters, who invited her to a recent group shoot. First time modeling, but some definite potential. Hope to get her in to shoot again before long.

Voyeur

Shot these for a Nerve.com contest a while back that I didn't end up entering. Wonder what Carlotta's looking at... and here we are, the voyeur looking at the voyeur. Not a new concept, but it can still manage to intrigue. Carly's coming back around next month, and I think I'm on her dance card.

Lots of changes in the air and new situations to get used to... let's hope they pan out as changes for the better. Blogging may be a bit more sporadic than usual, so please bear with me.