The Dark Side

As I sit here re-re-uploading images to a site where I'm hoping to order some prints, I'm just realizing how tired I sometimes get of being a Mac guy and being incompatible with simply everything. These people evidently don't want my files. I've tried three different browsers and two FTP clients, and finally got one of the FTP clients to work, but then *poof!* the files disappeared, along with the album that contained them, so I get to spend another 45 minutes or so uploading them AGAIN to see if they'll "take" this time. And the galling thing is they're not even MY pictures... doing someone a favor, and as the saying goes, "no good deed goes unpunished."

So, is it time to go over to the dark side and get a "Windows" machine of some sort? Seems some can be had ridiculously cheap, so maybe it would be worth getting one just for times like this when there's something I want to do, but a PC would make it much easier. Or the times when someone is asking ME questions about how to do someting on their PC, at least I'd have a way of looking at the same menus and shit they're looking at.

"Oh, but Gary, the NEW Intel Macs can run Windows, too!" -- I highly doubt it, honestly. I messed around with "Virtual PC" and those other emulation things back in the day, and they were virtual useless. I have a hard time believing it's going to be any better now, plus I'd have to buy the emulation software AND a copy of Windows (Not Vista), and for that I can practically get a cheap Dell with it's own monitor and everything.

My so-called state-of-the-art Mac's performance has been less than impressive over the past 11 months. Sometimes, the beach ball of doom just will NOT go away. Who knows? Maybe I'm unwittingly hosting dodgy websites which is using all my CPUs and DSL bandwidth, but Apple doesn't acknowledget that problems can occur, therefore there are no decent diagnostic tools to determine just WTF is going on under the hood. Read this week that someone has written one of the first "Trojan Horse" malware programs that will target Macs, too... maybe it's just the first one they've found.

And to top it off, Apple stock has dropped 10% or so in the past couple days, along with the rest of the collapsing market...

The dark can sometimes be good, though, as evidenced by Lynz and Penny, yet again.

Penny turns up again

I know I always say "just because" when I post pictures of Penny for no reason, but I guess there is a reason, in that I just think she photographs so well, and I really like the work we do together. Plus, she has such a wonderful spirit and energy to her, that the shoots are always fun. So, why not? Really should shoot with her again before the weather turns... of course, it's supposed to get to 91 degrees today, so planning for the weather is more than guesswork these days.

Penny

Just because... :)

(On edit: The top shot of Penny was featured at the excellent new art nude round-up site Sensual Art and Photography.)

For the weekenders

Very beautiful day here, sort of a shame to be inside editing, but it needs to be done. Have been making some progress, so I thought I'd share a few here. The top one is Raven N. and the other two are of Penny. Now, it's such a nice day, go outside and play!

Weekend Edition (Weakened Condition?)

After the rather hectic pace and heightened emotions of last weekend, this weekend looks to be clear to do some long-promised editing. Where to start is always the problem. I think I have a general plan, and things have been going a bit quicker with some of the "bulk editing" software and practices I've been adopting. Sadly, each software is lacking one or two critical features that can be found in the others, so it's been hard settling on just one. Maybe this weekend I'll edumacate myself a bit further on the topic.

Still haven't done a report on the "big opening" (as Elvira might say)... maybe once I get some of those snapshots worked up. A bit disappointed in the picture quality my little Elph delivered, but maybe it was just operator error. Or there are magnetic currents in the Eastern Market that foul up small cameras.

Here are a couple from a while back of Penny. Really enjoy working with her... still need to finish editing our most recent shoot. Doh! Better get bizzay then, eh?

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.

Penny

Another shot of Penny... resisting the urge to make a cute "penny" pun. Something about her just makes me smile... guess it's the promise of shooting her again sometime soon. Energetic, fun and bright as a... well, something extremely bright. ;)

The eyes have it...

On edit 3/27: Another bit of luck... the portrait of Penny has been featured on afuckaday, which despite the name, is actually a very classy aggregator of some of the best artistic nude photography on the net. Evidence that they're classy? They used the portrait rather than the full nude. Thanks Rob!

Funny how my weekends are becoming more complicated and demanding than my "work week" lately. Just thought I'd "drop by" a group shoot on Saturday and hand out a few business cards, maybe do a quick shoot with a model or two. Ended up spending almost 7 hours there, and worked with six different models, and I think got some really nice stuff. Some of these models were experienced, others just starting out, and one was a friend of another photographer who I don't think had ever worked with a photographer before. But I'm finding that having experience as a model isn't terribly important, but rather enthusiasm and a spirit of adventure can work wonders. I'll do my best to have some shots from that event soon, but as usual, I'm in the hole on getting images to models.

A case in point that experience isn't everything... here are two more images of Penny from our second session, which I think was her second session ever. Obviously, experience can't give someone beautiful eyes (although skillful makeup can help), and the confidence evident in the reclining shot is just a part of her -- probably helps that she's in such great shape, too. Not a typical "model type" really, but a wonderful woman to photograph and spend time with. And Penny has been lucky for me, too... two OMP showcases so far, including the portrait here.

On some of the blogs, there's been a bit of debate about the merits of "first timers" compared with experienced models. Each has advantages and maybe some drawbacks, but for me, it really comes down to the individual person being photographed, and how much they want to be there working with me and want to be a part of something special.

Dingers

After a bit of a dry spell, a couple new OMP showcases*. The top one is the bright shiny Penny tossing her hair in the air like she just don't care. Penny was initially brought to me by a model friend of hers because she wanted some pictures for her boyfriend's birthday. She'd never done any modeling before, but liked my work and wanted to see what I'd do with her. Our brief "introductory" session I figured would just be some casual portraits, but her first question was "so, do I get undressed now?" (The answer to which is almost always "yes" by the way.) We got some really lovely images that day, but I wanted more time with her and also she wanted to do more shots with a variety of wardrobe. Our second shoot was a lot of fun, too, and she had the poise and confidence of an experienced model, and I really love a lot of what we did. Ironically, the boyfriend who was the motivation for her shooting is now history, but I think Penny may have caught the modeling bug, at least as a fun diversion. Life is funny that way sometimes. I'm looking forward to yet another shoot sometime soon with her, maybe some outdoor work. Thanks Penny!

The second shot is Cheyenne, someone I'd talked with for quite a while before we actually worked together. We already have a lot of ideas for another shoot, but I need to keep those under my hat for now. Look for more from this shoot, too... two showcases so far from the day, with many other candidates to be posted. My thanks to you, too, Cheyenne.

Going to be away from the computer most of the weekend, shooting like a madman, but the next post will be #200 on this blog, so I'll have time to ruminate on some grand bi-centennial sort of statement of mission and purpose. Or maybe just a cool batch of photos. As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are greatly encouraged.

*For my thoughts on the significance and insignificance of OMP showcases, please check this entry.

Blurring the lines...

Just thought I'd post a few shots, one from a couple months ago as part of a shoot geared for the Dirty Show, one from the heat of last summer, and one from last weekend. Photographers will often call up an ages-old technique and apply it in their own way. It's tradition, and there are just some things that are in the common "vocabulary" of photography. Been playing around with some in-camera blurring techniques lately, but I have only posted one of these before, so I just thought I'd "date stamp" them.

Coincidentally, earlier today, I purchased a book that my Amazon "Gold Box" suggested... I wasn't familiar with the work of Francesca Woodman, but she is a fascinating figure, kind of a combination Sylvia Plath/James Dean for photography. She started taking pictures when she was 13 and managed to create a substantial body of innovative and influential work, largely self-portraits, before taking her own life at age 22. I'm looking forward to reading this book and learning more about her work and her life. The coincidental part is that one of her frequent techniques was using motion blur to create very ethereal and surreal images. The image shown here is Space² from the late 1970s, but it certainly would look right at home in the portfolio of many of today's art photographers. It's a timeless image made using a fundamental technique and her personal vision, which is about the most any of us can aspire to.