Joshua Trish

Here's Trish from last summer's desert workshop outing. Have cherry picked a few shots here and there from that trip, but need to go back into them and do a serious edit. Actually catching up on editing recent shoots, and have been limited my shooting as I've always said I would, so I may get to turn my attention back to some of the long neglected shoots that have been somewhat haunting me.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently... anyone still out there?

Independence Day

4th of July - X

It's becoming something of a tradition for me to post this song on this day, for obvious reasons, and maybe for less obvious reasons as well. Refer to last year's entry if you like, as most of it continues to apply.

And still, whatever happened, I apologize...

That's Tia from our first shoot 2 years ago this week... thanks for everything.

P.S. Tia did a nice tribute on her blog from our first and second year of shoots...

More media play...

Just received word that my copy of "The Erotic Review's Photographer of the Year prize 2009 - The Book" has shipped, and it is available to order now on their website, about US$16.50 plus $9 postage from England. While you're at it, you could order a copy of the special 100th Issue of Erotic Review for about $5 plus another couple bucks postage. I have a nice feature in the magazine, and while I've not yet seen the book yet, I'm expecting a nice selection of images there as well.

Last night, I sat down with Tia to watch her cinematic debut in Faces of Schlock, in which she had the pivotal role of "Shower Girl." It's an anthology of four short low-budget (no budget?) "horror" films. As the title suggests, the schlock is turned up to 11, and it's mostly played for laughs, intended and unintended, but was actually a very good time. (Enjoyed it a lot more than that last X-Files movie.) Tia did well in her acting debut (you can spot her briefly in the trailer below) and is now officially in the IMDB, right up there with other famed shower girls Janet Leigh, Sissy Spacek and Meryl Streep. They even put a little picture of her on the side of the case. Nice job, Tia... the shot above isn't quite a shower scene, but shows Tia's affinity for water. Or maybe water's affinity for Tia.



P.S. For the month of July, I've also marked down the price on my first book "Dark Light" to just $19.95, plus there's a 10% off coupon code JULYCONTEST10 which brings it down to about $18 plus shipping. So, if you've been thinking about it, now's the time to buy.

Support Stephy C

Been a while since I asked you to go vote on something, but my friend Stephy C is in contention for a pretty serious prize, and could use your support to put her over the top. As she explains it: "You can vote once a day (per computer) every day until July 1st. I'm the 2nd thumbnail in the 2nd to last row (it's in alphabetical order). And don't forget that you can always help promote me..." To vote, just follow the link, let the page load, select her thumbnail (near the bottom of the page) then scroll back up to the top to cast your vote. Thanks!

Update: Stephy has moved into second place! Voting ends July 1, so please take a minute and help her move into the top spot!

Final Update: Stephy held on to win the second place prize! Congrats Stephy, and thanks to those of you who took the time to vote!

Blow-Up

In yet another instance of life imitating art, a number of years after Mr. Show parodied a NASA mission to blow up the moon because "we have the technology and science demands it" comes the news of a NASA mission to fire a rocket into the moon and blow up a chunk to create a six-mile dust cloud, ostensibly in search of ice or water. I'd echo the monkey's question of "why?" and the protestor's sentiment that there are things right here on earth we need to blow up first.

Not sure why I picked this particular shot of Danaid to put here, but I get a kick out of it. She's always a blast to work with.

Got word from Vato that he'd received his subscription copy of Erotic Review with my feature in it, and that the printing and all looks good. They're sending me a few copies, but just shipped today, so I might not have them until July sometime. The magazine is also "putting to bed" their book of the contest, and it looks like I'll have 6 or 7 pages in that as well, so I'm guessing that should be available in a month or so. The 2008 book is still available, with 4 of my shots in it.

Think I have the Chicago trip pretty well figured out. Looks like I'll be working with 9 models over 5 days, and attending a show of one of my old-school favorite bands, X, at the Double Door. Should be an excellent weekend... so, until I return back to the bloggin' seat, I'll leave you with a shot of X and another shot of Danaid.


Devil Doll (Live) - X

Chicago Bound

This is another draft story I didn't actually post from last year, but the title is fitting today. Going to Chicago next week for some shoots, a little less prepared at this point than I'd like to be. Going to try to pin down more details in the next couple days. However, if any of you readers know of shooting locations in Chicago, would greatly appreciate it if you left a comment with some information. Abandoned buildings, old buildings, stairwells, basements, etc.

This shot is actually from NYC, where I rented studio space, but ended up getting all my best stuff in the stairwells and fire escape. Go figure. :)

Second Thoughts

Another "unabandoned" draft from a while ago... not sure what I was having second thoughts about, but I don't think it was related to these images of Kate. (Would enjoy the chance to shoot with her again, but she seems to have dropped off the radar.) Sometimes, I have second thoughts about a blog entry, in that something isn't suitable, or a rant I typed to get off my chest, but thought better of posting. But it's lost now.

Have had some minor wake-up calls as to the passing of time lately. The other day, someone mentioned a movie, and in my mind I thought, "oh yeah, that was fairly recent... maybe 5 or 6 years ago." Then I looked it up on IMDB, and it came out in 1994, or FIFTEEN years ago. Also this week, I was given an invitation by a co-worker to a graduation party for his son... from college! Again, I had to stop and rewind, but realize that we've worked together for probably 12 years now. (The other thing that means is that his son is older than Kate here.) I'm sorry, these time spans are simply NOT possible. Maybe with another birthday on the horizon, I'm subconsciously more aware of stuff like this, but geez, I think a recount is in order.

Speaking of recount, I read the other day that over $50 million has been spent on legal fees and such between Al Franken and Norm Coleman in the Minnesota senate race, that more than six months after the election has still not been definitively settled. When it was "too close to call" but seemed just a hair in Coleman's favor, he was demanding that Franken concede without dragging lawyers into it, like it was just the proper and polite thing to do. But once Franken's pursuit of a full counting of the ballots and the recount show that FRANKEN actually seems to have the slim lead, there's no legal ploy that Coleman won't attempt. It's conceivable, given some very specific laws and possible appeals, that Franken won't be seated until fall or winter. Come on, Norm. Just give it up. You lost. Get over it. Get a job on Faux News with those big bleached teeth of yours and let your state be represented.

Feeling drafty...

Just noticed that I have 99 blog posts that are stuck in the limbo of "draft" mode. These are generally just a picture, or maybe a few lines, intended to be expanded and expounded upon at greater length, but some urgency or other distracted me from finishing the job. This shot of Galetea has been languishing in the draft folder for almost a year, and I have no recollection as to what cogent commentary I once had in mind, or what prompted me to select this shot from among the various images from our first shoot. Imagine, me, with no recollection of something. :/

I've added this second image from our second shoot... you may compare and contrast as you like, and submit your essays to me before the end of the term for extra credit.

Anyway, maybe I'll just raid the draft folder and see what else is in there to be unleashed... as long as it's not gone stale. Stay tuned.

Big Brother is watching

Was reminded tonight that it's the 60th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four -- once required reading in American high schools, it relates the story of an individual trying to experience bits of freedom in a totalitarian state, and paying the price. Some call it "science fiction" because at the time it was written, it was set 35 years in the future... it's taken a bit longer, but a huge amount of what Orwell foretold is coming to pass. Most notably, the government's need for "total information awareness" on all citizen activity -- an article published today discusses how the UK government is monitoring and recording ALL internet and telephone activity in the name of combating terrrrism. The US government is likely not far behind, but just isn't admitting it. Orwell had a two-way screen in every home, broadcasting propaganda while monitoring activity within its view. You're probably looking at one such device right now. The protagonist's job in the book is to revise old news stories to fit the current political orthodoxy, or adjust the facts as necessary -- again, this is happening online all the time, with websites constantly revised to reflect the current state of truth. The demise of the printed newspaper will make revisionist history just a few clicks away -- much easier than in the book, where old newspapers were routinely collected, destroyed, and replaced with "corrected" versions.

He also missed by forecasting scarcity of basic consumer products, while the better way of placating the masses is by providing plenty of cheap food and entertainments. (Aldus Huxley's Brave New World got that one right.) Rather, he expected perpetual war whose purpose is not victory, but to consume resources and destroy them, rather than improving anyone's standard of living. We've just decided to do both, while creating massive debts.

As grim and unsettling as the book is to read, I find it simply fascinating. And if you've not read it since you skimmed the Cliff's Notes back in your school days, I'd suggest picking up a copy and reading it, while you still can.


1984 - David Bowie


Every Breath You Take - The Police

Tiny Bubbles...

A shot from a while ago... the tiny bubbles seem appropriate for model Carly Champagne. Somewhat out of the blue, this was chosen for OMP's "Nude Image of the Day" for... tomorrow? Not complaining. I like being ahead of my time once in a while. :)
On closer inspection, looks like this shot of Reveille won from her portfolio a few weeks back...
And I do now recall seeing this winner from Keira's port a while back, too.... Hmm, go figure.

Canned

Was supposed to be exhibiting in gallery space here in town, opening tonight, but once it was hanging on the wall, they had second thoughts about most of the work... "I don't think Dayton is ready for all that" I was told. So, rather than having half a show at what was evidently the wrong venue for my work, I removed everything. Not so much to protest or be petulant, but I took it as a sign. It was sort of a last-minute arrangement to begin with, a collection of odds and ends rather than a cohesive presentation of work, so maybe I'm better off working on getting a show together and finding a venue/city that is ready. This shot of Danaid is one of the images deemed "too hot for Dayton." Perhaps it is...

The shot of Danaid was NOT too hot for Erotic Review Magazine's special 100th issue, where they've run a portfolio of nine of my images, most of them as full-page. I've not gotten my hands on a printed version of the magazine yet, but they do have an online version that appears to be publicly available here. Thanks to models Tia, Natasha, Alkemie, Danaid, Jessa, Rose, Tygrim, Mina, and Iris. WARNING: if you live in Dayton, it may melt your brain or cause you to wet your pants or something.

The Kinsey Report

Well, attended the opening of the Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show 2009 over in Bloomington, IN, on Friday. For the past few weeks (or even months) leading up to the show, every time I'd see the word "Kinsey" it would trigger an earworm from the bridge of this song:


Erasure - Too Darn Hot (written by Cole Porter)

So, the top picture is the anteroom of the SoFA Gallery (School of Fine Arts), with the two shots below from the main hall of the gallery. You can't quite tell, but there's another fairly large area behind the white wall in the middle of the room. A good sized exhibition hall, and it felt good to be among the work there. The show will be hanging all summer long, if your travels take you to that part of the country. It's a nice drive through the countryside... my GPS Nikki took me the scenic route on the way there, and I took the more direct route home.

As for the show itself, I had to remind myself that the theme was a bit different than some of the erotic/dirty shows I've been involved with previously. "Artworks explore themes related to sex, gender, eroticism, reproduction, sexuality, romantic relationships and the human figure." A fair number of images in the show were more along the lines of gender identity and romantic relationships, and overall, I'd say my entry was one of the more explicit images in the show (see below, center). There were some abstracts and conceptual pieces, and The "Best of Show" award went to a photograph that didn't even have people in it -- a patch of mashed-down grass, suggestive of a recently completed encounter. That's the kind of subtlety and nuance that you might not find in other art shows along these lines. Thanks to Catharine, Garry, and the rest of the Kinsey staff (heh, heh) for putting the show together and their hospitality during the event.

My entry (featuring Tia) was well received and recalled by most people who asked me "which piece was yours?" so that's a good sign. Got to hang out a bit during the show with Vato and his wife, and the elusive Lisolette and her boyfriend -- always a pleasure kids. Also got to catch up with a model I'd shot a while back, Brooke Lynne, who you may also recognize from Dave L's recent roadtrip, and met Dave Swanson from way up north Minnesota way. Dave's had work in the show every year since it started in 2006, and it was interesting to chat with him about photography and traveling and making a living as an art photographer and such.

Friday before the show, had a shoot with a model from the area, Nozimova, who took me to a couple interesting locations. The one we shot at was evidently once a limestone concern of some sort, and seemed abandoned, but was adjacent to a fairly active (and recently rehabbed) building, so trucks and such were buzzing around the area.One guy did see me with the camera and gave me a little wave, so I guess he knew we weren't there to tag the place with graffiti or steal any of the limestone slabs... we kept expecting to get thrown out, but didn't, so I guess chalk it up to Hoosier hospitality.

"Is there concrete all around, or is it in my head?"

Seems like nothing on the internet is quite working today... must be some sort of 3-day weekend hangover.

Got good news about another publication opportunity, which I guess I'll keep under wraps a bit longer, although I've already let most of the models know that it'll be happening before long.

This Friday at 7 is the opening of the Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show 2009 over in Bloomington, IN. A shot I did with Tia that's a little more explicit than I like to post here was selected for the show. I'll be attending the opening reception Friday evening, and possibly the open house Saturday afternoon if you're in the area and care to stop by. Congratulations also to Lisolette and Vato for getting pieces in the show. See you there!

That's Ami there, behind the screen. Have a small series of these that I like quite a bit...

Hiding out...

Sorry for the lack of activity here... just trying to sort things out.

This is Mina from the last Chicago trip. Another one is in the works if anyone can suggest/offer shooting locations in the city.

Sneak Preview...

I do try to do my editing in sequence, but I skipped ahead a bit to edit this shot from the recent Arizona trip. It's Tia in one of the slot canyons near Page, AZ. The shapes of the rocks and the light really kind of play tricks on the eyes... The color ones are fantastic, but there was a reason to edit this in B&W.

She'll be returning tonight from the Santa Fe leg of her travels... it'll be great to have her home. :)