Brooke Lynne

Coincidental with her joining the Sisters of Avalon blog, I had the pleasure of working with the delightful Brooke Lynne while she was in Ohio, with a big assist from Studio-B.

Had a lot of fun shooting, she got into some tight dirty spots, I took her out into the very chilly street, and we just tried a variety of little ideas and spots for a very productive afternoon. For being relatively new, she's really taking off and has more travel plans in the works, so I expect to see her portfolio overcrowded even further with beautiful images by lots of good people. Hope to work with her again soon!

Brooke again having a bit of fun with something I picked up at a "novelty" store. This is sort of similar to an idea I had some months ago but never executed, but "nude model with paper bag face" turns out to be one of those ideas that lots of people have already thought of. Still, I may continue to do something with it...

Subtext Messaging

Just saw a rather ridiculous story to make the "Top News" regarding the mayor of Detroit and his exchanging romantic and naughty text messages with his chief of staff in 2002 and 2003. It's an issue because they testified in a lawsuit that they were not having a relationship at that time (probably because they were both married at the time), so now the usual hubbub has ensued about how this destroys his credibility, and maybe it does. That's not what caught my eye.

But the subtext, so to speak, is what I found remarkable. The Detroit Free Press was able to go through 14,000 text messages from six years ago and cross-reference them against the mayor's schedule and credit card records... why not? It's all public records if he used his official phone and cards, right?

Yet down in the corner of the same page is this story from Time about how 12 days worth of White House e-mails from 2003&4 have disappeared. Poof! Coincidentally, the missing e-mails are from the period when the WMD premise for the war was collapsing, and they had to come up with some new cover story. But since it doesn't involve sex, it won't make anywhere near the headlines the Detroit mayor story likely will. While Hizzonor's situation may effect the result of a couple of small-ish lawsuits, the White House scenario has staggering implications in terms of "justification" for the war, the deaths of many thousands of soldiers and civilians, destabilizing the middle east even further, breaking our military, ruining our economy, and trashing our constitutional rights. Just for starters. Oh well...easy come, easy go. Right?

Here's Gaea, without subtext. Looking forward to shooting with her again very soon.

For Your Consideration

As mentioned earlier, I'm pleased that one of my images ("Cruel Shoes" -- shown here) was selected by the judges to be in this year's Erotic Signature book project, and the traveling exhibition to kick off in Miami, May 2-4. I might just have to travel south for that one.

Just now I received an e-mail announcing the Erotic Signature "Viewer's Choice Award" which will be based on public voting from now through January 31 -- just one week! I would appreciate if you could go to the site, review the contenders, and if you feel like voting for my image, I'd appreciate it. (NOTE: Voting has closed, link removed.)


ON EDIT: Voting has closed, and I'm surprised by the "winner" honestly... thanks to those who took the time to vote for me. :)

Happy Birthday Chantal!

Met Chantal at a small group event last May, and was quite enchanted to say the least. Had two fairly brief sessions with her, but we got a lot of images I really like, including a few in my Dark Light book. Hope to find a way to get up to Canada, or get her down here to work together again.

Happy Birthday Chantal!

Dedicated...

Just sending some luv to a good woman who's feelin' bad... hang tough. :)

MLK

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I present Shana, a strong woman of color.

Peace.

Sexy Sadie

The first time I'd ever heard the name "Sadie" was in the song "Sexy Sadie" from the Beatles "White Album" when I was at an impressionable age, so it's always been inextricably connected to "Sexy" in my mind. Fast forward more years than I'd care to admit, and I actually met a Sadie, one of the guests at a wedding I was helping Andi shoot. She's a theatre student, and really struck me with her energy, wit, and that big smile. Before long, I'd given her my card and invited her to look over my portfolio and consider if she'd like to do some pictures sometime. We finally had an opportunity to get together last month for a quick shoot, and I think I managed to capture a hint of her spirit in the confines of my motel room. I'm looking forward to warmer weather when we're planning to do more outdoor work at a few promising locations she has in mind. Thanks Sadie!

Moscow is a bit colder with her here...

No real topic on my mind, not much time to blog today, so here are a couple of Vassanta from last spring to warm things up a bit... enjoy.

Am hoping for some good news to share with you soon... it's a bit overdue, but any day now, I hope. Oooh, mysterious.

Film at Eleven

Adam just sent me this promotional video for next month's Dirty Show... gives you a taste of what to expect if you attend.

Behind the times...

Quickly, another goodie from the shoot with Rebecca... this one showcased on her OMP portfolio.

I do miss...

The big white background...

Mining

Another little gem stumbled upon while looking for something else. This is from nearly two years ago (March of ought-six) but to my mind it seems so much more recent. Time is definitely accelerating somehow... but it also points to the upside that there is still a lot of gold in that mountain of files, waiting for me to unearth, polish up, and share with the world. This is Meagan, striking a yoga pose that with her long long hair, took on an unusual perspective. So much more from this shoot I need to work with...

Rebecca

Last week I got my chance to work with a figure/fitness model who goes by "Inventing Rebecca." and it was quite a productive shoot, even though it almost didn't happen. She's a terrific model who is a personal trainer by day, and it shows. I'm looking forward to working with her again once the weather is a bit more predictable, although she didn't seem at all phased about doing some outdoor work on a rainy January night.

Here's just a teaser for now. Thanks Rebecca!

Just out... 2008 Calendar

Shortly after Christmas, I remembered that I hadn't purchased a calendar for 2008 yet, so I decided to put one together real quick and print a couple for myself on Lulu. Mentioned it to a friend, and she asked to buy a couple as well. Just got my copies yesterday, and they turned out quite nice, so despite being a bit late in calendar season, I'm making it available to purchase. It has 12 different B&W shots, including Tiana (above), Sarah Ellis, Malinda, Sativa Verte, Orrix, Penny, Mandy, Katie, Valentine, and Lisolette. Not really any theme other than 12 shots I really like that happen to be horizontal. :)

So, here's your chance to spend 2008 with some of my favorite models. Act now and you get the special bonus day of February 29 at no extra charge.

Affairs of state

When I first started working with nude models, I showed a set of images to a woman I know, and the first observation out of her mouth was "Well, you'll never be able to run for public office now." I'm not sure if that implies she'd somehow considered me someone who was likely to run for office, or someone who should, or maybe it was just because we frequently discussed politics from nearly opposite ends of the spectrum.

So, maybe that explains why I'm encouraged to read about the "serious relationship" between French President Sarkozy and model/singer Carla Bruni (shown at right in a shot by Mario Testino). At one point, Bruni was one of the top fashion/glamour models in the world, and like most international models, has done her share of tasteful topless and nude work. And now it appears that she may be the next "First Lady" of France, so that's progress of a sort. I haven't heard of any outcry from the French citizens about this part of her resume, although there's the usual buzz and gossip that goes with a politician dating a celebrity. Reminds me of a few years back when Laetitia Casta was chosen to be the model for Marianne, the French symbol for the spirit of France and the revolution. Her face and figure are celebrated in public buildings, stamps, etc. in spite of (or perhaps due to) her forays into nude modeling.

Now, it's a long way from Paris to Ohio, but perhaps the day will arrive when someone who has done work as a art nude/erotic photographer or model would be able to be a serious political candidate in the US. (I'm not sure Mary Carey counts.) Probably would need to be a pretty liberal place initially (Seattle, San Francisco), but as long as there isn't an effort to "cover it up," it might not be that big a negative to hold against him/her. Or maybe I'm just dreaming... this shot is the stately Amaya, driving another nail into the coffin of my political career.

Melissa

In going through images to consider for the various recent contests and such, found a lot of nice ones that haven't really seen the light of day for one reason or another. This was from this past summer with Melissa, when I was playing around with a little different approach than I normally use. So, what do you think? Blurry nude, or instant classic?

Almost Famous

Not to turn this into a book review blog, but an item I'd pre-ordered back in October arrived yesterday, My Favorite Model, from Goliath books. Subtitled "43 outstanding photographers portray 44 gorgeous models" it is a collection of 8-10 page chapters from each photographer. I know BT had submitted a set of shots of the gorgeous JJ, but sadly his isn't included. Each section has a one-page "interview" survey from each model, and a little photo/blurb of each of the photographers is included in the back. I had expected that there would be at least a paragraph from each photographer explaining why the model they chose is his/her favorite, but that seems to be lacking. Perhaps they were all pretty much the same: "This model inspires me to do my best work, and we really connect creatively." Or maybe they just figured people would rather see more pictures and less text (especially since it might need to be translated into 5 languages, as the introduction is).

Included in the book are three models I have had the pleasure of working with. Carlotta Champagne graces the book's cover (above), and is really the consummate professional, while still being charming and "real" and looks amazing in anything, or nothing at all.
I just recently worked with Liz Ashley for the first time, which I hope won't be the last. Also very professional and friendly, she brought a lot of ideas to the studio, and did all she could to ensure a successful shoot.
Third alphabetically, but second to none, Sativa Verte is also included in the book. Always lots of laughs with Sativa, and I've always felt we got great stuff together. She lives in NYC, but has family in Ohio, so I'm lucky enough to have worked with her several times, and am looking forward to doing so again soon.
Congratulations on your inclusion in the book... you're certainly three favorites of mine!

Parallel Development Returns

Spotted something interesting on Amazon just now... two books in my "recommendations" area, almost side by side, and I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the covers. They are LoveSong: The Erotic Photographs of Arnold Skolnick (above left) which is due out February 14th this year, and More Nudes by Andreas H. Bitesnich (above right) which was released October of 2007. I'm sure they're both wonderful books, and they would certainly be a wonderful gift for your favorite photographer (cough) or anyone who enjoys art nude work. Oddly, Skolnick's photos for this book were taken in the early 1970s, but were hidden away as too racy, even as illustrations for a book on "sexual love." So, despite Skolnick's cover shot being made when Bitesnich was too young to buy a beer, with the unlikelihood of Bitesnich having seen the shots Skolnick has had under wraps for 30+ years, the similarities are rather dramatic. Add to it that the images were both chosen to be cover shots for books released within a few months of each another is a remarkable coincidence, and is just further evidence that very few things are completely new, even when conceived completely independently. (This is NOT a defense of willing plagiarism, obviously.)

And just so this post has one of MY images in it, here's one I found of Nemi and Rob from a hot August day that's sort of in the ballpark of the poses shown above... if you think about it, there are only so many ways of doing it, and only so many angles of approach. Next time though, maybe we'll use a little body oil. ;)

On edit, 11:45pm Jan 5: The above entry was thrown together in a few minutes after seeing the two books pop up on Amazon, and is in no way a response to this discussion over on the Fluffytek blog, which I'd not read until just now.

Dirty Nine

Just got word today that a couple of my shots were accepted to hang in this year's Dirty Show. Still hearing from some other folks about their entries, including Andi who also got two pieces in the show after I twisted her arm to enter... congratulations Andi! Now February doesn't seem so far away... gotta get stuff ready!

Another good part about being in the show is the opportunity to participate in the "museum store" where I'll have a variety of "loose prints" and possibly a couple framed pieces, and maybe a few copies of the book, and who knows what else?

This shot is Sativa, an image I entered that wasn't chosen. I'll keep the selected ones under wraps until after the show, as usual. It's running over two weekends this time, From the "big opening" party on February 8th until the 16th, so make plans to attend. Detroit is so enchanting in mid-February...

Welcome Teddie Fans

I've noticed lately that I get a small, but steady, amount of traffic from Teddie's portfolio page on ModelMayhem. She cleverly uses a link to all the posts tagged with her name, and lets visitors to her portfolio know they can see more of her shots and read all the nice things I have to say about her. A good way to expand beyond the 20 images they allow there... I'll continue saying nice things about her, except she's a little too far away. Just before her graduation, we'd made plans to schedule a shoot, even scouted out an interesting location, but between her finals and working and my schedule, we just never managed to find a time before she left. So, I'm hoping she'll find a reason to pay a visit down here, or maybe I'll finally make my long-promised Chicago junket a reality. Meanwhile, here's a few more shots of her to help melt the chill of winter.

Note: To see more of Teddie, visit the archive and click past the warning.