Thanks Jesslyn...

Just wanted to take a minute to thank Jesslyn for being such a lovely friend and a lovely model, even though she claims to NOT be a model. She also makes some damn fine cannoli... if you're lucky she'll share one with you.

P.S. She's just launched her own blog project... you can check it out here!

Letters never sent...

It's funny, for every blog post that actually appears here, I probably start 3 or 4 others that just languish as drafts. I guess that's a sign of frustration with expressing myself about various aspects of my work and life. Seems like my opinions are always flat out wrong and I'm expected to vigorously defend them, so it's just a lot simpler to keep my mouth shut when I can remember to do so. Others don't seem as encumbered by this and can just spout off about anything that pisses them off or irritates them, or even pleases or excites them, but I guess I'm not cut out that way or something.

Maybe I could try some non-controversial opinions, if there are such things anymore...

Cake tastes good.
Puppies are cute.
Casey looks good in red.

Let the flamewar begin.

Exhausted!

Had a whirlwind 3-days of shooting, and managed to set aside the concerns of editing and enjoy working with some exciting new models (well, new to ME) as well as several returning favorites. Nothing to show just yet, but I'm considering something mildly radical in the editing process, so possibly before too long.

Thanks to everyone who made the weekend possible and fun... almost too many to name: Orixx, Spilt Sugar, Suzi, PXE, Minxy D, Nihilus, Lovely Real, Dreamscapes, IXI, Naughtya, Mary, Adrianna, Sage, Kitten, Missy Vinyl, Erin, Deb & Bill, Boyd, JJ, Matt & Krissy, Eric, DVS, Andi, Jesslyn, Xania, Foxy Tigress, and everyone else I got to work with or chat with.

Here's Dreamscapes again from March... I attempted to recreate one of the early Marilyn Monroe nudes from my Swiss-cheese memory, and got it about 30% right, but I'd still say she looks great here. Since I was a ways off remembering the pose, I changed the angle to vertical... perhaps another try soon. :)

Lovely, Real...

Here's a couple of recently finished shots of the lovely Laura (aka Alkemie, Lovely_Real, Cuardtheoir, etc.), and she's featured a number of the images in two beautiful entries on her blog, here and here. They are quite moving entries, and will tell you more than I could hope to convey about this remarkable young woman. Sweet, talented, smart, funny, and beautiful...I'm hoping to capture some of that in my images. I'm fortunate enough to work with her again this weekend, and hopefully again this summer... thank you Laura for being the awesome one. :D

ARTundressed

Another event that once seemed so far in the future is ready to happen... the ARTundressed weekend in Miami is May 2-4, and one of the main events will be the Erotic Signature Art Show, featuring artists selected for inclusion in Volumes I & II of "The World's Greatest Erotic Art of Today" compilation books. (I blogged about it a while back...) I'm planning to be there for the show opening Friday night, so if you're in the Miami area, do make a point of coming out for the big show. Tickets are available here.

It seems the hardcover of Volume I has already sold out, with some paperbacks still available. Volume II (which includes my shot "Cruel Shoes") is available for pre-order.

• Vol. II - Hardcover
  
• Vol. II - Softcover
  
• Vol. I - Softcover

It is an honor to be selected for the book, and it will be interesting to see the show, with my shot among the many other artists' work. As always, big thanks to Iris for striking the memorable pose and providing the memorable shoes. If I'm not mistaken, she may be down in Miami for the show, too.

See you there!

Stressed

Just seems like waaay too much going on, compounded by being on meds for an abscessed tooth. Hopefully things will settle down by Sunday a bit...

Here's Brooke Lynne expressing how I'm feeling at the moment.

"...what dreams may come"

As promised, a couple more lovely Dreamscapes, with more to come.

You may recognize the title of this post from the somewhat overwrought Robin Williams movie of a few years ago, but they lifted it from Shakespeare, Hamlet's soliloquy to be precise. I just finished the audiobook version of "Brave New World" in which the central character quotes Shakespeare at length, which revved up those sorts of references in my mind. I'd not read it since college, so it was interesting to revisit how its dystopian future compared to today's reality. I'd say in many respects, we're well on our way, with its society's "stability through satiation" approach -- prisoners of cheap pleasures, where an individual's primary role in society is that of consumer, not citizen. Overall, I'd say Orwell's "1984" got more things right on a political basis, but both seem quite prescient. Of course, all of these are books students (at least of my generation) were forced to read in high school, so their message might have been clouded by obligation at the time, but revisiting them by choice can lead to new and better insights. Check 'em out.

And now, back to bed. To sleep, perchance to dream...

Shut up and play yer guitar...

Once again, I'm a bit chagrined by lack of comments on this here blog, but I also realize I've been posting a lot of "hey, I'm really busy, here are a couple pictures for now" kinds of entries. Nobody's complaining, but in some senses, getting complaints would be better than silence. So, what to do?

I've posted a little poll thing at the top of the right column where you can tell me what you think. The response will sort of let me know who's visiting, who's actually reading, and who can be bothered to provide some feedback. Or feel free to post a comment on this entry, as always.

I do have a lot on my mind, but it seems I'm far more likely to piss someone off than to inform, inspire or entertain. And not to sound paranoid, but I know that at least a couple of my most faithful readers are simply monitoring to ensure that if I post something they have a problem with, they won't miss a good chance to feel offended. (Indignation can be SO addictive.) But I know I shouldn't censor myself for these people and give them that kind of power over me.

So what about the rest of you? You stop by here now and again... what are you hoping to see/read? I know one reader who thinks my political rants are kind of hot, so there's a vote there. Here's me being democratic and letting you have a voice... let me hear it!

Here's another crowd favorite, Zinn Star. She certainly gets my vote.

Cheeky...

Just a different perspective this afternoon...

More Megan

A few more of the svelte Megan... looking forward to another shoot with her before long. The top image here showcased on OMP, I'm sure thanks to her remarkable definition. Heading to Chicago for the weekend, and looking forward to working with a few of the local gems up that way. A full report upon my return. And to models still awaiting edited images, thank you for your continued patience...

No use crying...

A couple from my introductory shoot with Spilt Sugar, another excellent Detroit area model. A total blast to shoot with, I'm looking forward to a return engagement in a couple weeks. It'll be sweet!

Amanda returns...

As mentioned before, got to shoot with Amanda a couple weeks ago to help her establish her "post baby" portfolio. She looked great and as always was excellent to work with, making it all seem effortless. Plus, she's still enjoying a bit of a "baby bonus" which added an extra something to the shots. She's already talking about shooting again... maybe she's been watching too much "Teletubbies."

Part of the fun of shooting with Amanda is always getting some shots of her hamming it up for the camera. Go figure that out of all the shots she posted on her OMP, THIS is the one they decided to showcase. :)

Dreamlike

A couple dreamy photos of Miss Dreamscapes ...more from her soon.

Random

Just a random image on a Sunday afternoon...

KC disappears...

Well, KC hasn't quite disappeared... I still hear a word from her in NYC now and again, but evidently she's let her premium OMP modeling portfolio lapse, so this image of mine (from about 2 years ago) has dropped off her portfolio. Consequently my "not important but still gratifying" count of model showcases drops to 48 after briefly hitting a high of 50. Oh well... guess that means I need to get busy editing an sending pictures out to models, although it seems fewer and fewer models I shoot seem to have OMP portfolios, favoring ModelMayhem, partly because members get 20 images for free, rather than 5, and it's possible for other members to leave public comments on individual images or "tags" on entire portfolios. ModelMayhem does have more of a "MySpace" feel to it rather than the more businesslike vibe of OMP, and that seems to appeal to younger folks as well. (Sometimes I have to remind myself that most of the models I work with are college age, more or less.) No grand observations here, other than to say if ModelMayhem can keep its servers operating properly more than 80% of the time, they may very well overtake OMP as the place for photographers and models to network.

Thanks KC for some great shoots... hope we can go again one of these days!

Detroit Jam Session

Crossposted from Detroit Jam Sessions, a blog collecting images and stories from this past weekend's events...

I've been told that if I edit images from this past weekend before editing images from certain past shoots, I may or may not live to regret it. So, if I disappear mysteriously after this post, I do wish to pass along how great it was to see/meet everyone this weekend, and I especially want to thank the models who graciously fit me into their schedules. These are not all I'll finish, but just the first shot from each model to jump out at me.

A new side of Vassanta, mistressing to Iris, and loving it.

The gorgeous Deb returns to modeling in the oh-so-glamorous surroundings of the Pilot House. This is 100% percent unretouched...

RJ Berry discovered several talents she didn't realize she had during our brief shoot, despite not letting her pose in the canoe...

Last, but certainly not least, Xaina brings her remarkable beauty to perhaps the cruddiest room in the entire Russell Industrial Center complex. X marks the spot!

Thanks again to the models, and I owe a number of you "proper" shoots one of these days. Great to see everyone at the party as well... already looking forward to the next one!