"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.

Unconnected thoughts...

One of the more gratifying bits of recognition I've received as a photographer is the ongoing support of the folks at NuExpo.com -- the French art nude online magazine that ran an profile on me a while ago. Every so often, they pick a few recent shots and put me in the rotation on their homepage, alongside some of the world's best and well-known photographers. They then add the shots to my gallery next to my original interview. (Read the English text here.) The most recent selection features Tia, Char Rose, and Sweet Romance. So, once again, Bonjour à mes amies a NuExpo.com!

On another "worthy cause" front, print media is in pretty deep trouble these days... companies are cutting back on advertising in magazines and newspapers, people are used to content being free to the point where they won't pay for magazines or websites, and so many different specialized publications sprung up that the market is overcrowded. Sadly, some of the better publications are having tough times. Paste Magazine is one of them... Paste is a music magazine that covers "music for grownups" for lack of a better word, and does it quite well. But they're in a bind, so they're asking for donations to help keep them afloat for a while. The upside is, if you donate, you'll get access to a "vault" of over 70 rare songs by some pretty cool artists, such as Ben Folds, The Minus 5, Robyn Hitchcock, Bob Pollard, Decemberists, Cowboy Junkies, and tons more. So, toss them what you'd pay for one CD at Best Buy and get about 7 CDs worth of cool new music instead.

If you don't, Jessa will be as sad as she appears to be in this picture...

Art imitates The Onion

There's an article in the new issue of The Onion -- "Detroit Mayor Throws First Brick In Glass-Breaking Ceremony For New Slum" -- that brings up some mixed feelings... on the surface, it's pretty funny, as the absurdist newspaper usually manages to be. But at the same time, it's a sad reminder of the blight that permeates Detroit, a city that was once a beautiful, thriving community not all that long ago. (Right Joe?)

It's also strange, in that these are the kinds of places I like to shoot sometimes, so it seems almost like a good idea to construct something like this as a photo location. Realistic, but without collapsing floors, asbestos dust or rusty nails. Sort of like the "pre-decrepit" ghost town movie sets out in California. But it's not like Detroit needs any more slums, even faux ones...

This shot of Natasha was taken in Detroit, and despite the leaky roof, broken glass and random trash, this is part of a residential hotel that's open to the public, and charges a fairly steep rate for a night's lodging (in one of the somewhat tidier areas of the building). Honestly, Detroit is doing what they can, but the resources are so limited, it's slow going.

Recently spent a day in Detroit shooting some abandoned spaces that I'm sure were once magnificent, but are now trashed, probably beyond hope. Even out in Arizona, we'd approach a beautiful rock formation, only to get close and see countless names carved into the soft sandstone. Why is the destructive urge so strong in so many people?

Carrie Leigh at last

Finally saw a printed copy of the Spring 2009 Carrie Leigh Nude magazine with my feature in it, and it's a nice feeling indeed. They used four shots (one a 2-page spread) and wrote up a little profile paragraph. Congrats to the models in the issue, Jessica, Xaina and Katy T, for being chosen, and thanks to all the models from the past 3+ years for helping me progress and grow as a photographer.

Online sale of individual copies has ended, so to get the current issue by mail you can subscribe, or you can visit your local Borders, Barnes & Noble, Hastings, or other big box newsstand to see if they have copies for sale. I'll probably do that later myself...

Congratulations to my friends and acquaintances featured in the issue: Tia, Tom Lane, |ris/Becky, Chip Willis, Carlotta Champagne, David LeBeck, Betcee May, Antoine de Villiers, and Lloyd Rosen, as well as the other models and photographers.

P.S. Just found a number of copies at my local Barnes & Noble, so B&N and Borders would probably be the first places to look if you wanna copy.

100

Not that anyone but me is counting... the model is Jen, aka Sweet Romance.

Secured

Found this little note in my bag when I got home from the Arizona trip I wrote about but failed to post, in case you were wondering where I'd been for the past week or so. Tia got one on the flight out there, and I got this one on the flight home. I guess the good news is that I bought one of those special TSA padlocks -- supposedly they can open it while the "throwers" may be slightly deterred. Turns out it works, so that's good. Not sure why they picked me -- maybe my tripod looked suspicious under the x-ray... or perhaps they just love the smell of a week's worth of dirty desert laundry. But I know I feel much safer now. Or something. (Found out that Tia also got one on her hop from El Paso to Santa Fe... maybe they like sniffing her laundry, too.)

In other news, apparently the folks at Nerve.com have pulled the plug on their "monthly" photo contest... photos were entered along the lines of various themes they proposed. Used to be a monthly contest, then they'd let 'em run for two months, then three... finally, they just pulled links to the contest from the site, so apparently they won't ever judge the "Sexiest photo of someone with breakfast cereal" contest, or the "Sexiest photo of someone doing yoga" theme. If it's not generating visitors or memberships or whatever, I can see pulling the contest, but I don't really abide them not awarding prizes for the last couple of contests. (I've managed to win 3 times before, if I recall correctly.) Here are my entries for the yoga thing... Mandy, Engel and Spilt Sugar, getting their OM on.