Two more Dirty Days

If you missed the Dirty Show's "Big Opening" weekend (to borrow a joke from Elvira), you can still make plans to attend either this Friday or Saturday evening. I'll probably be around some on Saturday evening, but my work will be hangin' around both nights. A framed print of this shot of Sophie King (as in "she's Sophie King cool"... clever, eh?) sold last weekend, so thanks to the mystery buyer. Two more framed prints remain, along with many affordable "loose prints" so be sure to stop by and check it all out. Last Saturday night the place was filled to capacity, so get there early!

Don't know whether to blog or wind my watch...

Just feeling sort of crazy busy lately, partly due to the move, partly due to ramping up my shooting (and therefore, editing) lately, lots of driving, not enough sleeping, and various other fallout from procrastination. Lots of good stuff in there as well, such as preparing for this weekend's Dirty Show where I'll have three pieces on the wall, and a lot of work in the museum store -- there's even special pricing on selected prints... just $20 for a signed 11x14, so how can you go wrong?

So as the end of a long day approaches, where a few things got done, but not nearly enough, I figured I'd just check in and share a photo. This is MsPoisoness from a shoot well before the deluge of snow. I didn't notice the landlord walking up behind her while I was taking these shots, but he didn't say a word... maybe he didn't even see her, or maybe after years of dealing with photographers, a nude woman on a loading dock doesn't even faze him.

Au revoir grimy dungeon

Well, the windowless "grimy dungeon" has joined the list of my "former" studio locations, and now onto location #5. Still in the same "complex" but this new space has some nice windows, distressed wood floors, an eventual "seamless" wall, and other civilized elements. And I'm hoping there won't be the constant shower of black dust from the ceiling, nor a constant barrage of bad music spilling through the wall that characterized the dungeon. Despite all that, it did have its photogenic appeal for my type of work... the shot above is NinaD from one of the handful of shoots I did in the space.

I will be sharing the new space with Dave Levingston, who you may know from his blog, or may even know in real life. (Congrats to Dave for his appearance in the new issue of Carrie Leigh Nude magazine, along with receiving their first Arts for Humanity award.) Dave's moved out of the studio he's occupied for about 10 years, so it should be something a fresh start for both of us.

Thanks to Tia and Ron for their help moving my stuff over to the new space. too.

"If you really want to hear about it..."

Writer J.D. Salin5er passed away on Wednesday at the ripe old age of 91. Known almost as widely for his reclusiveness as his sole published novel, A Cat¢her in the Rye, he's one of the most polarizing authors of the 20th century, with many people either adoring his work or reviling it. (For the record, I'm a fan.)

As with anyone, I think think there are lessons to be learned from his work, as well as his life... I shall be considering some of those in the days ahead, provided I don't get caught up in other distractions as I'm prone to do.

Time had an interesting obit on him, which included a few cogent quotes from his writing. One of which was from his story "Fr@nny", but I won't repeat it here.

From everything I've read, he had his share of problems. To paraphrase Chuck Kl0sterman, "Not all crazy people are geniuses, but pretty much all geniuses are at least a little bit crazy." But maybe he was one of the last to actually want to be an artist without being a celebrity. Or maybe he saw what celebrity did to writers like Fitzger@ld and Hemingw@y.

The nature of life, the nature of work, the nature of art, the nature of people... does anyone get it all figured out?

(And if you're wondering about the odd spellings, I guess I just don't want this page coming up when some kid is Googling to write a goddam book report or something.)

Award Season

The nominees and winners for the "Black and White Spider Awards" were announced yesterday, and my shot of Katy was chosen as a nominee in the nude/amateur category. Thanks Katy, and congratulations to the other nominees and winners.

I entered the French PHOTO magazine "Concours" again this year... they posted the results of the first and second "cut" of the judging. I presume the first two cuts cull out the "not even close" stuff and determine what the actual judges choose from. Two of my images of Mina made the second cut, but the magazine was just published, and reports from Europe indicate that neither of those were printed in the issue. Well, maybe next year. If you're interested in seeing all my entries, go to the contest page and do a search for "Mitchell." This shot, and the one entitled "Menaced" made the second cut. I should see a copy of the magazine in a week or two to see what images actually made it in, but congratulations to those who were published, and of course, thanks to Mina.

I'm preparing three pieces to hang at this year's Dirty Show 11 in Detroit next month, and more images to be available in the "museum store." The show opens February 12-14, then is open again February 19-20, so if you're in the area, be sure to come join the party.

For those wondering about the lack of blog posts recently, I've been occupied with various other matters. Hopefully, I'll be back to posting at least somewhat more regularly soon. Thanks to those of you who have kept checking in and encouraging me to post more.

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Happy Thanksgiving...

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving Day, whatever form it takes. And don't forget "Buy Nothing Day" on Friday! (See post below.)

This is Angie, who will be on the front lines of retail at a nearby mall, and a reminder that if you DO venture into the stores, go easy on the sales staff -- they've probably been there since the early morning hours, are doing the best they can to take care of everyone, and probably don't have the power to bend the rules for you. Or as Dalton in Roadhouse taught us, "be nice until it's time to not be nice."

Buy Nothing Day

Well, as "Black Friday" approaches yet again, I'll once again mention that November 27 is "Buy Nothing Day" as well. There's a movement to de-emphasize our roles as "consumers" and return to being "people" and not taking part in the spending frenzy of "Black Friday" is a big part of that. Of course, with the economy in the shape it's in, buying something to help retailers and producers get out of the red and into the black seems vaguely patriotic, as the breathless reports of sales and "consumer confidence" will set the tone for the rest of the holiday season, and the economic attitude for the year ahead. It's like a Hollywood blockbuster... if it doesn't have a massive "opening weekend" then it's considered a failure. So, I guess decide for yourself: resist the urge to be defined by how much you spend, or be part of jumpstarting the economy.

A new book takes it a step further... Scroogenomics by Joel Waldfogel proposes that people stop purchasing holiday gifts, or gifts of any kind, because in general, people don't value gifts as much as it costs the giver to purchase them. Only about 25% as much as was spent. So if two friends each buy $100 gifts for the other, chances are, they'll value what they received at about $25, whereas if they'd spent that money on themselves, they would each value what they bought at $100, or possibly more. Little kids get hooked on ripping open packages, and like getting toys and such, so you have a fighting chance that they'll value what you buy them. But teens to adults to seniors, not so much. Many people already have way too much stuff as it is. This makes a lot of sense to me, actually, as being one who's tough to buy for -- to the point of feeling guilty if I get a gift that I don't like, but that the giver obviously spent a good deal of money to buy.

Waldfogel suggests buying gift cards instead of actual gifts, but that's not guaranteed either. A comedian (I can't recall) said something like "a gift card isn't a gift -- it's an errand. You're telling that person to go the the store you choose, and spend time finding something they want because you were too lazy to do it yourself." Plus, the recipient usually can't find something for exactly $25, so they either leave money on the card, or have to spend a little of their own on the purchase.

So, maybe the answer is to give the gift of yourself. Rather than spending time and money buying some "gift item" and shipping it off to a friend, sit down and write them an actual letter, or make plans to get together, or make a commitment to yourself that you'll talk on the phone with them more regularly. It could really be the gift that keeps on giving.

The shot is the gifted Hayley, from about 2 years ago. Sounds like she may be getting back into modeling once again!

Dock Ellis Dee

An urban legend from my youth that turned out to be true. Swiped from Chase Lisbon's blog... featuring guest blogger Katie West.

B & W

A welcome arrival in today's mail... the new issue of B&W Magazine, featuring the winners of their Single Image contest. My shot of Jessa received a merit award and is included in the issue (pg. 72 to be exact). Thanks Jessa!

Only 15 nude/body images were chosen for the issue, so I feel honored to have made the cut!

I received my subscription copy today, so I'm guessing most subscribers will get theirs soon, and that it should be available on newstands any day now. Get yours while you're picking up a copy of the new Carrie Leigh NUDE, promised in stores November 18.

Black Tambourine

This is a little video demo/test I did a few months ago with Kira Nova. Not sure why I didn't post it at the time, but here it is. It's just a very impromtu test, and a jiffy quick edit job, but it reminds me that I want to explore some more along these lines. Let me know what you think, and if the video works ok for you. :)

First Friday

Tonight is "First Friday" -- the monthly night where the art galleries and such stay open late and folks congregate in the artistic "pockets" of town to look at art and things, maybe sip some wine or nosh on finger foods. Will probably head down and see what's going on. May bump into Dave L and his entourage while I'm down there, and who knows who else?

This shot is Spilt Sugar, before the stuff piled in the old entranceway was re-arranged...

Carrie Leigh encore

Got the word that I'll have another feature in the upcoming issue of Carrie Leigh Nude Magazine. I don't know exactly which images they selected from what I submitted, so I'm not yet sure which models I need to thank, but I'm hoping to see a copy in the next week or two.

This is their 2nd Anniversary issue, and I find it quite encouraging that the magazine has been able to thrive in a very challenging market. Many magazines don't get past their first issue or two, and print publications are losing ad revenue and page count for a variety of reasons. Yet CLN has maintained top-notch quality without outside advertising. It's also great to see that a magazine devoted to artistic nude photography is doing so well, with most issues selling out of their press run. Congratulations to Carrie and her team for two excellent years, and continued success in the future!

If you're interested in getting a copy of the Fall 2009 issue, I'd suggest pre-ordering from their website. $9.95 postpaid for a limited time, which is two bucks off the cover price, plus it's delivered right to your mailbox. (on edit: it's now $11.95 plus $3 postage, but it's still conveeeenient.) If you prefer to buy on the newstand, I've found previous issues to be readily available at most Barnes & Noble stores, usually in the photography section, or in the "gentlemen's" section along with Playboy/Maxim, etc. Start looking around November 18. Either way, I hope you'll check it out!

This shot of Reven was one of the contenders, so check the issue to see if it was included.

Unsettled

Well, I'm moved but still unsettled. With a big assist from Ron, last night I got my stuff out of the old space, and most of it into the new space. Some went into storage, some went home, and more of it will probably end up at Goodwill, but for now, it's in a stack in the middle of the room. There's a promising amount of photogenic filth on three of the walls, and a freshly drywalled area that's just begging to be primed and painted black (or white?). I also noticed last night that in addition to no windows, there's not even a radiator, so hard to say what the temperature will be like in the closed system. I do have a couple space heaters for if it gets too cold. Anyway, I want to do a bit more cleaning before I try to "settle into" the space.

One big advantage the new space offers is the nearby restrooms are by far the cleanest I've seen in the entire studio "complex" -- I believe the machine shop next door must be responsible for that. Thanks guys! I'm sure the models will thank you, too. (And thanks again, Ron!)

This shot is the lovely Angie, who I need to get into the new space soon!

The windowless room

Well, for the many of you who have been eagerly awaiting my decision, I've opted for a small studio space, at least on a short-term basis. One substantial change... no windows, so I'll be working with studio lights, in addition to my "shoot and dash" method around the vicinity. I'll have to see how I like the space, while I keep my eyes open for other spectacular studio opportunities.

This is Danaid, who helped me inaugurate my previous studio a while back.