Wonderhussy Down the Tube
August 16th, 2020
After our shoot in the red rocks Wonderhussy took me to another location out in the desert, an abandoned cement factory. It had a huge long tube that had been used to process the cement. I had brought along an orb to play with.
That tube offered a lot of possibilities.
Once again you can see the quality of the sensor in my Panasonic GX8 cameras. That’s a lot of dynamic range maintained in these shots.
I’ll have one more post from my Wonderhussy shoot coming in a few days. Stay tuned.
More Wonderhussy
August 13th, 2020
Some more photos of Wonderhussy out in the red rock desert near Las Vegas. One reason I’m showing the photo above, besides really liking it, is that it’s a great demonstration of the tonal range possible with the sensor in my Panasonic GX8 cameras. I like to shoot in overcast conditions, but that wasn’t going to happen on the day I was shooting with Wonderhussy. But, with careful attention to exposure and good RAW processing in DxO Photo Lab, I was able to avoid those dreaded washed out highlights that have been a problem with digital photos from the outset. This camera and sensor have eliminated that problem and actually provide a wider range of exposure than was possible with film. And the general quality of the files from my Micro 4/3 cameras is far superior to anything that 35mm film could provide.
Of course, the most important thing in these photos is Wonderhussy and the great job she did posing on the fantastic red rock formations.
She is such a great model that I’m truly sad she has retired from modeling. At least I had the opportunity to work with her before she stopped.
She is a creature of the desert. I think you can see that in these photos.
That’s it for Wonderhussy in the red rock. But there is more to come from this shoot.
Red Rock Desert with Wonderhussy
August 11th, 2020
As you may have noticed I’m way behind on editing my photos. A couple years ago I had the great pleasure of meeting and working with Wonderhussy out in Las Vegas.
Wonderhussy has retired from modeling, which is a real loss to all the photographers who like to shoot in the desert. She really knows her way around everything in the area around Las Vegas. Her deal back then was that when you hired her as a model you also got her guide services and transportation in her Toyota 4Runner. These days she is still running around in the desert and other interesting places and documenting her adventures on YouTube. She does a great job with her videos.
So, she took me out to this great bunch of beautiful red rock formations not far out of town. As you can see, she’s a fine model.
I’ll have more from this location in my next post, followed by photos from another very different desert location. Come back for more Wonderhussy.
Ayn in Little Wild Horse Canyon
August 7th, 2020
After we finished shooting in Goblin Valley, Ayn and I went to nearby Little Wild Horse Canyon for some more photos.
Near Goblin Valley, Little Wild Horse Canyon may be the most easily accessed slot canyon in the desert southwest.
And it’s a beautiful slot canyon with many lovely shapes carved into the rock walls.
Like many of my favorite locations in this part of the country, this canyon is becoming much better known that it was when I first went there. But even with too many people there, we were still able to find opportunities for some photos.
Ayn did her usual wonderful job of blending the curves of her shapely body into the curves of the canyon.
That’s it for this shoot with Ayn, but here’s one bonus photo that we managed to sneak into a quick side trip to Arches National Park.
More Goblin Valley with Ayn
August 3rd, 2020
As promised, more photos of Ayn on an overcast day at Goblin Valley.
Days like this are pretty rare out in this desert. I’ve been really lucky to be there with some great models.
It’s an amazing location. You should go see it for yourself.
Every once in a while the sun would sneak out between the clouds and change everything, as in the photo above. It’s amazing how the light alters the scene in a place like this.
That’s it for Goblin valley, but there is more to come from the desert with Ayn.
Ayn at Goblin Valley
July 29th, 2020
Goblin Valley in the Utah desert is an amazing place. I’ve visited it a number of times, several times with models in tow. As beautiful and unworldly as it is, it is a bit hard to photograph. Usually the sun is so bright that it washes out the highlights and leaves dark, black, empty shadows. But I’ve had the very good fortune to be there a couple times when the sky was overcast.
One of those times my wonderful muse, Ayn was with me. These are a few of the resulting photos.
Ayn is such a great model that there are a huge number of successful photos from this shoot. These are only a sample.
I’ll share more of Ayn at Goblin Valley in my next post.
There are models and then there are models
July 23rd, 2020
Today’s model is a true friend. Sometimes things just click with a model and she becomes something much more than a photo subject. That’s the case with _G_. Over the years we just became great friends and that friendship far surpassed any model-photographer relationship. Nothing inappropriate, mind you, just good true friendship that I hope will be there for the rest of my life. She’s a great person. And a beautiful model as well.
We did these snaps when she and her husband were on vacation with my family. She is no longer modeling, except for me. I hope we’ll shoot again one of these days. But the friendship will always be there. Knowing her and her husband enriches my life.
On another note, yesterday I was notified that this photo of Blueriverdream taken in the Desolation Wilderness above Lake Tahoe was selected for the members’ show at the Springfield Museum of Art. Blueriverdream, another model who is a real friend, gets as much credit as me for this photo. She brought that amazing dress and packed it up the mountain to this lake and even suggested that we shoot it at the lake. And then, of course, she did the twirling that made the photo. I will take credit for the camera work and for the composition of the finished photo. I always consider my models to be co-creators of the work we do together, but for this photo that was especially so.
Three Beauties
July 18th, 2020
With three lovely models in the studio I couldn’t pass up the chance to photograph all three of them together.
Thanks to three great ladies, Ayn, Tigger, and Athena.
I do think they enjoyed it.
Lovely Athena
July 14th, 2020
As promised, here are a few more photos of the amazing model and friend, Athena.
Athena wasn’t able to be at this shoot as long as some of the other models, so I didn’t get as many photos of her, but she was lovely for the ones I did get.
She is such a great person and a very talented model. I love working with her.
Happy Birthday Theda
July 10th, 2020
Today is Theda’s birthday, so I thought I’d do a little tribute post in honor of one of the best models I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. Above is from the first shoot I did with Theda. We were shooting in a tiny room at the W hotel in mid-town Manhattan. At this first shoot I was immediately struck by Theda’s remarkable beauty as well as her great talent as a model.
Her talent and great figure were both crucial elements in making this photo above in the legendary Carlton Arms hotel in Manhattan a success.
I was never able to take Theda on one of my photo trips because she simply does not travel. But I was able to talk her into doing an outdoor shoot near NYC in spite of her many alergies. That resulted in the photo below. When she posted this shot in her portfolio she noted the location as “a pile of histamines.” This shot was published in French PHOTO magazine, winning me a few bonus points with Theda because appearing in that magazine was one of her goals for her modeling career.
I even talked her into going wading in this lily pond during that shoot.
Theda is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, way smarter than me. But she seemed to tolerate my limited mental abilities and was always a true collaborator when we worked together. That made her perfect for the first of my Nurse photos. This was taken shortly after I saw Richard Prince’s nurse paintings at the Guggenheim museum in NYC. I call it “Bend Over.”
Theda always seemed to be in tune with my weird sense of humor, which helped us make some fun photos. She once told me that I couldn’t photograph Theda’s soul because she didn’t have one, and besides, she had traded it to Satan for a mix tape years ago. That led to this photograph, “Theda Trading Her Soul for a Mix Tape.”
That wasn’t bad enough, though. We went on at that same shoot to do this photo: “Theda Cheating Death.”
OK…by now you are getting the idea of how my sense of humor works and how Theda seemed to enjoy humoring me. And that led to this last shot. The needlework was hanging on the wall in her apartment. She didn’t hesitate for an instant when I suggested this photo.
Happy birthday Theda. You have enriched my life and my photography. I miss working with you. I hope we can get together if I’m ever able to make it back to New York City.
