French PHOTO
January 10th, 2013
Getting the new year off to a great start, I’ve learned that one of my photos is published in the January/February issue of French PHOTO magazine. This is the contest issue where they publish the winners of their annual contest. They say this is the largest photo contest in the world. I always enter the maximum allowed 12 photos. This year 8 of my 12 entries were finalists in the contest. Their rules say they will only publish one photo from any photographer (though one year they did print two of mine). I consider it a great honor to be included in the magazine as a winner in this contest. This year my photo is printed as a half page, which is much larger than most photos in the issue.
That’s a photo of the actual magazine sent to me by my friend Gary Mitchell who also has a photo in this issue. I’m not sure how Gary got a copy of the magazine. It won’t make its way through distribution channels to the newsstands in the US for a few months…usually sometime in March or April.
Here’s the photo. The model is Kat. The photo was taken in 2011 during our adventure at South Coyote Buttes in the red rock desert on the Utah/Arizona border. This was taken on the day when we didn’t get lost, but were bewildered for a while.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 6
December 31st, 2012
Why, models come from New York City. Everybody knows that.
After the great day of shooting that I’ve been sharing with you, three of those models went on their way to their homes in Maine. And the next day my friend from New York City, Dave Rudin, arrived in Maine with two New York models, Erica and Dane. I had worked with both Erica and Dane earlier on a trip to NYC, so I knew we were going to have a great shoot because they are both very fine models.
For this day of shooting we headed down east to a secluded coastal area near Bar Harbor. We met another photographer friend, Ted Preuss, there and he guided us to this fine location. I’ll post more about what we all did that day in future posts, but here you can enjoy the modeling work or Erica and Dane for now.
And, I wish all of you all the best in 2013. Happy New Year!
So Many Models…
December 21st, 2012
With the wonderful wealth of great models I had with me in Maine, I certainly couldn’t resist the temptation to include more than one model in some of my photos. So I think I’ll just share some of those results with you, and wish you all a Merry Christmas and/or happy holidays in whatever manner you celebrate the season.
And this seemed like a good time to put the ultra-wide angle lens on for a few shots…
And why not play with the fisheye lens while we’re at it…
But maybe the normal focal lengths are all that are needed when this many beautiful ladies are the subject matter…
When one of your best models is also a wonderful photographer…well, sometimes true nude photography is the result:
Thank you to the wonderful models, Brooke Lynne, Kelsey Dylan, Rachel, Chloe Ann and my anonymous friend. You made this one of the most amazing days of photography that I’ve ever experienced.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 5
December 16th, 2012
Where do models come from? Sometimes you find them where you are. That’s the case with Rachel. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I first photographed her more than 10 years ago when I went to Maine to shoot nudes on the coast. She lived near the spot where I was planning to shoot and knew the other model I was working with. I met her the day of the shoot. And, of course, that was the shoot that launched me on the direction that my work has followed for the past decade. I photographed Rachel again the next summer. And we stayed in touch over the years, though we never managed to get together again for photos. Rachel is a remarkable beauty and a very nice person. I know I say that about most of my models, and it is true of them all. I simply don’t work with models who aren’t nice people. Life is too short to deal with divas and attitudes.
Rachel is pretty much the opposite of a diva and the only attitude is one of working hard to make art. She is sweet and quiet, but she has a wonderful presence. Her beauty is striking. She is comfortable in her skin and natural and relaxed. And did I mention how beautiful she is?
Of course, the other wonderful thing about Rachel is that she is an artist and a model. As an artist she understands what I’m trying to do with my work. And as a model she is experienced and practiced at doing what it takes to make a great photo. All that makes working with her a real pleasure. And I found her right there…just a few miles from where I was shooting.
Rachel doesn’t have an on-line modeling portfolio, but if you are interested in working with her you can contact her through her facebook page. She also has an on-line store where you can view and buy her artwork.
2013 Calendars
November 26th, 2012
I’ve just published two new calendars for 2013.
One is all photos that you have been seeing her in recent posts, plus some that will be coming in the next few posts. All from Maine this past summer:
The other is old favorite photos of nudes in nature:
You can see previews of both calendars by clicking on the cover photos above or just go directly to my on-line store.
If you think you might want one or both of my calendars for 2013, you might want to jump on the current special my publisher is running. But it’s only good through tomorrow, November 27. Enter the code DELIRITAS at checkout and you’ll get 51 percent off your order. That’s a great discount, obviously. It’s the best discount I’ve ever seen from this publisher. So, if you want one of my calendars you should order it today.
The 51 percent discount has been extended through November 28. Hurry before it’s too late.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 4
November 16th, 2012
There are models and then there are models. All my models are friends. I don’t work with models who I don’t enjoy being around and who don’t appreciate and understand what I’m trying to do with my work. Life is too short.
So, all my models are special to me. But there is one model who has become much more. I make no secret that Brooke Lynne is my favorite model. She’s a friend. She totally “gets” what I’m trying to do with my photography and, because of that, she is pretty much an equal contributor to the photos we do together. It’s really wonderful to work with a model who is totally in tune with you and who works hard to achieve what you both understand to be the goal. That’s Brooke where I’m concerned. If she lived closer to me I’d try to work with her every week.
There’s no explaining how someone becomes a friend. And there’s no explaining how someone becomes a favorite model. It just happens. There’s a connection. Brooke came to my studio years ago and we did a shoot. It went well, but it was not anything unusually good. But something clicked between us. We became friends.
Over the years since that first shoot we’ve had adventures together. We’ve traveled together many times, visiting many wonderful places. We’ve killed two deer with my truck on two separate trips, one time ending up stranded in a small town for days waiting for parts to fix the truck. We’ve hiked in snow-covered mountains and parched deserts. And, always, there have been great photos as a result. Brooke brings out the best of me as a photographer. And she is always ready and able to do whatever is needed to make the photo work. She has dunked herself in an icy mountain stream…twice because I didn’t get the shot the first time. She has laid down on itchy hay bales, climbed rock spires naked, posed with junk cars, found a way to pose on an uprooted driftwood tree on a lake bed while it was sleeting. She’s an amazing model and a wonderful friend.
You can never know where when or how that special model will appear, but it is a true blessing when it happens.
So, I was very pleased that Brooke was able to go on this trip to Maine to mark the ten years that I have been working with the figure in nature…i.e., naked chicks on rocks. Brooke is the model in many of the best photos I’ve done over that decade and she added lots of new fine photos to my body of work on this trip. These are just a few of those.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 3
November 8th, 2012
Sometimes I find myself looking around for models to work with. But sometimes something wonderful happens. That’s what happened when Kelsey Dylan contacted me to say she wanted to model for me. Oh, happy day!
She said she was soon going to the west coast to go to college, but wanted to work with me before she left Ohio. We did a shoot…a wonderful shoot that produced a bunch of “keeper” photographs. Then she was gone to school. But we stayed in touch and worked together whenever she was back in Ohio. Kelsey is a great model. Beautiful and highly skilled. And, as with all my models, she’s a very nice person. I love working with her and try to shoot with her as often as I can.
She is finished with college now and has moved back to Ohio…though she travels so much to model that she’s away from home more than she is here. But I was very happy when I planned my trip to Maine last summer to hear that Kelsey was interested in making the trip. She drove up to Maine and met me there and, as you can see, she did some fantastic work on our first day of shooting on the Maine coast. Kelsey is a favorite model for me, so I’m very pleased that she was part of this shoot marking the 10th anniversary of my work with the figure in nature.
So, sometimes models find me. I love it when that happens. Especially when it is a model who is as wonderful as Kelsey. Thanks, Kelsey…you are a great model and a great lady.
Where Do Models Come From, Part 2
November 1st, 2012
A little more to be said about where models come from. Sometimes they just show up and volunteer. Sometimes they have never done anything like this before, but they want to give it a shot. There can be many reasons they want to try nude modeling. A number have said to me essentially the same thing: “I want to be able to show these photos to my grandchildren.”
I’m usually more than happy to work with new models who are getting naked for the camera for the first time. It’s important to me that I don’t try to talk anyone into modeling nude, ever. That’s a very personal decision that each person must make for their self ..without anyone else twisting their arm, in either direction. I try to let them know what they are getting in to…modeling for me is pretty much devoid of glamour…those rocks are cold and hard and uncomfortable. My models get cold and wet and dirty and often end up with scrapes and scratches and bug bites. You don’t see that in the photos…at least if the model is doing a good job.
Courtney was modeling nude for the first time when we did these photos on the Maine coast this summer. She was having a blast. And she was doing a great job. I think the experience was a good one for her…I know it was for me. She’s a great lady and a lot of fun. Of course, a new model needs a bit more direction than someone who has been modeling for a long time, but that’s fine…and Courtney took direction very well and quickly learned a lot of the tricks of getting a pose to look better.
Thank you, Courtney for helping me get some fine photos. I hope this gets you started off on a long successful run as a nude model.
Where Do Models Come From?
October 22nd, 2012
I’ve been photographing nude models for a long time. Much longer than most of my current models have been alive. I was shooting nudes long before there was an internet. Long before there were internet modeling sites and full-time traveling internet models. Times have changed.
Back in those dark ages before the internet my models were my friends. Finding someone to pose nude when I was in college was not a huge challenge. Maybe it would be more of one now, if I were college age today…I really don’t know. But hanging around the student union and asking good looking women if they’d like to pose nude doesn’t seem to go over so well when you are in the 60s. I don’t understand it.
Over the years after college, but still before the internet, my models were my friends. I did work for model agencies from time to time, so I met a lot of models. There were always some who liked the idea of posing for nudes. And there were other ladies who I met in one way or another who weren’t involved with a model agency and didn’t really have a goal to be a model, but liked the work I did and were happy to help me make my photos. Some were better models than others, of course. Some were more attractive than others. That’s the nature of the universe of human beings. But my work has never really required a particular “look” and often I found some of the ladies with the nicest looking bodies just lacked the will or the ability to do a good job in front of the camera. And some of the ladies whose bodies weren’t exactly the stereotype model body were actually excellent models. My models have to work. They suffer. They get cold and wet and dirty. A lady who can handle all that is going to do better work with me than one who is caught up in her own idea of how beautiful she is and who thinks that modeling is all glamour and being pampered. Those models don’t last long around me.
The internet changed all that. Now there was a group of ladies who started working as models, getting work through a variety of ever-changing internet sites. Some of them worked at it full-time, traveling around the country to keep busy. That is still how some models work today. And those full-time traveling internet models are often (though not always) excellent models. The ones who specialize in “fine art nude” work understand that there is hard work and discomfort involved and show up ready for it. They are great to work with and I’m very pleased to call several of the best of them friends. You see them here regularly.
I suppose it’s because I started out working with friends that I still like to be friends with my models. I am much more comfortable and I think I do better work when the model and I are friends. That works much better for me than a straight business arrangement with a model. I feel like the photos I do in that kind of a shoot lack something. So I try to stay with models who are friends. And life is too short to work with someone I don’t like or don’t like being around, so I don’t do that, ever.
But the model for these photos is not one of those traveling professionals. She’s just a friend. It makes me very happy to work with her. She’s not a model. She is a beautiful woman. She is great at posing, she completely understands what I’m trying to do with my work and is excited to work to make my photos work. And she’s a friend. We like each other and enjoy talking about art and life and all sorts of things. Oh, and she is a sensationally great cook. But she’s not a model. And I’m so extremely pleased that she is in my photos.
She doesn’t have a model page for me to link to. She doesn’t have a model name. I’m not going to be telling you her name, in fact. In general, the names of models are not important as far as the photos are concerned. When I work with a model who is using the internet to book work I always try to link to her model web page so anyone who might want to book her for a shoot can find her quickly and easily. I do that for the models, not for me. In this case, there’s no reason to do that since my friend is not a model. But, of course, she is a great model, even if just for me. It’s an honor to be able to work with her. And it’s an honor to be able to call her friend. Just like in the good old days.
Oh, just in case you hadn’t already figured it out, these are all photos from my trip to Maine. All of these were done at the same coastal site where I photographed Rachel both on this trip and a decade ago when I started working with the figure in nature.
All My Life’s a Circle
October 10th, 2012
The trip I took to Maine this summer was special in many ways. It marked a decade since I had made my first trip to Maine to do nude photos, back in 2002. The shoot I did on the coast with two wonderful models was my “Eureka” moment when I realized that I should be doing the figure in nature (or as I’ve come to refer to it only partly in jest, “Naked Chicks on Rocks”) as the main thing I focused on in my photography. For the past decade that’s what I’ve done. It was one of those pivotal moments for my life as a photographer.
I didn’t know it when I left for this latest Maine trip that it was going to be my last trip to do nude-in-nature photographs. That was a realization that came to me during this trip. The real catalyst was, once again, having one of those “Eureka” moments when I realized what I needed to do next. That realization has resulted in two new projects. One of them is under way and you can see the early work here: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press.
I’m not completely finished working with the nude, but these new projects are now my priorities.
But I couldn’t have had a better trip to cap off the past decade. One thing that made it extra special was getting to work with Rachel again. She was one of the two models I shot in Maine way back when I started this figure in nature work. And we went back to the same rocky coast location where it all started for me. The place looked the same, and different. I think there is a definite difference in the photos I made this time, compared to a decade ago. Partly it’s equipment changes, but I think my way of seeing has grown a bit over this time too. Back in 2002 I was working with a Nikon 990 digital camera. It was a three megapixel camera. It cost $1000 back around 2000 when I bought it. I had a 128 meg (not gig) compact flash card for it. That card cost $350. I think I still have it somewhere…probably under a table leg to level the table.
Cameras have changed. This photographer has changed. Rachel and the coast of Maine are still breathtakingly beautiful.
Here’s one of the photos from that first time shooting up on this coast. That’s Rachel in the front.
