Back to Photography

March 22nd, 2009

OK…that’s enough of politics and legal crap. Back to photography and beautiful nudes. And light. And shadow. Here’s Athena again from the Florida shoot. This was taken in weak, overcast late afternoon light. I liked what the weak sun was doing with the shadows of the balcony railing. I like the way the shadows play over Athena’s lower body. I love the beautiful pose Athena struck. I love the colors and the textures of the wall. It all came together pretty well on this shot. Thanks, Athena!

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2257 Rant

March 17th, 2009

I’m mad as hell and I’m going to vent about it. The draconian, unconstitutional provisions of an extremely poorly written law go into effect tomorrow. This law violates my constitutional right to freedom of expression. I take violations of my rights very seriously.

I spent most of my life working to defend the United States, first as a member of the military and later as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense. I swore an oath to defend the constitution of the United States “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” I took that oath seriously. I still take it seriously. And it seems the worst domestic enemies of the constitution are in Congress.

When I was working I kept a copy of the constitution on my desk and would bring it out during discussions about what we should be doing in different situations. Yes, I was that guy. I also kept a copy of Mark Twain’s “The War Prayer” beside the constitution and would bring it out and pass it around, especially to the younger people in my office, every time we took a war-like action somewhere in the world.

Really, I don’t think I can express how incensed I am about this violation. The law is clearly unconstitutional and I’m fairly confident that the courts will eventually find that to be the case and declare it null and void. But until then it is the law of the land. I’d like to just violate it as an act of civil disobedience, but the penalties and potential for harm to innocent people are just too extreme for me to be willing to do that. It is frustrating that there is really nothing I can do on an individual level to influence the outcome, since it is in the hands of the courts now.

This law violates the principles that make this country the great nation it is. I have spent my life defending those principles…defending our constitution. I spent the night of 9/11 in an underground military command post helping coordinate the Air Force response at a number of bases around the country. And now a bunch of assholes in Washington have passed a law that is a direct attack on the principles at the core of our democracy…on our constitution…on our rights as citizens of this great country. And there’s nothing I can do about it except rant here and wait for the courts to set things right.

Of course, one of the things that make this country great and our constitution so worth defending is the balance of powers…checks and balances…that will eventually correct this disgraceful situation.

Until this law is overturned by the courts, however, it is going to affect what I photograph and what I post on the internet. I’m tempted to say that there will be no more nudes on this blog. But, I think what I’ll be doing is just being very careful to assure that everything I shoot and post after March 18 will not contain anything that would cause the photos to fall under the provisions of this dastardly law. You have no idea how angry it makes me to have to say that. But I really don’t see a choice at this point.

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Under The Wire

March 16th, 2009

Here’s an example of what you won’t be seeing here after the new 2257 rules go into effect in a couple days. OK…so it isn’t great art, but it’s a photo that I had thought about making for a while and Athena came by today to help me do it. I guess some might call it porn. I just liked the setting, the mood, and the incongruence. I am deeply troubled that the government has decided to dictate whether it’s possible for me to make such a photo without going through an excessive record keeping regimen that is practically impossible.

So, enjoy it while you can. More about how I’m going to respond to these new unconstitutional constraints on my freedom of speech tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s another approach…closer to where we seem to be headed in this country, but still not something I’ll be doing after tomorrow.

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Coming Home

March 14th, 2009

I’m on my way home from the beach. It’s hard to drive north and watch the temperature drop on the car’s thermometer. It was a great vacation. Lots of fun. But it’s time to go back home. We are stopping to visit relatives in Virginia, then will go on back to the frozen north.

I haven’t had much access to the internet, but I am able to connect now, so I did a quick laptop edit on this shot of Athena from the condo in Florida. It’s nice to have art in the place you are staying, and Athena sure added a beautiful touch to the side table in the dining room.

This is a good example of shooting with available light. Back in my photojournalism days we defined available light as any light that was available to help light the photo. I enjoy working with outdoor natural light, but also finding artificial light that happens to work well for photos. I liked what those two lamps were doing, so I put Athena into the setting.

Lots of work to do when I get home and there will be more posts coming.

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Erotic Signature

March 10th, 2009

Just a quick post to announce that I’ve just learned that I had two photos accepted for this year’s Erotic Signature book. Brooke on the hay bales above, and JoJo Suicide from my nurse series, below.

I’m on vacation this week and have very limited access to the internet, so this may be the only post until I get back home. If I get a chance I might add something else before then, but no promises.

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Steamy

March 4th, 2009

You are in a very nice condo in Florida with three lovely figure models. There is a great big shower with glass doors. What is a photographer to do?

Athena, Martha, and Unbearable Lightness did a great job of steaming up the place.

Athena did the photoshopping on this file. She’s really wonderful at that.

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Florida Heat and Light

March 2nd, 2009

Well, it seems I’ve set a new record. This is the longest I’ve gone without a post since I started this blog several years ago. Sorry about that. I’ve been busy.

I just returned from a trip to Florida where I got a break from winter, did some family stuff, and also got in a bit of shooting. It was a great trip, but very busy, and I just didn’t have the time or energy to try to do any blogging while I was away.

But I’m back now, at least for a few days, so I’ll try to make a few more posts when I can. I have a lot of work to get done this week, including photographing a dance concert at Ohio University, and then some more travel coming up, so no promises that you’ll see a lot of new posts in the near future. But I’ll try.

This is Athena clothed in light and shadow in the Florida sun. Obviously the sun isn’t the only source of heat down there.

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More From Dirty Detroit

February 18th, 2009

I didn’t take any photos at the Dirty Show itself this year, so here’s another from the motel before we all left for the show. That’s _G_ and blueriverdream reflecting on their situation dimly through a dirty mirror.

It’s a busy time for me, still. I know I keep saying that, but it continues to be true. I’m working on the annual taxes puzzle and I’ve been doing some shooting and I’m trying to catch up on things I’ve promised to people before I take off this weekend for some time in Florida. I’ve had it with winter and I’m looking forward to getting good and warm down south, especially with snow in the forecast again for here in Ohio.

So, my next post will be from a condo in Florida. Now if I can just figure out everything I need to pack and load into the truck…

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Dirty Pitchers

February 12th, 2009

Since 5 of my favorite figure models were among the folks who went to the Dirty Show with me, it was inevitable that some naked pitchers would get taken. These were done at the motel before everyone got ready to go to the show. Athena was absent doing photo shoots at the Leland Hotel, so she missed out on these photos. Too bad they have that dress code at the Dirty Show that requires at least pasties and a g-string or these might have been the outfits these lovely ladies wore to the show.

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Dirty Show X Review

February 9th, 2009

I just flew in from Detroit and boy are my arms tired! Sorry…I love that old joke. Actually we got back from the Dirty Show late yesterday afternoon, but I was way too fried to even think about blogging last night. Still pretty wiped out today…but it’s time for my annual review of the show.

That’s this year’s crew in the photo. If you were there Saturday night you no doubt noticed Gaea. Seemed like everyone did. She had a crowd around her most of the evening. That outfit was quite a hit. But I have to say that everyone in my crowd this year was a lot of fun to be with. We had a great time.

The show itself was pretty good. It gets better each year. The crowd Saturday night seemed to be much larger than it was the last two years. That can only be good. The unseasonably warm weather may have helped the turnout. I hope it translates into some print sales. We’ll see.

I’m going to divide my review into two parts: The Art and the Stage Show.

The Art:

This is the strongest Dirty Show I’ve seen. In the past I’ve said that something like 1/3 of the show was good art and the rest was just dirty. This year is a huge improvement. I’d have to say the good art was something like 4/5 of the show. There’s still that 1/5 that seems to be lacking any reason to be on the walls except that it is dirty…but I’m very impressed with the quality of the show this year. I’m actually really pleased that my work is included. If you haven’t been to the show it isn’t too late. Go next weekend. Really. It’s a great show. http://www.dirtydetroit.com/

The Stage Show:

I really, really wish I could say something good about the stage show. I want to. Last year there was one excellent act. She wasn’t back this year. The show is just really bad. I understand that the performers are friends of the Dirty Show people. They are performers who have supported the Dirty Show since it began. I want to like them. I want to find something that was worth seeing.

Sorry. The stage shows were uniformly awful. Maybe I’m old and out of touch…OK…I AM old and out of touch…but I just can’t quite see how walking around the stage in trashy lingerie shouting “fuck you” and giving the finger to the audience can be considered an act. Maybe if some folks would take up a collection and get these poor girls some lessons at Arthur Murray or something…maybe that would help, because there was no evidence that any of them had ever had any training in dance…or that they had ever rehearsed their “acts” for that matter.

The performers were loud and almost naked. I guess that’s something. But the volume made it impossible to carry on a conversation for any period of time. I guess they help set the mood of the show. It certainly wouldn’t be quite appropriate to have a string quartet playing quietly in the corner…although if the musicians were as scantily clad as the performers Saturday night that might be interesting…

I know there are better burlesque acts out there. I know the performers who were there were trying hard and doing their best. But I can’t help but say that I think the Dirty Show would be a much better event if the quality of the stage show were raised. As it is now, it’s really just a noisy annoying distraction from the very fine art that is on display.

If you were there Saturday night and we didn’t get to talk, I’m sorry. There were a lot of folks I was looking for and didn’t find. The crowd was huge. I walked around for a while and then decided to just stay in one spot (near Gaea and most of the rest of my posse) and hope that those I was looking for would wander by. Some did…a lot didn’t. So it goes.

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2026 Calendars

Calendars are now available for 2026. You can see them and order your copies here:

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/wayward

About this Blog

Photos and comments by Dave Levingston. This is the place to see my most recent work which may include nudes, dance, landscape, nature and whatever other kinds of photos I feel like taking.

Since it does contain nude photos, this blog is not intended for viewing by anyone under the age of 18.

All photographs and written comments on this blog are protected by the copyright laws of the United States.


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