Red on Black
December 20th, 2006
Red on black is a special color combination for me. There’s a lot of symbolism there, especially for someone like me who grew up and lived in Appalachia. It’s the symbol for blood on coal. I’ve used it a lot in my photos because it always has an emotional response for me, and maybe for other viewers. I hope so, anyway.
Of course, this isn’t coal and it isn’t blood. But the colors still work for me. And the pale skin adds something else to the mix.
This is Jessica getting dirty and scratched by volcanic gravel outside Flagstaff, Arizona. I took her up to the volcano there because of her red hair and pale skin. I knew it would look interesting on that black volcanic rock. We got a late start on the shoot and had to rush, so I didn’t get everything I had in mind, but I think this one works.
Jessica is a fun model to work with. She knows how to work hard and takes a very professional approach to shoots.
Mystical Doorway
December 19th, 2006
I’m always looking for good locations for photographs, especially in the winter when I can only shoot outdoors on a rare occasion when the weather happens to coincide with a very brave model. This photo came about because a friend of a friend saw my work and said, “You really need to come and shoot in my house.” Her house was once a church, then an art gallery and then she and her husband bought it and made it their home. The wonderful painting was done by the owner of the art gallery. The light was quite wonderful that day.
This photo later became the theme photo for a one man show I had at a gallery called “The Mystical Doorway.” It seemed an obvious fit. That gallery, which was also a “New Age” type gift shop, became my best location for print sales for some time until the owner decided to close it and move on to a new phase in her life. I miss that shop and my occasional visits with the owner, who is a delightful woman.
So, this photo has many connections for me with a bunch of my favorite people, including, of course, the model, Charlye Raine, who appears in a number of my favorite photographs. My thanks to all the great people who made it possible for me to do this photo.
Another of Candace
December 17th, 2006
Another Candace photo. This one was shot in a DC hotel room. I like the way her skin tone and texture matched up with the tone and texture of the wall paper in the room. Lit by window light.
Candace and her friend Elizabeth will be visiting Ohio January 8-11. This is a rare opportunity for Ohio-area photographers to work with one of the top figure models in the country. Contact Candace or Elizabeth to discuss a shoot.
Candace: www.candacenirvana.com
Elizabeth: http://www.onemodelplace.com/member.cfm?ID=180514
Candace
December 16th, 2006
Candace photographed near Frederick, Maryland. Candace is a great model who does a fantastic job with figure work. She’s also an accomplished photographer and artist, so she “gets it.” I’ve worked with her several times and it’s always been a pleasure. In this case I was interested in breaking up the lines of the figure as we are accustomed to seeing them. I used the light and shadow to almost create a camouflage effect. I was also interested in the monochromatic nature of this composition with the touches of color that nature provided. And Candace provided a pose that worked perfectly with the themes I had in mind at the time.
Alexus
December 15th, 2006
This is Alexus photographed in an abandoned railroad tunnel in Maryland, not too far from Washington, DC. This was an interesting shoot. Alexus had taken me to the location near her home. Before we walked to the railroad tunnel we parked in a parking lot in the middle of a small town and walked along active railroad tracks that ran beside a river. There was a nice fairly gradual waterfall on the river and Alexus went out on the big rocks into the middle of the waterfall to pose. She was wearing a little crop top and a long Indian-print skirt. She decided to take off the crop top and pulled the skirt up over her breasts when she went out on the rocks. After she got to the location where she wanted to pose, she took off the skirt, wadded it up and tossed it to the river bank. But she missed. The skirt landed in the water and, in an instant, it went over the waterfall and down the river, lost and gone.
So there we were, the car parked in the middle of the town and Alexus with nothing to wear but a very small crop top. And, of course, just as she got back to the river bank two fishermen came down the trail. They were quite amused.
Well, I looked around on the side of the river and found an old T-shirt that had washed up. Alexus converted it to a skirt and wore it the rest of the day, including the hike in another direction to this tunnel that produced this photo. It was a very productive day with a very fine model. It’s fun to work with people who don’t let little misadventures ruin a day or a shoot. Thanks Alexus.
Light and Shadow and Lapis
December 14th, 2006
Here’s another photo of the famous Lapis from my Chicago trip. Lapis is a real delight and it was great to get to meet and work with her.
Life is busy right now so I’m not able to spend a lot of time writing here, but I’ll get back to blathering about my views on life and photography soon. I know you all come here to see what I have to say, not really to look at photos of naked women. I won’t leave you without my insights for long.
Nemesis Calendar
December 13th, 2006
I’ve just published another 2007 calendar, this one featuring the model Nemesis who has been so helpful to me as a willing model for years. This and my other calendars are available for purchase in my on-line store: http://www.lulu.com/Wayward
CareLyn Nude
December 12th, 2006
Here’s one of Carelyn without her corset. I told you I’d find a good nude of her. She is a beautiful woman. I’m back home from Chicago and very busy this week. I’ll look for another different shot of Lapis to post tomorrow. Writing will have to wait for a day when I’m not as busy.
Another side of CareLyn
December 10th, 2006
Here’s CareLyn Anita again. She does like corsets. I did photos of her completely nude, but the corset photos seem to be the best. I’ll probably find a figure study of her from this shoot to post sometime. And I certainly hope to work with her again. A great model.
Can’t say the same for the model who I was supposed to shoot today. As I had begun to suspect, she turned out to be a no-show, no-call. She just didn’t show up, didn’t respond to e-mail or phone calls and left me hanging. Since she didn’t have the courtesy to let me know she wasn’t going to do the shoot we had scheduled, it was too late for me to schedule another model. Lapis made a serious attempt to find someone for me, but it was just too short notice for that to work. So I was unable to do any shooting in my room with daylight. So it goes when you work with “internet models.” There are a lot of flakes. I won’t put her name and Model Mayhem number on the blog…although I was very tempted to do that…but if anyone, especially in the Chicago area, wants to be sure to avoid being put in this position by this model, just send me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to tell you who she is.
I salvaged the day by making a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. They have an excellent photo exhibit hanging now, and I made quick passes through some of the modern art galleries. Didn’t have time to even see an eighth of their collection, and spent the last hour just walking through galleries without stopping. Going to have to come back and spend days there. A really great art museum.
Tomorrow I’ll pack up and head back home to Ohio. I have several studio shoots scheduled for this coming week. Should have more photos to share here.
Lapis
December 9th, 2006
Had a great shoot with Lapis today. She is a hoot. Real fun, real interesting. Still don’t know if tomorrow’s model is going to be a no show or not…she’s not responding to e-mail or phone messages. Part of the drill when you work with “internet models.”
I have an old, single-element, soft focus lens that is in a Nikon mount. That’s what I used for this photo. It’s a very old effect, and different from what you can get with filters in photoshop. The Lensbaby is similar, though different, but uses the same sort of old-fashioned single-element lens to produce the soft effect. As you can see, the highlights bleed into the shadows, producing the soft look. So it works best when there are some bright places well located in the image. When mounted on my digital Nikons I’ve sometimes referred to it as my digital Holga, much to the dismay of some Holga fanatics. But I like the effect for some photos, and it’s fun to work with, so I pull it out of the camera bag every once in a while and see what I can do with it.
Even if tomorrow’s model fails to appear, it’s been a good trip, thanks to Lapis and CareLyn Anita. Thanks ladies.
