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.
Sometimes the Magic Works; Sometimes It Doesn’t
October 6th, 2012
“Sometimes the magic works; sometimes it doesn’t.” That was one of the many wise things that Old Lodge Skins said in the movie, Little Big Man. And it wasn’t something he was upset about. It was just a fact.
Well, it’s true of the magic of photography. Especially true when you are dealing with the forces of mother nature. And it’s important to never let it upset you when the magic isn’t working. It’s just a fact that must be accepted.
For many, many years, decades actually, I’ve been driving regularly across southern New York state on a very beautiful road. And all those years I’ve been thinking, “I really need to bring a model here and shoot in this landscape.” Well in late July I got the chance. Brooke Lynne, my all-time favorite model, came to Ohio and we set out for Maine, following that familiar route. And, though we could easily have made it most of the way to Maine in a day, I allowed two full days just for that road so we we could stop as much as we wanted to shoot along the way.
But the magic just didn’t work. Mother nature was being very uncooperative, with bright sun the whole time making many of the best places just not well lit for good photographs. But it was more than that. I just wasn’t feeling it. The magic wasn’t there. It was a funny thing. When we got to Maine a couple days later the shooting was wonderful. You’ll soon be seeing the evidence of that. But strangely, it just wasn’t working for those two days along that very familiar road.
Looking back on it I at first thought that I’d just been wrong all those years and that, although the area is breathtakingly beautiful, it just wasn’t well suited to shooting the figure in nature. But I just drove the route twice again in the past week and I still think there are photos for me to make there. Of course, on these trips when I had no model with me the light was perfect with a lovely overcast the whole time. So it goes.
So, I guess I’ll go back again another time with a model or two. Maybe I’ll see if I can make it a dedicated trip to just that area and stay for several days, maybe even a week. And I’ll see if I can arrange it so I can go when the weather is what I want, though that’s really hard to do when there are multiple schedules to coordinate…but I’ll see if I can make that work.
Meanwhile, here is one photo from our first day on that road. Brooke did her usual wonderful job. And the light was being a little cooperative at this particular moment. There’s more to be done in this neighborhood, so I guess I’ll have to go back and try to do it.
But, just wait until you see the kick-ass stuff we shot on the coast of Maine a couple days later. It was magic.
Angie’s Back
September 30th, 2012
As you may remember from an earlier post, Angie recently had a baby. I enjoyed photographing them together in my studio. Well, Angie is back as a model and she’s as lovely as ever. So we went back to our favorite location to do some new photos. I’ve shot Angie here time and time again and it’s one of those places that just keeps on giving fine photos.
It’s been a while since my last post mainly because I’m working on other things now. You can see my main new project at my new blog here. It’s very different from what I’ve been doing here, but it’s where I’m going with my work.
But, I’m still shooting nudes now and then…and I’m way behind on editing and posting here. So expect things to continue to be added here indefinitely. These photos were done back in July. I’ve shot a lot of figure work since then. So stand by for more.
Pittsburgh Pinhole Adventures
September 21st, 2012
When I was over in Pittsburgh with Ayn and Sugar Dumpling I took advantage of the opportunity to work with my new wide-angle pinhole “lens” on my Olympus micro 4/3 camera.
The top photo was taken with the camera on a tripod with a 4 second exposure time. All the others were hand held with shutter speeds in the range of 1/8 to 1/15. It helps that the Olympus has image stabilization built into the camera body. All these were shot at 3200 ISO, the highest ISO available on my little Olympus and definitely a setting that pushes beyond the optimum quality that the camera can deliver. In most cases I limit the ISO to 800 at the top end, but the pinhole requires a bit more. In some ways I find the grain/noise to work well with the general softness of the pinhole images.
I have pinholes that I’ve used on my Nikons for years. Some I made myself and others were store bought. They all share one characteristic that makes them less than ideal for some photos. Because of the mirror in slr cameras the pinhole must be mounted far enough from the sensor to allow for clearance for the mirror to move up and down. The effective focal length of a pinhole is determined by the physical distance of the pinhole from the sensor or film. What this means is that pinholes mounted on slr cameras are always moderate telephotos. Not always a problem, but a limitation for some photos. Since micro 4/3 cameras are mirrorless there is no constraint on how far back into the camera a pinhole can be mounted. This store-bought pinhole that I have for the Olympus is nicely made and places the pinhole way back inside, so it becomes a wide-angle.
Of course, another characteristic of pinholes is that they have infinite depth of focus…or depth of fuzziness. At any rate, they are equally sharp or unsharp no matter how near or far the subject is from the camera. This last photo was an attempt to exploit that part of the nature of pinholes.
I’ve been enjoying playing with this pinhole on the little Olympus. I’ve done a number of photos outdoors. So you can expect to see more fuzzy pinhole photos on here in the next few months.
Pittsburgh Adventure and New Directions
September 18th, 2012
I know it’s been a long time since my last post. Sorry about that. But you might as well get used to it. I’m working on some different things these days and those things are not going to be posted in this blog. I’m doing much less work with nude models now, although I expect to continue to shoot nudes from time to time. And they’ll be posted here when I do. Meanwhile I’m so far behind on editing the nude work I’ve already shot that I have plenty of stuff to post here through the rest of this year and beyond, even if I didn’t shoot anything new. So this blog will continue for the time being and probably as long as I’m still able to hold a camera.
I am working hard on two new non-nude projects that I expect to be the main focus of my work for the next decade. The first of these projects now has a little bit of work on line in a new blog that I’ve built just for it. You can see the beginnings and read about the project at this new blog: http://davelevingston.com/press/
And, here are a couple photos of Ayn and Sugar Dumpling from a trip we made over to Pittsburgh back in July. I was going over to pick up prints from a gallery show. We met my friend Sita Mae, who is a great photographer, and spent some time shooting at the gallery.
Enjoy these for now. There’s lots more to come from this summer’s shoots. And please follow my new efforts on the new blog and let me know what you think.
A New Life
September 8th, 2012
Back in June…yes, I’m still that far behind with my editing…Angie brought her new baby boy in to the studio for a few mother/son photos. Angie is a lovely woman and one of my favorite models. And it’s always fun to do these kind of photos.
We had a good time doing these photos and I don’t think we annoyed the baby too awful much while we were doing them.
As usual, I have way too much going on and not enough time to keep up with everything. But I’ll try to get some more new posts up here in the near future. And don’t forget the Dirty Show coming up on a couple weeks in the Detroit area. I plan to be there on Saturday night, so if you are there too see if you can find me and say hello.
And tonight is the opening of the show SPLASH at 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles. I have a print in that show, so, if you are in LA and have time, go check out that show tonight and let me know what you think.
L’Allure des Mots
September 3rd, 2012
My good friends Sam Beasley and Katherine Villari publish a wonderful magazine, L’Allure des Mots. Up until now it has been an on-line publication. But they would like to make it a printed product. It is so beautiful on line that I, for one, would love to see a printed version.
To make it possible to publish their first printed edition, they are doing a fund raising campaign. You can learn more about the campaign here. There are some fantastic perks available to those who donate. Go check it out and send them some money to get this lovely publication into printed form.
Upcoming Shows
August 31st, 2012
I’ve received word in the past few days that some of my work will be included in two upcoming shows.
The Dirty Show 13.5 is happening in Pontiac, Michigan September 21-23. This is a different time of year from the usual Dirty Shows that happen in February. They are doing an extra show in the fall this year. It’s also in a completely different location from past Dirty Shows, happening in Pontiac this time instead of Detroit. They chose two of my photos for this show:
I’m happy that they chose the Carhenge photo because I understand there is something of a history with the automobile in the Detroit area that might lead to interest in this photo. 😉 It’s also nice that the other photo is in the show because the two models who posed for it, Artistic Physique and Kelsey Dylan will be attending the show with me.
I also entered a juried show at the 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles. The theme of this show is water. They selected my all-time most popular photograph to include in the show:
The 1650 Gallery is located at 1650 Echo Park in Los Angeles. The show, “Splash: The Fluid World of Water,” opens next Saturday, September 8 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. You can view the show on line at this link. They don’t really allow us artists much time to get our work ready and shipped to them, but I should be able to get mine printed this weekend and in the mail on Tuesday. Doesn’t help that Monday’s a holiday. If you are in LA and able to go see this show I’d appreciate a review of the show and I’d like to hear your impressions of the gallery to help me decide if I’ll enter future shows there. I didn’t find out about the extremely tight window to deliver the work until after I was notified that my photo had been selected. I am particular about what shows I enter and things like too-tight deadlines that don’t really respect the work the artist has to do to get their work ready are factors I consider when I decide to enter a show or not.
But it looks like a good show. Check it out if you can.
