Enough of the lawsuit stuff
October 16th, 2009
OK…I left that last post on top for long enough. Time to get on with life. I expect to be involved in that lawsuit for the next year or two, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still be shooting.
So, here’s something different. I do occasionally shoot things other than nudes. I always make the offer to my models to shoot anything they want for their own use, for portfolios or whatever. Angie has been a great model for me for some time now. She’s always available for me to try out new ideas and lighting methods. She’s been willing to get cold and wet and dirty for outdoor shoots in bad weather. And she’s been willing to be the subject for some of my more off-the-wall ideas.
So, when Angie said she’d like to have some more commercial photos for her portfolio I was happy to shoot some things for her. And, since I’m always interested in color, this setting (and the setting sun) struck a chord with me. Of course I think I’d like it better without the dress, but that’s not really an option in this location, so I’ll settle for this.
I have some new lighting stuff that I’ve been experimenting with in the studio. Some of that will begin to show up here soon. And, don’t be worried…most of those photos include nude models.
2257A Lawsuit
October 8th, 2009
Free Speech Coalition et al v. Holder has been filed in federal court in Philadelphia . A news release about the lawsuit is here: http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/
My reaction to the law has been to restrict my photography to work that clearly falls outside the scope of this law. This has meant removing award-winning photos from display on the internet and has also resulted in not being able to successfully complete some new projects because the restrictions just made it impossible to produce effective work. I’m frustrated and very angry that my constitutional rights are being violated by this ill-considered law. It’s bad law that needs to be eliminated.
I’m participating in this lawsuit because I think it really matters, not just to me but to any photographer or other artist who works with the nude. If you do that kind of work and you think the law doesn’t affect you, I suspect you could be mistaken. If you photograph or draw or paint any nudes, if you photograph any bondage or BDSM scenes, even with the model fully clothed, then it is likely that you have produced at least some work that could be considered to fall under 2257A.
The law requires that you keep detailed, cross-referenced records of all the models you work with for those images. You also must publish a statement of where those records are maintained with each publication (including on the web) of any of those images. And those records must be available for unannounced inspection by federal agents at least 20 hours a week, every week. That’s right, if you maintain the records yourself you not only must publish your address, but you also can never go on vacation because you have to be there 20 hours every week in case an inspector wants to visit unannounced. Oh…and during that inspection they are permitted to look around for anything that they might consider a violation of any law, not just 2257A. So you have effectively given up your constitutional protection against warrantless searches.
If this concerns you, it should. If you think you could be affected by 2257A you should look into the details of it. The best way I know to do that is by reading the book Stephen Haynes wrote about the law. You can find it here: http://www.shaynes.com/2257_Book/index.htm
As the lawsuit progresses I plan to do updates here on my blog. So stay tuned for future developments.
More Brooke
October 6th, 2009
Life is busy right now, but that’s a good thing. I’ve been shooting and there is more shooting coming in the next few days. Then there will be a trip, but not a shooting trip. I hope to do at least one more post before I take off. I may not have internet access for about a week while I’m traveling, but if I can I’ll do a post or two while I’m away.
Meanwhile, here’s another from my shooting with Brooke while she was visiting in Ohio after the Dirty Show.
And, speaking of the Dirty Show, it’s over now and I have my prints back. It was pretty much a dud as far as print sales are concerned. Things are bad in the motor city. I may have sold a print, but I haven’t taken the time to go through what came back to make sure. They’ll let me know sometime soon and I’ll take their word for it. Maybe things will be better by the time the February show comes around.
Brooke At Ash Cave
September 30th, 2009
I’ve shot at Ash Cave a number of times, but Brooke brought her unique talents to this shoot, so there was nothing we shot that was a repeat of anything I’d done there before. We left at around 5:30 a.m. for the two-hour drive so we could be there when the sun came up. It was a good day, in that for a couple hours we had the place all to ourselves before other people started showing up.
I haven’t had time to do a thorough edit, but this one just jumped out at me when I took a quick look through what we had done. There will be more to come.
This trip was a bit different for me as far as shooting technique went. Every photo was taken with the camera on a tripod. I shot less than 1,000 photos during the whole day of shooting. I decided to do that for several reasons. It was dark. The day was cloudy, so when the sun came up, not a whole lot of light made its way down into the gorge where the cave is located. I wanted to use my 12-24mm lens, which doesn’t have VR. And I’ve been trying to work on a self-portrait, which requires the camera to be on a tripod…no success with that task yet, but I guess I’ll keep trying.
After we got back from the trip to Ash Cave we went to the studio for some more shooting. Looks like there might be some good stuff there too. Tomorrow we’ll shoot some more at the studio…and maybe, if it is a bit warmer, make a short trip to a nearby favorite shooting location…then I’ll take Brooke to the airport for her flight back home.
Behind A Burqa
September 29th, 2009
Here’s another of JoJo Suicide, this time wearing a burqa…but I don’t think she got it on quite right.
Back From the Dirty Show
September 27th, 2009
Back home tonight after another Dirty Show. I have to say this was the best one I’ve attended. It was a smaller show, less art and fewer people in attendance. That may not be the best for the show itself, but it sure made it a more pleasurable experience. Parking was free. It was not hard to get to the bar and get drinks. It wasn’t too crowded to be able to see that art on display.
And the acts performing on stage were a huge step up from the past. I heard someone say that some of the acts this time were “semi-professional” a big contrast to the “sub-amateur” performers of past shows. There was a particularly good fan dance at one point in the evening. And there was a group doing aerial performances that were great to watch, and they weren’t even dirty.
My crew for this show are also a bit smaller than at past Dirty Shows, but it also was very high quality. Unbearable Lightness, _G_ and Brooke Lynne were the models along with _G_’s boyfriend, Fen.
And, getting into the theme for the night, they all started getting dirty even before we left the motel to go to the show.
Here’s _G_ beside the photo in the show that featured her.
And here’s Unbearable Lightness showing off her contribution to the show.
We also did a little shooting in the motel room before we headed off to the show. Here are the three lovely ladies together.Off To The Dirty Show
September 25th, 2009
Tomorrow I head to Detroit with some friends to go to the Dirty Show. Look us up if you are there too on Saturday night.
I don’t really have time to write much now. So, just enjoy this photo from my most recent shoot with JoJo Suicide. JoJo was the subject of my photo in the last Dirty Show back in February. She never fails to deliver photos that draw attention.
Noelle in the Swamp
September 22nd, 2009
One more of Noelle Elise before I get on to other things. This one comes the closest I’ve gotten so far in my efforts to capture the feel of Florida in my work. I think there is something more to be done here…probably something involving getting the model all wet and covered with slime. And/or maybe wresting a ‘gator. Any volunteers?
I’m getting ready for the Dirty Show coming up this weekend. I’ll be there with some friends on Saturday night. Track us down and say hi if you are there too.
I’ve updated the calendar link over there on the top right. I’m working on 2010 calendars. I have updated last year’s calendars featuring Brooke Lynne with 2010 dates. After the Dirty Show one of my priorities will be to create a new calendar with all new photos. This past year has been a good one for my work, so the new calendar should have lots of good new stuff in it. But the photos Brooke and I did on our trip out west are still highlights of my work and always will be.
Now, I’ll issue a photo geek warning. I’m going to write a bit about studio equipment. So you can stop reading if that stuff doesn’t interest you.
I’ve been reworking my studio strobe setup. Not really by choice. I’ve used Novatron powerpack strobes for more than 30 years. The reason is simply that 30 years ago someone was selling a Novatron kit for cheap and I bought it. I don’t really care about fancy features on a strobe system. I just want it to make a bright flash when I push the shutter button. So Novatrons worked just fine for me for all those years.
Over the years I’ve added a bunch of heads and more power packs until I had a pretty comprehensive system that could do pretty much anything I wanted it to do. At least for the kind of work I do. When I did some product work for a customer years ago I had to borrow a lot more power from a good friend, but I don’t do that kind of work very often…never if I can help it.
Over the years a power pack would occasionally fail. Sometimes that could be pretty dramatic, filling the studio (and in one recent case, a model’s home) with acrid brown smoke. When that would happen I’d unplug everything, let the pack cool down (outside) and then take it to my local photo store where they would ship it off to a repairman. In a couple weeks it would be back good as new for something like $100-150.
Well, last fall that failure in a model’s home happened. I sent the pack off…a 500ws unit. But this time it came back “unrepairable – no parts available.” Some checking revealed that the owner of Novatron had died and the company had been sold. The new company decided not to support the old units.
Another pack failed shortly after that. It also came back unrepairable. So my 400ws unit was gone too. That left me with just a 240ws unit that could only power 3 heads. Not enough power to do what I need.
I hunted around and found a good deal on an old Novatron 800ws unit. But it only works on half and quarter power. That means it will fail completely someday…no telling when.
The old Novatron factory workers (abandoned by the new owners) have established a repair business. In fact, they are handling warranty repairs for the new owners of Novatron. I called them and the gentleman I spoke to said, “I built them, I can fix them.”
I seriously considered sending my broken units off to them to be repaired. But I’m pretty upset about the company abandoning all us Novatron users who have used their strobes for all these years. And I worried how much repairs would end up costing and how long they would continue to be available.
But I knew something that doesn’t seem to be common knowlege, or at least has come as a surprise to many people I’ve talked with who are well versed in studio strobes. Novatron packs and heads are interchangeable with Speedotron Brown Line packs and heads. The plugs are essentially the same. You can plug a Brown Line head into a Novatron pack and a Novatron head into a Brown Line pack and everything will work just fine. And Speedotron has been around even longer than Novatron, is still a going concern and still provides support for their old strobes.
So, I started shopping. I had good luck on ebay. Got a Speedotron 400ws pack for $80…much less than I would have expected to pay for repairs on one of my Novatron packs. Then I found a 1600ws pack for only $250. That’s a lot more power than I’ve ever had available. All my heads are only rated for 400ws, but I can use that 1600ws pack on quarter power or use it on full power with four heads plugged in…or other in-between combinations. But, to allow me to take advantage of that power I made a trip to “The Camera Church” aka Columbus Camera Group and picked up a couple Speedotron heads that are rated for 1600ws (couldn’t find any at good prices on ebay). Also got a couple reflectors of different sizes. I think I’m going to spring for a new beauty dish to use with one of those heads. At that point my transition will be complete.
Oh, and there’s another reason that I wanted the 1600ws unit, besides the very good price. I shoot dance photos in the studio. One thing I learned when I studied with Lois Greenfield in NYC is that she uses her strobe system at a low power setting to get short flash durations to freeze the dance movement better. I’ll be able to do that with the 1600ws unit, putting it on quarter power, getting a very short flash duration, and still having plenty of light output.
So, that’s enough photo geek stuff for today. I’m also playing around with some other new gear I found on ebay (it’s a dangerous place for your wallet). I’ll write some more geek stuff about that in the near future.
In The Light
September 18th, 2009
Here’s another of Noelle Elise taken outside Orlando a couple weeks ago. I can’t say enough about how great she was to work with. I’m looking forward to shooting her more in the future.
We had quite a time getting this shot. It was a pretty open area in a state park. There’s a road just a little way to the left of where we shot this. We saw the light and the trees and wanted to do something with that setting so we started walking out to get away from the road. But when we got a fairly safe distance from the one road we discovered there was another road leading to a campground just behind where this was shot. There were people out riding bikes on both roads and we were close to being within sight of the campsites. We almost gave up and left, but at the last minute we decided to give it a quick try between bikes and cars. We got the shot and I don’t think anyone saw us.
I’ve been getting prints ready for two shows coming up. Sunday I’ll drive up to Detroit to drop off my work and another photographer’s work for the Dirty Show coming up in a week. I’ll be at the show with a group of friends on the night of September 26. And there’s another show, The Creative Soul of Dayton, coming up. I have two prints in it and will be dropping those off on Monday.
I finally have the studio back into a functioning form, though I seem to keep having problems finding the things I need, but I’ll be working on digging everything out and organizing it so that I can work efficiently. I haven’t hung any backgrounds yet, instead taking advantage of the chance to work with the windows and the light they provide before I block them with backgrounds again.
I’m making equipment changes with my lighting gear too. I’ll write a bit about that in a future post. The new stuff will give me new toys to play with when it starts getting too cold to work outside again this year.
9/11
September 11th, 2009
It’s hard to believe that it has been eight years since everything changed. I remember the details of that day better than I do what happened yesterday.
I was working for the Air Force then. I was in a meeting with a 4-star general making plans for a scheduled visit from the Secretary of the Air Force…a visit that never happened. The general’s aide came into the room, whispered in the general’s ear and turned on a TV. On the screen we saw the smoke coming out of the first tower.
The general stopped the meeting and said we needed to find out what was going on. Back at my desk I had a TV to monitor the news. My job was media relations. I watched on the TV as the second plane flew into the second tower. And the news came in that the Pentagon had been hit.
Of course, at that time we didn’t know who or what was behind the attacks…but we knew we, the nation, were under attack. Being the Air Force, with the country under aerial attack…well you may be able to imagine that there was a lot of activity, to put it mildly. I can’t talk about everything I know that happened that day, and I know there is plenty that I don’t know about that went on. That was a very serious day.
The feeling from that day that overshadows everything else was the uncertainty. We didn’t know where the attacks came from and we had no idea if another attack would occur somewhere at any time. We were doing everything we could to prepare and prevent that from happening. For all we knew a foreign invasion could have been about to begin.
I ended up spending that night in an underground command post helping coordinate the Air Force response to the media around the country. I was the point of contact for more than a dozen bases for guidance on what they could say to the media. My guidance that night was to say nothing. That was not a time for PR. At one point I had a major who wanted to put out a news release saying we had F-16 fighters with full combat loads sitting on our runway ready to take off. I said no. Those planes were within easy mortar range of uncontrolled areas around the base. With our level of base security back then a squad of well trained attackers could have had a very good chance of piercing our perimeter and reaching those planes. The major couldn’t seem to understand all that. Voices were raised. There was no news release.
I spent the first couple days after the attack under the assumption that we were at war with an unknown enemy. In a sense, of course, that was correct.
Some months after the attack I started seeing lots of really bad “Flag” photos. Everyone was in a patriotic mood and was trying to find ways to express it. I thought I could make a flag-themed photo that did a little better job of reflecting the mood of the country. The photo above is what I came up with.
The world is a worse place since 9/11. In many unfortunate ways the terrorists have succeeded. We live in fear now…mostly misplaced and misdirected fear. But the terror is there. I am hopeful that our current leadership will be able to do a better job of keeping the terrorists from achieving their ends and bring the world closer to a place where such actions will not be tolerated anywhere on the planet. That is my hope.
