Banned????

Talk about a rough week! Trouble has been stuck to me like a tick on a hound dog over the last week or so. But before I get into all that, let me get in a few points that I've made notes to cover for my next blog posting.

1. I just had another great post of mine that landed on Univers d' Artistes. Chris liked my recent post Jerry Uelsmann and Spencer Tunick so much that he re-posted it on his blog. I might also add that his posting was much better than the original post here on my own blog! The man really knows how to promote. So I know you've already read me on this blog but go check out how Chris has recyled my post into something better.

2. Candy Poses , (also her lastest work) is not Tuesday anymore, but she's definately back in the "mainstream" art nude modeling genre. In a previous post I talked about her in her dealings with Five Naked Models, where she was Tuesday. That was her day of the week to make a video log (vlog) commentary on the subject of modeling as a nude art model. She also used to author the blog Feminism Without Clothes. For reasons of her own, she had a change of heart, killed the blog and altered her priorities a little. However, I've now seen her working with noted photogs (such as David L. Le Beck) and she's got another blog up and running called simply "Candy Poses: Images from a Fine Art Nude Model". So she's back on my list of models I wanted to someday work with. That's how all this got started. I think she's beautiful, fabulous and an excellent model.

3. "What We Saw Today" is the new blog started by collaborators, Unbearable Lightness (model) and Joseph Crachiola (photographer). She was online with Iris Dassault as one of the Women of Avalon, which will hence forward be known as - ) Simply - Nude ( - . If you follow Unbearable Lightness the way I do, be sure to go over and check her out. If you author a blog of your own, do her the well-deserved kindness of adding her link. It goes without saying to make sure you stay tuned in to Iris over there with the exceptional, RJ Berry.

4. Chrome - This is the new web-browser by young behemoth, Google. It has nothing really to do with photoworks, but I've recently switched from using Internet Explorer mainly because there are times when IE gets hung up when Chrome will not. Also, if a tab on Chrome does stall, all the other open tabs keep functioning perfectly. One bad tab doesn't mean you have to close out Chrome. IE can't say that. Ease of use and simplicity round out the main reasons why I like it over IE, Firefox, or the other web browsers. I have no idea how it sacks up against Safari.

5. So speaking about a rough week. I think I previously mentioned some complaints about my blog being too edgy. A few days later, I get contacted from Meet Up.com about a nude image on my home page for my Las Vegas Art Models Group. Apparently someone reported me for having exposed breasts on a public forum. Okay, so I realized I was in violation and made the changes. This past Sunday, a park ranger drove up to my group while on an outting and hammered us for being professional photographers in the park without a permit and purportedly shooting nudes. Well now we are banned for life from said state park (not a year...LIFE!) and were kicked out effectively post-haste. I hardly got a word in edge-wise. I'll not go into details on the matter cuz I just don't need the heat right now, nor do I want to bring any more attention to anyone else.

"Mr. Tunick has been arrested five times in New York, although all the charges have been dropped. Last year, he was arrested while trying to photograph a group in Times Square". - "Court Rules Nude Photos Can be Takeng on the Street" ,John Sullivan, New York Times, 20 May 2000

Still, suffice to say, I could use some input on dealing with situations like this. I don't want to be banned from this place, although there are many other places (non-state owned) to shoot in. If I could afford an attorney, I'd consult one. For now, I'd like to get the insight from people with experience dealing with such predicaments or introduced to an open forum of sorts to get creditable input on said matters. Some of my photo heros and other photogs I watch have dealings with Johhny Law. I've never had a real desire to profit from my work or become famous for my art, but now that I've been banned from somewhere, becoming famous is the only way to make it all worthwhile. So one way of looking at this is ... I am forced to become a celebrity now.

Finally, there's just not enought that can be said about Lorelei. As much as I can use her in my artwork, I will. We worked again recently and had I left with some promising opportunities that I'd like to explore with this young lady. Its so easy to be overly-complimentary about her that I won't even try to indulge you on it any longer. Just understand that you can expect to see more of her involvment in my work. Great attitude, Great model, Great person.

On a final note, I'll leave you another interesting story. Check out this article on an artist who's self-portrait was recently banned because her nipples were too large!