All About the Fun

Maybe things will be settling back to normal pretty soon. I'm very hopeful, at any rate. My friend and roommate, Jeff is back home from about 11 weeks in the hospital. It'd be inappropriate for me to go into details, but the dude is back at home, trying to recover and gain his strength back. So welcome home, Jeff.

Photo work has been sort of sketchy as of late. I've still been shooting and editing, but I've not been posting much of my work on my online profiles or website. Part of that is cuz of Chris St. James' fault. Because of his mentorship, I've got this thing with titles now. Since I haven't been able to sit down title my shots and post them, they have been sitting on my hard drive waiting to receive a name. This goes way back to maybe a year ago when Chris first discovered me and took an interest in my work. He began to encourage me, mentor me, and be a friend. Well, one of the things he'd knock me on the head for was the lack of titles in my work. Since then, I think I've really grown from his help and I've cherished the relationship we've had over the course of, wait...I think its been closer to two years now.

I haven't even kept up with many of the blogs that I normally follow daily. I still track Univers d'Artistes regularly. Unbearable Lightness has done a wonderful job at helping Chris. These are two people that I've cultivated relationships with, but have yet to actually meet. I consider both to be mentors and will be glad when I am totally back on track following my friends' blogs and back to posting my own at my usual rate of twice a week. I haven't even talked to my good friend, Dave Rudin in a while. I'm really out of touch. I don't know what's been going on with Iris Dassault, who's like the model queen of this country. And I need to get back in touch with the happenings across the waters with my friends at Fluffytek.

I need to go on some interesting outings. I haven't done that in a while. I think that was one of the attractors for a good part of my readership which was to hear about my adventures in the wild. Yeah, I need to get out more. The weather is starting to warm up and ice is melting off the mountains which means water falls and full streams again. This is what I do. I gotta get back out there. Whatever I do, I think I'd like to take some models out with me on a road trip or something. And speaking of which, I want to make sure I encourage you to utilize the services of the models I present on this blog and my website. If you're planning to be in Vegas and feel like shooting, feel free to contact these girl's links or even myself and plan something. Brittani from New Jersey is coming to reside in Vegas permanently next month. (Damn, I've still got to send her a disk! Sorry B.) I'm happy about that. I mentioned her in my last post along with several others. I've still yet to shoot with Marley. She's waiting on a tattoo to heal up a little first. But you've also seen some of my mainstays like Faerie and Trixie who I shoot quite often and of course there are several more. I shoot with Lieara this weekend. Lorelei has taken off like a space shuttle. The Brittany II maintains her role as one of the most prolific models in Vegas. And then there is Sarah Jane...come on! Really, do I need to say more. All these different body types and looks. I've got like the Wal-Mart of models, here. And wait til you see my next posts of Melissa!

Gabriella is one of the models I've been shooting with who is very up and coming. This girl can be on the cover of any magazine by tomorrow. She's different than the normal style of model I've been shooting because she's very suitable for glamor work that you might find in Maxxim or even Playboy. I've always been doing the girl next door type to produce my artistic style of nudes, but with Gabriella, I've been exploring the more sensual, sexy, and even erotic style of the art nude. She's hella fun to work with and is an instant boost to anybody's port. I think I'm going to start highlighting models I work with on my posts. I don't promote these girls enough and one of my initial objectives to starting my Las Vegas Art Models Group was to support art models. All of these girls are fabulous with great attitudes. For me, attitude is more important than they way they look. Gabriella is super sexy, but she comes with a willingness to work and gives you what you want and then some. You're sure to walk away from her shoot with more than you bargained for. I like the girl. Gonna work with her some more. You will too, so give this artist of her trade a hollar. Isn't she sweet? Tell her I sent 'cha. We'll both get cheese points!

Bringing Back Lissa

"This then: to photograph a rock, have it look like a rock, but be more than a rock. "

- Edward Weston

" Why"

Thought I'd bring back Lissa for an encore. Times are getting tougher every day it seems and she was on my mind today. I was supposed to have a visit with her today to give her a disk of out first shoot, but plans had to change. This was one of those "good time" shoots, because we had a really good time doing it. She's such a natural for posing and is very comfortable with herself. Talking with her during the whole shoot made time pass so quickly that I didn't realize that 7 hours had passed. I was in need of rest and hadn't slept the night before. I was shooting Lissa on fumes, but we had such a good time that I completely lost track of the passing hours. Before I knew it, it was time for me to shower and go to work.

I am hoping to get to work with her on location somewhere soon. She's tied up with some other concerns at the moment, so her schedule is sort of hectic. Some of the best models I have shot were like that. You lock them down for a shoot one day, but good luck trying to get them back again for a while. Its been at least 3 weeks, I think since I've worked with Lissa. We've kept in contact, but I sincerely hope its not another 3 weeks before we shoot again. She's fascinating.

I stand corrected on Imagens. I reported a few posts ago that that blog was done. However, before his blog has had a chance to collect dust, he's unretired it and back to posting. Go figure. Well, its good to have him back anyway.

I noted that Iris Dassault and the Women of Avalon have now been censored by the Content Warning Cover Monster. I am not sure as to whether or not Google is being fair about all this. I don't know what criteria they use to say you are offensive and we need to protect the public from you with a one click irritating page in front of your blog. I don't know what I'll do if that occurs to me. I've seen some bloggers jump ship and head over to WordPress just on principle alone. Maybe that's what Google wants. Who knows. At some point, I think we are all going to get it and be faced with that decision. Take it and ignore it...Business as usual, OR object...close down the blog and move elsewhere. Rich and Lin Bang of Fluffytek host their own blog inside their website. Its certainly an idea. My webpage uses a template service, ifp3.com. Its a bit harder for me to do at the moment I think. Ifp3 has been making strides by leaps and bounds over the past 6 months. Lots of new features, capabilities, and services have been added that give you the option of more personized web pages. They are still adding features and growing.

I've also been excited to see Chris St. James at it on a daily basis over there on his home front, Univers d'Artistes. After being gone about 6 months, he's been catching up with a fierceness. Normally, I think he'd post maybe twice a week. Check him out now and see how many posts he has in the last week. The man is a machine. I've even gotten a few of my shots posted by him. Too cool. Thats like a shot of adrenaline for my blog and website every time he does that. Thanks, Chris.

Come to think of it, my friend Garrett, the Nikonian, has been out of touch lately. I met him when he signed up for my first photo workshop and he's taken off ever since. This big guy is really cooking in terms of managing his day job with his insatiable desire to shoot. I can't hate on him, that he's packing a D3 and has every lens you can think of, but damn, who wouldn't. Garrett has been a good find for me when I got here to Vegas. He's put me in contact with some great people and basically, you can thank him that I'm even talking to you right now. I mentioned before that he was responsible for the computer for which I now continue to entertain, explain, and otherwise regale you with photo adventures. He took my fried computer tower to his best bud, and WALLA... I'm sporting a new tower AND a flat screen. I know, he's still chomping at the bit waiting for Nikon to release the newer version, the D3x sometime soon. I've given some strong consideration to switching to the Nikon system. Garrett is all about Nikon and I get kidded by him and several of the others at our Saturday gatherings at B&C Camera for shooting Canon, but now I have to really consider the new Canon 5d Mk II, thats due to hit the shelves in November. We'll see how it stacks up.

New Beginnings

Last "Calvin and Hobbes" Comic Strip by Bill Watterson

Eleven days...

That's how long its been since my last post. I've been handling a few life changes lately that have been exhaustive to say the least. My works schedule has recently changed to a night shift and its definitely taking some getting used to. Rest doesn't come easy while trying to sleep in the mornings. However the most significant change has to deal with my recent relocation. Oh, I still reside in Vegas and actually not too far from my former residence. I won't go into details but suffice to say, a move was necessary. I was invited to stay with art model groupie, Jeff who has attended quite a few of my workshops and we've done a few excursions and scout trips together. Its still taking somewhat of an adjustment to get used to all this. I have yet to really call any place a home since selling my house and leaving Tennessee. Since then, I've lived out of boxes. The two years I was in Murray, KY while attending grad school, I moved twice. Even here in Vegas, I never really unpacked with the exception of essentials. I miss having a home. Where will I next call home, I wonder...

I've been experiencing certain freedoms, most notably with Felix. I plan to expand that notion even more. I had a birthday on 08-08-08 which my Mom says means "New Beginnings, as she wrote in my birthday card. The above Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was one of the first things I saw hanging up in Jeff's living room. There were other confirmation signs that seemed to pop up with the same theme. Its time for a new beginning then.

Needless to say, I'm no spring chicken, although I still kick ass hanging with kids half my age. I need to get into better shape if for no better reason than to continue rehabbing my knee injured on a military training accident. Still, in terms of strength, speed, and stamina, I've been surprised to find that I can still hold my own with these youngsters. Just ask my son! But I digress, I want to set a goal of camping at least once a month for a year. Can I do it?...Is it practical?...Don't know. The point of the matter is that I'm interested in experiencing life. I'm done with drama. I'm done with wasting time. I'm done with killing myself for a job, creditors, and people who don't contribute back. I want to lead a healthier life with a different lifestyle that suits me better than what I've been doing and I plan to surround myself with like-minded people. Travel is on the agenda. Exploration is the whole reason I've come out West.

Felix and Summer are like that. In fact, I've recommended that Summer start blogging along with Felix's photography much in the same fashion that Lin Bang does over there on Fluffytek with hubby Richard. He's the shooter. She's the writer, (as well as his muse). It was kind of interesting because when I brought up the idea to Felix, he and Summer had just been discussing the idea of doing just that. So henceforth has come The Monkey Chronicles, authored by Summer detailing their excursions and adventures in the pursuit of life documented in photographs. You get the mind of Felix from his images. Summer's are illustrated in her words. Isn't that a great complimentary combination. As a matter of fact, the last discovery of this magnitude was back in 1928 when Harry Burnett Reese first combined chocolate and peanut butter. Who knew?

Switch gears...

It was interesting that my website has recently doubled in traffic this month. I haven't really explored why that is or from where the traffic stems. I can see the rankings of my images and statistical information. I've had a few people inquire as to top images, top models, and such. So I give you the top 5. I've mentioned before that the top model continues to be Trisha whom I'd like an opportunity to do again. She's obviously a bit more "open" than most of my models and can tend to push the boundaries of comfort zones for some people who might suggest she had other motives. She had desire to see herself the way men are perceived to look at and desire her. This is, in a way, her method of stepping out of herself and then looking back on herself in the same fashion that a guy might view her. It was an interesting project and I admire her boldness to do it, her brilliance for the concept, and I appreciate her willingness to let me share our work. Her eagerness to shoot again is another reason I need to travel more. And understand, I was hesitant to put these particular images up. They are not part of the original series I posted. She was still the rankingest model on my site even before this more explicit series went up. She's got two images in the top 5 and then 3 more for the top 10.

Next is the lovely Lessa, who posed in my LVAMG a few months back. Her images haven't been up long enough to rank higher over the last year, but for this month, her's is the next in hits. She also has the highest view images for purchase considerations. There's also Elizabeth, whom I did an excellent series on. She comes in as number 4. (Another one of Trisha's images was 3). And rounding out the top 5 is Laura who was the first model I shot after moving here last year. She's also got the number one image for the year in terms of hits. However her images have a full 6 month head start on the newer set of Trisha's images. The one spread-eagle shot is gaining ground very quickly. And that was expected. Va-JayJay shots are always going to get the most views and its remained a topic of discussion since forever. Some models have a stipulation of "No Pink" showing or no spread leg shots. I continue to respect a model's personal boundaries as well as working with those who are open to more latitude. I'd like to think that these images are getting hits for their artistic aesthetics, but I don't kid myself. I just keep shooting whats exposed to my lens.

Virtual Relationships

I was just sitting here thinking about how easy it is to become connected with people on the net. Virtual relationships have become sort of common in my life as of late as I communicate with individuals, develop a bond...a connection, yet, never having met together face to face. In some cases I know that's an okay thing, but I know for kids, the naive, and those less wary this can be a dangerous proposition. Common sense should always be the chief discretionary trait in any relationship you become involved in, whether virtual or in person.

Yeah, I can get sentimental at times. Its part of the way I was raised and my own set of standards in how I value people and appreciate real friendships. It hurt being in the military and connecting with guys that you know at any given time you would lay down your life to save thiers only to have the PCS on you after 3 years. That's a permanent change of station where you get new orders for a new duty station. Where is all this coming from? Well, I have come to miss like crazy Chris St. James from Univers d'Artistes. We've communicated on a constant basis and he's featured me on his highly popular and acclaimed blog on several occasions. Chris runs his blog from France and I have come to almost depend on his blog posts to stay informed, entertained, and awe-struck, by the photogs he discovers and presents to the world. Now he's hospitalized, and that connection is lost. I have no way of knowing how he's doing and the frustration sets in for me because its in my nature to visit my friends in times of need. You want to comfort, console, and help in any way you can.

Lin Bang from Fluffytek has signed off from her blog for a while for the same reasons...medical care. I've only even recently began communications with Lin when she contacted me with reference to a blog post I made. Oh my goodness, she's so exciting to read. I've backtracked through all of the posts by her and her husband Richard. She's funny as hell, but she also has a wonderful perspective on things that really make you think. Her commentary is such that you can easily gleen wisdom from her writings and you are usually left in better standing if you heed her advice and considerations. She can easily bring value to your work whether you are a photog or model. She has the expertise to counsel in both regards. She's an art lover and she is an advocate for the photographic representation of the nude form.

So I guess its funny how you can come to miss someone you have never met. Well, you can certainly feel that void when you recognize the value they bring to your life in whatever form, is not flowing through the vitural umbilical in which you've become accustomed to feed. So this is a well wishing post to Chris and Lin. I wish you both a speedy recovery. Take care of yourselves. My prayers, and I am sure those of many others are with you. You guys hurry back, now ...ya hear!

2008 - Lets Do it Again!

I hope everyone got to enjoy the holidays and spend time with love ones. Its 2008 and I am looking forward to the new year. No, I don't do resolutions. My aim is to just keep moving forward. I don't think you need to wait til January 1st to make up your mind or set goals to do something meaningful in your life. Its should be an ongoing process. I want to get better at my photography and present better content on my blog, but like I said, these are ongoing processes that build upon the previous year.

It wasn't easy staying away from all of you. I had to resist the urge to get back to writing despite saying I'd continue after the holidays. I made a list of things I wanted to write about, but I think I will ease into them, instead of blasting you with it all at once. So I will first start out my blog entry of the year with congrats to my bud, Dave Rudin, author of Figures of Grace for being selected by The 2007 Fluffytek Photographic Nude Blog Awards, as the Best Overall Nude Blog of 2007. For that he received a "Golden Fluffies" award. There are many many Nude Art blogs on the web right now and I can tell you that the competition was stiff. Dave taking tops is no small feat.

And also, if you are going to have a blog for nude art, that means somebody's gotta get naked. Congratulations goes to Iris Dassault for best Nude Model Blogger for 2007. I am pretty sure this was probably not as close of a decision as the Nude Art Blogs. It was more than likely a landslide. There are lots of pretty models from which you can choose to make fine art, but Iris takes her talents to another level as a writer with invaluable and relevant content both useful and entertaining to the art photography lovers. Models and Photogs alike can benefit from her expertise which she offers freely to her readers. Now she has added to her repertoire of writing talents, contributors Unbearable Lightness and Tarachin. I don't know about the rest of you but I can't wait to see what the new year brings from the minds of those three.

I am not sure as to the eligibilities or the award selection process, but I know two other bloggers of note that were not mentioned, whom I believe have done the most for the promotion of art nudes, photographers, and models have to be Chris St. James and Michael Barnes. (I know that was a run-on sentence, but I am not being graded here!) Chris St. James handles Univers d' Artistes, which is content laden like a chocolate chip cookie...just chock full of goodness. Michael Barnes is the chief architect behind Art Nudes Blog. You CANNOT call yourself a nude art lover and NOT know Michael Barnes and his blog, despite the efforts of the jackass who's complaint resulted in a content warning advisory on his site. Both of these gentlemen are the Don Kings of Nude Art ... (but in a good way!) So if you don't know, you better ask somebody.

Now everyone join me in extending congratulations to these individuals for their accomplishments and contributions by visiting their sites and becoming regular supporters, subscribers, and readers of their work. They have put an awful lot of time, energy and dedication to serve us and we owe them no less. [Applaud] ... [Applaud] ... [Applaud]