Scouting Nevada

"Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does."

- John Berger

"To Keep a Promise..."

Well, on the last entry, I promised to post a nude with my next post. So, I give you the lovely Faerie in Sepia, but the bulk of this post concerns my recent scouting trip. This past Sunday was spent exploring Hwy 93 with Felix, his wife Summer, and Jeff. We took two vehicles and I rode with Jeff. It was a lovely day. As we left I-15, we headed northwest and were on our way to Delamar, a ghost town that is the ruins of an old mining town. Its still fairly hot, so bringing a model out there right now would be unsat. (military term for unsatisfactory.) I shot some of the ruins out there but I think I could build a project out of the old rusty refuse that has stood the test of time thus far. Old cans, wiring, and scrap metal littered the entire area.

Along the way we stopped off and got shots of abandoned buildings, ranches and corrals. We hit some watering holes and let me tell you, they felt great. You know me...I couldn't leave without experiencing them in the natural. We headed on through Caliente, had lunch at a former railroad station and then made our way to Cathedral Gorge. Initially, it looked okay, but it was after we got a bit closer and realized the clefts in the rocks had spots that cut deeper into the mountain and formed laberynths of amazing passages that coursed back to a dead end. One such passage way ended in what looked like a huge dark den. I didn't think it was safe to explore that alone, so I got Felix to check it out with me. The den was about 4 foot up the back of the wall and about 5 foot in diameter. It gave me the impression that something big had made it but I was too stupid or just too curious to leave it at that. I had to go in. Climbing up, we realized that the hole was only about 10 feet in, but then it went down about 20 to 25 feet and there was another passage off to the left. You could see down to the floor, but not around the corner. My curiosity again was not satisfied. We had no rope, but Felix did have a tow stap. It was only 16 feet, but that was enough. He held onto the strap as I descended. Believe you, me... that took some trust. I had two knives, a flashlight, and my camera, splunking around in the bottom of a crevase. Summer was against even the notion of me being down there, but you know how guys get when they get a notion in their heads. The bottom was L-shaped and extended for another 40 feet or so. Somehow, I am guessing Unbearable Lightness is reading this and thinking I am out of my mind and perhaps I am. It was fun though. I was as careful as I could be. Skinny dipping and cave exploring just made my day. That was a 15-hour day trip and I plan some more!

On another note, I came across a new blog by a figure model called Museworthy. I got a kick out of reading her site and have now added it to my list of good blogs to follow. I've linked her page into my model resources as well. I recommend you check her out. Also, my other group, The Las Vegas Photographic Society, for which I am assistant organizer, had an event which I plan to host every month. We did our first night shoot and, I got to play with bulb exposures. I plan to hold such an event every full moon week. This one was shot off a spot on Lake Mead. We had a great turnout of about 10 photogs and we were out til about 11:30pm. I may post pics of it and talk about it on my next post. So stay tuned.

A Return to "The Jeffersons"

Much of my artistic expressions consists of capturing the nude in photographs. While that is my main medium of choice, its the nude itself that I revel in whether thats captured photographically or sketched in paint, charcoal, or even ink. I think its more of the work with the nude which captivates me. I've come to appreciate it both as an art nude model and as an art photographer who shoots nudes. This is why my Las Vegas Art Models Group sponsors Art Nude Photo Events AND Figure Drawing Sessions.

I don't draw the nude anymore, but I still like the association. This past Friday, I held another figure drawing session with art model slash muse, Trixie. I love working with her. I've shot with her before and she is such a pleasure to shoot, but she's an experienced art model as well. This came through Friday afternoon as I watched her assume poses that were graceful and elegant. In most cases, you wouldn't call someone sitting still for 20 minutes a performance, but such cannot be said of Trixie. Her's is an action of still motion or fluid suspended. I don't know who first coined the phrase "The silence was deafening", but its the same paradoxical terminology that came to mind as I watched her perform for my group of artists that after noon. I think I'll have to introduce her to my art photo members.

I don't recall if I mentioned it or not, but I was also asked to be an assistant organizer for the Las Vegas Photographic Society. Its a newly created group started by a member of my LVArt Models Group. There is not so much of a focus on the nude as it orientates more toward the simple love of photography. I've come to meet some great new friends in the group and have been introduced to more who are not members. I go hang out at B&C Camera, INC., run by Edda Brandt in Las Vegas since 1970. So if you're in Vegas and need some gear, check her out near the W. Sahara/Decatur intersection, which isn't that far off the I-15 exit. There's a small group of photogs that come in on Saturdays late morning and hang out with Edda til she closes at 2pm (only on Saturdays). Last Saturday, I got some really good insight from Robert, Dennis, and Eric on some photography challenges and Photoshop issues I've been having. This week, it was my turn to give out help to Joe, a new owner of the Canon 40D, which I shoot, but I also got to meet Rick who showed us work from his 40 year old, Fuji panoramic camera. It reminds me of "Cheers", where the same bunch comes in to the same spot and just has fun hanging out. In fact, its the only camera place I've seen that has bar stools. If she served beer, we'd probably be there every day. I can't wait for next Saturday.

In the meantime, I had planned on posting some vids of either Imogen Cunningham talking about Edward Weston or some instructional stuff on photo nudes, but I came across an old episode of The Jeffersons where Louise draws a male nude. I just had to go with this one. Its a 3 part series, but the 2nd one is the main part and clickable below or through the links. You can also catch the 1st and 3rd parts, too. I'll get Imogen next time.

The Jeffersons-Louise sketches nude model (part 1 of 3)
The Jeffersons-Louise sketches nude model (part 2 of 3)
The Jeffersons-Louise sketches nude model (part 3 of 3)