Five Years Running! Time for Some Changes

 

Art Model, Alba ©2022 Terrell Neasley 

My Travel Goal is to transform my 

DREAMS into MEMORIES

Another year has come full circle. Yes, that is correct. 5 years ago this month, I left on a jet plane, beginning a new life of travel that I anticipated might be for only 18 months, but I am much further along than that with no time frame for completion any time soon. Things are a bit different now. For one, I'm not in Vietnam, but I do plan to return there. After 30 months in that country, I finally made it back to the US. Presently, however, I'm in Costa Rica! Two... most of my plans since my return have been fabulously derailed due to a prior shoulder injury. I thought it was maybe a pinched nerve or damaged labrum. Turns out, I have a complete thickness supraspinatus tendon tear of my right rotator cuff. Surgery is scheduled for early February. I decided to bounce down south for a bit after Christmas while I await my surgery date.

I am not looking forward to this surgery, but if it is what I need then I will do what has to be done. I was asked to commit to 4 months of having my arm in a sling, as my surgeon believes this procedure will come with complications. That puts me in a fixed place until June. Hence, my apprehension. I initially expected to return to Vietnam in January!

Art Model, Alba ©2022 Terrell Neasley 

And that's why I'm in Costa Rica. I just wanted to come some place quiet to sit down and think. I have lots to consider for these next six months or so. Change is happening this year. I'm making several amendments to my life, to include banking, phone plans, and even computers systems! Yep. that's right. I am 89% certain I'm gonna switch from PC to Mac. More on that in a minute, but the priority it to adjust my service and product needs to fit my lifestyle and more adequately reflect my goals.

Banking is a major consideration when you travel the way I do. My bank n longer suits my needs. I've had a few customer service issues that have left me high and dry a number of times. It always dealt with policy more than human interaction, but I've been put in harrowing situations where the Grace of God carried me through. I don't need a brick and mortar bank. It's been years since I've had to go inside a physical branch. These banks don't usually offer competitive savings plans. Along with that, I've been paying needless ATM and foreign transaction fees. Many places abroad don't take cards and if you don't have cash, you're out of luck. I'm done with that! I'm turning my banking needs over to a few credit card providers that waive ATM fees. 

Art Model, Alba ©2022 Terrell Neasley 

I've been with the same cell carrier for more than 15 years. AT&T has ran their course with me so I'll be switching to T-Mobile. Partly because of a bad customer service experience and also because T-Mobile will cover me internationally in more places than AT&T. I'll also save some money while I'm at it. And saving money is of utmost importance when traveling. I have virtually no debt since I've started this journey. Bill expenses (phone, cloud storage, website maintenance, Netflix) are the main thing I have to pay. The first thing I did when I returned to the US was to rework my self-storage options. They'd increased in price from $80/month to just under $200 in the time I was gone. Now I am paying $80 again. 

With all these changes, I figured, What the hell? Might as well switch laptops and go Mac instead of PC? 

I change PCs every two or three years anyway. Macs are more expensive and you can't upgrade them after purchase. I hate that. But maybe I will buy a maxed out version and keep it for 5 or 6 years. That evens out the cost that I'd spend on PCs. It will have to be the MacBook Pro 16, but it's prudent to wait and see comparisons of the upcoming M2 processor against the current M1 Max. The performance might be negligible and there could be a significant price drop for the M1 processors to clear out inventories. That could make the M1 Max version hella attractive. Hopefully, we won't have to wait much longer than the spring for this comparison. 

Art Model, Alba ©2022 Terrell Neasley 

One thing I'm NOT switching is camera systems, however. I'll stay with Sony and upgrade mid to late spring, whenever I am done with my recovery. Will it be the Sony a7R IV or the a7R V? I think the Mark V is way more camera than I need! I won't be shooting 8K video! And all that AI-powered autofocusing may be overkill on my style of shooting and subject matter. It would be great if I was shooting sports (or fast moving subjects). Or if I were shooting wildlife and trying to capture the unpredictable nature of animals with a super telephoto lens. But that's not me. I'm usually shooting posed people or landscapes using center, single-point autofocus!

However, that being said, there are still other features I can take advantage of with the latest camera. One is the variable RAW file sizes! Another is a badass BIONZ XR processing engine which... 

"... offers up to 8x greater processing performance compared to previous generations, which enables faster overall performance, impressive image quality with wide sensitivity and dynamic ranges, and more fluent processing that's capable of handling a bevy of AI tasks and intelligent AF alongside imaging processes. This processing system also reduces rolling shutter and other motion distortions for clean rendering of moving subjects." 

I don't need it the same for sharp eyes or tracking subjects. What I do find outstanding is the Focus Stacking features that I can use with Macro Photography. Yet more still, I think I can appreciate several other aspects of this camera over its predecessor like the flip out LCD screen and the reportedly 8-stop image stabilization. But the question for me remains... Are those improvements worth the additional cost? That inquiry still remains before me. Sometimes, that cost difference can be $1,000 depending on sales promotions.

Art Model, Alba ©2022 Terrell Neasley 

Naked and Silly

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

“It's okay to be absurd, ridiculous, and downright irrational at times; silliness is sweet syrup that helps us swallow the bitter pills of life.”

― Richelle E. Goodrich

I'm in a mood, I guess. I could use a little bit of silliness. Maybe you can, too. I've been here in Vietnam for 20 months. Lockdowns have just been curtailed and things are beginning to get back to normal again... at least here in Hanoi in the north of Vietnam. To the south, Ho Chi Minh City is getting better, but they were the worst hit with Covid-19. 

Let me just say that Vietnam has managed this pandemic in exemplary fashion. The Delta variant came along at the end of May and changed everything. For more than a year, Vietnam held covid in check. Delta was another story. We went from about 3,300 total cases at the beginning of July to 850,000 today. In hardly 3 months deaths went from 35 to 21,000. Y'all can say what you want, but I'm watching the measures they take to curtail this virus and their response to this pandemic been extraordinary, compared to most places in the world. It took 3 months but they even got control of Delta. Vaccines finally began rolling out and numbers have plummeted. Good government and good citizens working together and the rest of the world should take notes. 

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

Now, back to my topic...

As things lessen up here, it's hard not to think about going home. As I said, it's already been 20 months. However, this is something I already anticipated. I expected to be gone two years on this leg of my trip. What I didn't expect was being in the same place. Had I stuck to my original plans, I'd be in Australia now, getting ready to make my way to the Islands of the South Pacific. namely Fiji, Tonga, French Polynesia, and The Cook Islands. Quite possibly, my pining for new gear is a result of previous mental programming. I had anticipated upgrading my gear at the two year mark after returning to the US again! 

Now, that's not likely to happen, just yet, but my subconscious obviously doesn't know that. And the camera I want is not even out yet. I'm pretty sure, I'm sticking with Sony gear. I currently rock the Sony a7RII. The Sony a7RV should be out sooner or later and I'm already certain I want it. It had BETTER have a fully articulating rear LCD screen! I don't know if the thing will be 100MP or not. It could be 61MP, like the a7RIV. 

Art Model, Panda © 2011 Terrell Neasley

As I have mentioned before, I have to upgrade both my cameras if I do this. I refuse to carry two different battery types and all the newer systems have Sony's larger batteries (NP-FZ100) in them. My current second camera is the a6500. I love having a crop system to complement my main full-frame body. I've done that for years, every since I was with Canon with my Canon 5DMkII and the 7D. Therefore, I'll have to option to upgrade my crop to the latest one... whatever that will be by the time I get back. Likely a6700.

OR, I could go full-frame for the second camera which in this case, it would be the a7SIII, (which already has a fully-articulating rear LCD screen). Choices, choices. Both those cameras will be about $3500 each. Dang! I'm inclined to have the crop system due to the fact that it gives my lenses some added range. They get magnified by a factor of 1.5 times. That's a great complement, to me. In doing so, I'll have to get a slew of extra batteries, but the each camera uses the same one. In addition to that, I'll need all new, fresh memory cards. Either way, Sony a7SIII or a6700... which also isn't even out yet.

Art Model, Justine ©2015  Terrell Neasley

What else, beyond that? Oh yeah... one more thing. I gotta have that Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD. I've been shooting prime lense during this whole trip. Now I think I MUST have some range in my arsenal. Currently, I shoot with a 35mm and a 55. That's it. I left my 90mm Macro stateside. I sold my Sigma 24 1.4 and picked up the Tamron 35 2.8 macro. I lost speed, but regained macro capability. But this new Tamron is right up my alley in terms of range. It's not huge, but it's also giving me 150mm at f/2.8. On a crop sensor, that 150 turns into a 225mm, (still at 2.8)!

Whenever I do return to the US, I won't be there long. I'm still on this mission! I may return to Vietnam again or continue on where ever they'll let me come visit. Cambodia, Thailand... it all depends on several factors. But if I get my way... dang. I'm gonna come right back here. I'm not done with Vietnam!

Art Model, Chloe Ann ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, ©2018 Terrell Neasley

Nude vs. Naked

Art Model, Alisia Copyright 2020 Terrell Neasley 

"Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. The nude is condemned to never being naked. Nudity is a form of dress."

~ John Berger

I got a chance to talk about my nude art work a few months ago in a pizza shop. The conversation with a couple and their female friend got fairly in-depth as we talked about my art. This picture usually develops often in my travels when I mention I do artistic nudes. And in this case, like several others, it's the women that usually drive the discourse. First, they want to see the pics. I take them to my website (PhotoAnthems.com) or show them some of my latest work on my phone. After that, the questions, discussion, or debate commences. 

The absolute most common question I get is... 'Why do they have to be naked?" This comes from a more conservative circle who don't understand why I do this. I get that. My art is not for everybody and I'm not trying to persuade anybody into my court on this. And therefore the answer I give to this question is, THEY DON'T. They do not HAVE to be naked. They are nude because I CHOOSE to photograph them this way.

Other times there is instant appreciation and the discussion turns to inquiry. How do I find models? What do I look for in a nude model? Who are my inspirations... both model and other photographers? How did I get started? The girlfriend wanted to know what kind of nudes I enjoy (other than my own). I initially thought they were trying to get me to talk about porn. But that wasn't the case as they explained to me that my style was different from what they were familiar with, however, surely every artist must also appreciate different styles and and hate others.

The friend of the couple pointed out that she liked how I used "real" women who look like somebody you might see shopping in a store or standing next to you in the elevator. She felt it was cool that somebody could find beauty in people like herself and not just "Hollywood" women, as she called them. The conversation also brought to mind the debates, in which I sometimes engage, on the distinction between a photograph of a nude woman vs a pic of a naked chick. I'll scroll past the latter all day. 

Art Model, Alisia Copyright 2020 Terrell Neasley

So what is the difference between art nude photography and a photo of a naked person? That's a simple, yet complex question. On the face of it, nakedness simply implies a condition of being without clothes or something that covers your modesty. Yes, there are other functions of clothing, but let's stick to the point. Any image depicting nakedness can be claimed to be art or artistic by the creator or subsequently by anyone who views it. I used my cell phone to take photos of a girlfriend while she showered or sometimes when she exercised outside on the back patio. Is it art? I can be, if I say it is. And subsequently so, it is if I display it in an artistic environment with other similar depictions and call it, "Life of the Domestic Nude". Therefore, weight is given to the creator, the viewer, the context, and the environment in which the photo is displayed as to determinant factors to answer the question of artistic value and merit. 

Conversely, if I take the same shot with a camera that allows me to slow down the shutter speed, I can blur the cascading water and maybe her hands as they pass over her face and through her hair. I could shoot with a wide-angle lens and capture more of the surrounding bathroom for the environmental portrait aspect and shoot upward from a low angle. I might narrow the aperture down to reduce the light which illuminates her backside more than her front as she faces the shower head... and intentionally underexpose it. This creates a vignette on the backside of the composition whereas the front side is already in shadow. Maybe I'll shoot at a higher ISO to introduce grain and edit the shot in Black and White. 

Art Model, Alisia Copyright 2020 Terrell Neasley

At this point, I've employed fundamental principles of photography, introducing motion, perspective, balance, light and shadow variance, depth of field, grain, and use of monochromatic techniques. I'd bet if you saw the shot, you could see geometric shapes in the composition. If I never used the photo in an art gallery or if I never even called it art, it would still likely be widely accepted as an artistic composition on it's own merit. Why? Because I used artistic tools to consciously create something. You don't have to be called an artist to create art. Art is an expression. A person who creates something that is an outward manifestation of their expression, views, or emotion has created art. If you do it repeatedly, your an artist whether you get paid for it or not. If you get paid, then you're a professional artist. 

I don't often put a name to my style of nudes, but what the girls were used to seeing was glamour nudes. What they saw in my art didn't reflect much of that. I'm glad for it. I hardly ever need a make-up artist or a hair stylist. I like my nudes as raw as they come. I shoot the nude in whole or in macro parts, but I shoot all of her. Nudity restrictions hamper my creative abilities. I usually find my models by asking or they get referred to me. It is not often that I get someone who sees my work first and then contacts me, although it does happen. Over they years, especially in the US, word of mouth is what garnered the majority of my model finds. 

"There are few nudities so objectionable as the naked truth." 

~ Agnes Repplier

Art Model, Alisia Copyright 2020 Terrell Neasley

Shape, hair, eyes, are usually the first things that get my attention, in that order. However attitude is the prevailing factor. I say it all the time. I shoot as much as what's inside the model as I do the outside. If the attitude is not a fit, then I can't do it. That's not to say she or he has a poor attitude, just that for whatever reason, their hearts are just not in it. 

Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, Diane Arbus, Jerry Ulesmann, Sally Mann, Spencer Tunick... these were my initial inspirations. My photography professor, Michael Johnson first encouraged me to try nude photography. Dave Rudin was huge for me when I was still fresh and had finally switched to digital. He shoots film however and was already an established art nude photographer in New York. He contacted me offering encouragement and insight. He attended one of my art nude workshops and I got to see him often on his trips to Las Vegas. I get inspired by practically every model I work with. There's always something that is unique which they bring to the table. 

I love working with the muses who I shoot often and they let me play, experiment, and have the patience to stick with me when I do crappy work. There have been some I only worked with once and it was just as impactful. I can say I've shot hundreds of models. It seems like at damn near every point in my life, since I began shooting nudes, there has been someone there to help me. Since I first began, I once went a whole year without shooting a single nude. In 15 years, that's only happened once and I pray it never happens again. Top 3 models I've shot the most... 

• Tracie (Art Model Covenant) 
• Panda 
• Kristi C. 

Art Model, Alisia Copyright 2020 Terrell Neasley

I don't need for other art nude work to be like mine for me to enjoy them, but I don't particularly like implied nudes, nor nudes that trend conservative. It's so subjective. My favorite nude/photograph of all time is Dave Rudin's art piece of Carlotta Champagne. In fact... I think I will do a blog post on that one photo at some point. But it's an easily conservative piece that is nonetheless the best photo I've seen. I'm not particularly a fan of sexualized nudes. And there is a difference between that and erotica. Your idea of what sexualized is may be different from mine. Mine even has degrees to it. Maybe I'll talk on that at some point, too. Can sex be art? Sure. But more on that later. Everybody has their range on the art nude spectrum. I can only explain mine... ambiguously, so.

I've been happy to work with 4 women here in Vietnam. Art Model, Alisia was someone who was referred to me and we put together our collaboration soon after. It was a long photo shoot! I was ecstatic that she had that kind of patience for a first shoot. We discussed the possible concepts and then just got to work. I let her move, pose, and tried to provide as little direction as possible. I wanted to take what was given and see what resulted. That has been my approach most times, but if the model has difficulty and needs help on how to move, I can step in and direct. I placed Alisia where I needed and just let her go for it. My job was to capture her performance with the right light, perspective, and angles. We did that and I think we created some fine art. I am very appreciative of her. I thank her for helping me celebrate the female form with this art.

Art Model, Alisia Copyright 2020 Terrell Neasley

Photo Book - Jenny in Peru

Art Model, @JennyPoses4U_2 ©2019 Terrell Neasley

I estimated about 2 months and that's right about how long it took. Two months after Jenny Anne Rose left me in Peru to go back home, I have completed all the edits and now the book "Jenny in Peru" is now available! TWO HUNDRED THIRTY PAGES in a large 14 x 11-inch hardback book, using high quality long-lasting archival paper. This is definitely an art book suited for the coffee table or living room center-piece.

Jenny in Peru

By Terrell Neasley

The book illustrates three weeks of adventure in which I detailed much of this in the recent blog post, "Travel Nudes, Jenny in Peru". Do yourselves a favor and go back to visit that post one more time. I think I've got about 10 images from our trip to accompany that post, which is the most I think I've done on any blog post. You can read about the details of our travels from Lima to Northern Peru, back to Lima, then to two locations in Southern Peru, and finally back to Lima again.

Art Model, @JennyPoses4U_2 ©2019 Terrell Neasley

What was unique to me on this particular entire photo project was the greater focus I put on the book while I was shooting. Normally, I shoot simply for the shots, themselves. At most, I shoot with the edit in mind. That's how I've always worked. The edit has always been my primary objective for each individual shot. Almost every single one is made to stand on it's own, sometimes possibly in a series...maybe a triptych.

This time, I followed my normal methodologies, but I also incorporated shots that were specifically for the book orientation, such as shooting in landscape orientation and also some with the intent to make it cover double pages (I want to do the next one in Portrait Orientation) When making a book, the story is the priority. So I want a clear flow for the narrative that gives the viewer a reason to pause and study each page, but also an incentive to leave that page and see what comes after. I want to entice my viewers to travel all the way to the last page. And after having evoked an emotional response one way or the other, they wonder what else I will deliver soon.

Art Model, @JennyPoses4U_2 ©2019 Terrell Neasley

No matter how well-structured and creative a story is, Presentation is second on the priority list. Second, but a very CLOSE second. From the beginning, I wanted the story to be, in a way, narrated by the model with not only her moves but also her words. Given that she is an astute writer, I was able to use her talents and incorporate her style in a way that gave a more complete story about our journey from her perspective as well as insight into her thoughts. In this way, the viewers are able to appreciate the artistic use of her body in unfamiliar environments as well as peer into her mind and witness within as well as without. My hope was a better sense of character development and a deeper appreciation for this model's performance.

Art Model, @JennyPoses4U_2 ©2019 Terrell Neasley

Part of presentation is organization and structure. I organized this book mostly chronologically, but also categorically. I used the model's perspectives to introduce each different segment of our journey. Font, font size, alignment, book title, and book customization all go into essentials in book making. This is an art book, so I chose Premium heavy-weight paper. I wanted to incorporate my same since of quality in my prints into this book which also comes at premium expense. I have used the publishing services of Blurb.com for several years and they have provided me with great results.

Order your copy now to enjoy this most excellent exhibition of adventure, travel, and art. Thank you for your patronage!

Art Model, @JennyPoses4U_2 ©2019 Terrell Neasley

A Butterfly Emerges: How One Woman Came to Redefined Her Life

Jungles of El Salvador 2015 touring waterfalls

I'm way past due on doing my photo books. 2012 was my last book that I did, an annual of all the nudes I shot earlier that year. I've done books for other people since then (travel, bereavement, and commissions), but not any of my own books for my own art work. So I've put my mind to three projects and this is the first one.

A Butterfly Emerges

By Terrell Neasley

This is my latest art project, an intimate, sensual, and even explicit pictorial narrative of a woman's transformation from a stifled life to one of her own will and exploration. She's made life changes after a divorce that now prioritize travel, exploration, and being much more positive about her body. There are over 230 full-spread images in this book and two editions are available. Both are hard back and large format. However the higher priced of the two editions is printed on the best quality heavy paper the publisher has to offer. The other has a dust jacket and printed on premium paper, but not the heaviest stock.

This is the largest book I've done to date, primarily because of the volume of accumulated work over about three years. Trying to curate these edits down to the maximum allowable by the publisher was quite the daunting task. I could have easily added another 500 images to this collection and I am considering a separate volume with nothing but cell phone images...easily another 1,000!

I titled this art piece, "A Butterfly Emerges, How One Woman Came to Redefine Her Life", because its very appropriately describes her life's journey to this date. I won't get into specifics, but suffice to say she has come to terms with where her life has brought her and has chosen to live much more liberated going forward. She's my personal muse, companion, and soul mate and we've chosen to share our adventures in this series of work with more to come.

Copan Ruinas, Honduras 2015

The butterfly honestly embodies who this model is on several levels. A delicate creature, emerging from her past to find her wings and fly skyward. Fitting with this analogy is the story of transition and transformation. Often when you hear of butterfly used as a verb, as in "to butterfly a fillet", its often describing the act or splitting something apart, almost in two and then spreading it open. As you will see in the pages to follow, we've chosen to not shy away from exhibiting this model's natural tendency to be seated with knees high and spread open. She truly relaxes and is most comfortable with her legs "butterflied", if you will.

And for my part, I photograph the nude. All of it. I do not shoot to miss, cover, or hide genitalia. I use discretion in some cases and then again not in others. I know I run the risk of over-saturating your senses with pussy shots (and even penis images in some spots), but again, I remind you of my volume dilemma. We have photographed in and around our home and studio, but our journey has also taken us on travels throughout Nevada, Utah, California, the Outer Banks in North Carolina, and three months in Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.) We enjoy camping, backpacking, and day trips.

El Salvador. Yes, sometimes it got THAT hot!

Therefore I ask for you, the viewer, to try to see these images and my art as the way it was intended; as a real-life depiction of a woman's emergence into a will of her own and shared by myself. It is intimate, provocative, and yes, explicit. However, I have faith that you can see through all of that and see the journey for what it is and enjoy my artwork.

You can see previews of this journey on my Blurb bookstore site. I must tell you the edition with the highest quality, heavy stock paper is damn sure worth your investment. I will generally sell a single piece of my art for 5 times that amount and in this case, you get more than 230. Its more than a book of a hard binder and pages. My hope is that I have been successful in my attempt to stimulate your senses and bring you into our experience. Click on this link. Buy my book. I know you will enjoy it.

Thank you.

Welcome to Photo Anthems 2013!

"Like all great travelers  I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen." - Benjamin Disraeli 

© 2013 Terrell Neasley, Anonymous Nude Model

First post of the year. Hooray!  Nah, I don't really get into all that. But I understand many will still make resolutions, break'em, and renew them the next year. I'm normally not a conformist, but let me give it a try.

First, I'm gonna shoot more nude models than the FOUR I shot last year. Granted, 2012 was quite odd. I spent the first 4 months on lock-down from knee surgery. I spent some time out of the country and came back to the US and traveled around some more. So I didn't have a lot of opportunities to shoot many models. That changes. Regardless of travel schedules, or other extra-curricular activities, I'm making time for nudes. I don't care where I am. I'll be shooting. I had the good fortune of starting the year off right. When the clock struck midnight, I raised a glass, drank some champagne, kissed a few beautiful women, and 30 mins later was shooting a nude...for the next 7 hours. That's how I want to spend every New Year's.

© 2013 Terrell Neasley,
Anonymous Model

The second priority of business is to travel MORE! I know I have to get back down to Central America again. I need to backtrack some of my spots from last summer and this time bring a nude model with me. There were so many beautiful spots to shoot in and nobody was getting naked. Nature = Nudes, as far as I'm concerned and this is a must do. I need to spend some time with a Guatemalan family to learn Español, as I had intended to do on my last trip. But as I detailed before, Hurricane Ernesto had other plans. I don't know how much I'll get to do, but the priority is to do backtrack Central America, head on down to a few more C.A. countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama. I may leave Nicaragua and Costa Rica for another day. And then skirt on down further South into South America with priorities on Brazil, Colombia, and Equador. I'll see how things go and maybe get Peru and Chile in there.

"Full nakedness! All my joys are due to thee, as souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be, to taste whole joys." - John Donne

© 2013 Terrell Neasley, Anonymous Nude Model

The problem is that I like to take my time and sufficiently explore a place. I don't want to do a city or two and hit the next country. I want to absorb the culture and actually learn something. Tourism is not my goal. Experiencing the places and people I visit, is. All that takes time. How much time will I have? Who knows. A better question might be how much money will I have. Yeah, funding is kind of important, because at the same time, I still have Photo Anthems to run. Can I implement more travel into my business model? Well, that's still left to be seen. I'm taking steps as we speak to make that happen.

© 2013 Terrell Neasley, Anonymous Nude Model

Which leads to the next priority for the year...My business. Travel will definitely be a part of it, but I don't want to travel on my own dime by saving up and hitting the road with a limited budget. The goal is to have funds coming in WHILE I am on the road...or boat, as it were. I tell you my mind is constantly bent on this notion. I've almost entirely evolved my initial business plan when I first set out to do photo, which was primarily going to be on personal documentaries. Well, while this is still part of my business, I'd like to incorporate personal travel documentaries in the mix. I'd follow a client around and photograph and video their experiences and edit everything into a final package.

I love this thing, photography. And I want to revamp everything about the way I do it, in terms of gear I use, my methodology, and my art. I'll talk more on all that later on, though. But I can definitely envision great things, great collaborations, and EPIC projects. I hope you are on board and are following me. 'Cause its going to be a fun ride!

Naked Faeries

Model Faerie, © 2012 Terrell Neasley

"a pretty girl who is naked / is worth a million statues"

- e. e. cummings

Model Faerie, © 2012 Terrell Neasley

I love me some naked faeries. Actually, I only know one, and its good to get back to shooting Faerie. Its been a long time since I've had her in my sights and we've been able to finally make it happen. Just as gorgeous as ever, I don't think anybody can say one bad thing about this woman, but even on the inside, she a good girl, a great mom and wife, and she's got a beautiful outlook on life. I could definitely say she's a great model not only for me, but she's a great model of a human being worthy of emulation by many young women out there today. The main goal was to work her into some of my Art Nude Ball of Light work. She'd seen some of my earlier attempts and her husband likes them too. After not doing them for a year, it took a bit to make the adjustments, but I have found a way to perfect my sphere-building spin and rotation. It was more towards the end of our session that I began to get better, so we have some more work to do. And of course there are a LOT more images from our shoot last weekend, but I'm only going to get to a few before my adventure down South.

Model Faerie, © 2012 Terrell Neasley

Which brings me to another point. I'm thinking I'm going to start another blog to showcase my travel and adventure work. I know you're thinking I can barely keep tabs on this one, but I am sincerely giving this some thought. The only question is when I'll start it, because I ultimately want to have this thing going when I am more permanently on the road and traveling on a more regular basis for extended periods of time. Granted, this Central America stunt that I'm doing will be for a little while, but I'm talking about doing this as a life-style. That's when I truly want to begin a new chapter of writing. In fact, I think I'm going to take an online course in writing from Matador U. I was thinking about doing their photography class as well, but I think I'll switch to their film maker's course and just work with the two of those. I can't wait to get started. 

Model Faerie, © 2012 Terrell Neasley

The thing I like about all this is that, at the beginning of the year, as I'm laid up in the bed, this is all just a dream. Well now, its about to happen and I'm excited about that fact. Imagine it, plan it, do it. That's they way I want my thought process to evolve. Spending so much time in bed leaves you with nothing but imagination and with a little concentration, you can start planning everything out. Of course this one was pretty easy. All I have to do is follow Heather Rae. She's got the itinerary and beyond that, I don't really care. She's the subject. Whatever it is she's doing, I simply follow and record it. But beyond that, she's been very inspiring as I mentioned in the last post. My tasking is to simply get all the needed gear, learn more about video, and get the audio equipment I'll need to accompany me and I've done that. I have a few adjustments to make but all in all, I'm just about ready. I'll be learning on the fly, but thankfully we have enough time to get it down. The first week will be chill week anyway, so I'll be able to read up on the manuals and maybe we'll have wifi or internet connections and I can do some tutorials online. The Glidecam HD-2000 is giving me problems with the weight. Its tough to balance, but the thing may be too heavy for my needs. I can read a book on the Zoom H4N audio recorder and my on-camera Sennheiser should be easy enough. With that, you just plug in and go. This is going to be so much fun. I enjoy learning new things and am used to trial by fire from my military days.

Stay tuned...