The Classics

"The Cradle"

"Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between." -Karl Heiner

Some time ago, I made mention that I wanted to take some time to watch some old classics. This was brought on by a Nevada Public Radio segment in which Dustin Hoffman was interviewed for the 40th anniversary of “The Graduate” from 1967, which effectively put him on the Hollywood map. I had actually never seen the movie and it made me realize how many classics I had never seen despite my love of movies. As a kid, I never wanted to watch old movies preferring the blood, gore, violence, and sex of the modern era of film. But then over the last decade or so, I’ve noticed a decline in the quality of film. Oh sure, there are always the blockbuster franchises that come out and the sequels of other popular films, but everything seemed to be a remake. Originality was lost.

The same was happening with television as well. Much has gravitated toward the reality genre, but sometimes browsing the channels late at night, I’d catch an old sitcom, or drama series. Maybe I’ve grown up since then, but I have been able to appreciate good TV. Sometimes its just funny watching shows from back then and noting the dress styles or the politically correct way of addressing an issue that wouldn’t even get a second look today, such as teen pregnancy or drugs in school. These issues, while remaining important, are not the tender subjects they once were. School shootings are much more of a factor now. I can recall seeing an episode of Sesame Street from way back in the day. Kids were being followed playing in a local city dump using old refuse for play things. That kind of stuff would never fly today!

A few days ago, I watched The Graduate and Casablanca. These films don’t need my review by any sort of the suggestion, but Ben, in The Graduate, would have been considered a stalker if he were casing a school and following a young girl around campus. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but Casablanca was brilliant to me. I especially enjoyed the lighting. Nothing is lit very brightly and the shadow play is much like I try to do with my photography now. The B&Ws are still a fave of mine and the low key, sometimes soft imagery was especially to my liking. I now know where some of these famous quotes come from: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world, she walks into mine.", as well as some that were misquotes, “Play it again, Sam”. According to IMDb trivia, that line was never in the movie, but was misquoted from Bogart’s actual line, "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!". Ingrid Bergman also has a line that’s close: "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By". So I am wondering what classic I’ll watch next…maybe The Maltese Falcon, Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Cane, A Streetcar Named Desire, or maybe To Kill a Mockingbird? Suggestions?

What I did for Mother's Day

"Nude Under the Mountain"

Another successful Art Nude Photography Workshop for the records: Lessa was a gem. The day was beautiful. My location was grand. And I was amongst friends. What more could a facilitator ask. In the same general area as the last photo event, I chose a few areas that caught my eye from the last event that we skipped over. For a shoot on Mother's Day, I had a decent turn-out for this event. I didn't expect many, but as I have mentioned before, the smaller group tends to be more beneficial than the larger group. Despite being out of doors, some of the areas I chose were tight fits, closed in by either rocks, cacti, or trees.

Lessa turns out to be an excellent model who is very comfortable with her body. With her background in dance and theater, she's proved as creative as I might have expected from someone of her experience. The combination of her marvelous curves, her long hair, and her expressive charisma, allows for a broad range of ideas to explore. I am sooo looking forward to a few independent photo sessions to see what else I can come up with. Normally, I don't get to shoot much on my own events, but this time I was able to work in a few shots. I didn't get as many prime shots as I might have wished for, but my angles were still okay. Independent shoots with her will allow me to really explore my ideas with her collaboration.

The group that came out to shoot really bonded. You'd have thought we were all wearing Dr. Scholls Gellin' insoles. I know I was gellin'. Do you hear what I'm tellin'. Cuz I can start yellin' like a felon sellin' melon on a hot summer day if you don't understand me. This felt more like friends getting together and chillin' on a Sunday afternoon, which might have actually been the case had Felix brought some beer. In fact, to make up for it, we are planning a nude photo BBQ over at Felix's place next month. Several of them got to go out to eat Mexican after the shoot, but I didn't get to join as I got a call from the Security monitoring service that the alarm at my home was blasting. Thankfully, there was no cause for alarm. I think the dogs triggered the alarm somehow. We've got 3 large boxers weighing close to 70 pounds each running amuk in the house while no one's home.

And so with all this fun, its only fitting I leave you with this really funny video. If you can't see it below, just >click here<.

Allow Me to Introduce... Lessa

"Photography, not soft gutless painting, is best equipped to bore into the spirit of today." - Edward Weston

I was very fortunate to be able to come across a woman like Lessa. I knew right off the bat that she was someone I wanted to work with and in no short time, I promised her a spot for my next workshop weeks ago prior to even finalizing a booking for her. With her background in dance and theater, I hope to produce many photographic projects with her in my viewfinder. As I have mentioned several times before, attitude is the biggest thing I key on and I love her's.

Her reasons for wanting to do this were more of a purist's ideals. Money was not the motivator behind her desire to pose for artistic nudes and I genuinely felt honored that she chose to collaborate with me in order to reach her goals, as there are a web full of advertisements of photographers who are seeking nude models. I hold my next art nude photo workshop this Sunday afternoon on the 11th and Lessa was hired for the job. Although its Mother's Day, I still have a few photogs in my group who want this so I'll hold a session. Lessa is a very interesting person and I hope to explore more elements of her creative expressions. Man, who knew Weston has such emotion for painting??