|
If
you haven't looked at my dance photography, you should
-- I think it's some of my best work.
One
day (around 1990), I get a phone call from a woman who
identifies herself as a friend of one of the dancers I
used to photograph a lot. She admired my
photography & wanted to do some sexy photos for her
boyfriend, and she asked me if I wanted to do
this. I asked whether she was a dancer, & she
said no. I asked her what kind of photographs did
she want to make, and she said sexy; after further
conversation, I got the idea that she was comfortable
doing implied nude. Now I didn't really know her,
and I certainly didn't know what she looked like, but I
said yes.
I was
surprised by Renee -- she was about six feet tall and
very, very attractive. And she turned out to be
very photogenic. We got along well.
She
liked the photographs a lot. Eventually, she
started sculpting her body. She worked out a big
lot, she entered, & won many fitness pageants, &
she got her breasts augmented. She became fairly
well known in fitness competition circles. When
she moved to L.A., we lost touch. |
Although
I never really made nude photographs of Renee, I guess I
got a taste for the genre. I got interested in
nude photography soon after this. |
|
|
Here's
Michelle -- my first real favorite. Her story is
sad/happy. She was very young -- barely legal for
nude photography, and I believe that she was a
runaway. Further, I think she got entangled with
some shady characters. I'm not sure I remember how
we met, but we got along really well. She had
never modeled before, but she felt that the images we
made were beautiful. She posed for me quite a few
times.
But I
think she kept coming back simply because she felt
respected & appreciated when she was around
me. And she felt I found an inner beauty that she
was normally inclined to disavow. |
We
both had such terrific times together. She simply
enjoyed how I treated her, and I learned that how you
treat your models has a direct effect on the resulting
images.
Here
is the original scan of the same image:
|
|
|
Michelle
was an awesome natural model. She was a bundle of
contradictions. She was awkward &
graceful. She was shy & uninhibited. At
this time, she was living a rough life, yet she was
somehow innocent & quietly sweet. |
Michelle
is the first model I dressed in this, my favorite
shirt. In fact, that shirt is now used only by
models, and it has been used perhaps a dozen or so times
since this sitting. However, no one has ever worn
the shirt as well as Michelle. |
|
One
day, Michelle disappeared. Then, a few years
later, out of the blue I got a call from her, and she
came over for a visit. Her update: she had
moved back to Texas & reconciled with her
family. She never really modeled for anyone but
me, and she wasn't modeling now. She was attending
college after finishing her high school degree.
She was in town because she was testifying against a
former associate in a criminal file.
A
witness for the prosecution in a criminal file?
Like I said, she was living a rough life, but I was glad
to see how well she managed to pull it all together for
herself. I was very proud of her. She asked
for (and received) prints of many of the images we made
together.
She
was my first nude model, and I really enjoyed working
with her. All other models are measured against my
experience with Michelle. |
|
|
To
be honest, I'm sorry to say that I don't remember the
name of this model. We drove along the California
coast, somewhere south of Monterey, and we found this
wonderful spot with all sorts of great rock
formations. I do remember trying to find this spot
again in the following years, and I never did find
it. I should have marked it on a map.
I am
really embarrassed that I don't remember the model's
name. I remember the sitting -- it was fun, and
she was terrific. She was clearly adventurous,
happily climbing all over the place. |
This
is Lexus, a local dancer who wanted some
photographs. She, too, became a multiple sitting
visitor. Like Michelle, she didn't model much at
all -- in fact, for all I know, she only modeled for me,
but she loved the pictures we made together.
Someday,
I will write a three act play, with each act being a
nude modeling sitting. It is amazing to me that
some models open up once their clothes come off, and
they tell me things they tell very few people.
Lexus was one of these. I was going to tell you
about it, but somehow that doesn't feel right. |
|
|
I
did hear from Lexus after I moved here to Oregon.
She wasn't modeling anymore, but she wanted some prints
from our sittings. Sadly, we weren't able to
connect. I'd love to get her these prints. |
|