Fool that I am, I ask Ashley to put her jeans back on.
Seriously, though -- I usually don't want "gynecological"
images -- it's difficult to photograph a model's genital area without
being crude. But a topless model is another thing
altogether. There's a certain casualness that happens with a
topless model, and I like that. We can attempt poses that just
wouldn't work with a totally nude model. With her jeans on, we
don't have to worry about restricting her poses.
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...
and here's the last image made
with the digital camera before
it crashed & failed to
fire off the strobes ever
again. This was
particularly disappointing
because I was using a device
from the strobe manufacturer
that was supposed to protect
digital cameras. But
there were no guarantees, and
of course, the camera isn't
supported with anything other
than flashes from the camera's
manufacturer.
This
camera failed once before, and
I had it repaired. I
still might repair it (because
I like the tilting / pivoting
live preview LCD).
However, I was inspired to
obtain some Pocket Wizards,
which connects cameras to
strobes wirelessly.
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While I call myself a "cerebral" photographer, there is no
denying that emotion plays a significant role in the production of my
best images.
The failure of the digital camera was very frustrating, especially
since I was using the protection doohickey. I spent a lot of
time trying to get the darn thing to work, and Ashley was wonderfully
patient & understanding. Eventually, I give up.
However, I whip out my old reliable film camera & finish
Ashley's sitting using film. Here's the first film image.
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It's
funny -- this 120 film camera
must be 15-20 years old, and
it's still as relevant as the
day it was made.
Further my first 35mm film
camera is as old as I am, and
it still produces top quality
negatives. On the other
hand, any digital camera will
be obsolete in a couple of
years. It
just goes to show you that all
the fancy auto-focus &
auto-exposure stuff is fluff
that helps make photography
appealing to the masses, but
the quality still lies in film
& paper & techniques.
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Ashley brought an escort, her fiancée. Many photographers don't
like models bringing escorts, finding them distracting at best, but I
don't mind, as long as I am forewarned and as long as the escort is
well behaved. I usually put the escort to work.
Here, I wanted to get Ashley's boyfriend into the act. The
concept was to have him stand off camera & photograph him touching
her sensuously.
He didn't get the concept right away -- I really didn't want him to
honk her nose.
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This is more
like it. When you look
at these images, pay
particular attention to
Ashley's lovely face. I
think she enjoyed posing for
these pictures, because I
think she liked being touched
by her boyfriend.
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I mentioned that I am in the midst of a long string of bad luck, and I
mentioned the failure of the digital camera & the errors in my
ordering of a DSLR.
Another problem I have is with my scanner. It's funny, I have
an old HP Scanjet 5P, a scanner that must be 15 years old. But I
love it -- its scans of my prints are rich in tone. However, it
uses a proprietary PC board -- I have it in an old PC, running Windows
95 -- I've kept this PC around only for the scanner -- I can't put
that proprietary board in my current PC. Sadly, this PC is in
bad, bad shape -- in fact, it finally bit the dust.
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I'm enjoying the
expression on Ashley's face,
so I ask her boyfriend to go
behind the chair, so that he
can touch her with both
hands. Somewhere along
the line, Ashley loses her
jeans.
Back to the scanner.
That PC was in terrible shape
-- it's CD reader died a long
time ago, and there was
creeping corruption on the
hard disk. Eventually, a
key OS file got corrupted
& the PC wouldn't
boot.
I figured that it would
cost a moderate amount to get
that PC operating again (it
could use some upgrades, too
-- it has only 32MB of
memory). I figured that
it was cheaper to get a new
scanner. This I did.
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Throughout this sitting, Ashley was bubbly & happy &
enthusiastic, but with her boyfriend's hands on her, the mood of the
sitting changed. Like I said, look at Ashley's expression.
Back to the scanner: so I did obtain a new scanner, and I
went to the trouble of building a little bookcase beside my computer
desk to house the scanner. The scanner did a decent job, but I'm
used to the old scanner being able to capture the rich tones of my
prints -- somehow, these scans fall short.
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Then again,
perhaps the problem isn't in
the scanner. Perhaps the
problem is my PC's
monitor. This is an old
monitor, and it's quality has
been degrading gradually for
quite a while. It has
lost contrast (despite turning
it up as much as possible),
and its colors are
fading. I was holding
out for a few more months -- I
want to purchase a new PC
later this year, but I was
waiting for Microsoft Vista's
first service pack.
Recently, however, I decided
that I couldn't wait for a new
monitor -- I've ordered one,
which should be delivered in a
week or two. I'll just
purchase a PC without a
monitor later.
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I don't like being the limiting factor when it comes to the sensuality
of my images (sometimes I am, & sometimes I'm not). I said
that if they were comfortable with his hands on her breast, then
that's okay with me.
Back to the monitor: I am concerned that once I get the new
monitor, I'll realize how bad these edited images will look. I
suspect that my edited images must have too much contrast (because my
monitor has so little). I suspect that I will not go back &
re-edit my images -- maybe one or two, but not the whole collection.
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I
don't photograph horizontal models
often enough, so we move this
"hands on" concept to a
new setup. I like these
images, because the extra hand
tends to look like part of
Ashley's body -- it's a bit more
subtle. Heck, sometimes,
it's difficult to figure out which
hand is his & which are
hers. Not only are these
images sensual, but it stimulates
the viewer's brain. |
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Case
in point: I'm not sure which
hand belongs to whom. |
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I
find these touching images to be
very sexual & borderline
erotic. I realize that I
haven't done any erotic
photography in a while. It
is difficult for me -- I have to
be comfortable with the model(s),
and this is my first sitting with
Ashley -- I don't even know
whether that is something she
enjoys doing. Still -- while
we did discuss these touching
pictures as we negotiated this
sitting, we didn't discuss
anything more risqué than this. |
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