Lucy

Time for some pretty pictures.

Sonia

These are very recent images from a shoot with Sonia, a very versatilely talented musician. A classically trained cellist, she often records music inspired by dreamy soundtracks. Her most recent effort, though, is a hip hop album that she is just finishing up. For these shots, I was trying out my third bathroom studio- and I thought that I'd try something different, considering this bathroom has a tub. I always wanted to do some Ophelia inspired imagery- long one of my favorite visual allegories. I assumed that it would probably wind up looking cheesy, but I'm actually very happy with these- which definitely has a lot to do with Sonia being quite the muse.

Lucy & Nathalia

It always seems to be easy to get two girls to do a shoot together- I can't recall ever getting a decline after suggesting it. It's actually much harder to get a guy to do a shoot with the girlfriend or wife. The woman is typically game- it tends to be the guy who is apprehensive. Guys tend to not like having their performance documented. I actually had a few shoots not materialize because the guy got cold feet. It was something that was a bit frustrating at first- getting guy/girl shoots was something that I really wanted to add to my portfolio for a couple of reasons. One reason was aesthetic- I wanted some balance, since I thought that a lot of girl/girl looked unbalanced. The most important reason was that I knew that once either a woman and/or couple viewed my portfolio, and saw some images like that, then they would be inspired to try it as well. Which is exactly what happened. People don't always know what they want until they see it. Not everyone has the imagination to envision possibilities, nor do they necessarily want to be the first to try something new. But when they see a good example of how it will turn out- it definitely breaks the ice. That's how I wound up doing so much erotic photography in general. It's a domino effect. When people see my work, they often get a very visceral reaction- "Oh, I want to be involved in that!".

Kel

The following quote is from a NY Times article that I read recently:
"No organ is more promiscuous than the eye, and no appetite more insatiable than the hunger to look. These truths go a long way toward explaining the preoccupations of a culture whose interest in imagery is defining."
I could easily have a lot to say about what I feel regarding this quote. It is probably best to just leave it here on it's own, though, since the reason I like it so much is that it sums up many vague thoughts that I have- and so well in just a couple of sentences...

The following images are of Kel, from a recent shoot.

Lucy & Nathalia

Here is a Helmut Newton influenced image from a recent shoot with Lucy and Nathalia.

Natalie

I like how these two images are so similar, yet so different at the same time. In the first, I focused on the face, which is friendly and inviting. On the second I'm focusing on the rope and breasts, and there is wonderful tension happening. While I definitely like the second image better,  I none the less find the comparison really interesting.

Meira

Some more Mer, some more windows. I love the diversity of characters that occasionally appear in the window. The fact that there can be two separate scenes happening simultaneously- the characters down on the street, and the model inside- and that they often have nothing to do with each other, really amuses me.

Sarah

It's been a while since I've last shot with Sarah- we need to shoot again soon...

Diane F

I've probably done too many images like this- eyes closed, close up on the face. They're like mandalas to me- I just keep doing them every shoot, until I get it right. In that case, maybe I haven't done enough of them, and perhaps I'll never get it right... This one is a personal favorite, though.

Autumn

Autumn has my favorite kind of eyes to photograph. In a portrait they are soulful and expressive. In erotic images they are bedroom eyes- sleepy, yet they draw you in. From the very beginning eyes have been the main focal point in my photographs of people, and that has never changed. I can always help someone's eyes connect to the camera better with a few tricks, but there is only so much that I can do. In the end, either someone's eyes connect to the camera or they don't. That is why it is only every so often that I create a portrait where the eyes simply get a intense visceral reaction from most viewers. It's a constant frustration, but when I get it, it's such a joy. I don't care for cliches (does anybody?), but "the eyes are a window into the soul" none the less applies to many of my images. The eyes are the best non-verbal indicator of our emotional and intellectual state of mind. I don't even know if I believe in humans having actual souls (I've met a few that definitely do not), but that doesn't matter. Photographs are an illusion, and if the illusion of seeing into the soul is there, then that illusion is what matters to me.

Izzy

Slightly older favorites of Izzy that I've never posted...

Adrian Louise

Adrian Louise is someone that I just recently started working with. I have not really taken on anybody new in the past year, and I tend to be apprehensive about doing so. This is because I'm very happy working with the few muses that I now work with, and who never let me down. Well, Adrian Louise is awesome! I've worked with her twice now, and plan to keep working with her!

Christine

I love when someone welts up from scratches so easily...

Maggie

My version of The Scream.

Jade Vixen

I've really been interested in reflections lately, this one being nicely abstracted. I'm sure that most people are not even looking at that, yet alone interested...

Tanya Dakin

This is an old one, from back when it was so easy to shoot at Eastern State Penitentiary. You could just wander around and do nudes anywhere you wanted, and no one bothered you. Now it's impossible to do nudes there, and they confine you to one place. Thinking about it is like a golden period that you wish you could revisit...

Meira

Mer moved to Chicago earlier this month, so I will only be able to shoot with her during her occasional visits back to Philly. Sadness.

Tali DeMar

A couple of new ones of Tali DeMar...

Dessa

I'm not even sure myself how I managed to get the angles and spatiality. It probably has more to do with Katelyn- a great model makes my job easy.  It makes me smile when I look at it.

Lucy

I bought this penis candle online from the Lucky Mojo Curio Co. about a year ago, but I had been waiting for the right person to use it with. Lucy is terrified of fire, so she is probably the perfect person!

Heff

I hate good taste. It's the worst thing that could happen to a creative person.

~Helmut Newton

Little One

I'm shooting with Little One today, although technically she's retired from modeling. Looking forward to getting a nice, genuine portrait out of her- which usually is not difficult...

Lucy & Nathalia

Here is an image from a recent shoot with Lucy and Nathalia, which I was really looking forward to. It was a good shoot- although I've been working on it in piece-meal, since I've been crazy busy lately...

Sarah

Here are a couple from the last shoot with Sarah- continuing with showing some prettier, but still erotic imagery.

Lee Loo La

I've been trying not to include any fashion oriented work of mine among the work highlighted here, but lately any fashion type work that I've been doing has definitely been very influenced by my darker, moodier erotic work. I've been using the same gritty backgrounds, not to mentioned that the clothing itself is mostly fetish stuff. So I'm breaking my own rules, and will be including some images that could be candidates for a fashion mag...

Lee

I definitely need to shoot with Lee again soon...