Untitled

This is a very early photograph of mine, yet it is also a very personal favorite out of everything I've ever taken. It was an unusual paid shoot- a strip club owner hired me to take pictures of the girls to hang on the walls. It was not a big mainstream club like some on Delaware Avenue, though- it was a small seedy place in a less than safe part of town. A limo came and picked me up and took me there- an important detail, since there was no way I would just find and/or walk into a place like this. I was the only white person there, but instead of being out of place, I was treated royally due to the fact that I was the "Photographer". I spent hours walking around shooting anything and everything in this den of iniquity- seriously, it was much more raunchy than your typical go-go bar. I had an idea to make a sort of studio set up in the back, where I did some more formal portraits- and this was one of the results. I think that it has a very timeless appeal. It could have been shot in the Cotton Club in the 30's, but it also conjures up the 70's Superfly era at the same time- whereas it was actually shot in 1993 in the heart of West Philadelphia. What makes this image for me is the combination of her jovial smile and the complete pathos in his eyes- youthful beauty paired with weathered age.

Grace

I first met Grace when she just turned 18, and she had already been collecting vintage lingerie and dresses for quite a while. She would buy it on ebay- often wear it for a shoot, re-sell and buy some more. It really threw me that someone so young would have such exquisite and refined tastes. She is also one of my favorite artists that I know- she was already doing very strange and genuinely original paintings in high school. In fact, her style has not really changed that much- and that's a good thing. Grace is one of my favorite models to shoot with.

Katy

She is the bee's knees. Get it? Sam Goody got it.

Isabella

Lovely details, such as the little bit of dress.

Sonia

Wonderful soul to the eyes in these- something that I've always tried to achieve, but it's much easier said than done...

Izzy

More Izzy, except that this shot is in a warm shower, rather than a cold January outside on the roof.

Izzy

Shot in January- about 20 degrees outside. Izzy had just boots on, nothing else, for about a half an hour. That's what I 'd call a trooper- boots or no boots.

Sydney

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them.   ~Diane Arbus

Kati

I wanted to do something like it was out of a vintage bondage magazine. You've read some of those, right?

Lola

Nice film noir feel to these.

Izzy & Dessa

Revisiting an older shoot, but presenting newer images. I've been doing a lot of that lately- I've been a photographer for over twenty years now, which means that I'm now sitting on a huge body of work. Most of the film I've already well picked through, scanned, et cetera. Digital is a whole other beast, though. I tend to shoot much more- because you can. Consequently, there are so many images that eventually get forgotten about. I have to say that it's a treat to discover there are these gems that you didn't realize you even had!

Crystal

Smoke & Mirrors.

M

This image is from a shoot with a woman who was involved in a horrific car accident a few years ago. I initially met with her right before the last major operation of her recovery, and then I did a shoot with her a few weeks later. She wanted to both document herself, as well as feel good about herself with some glamorous images. I have to admit that I was initially apprehensive, since I hadn't actually seen her scars at first and I had to wait a few weeks. In the end both of us were very happy with the results. I did get some pretty shots, which actually wasn't difficult- she has a nice body and a attractive face, which amazingly was untouched in the accident. This image here, though, is the one that I thought is one of my most powerful images. It seems to really affect people who see it, as well as myself. On a side note, I did two versions of this image for her- one with the scars retouched out, and one with no retouching. I think that the untouched version is all around a better image, and I was happy to hear that she felt that way too.

Di

The moments of undressing are wonderful to catch, but you have to be quick. I try to catch these moments often, but usually they don't look nearly as interesting as they seemed shooting them. Every once in a while I get something exquisite...

Devorah

I've been playing around with versions of this shot for years now. It often does not work out the way that I want- timing is everything. I like this one.

Helen

This one has a nice realness (even rawness) to it, while still being somewhat glamourous- a balance that I'm always trying to aim for.

Daniella

Daniella hails from Austin, Texas. This is from a shoot was on a day that she was passing through in travels. A short shoot, but I love this window image, which figures in the window series. The window series is a large body of work that always features one of the windows of my 2nd floor studio. I hadn't cleaned the windows on the 2nd floor for ten years (as well as toys that have sat on the sills), so they had developed a wonderful patina.

Meira

These are some out takes from a shoot with Meira, for her paysite. Of course the images used for the set of 40 pics look completely different- pretty much formula soft core porn, in color. The lighting was even and straightforward, and I only employed my film noir lighting for the more interesting shots. I'm not very fond of doing sets because the post production is very time consuming, despite the fact that I try to rip through it. The typical porn producer would consider my "ripping through it" extremely time consuming. I need to work on letting go and just setting some auto levels to each image. I don't know how to be a hack. There are many days when I wish I could be. I do have to admit, however, that it's a blast shooting these sets! Porn formula is so easy. I don't even have to think about it. I just shoot and have fun. In my personal work I need to be so intensely focused- constantly moving lights, looking for the right angle, checking the camera parameters, et cetera. In the work that I post here, I'm always trying so hard to come up with something that is on a different level. I tend to forget that, perhaps, I should be enjoying these shoots more. I just saw your eyes roll... I'm serious, though. As Ming-Ming always says on Wonder Pets, "this is Seer-wious!!"

Adrian Louise

Sweat.

Jena

I don't post very many straightforward (my idea of straightforward) portraits here, but this one has been on my mind lately. Nothing much going on in this one except that intense stare, which attests to a credo that I've always tried to adhere to- less is more.