Percolate

The Delights of Familiarity. When you use the same few lenses, you get used to them focusing the same way, and the aperture ring moving in the same direction, not to mention knowing what kind of image you can create with them before you even attach them to your camera. It’s the same with the camera. Put another way, more familiarity leads to fewer obstacles, and there’s far greater fluidity in the whole experience— something I greatly value in making photography an immersive and rewarding pursuit. I’m definitely guilty of going through phases where I'm in camera tester mode, rather than true photographer mode... where I'm doing a shoot that is probably compromised because I'm testing a different camera out, only to find that I'm not really comfortable using a said camera. What I mean by that is that I use a particular camera because I'm at least slightly (if not completely) making it a fetish object, rather than using my tried-and-true equipment. My confirmed and proven equipment isn't hip & cool, but instead completely reliable for getting the job done. I find that using equipment that you’re so familiar with it almost becomes invisible is the best equipment to get the best images. Knowing how your camera and lens will perform in any scenario— where shooting becomes a meditative, almost zen-like experience of seeing and capturing each image. While I typically appreciate the experience of trying some really cool new or vintage camera out, I tend to ultimately treasure the comfort (and the results) of the tried-and-true.

Ajaye

Peace.

Lissa

"There aren't any rules for good photographs. There are just good photographs."    ~Ansel Adams

Ash

A photographer can make an infinite number of prints from the same negative— but while this is true in theory, it is in reality, typically false. It is paradox that in a medium that is capable of producing quality prints in large numbers, the yield of prints per negative is often just one or even zero. Very often a print from a negative is the only one in existence, which would make it no less unique than a painting. Photographic prints, unlike etchings and lithographs, seldom have numbers. The photographic negative does not wear out, so the only reason for numbering would be to purposely create scarcity and market value. This may be desired by some dealers and collectors, but not so much by the creative artist...

Elise

"Wherever there is light, one can photograph." ~Alfred Stieglitz

Izzy

"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Tali De'Mar

A Short History of Photography: First it was monochrome, then there was color. First, it was to document, and then it was a fine art as well— although in retrospect it was always a form of fine art, as the very first print is in an art museum. First, there was film, then there was digital as well. The End. Seriously— it can really be summed up this simply, without a hint of a smirk. Also, it feels to me as if its history is mostly wrapped up just as music and painting is. Well, at least there is most likely much more history in cinema and television to look forward to...

Miss Kacie

This is definitely more fashion and pin-up oriented than anything else here, but I really like this new version. A little bit of grit added to my usually more polished pin-up stuff.

Jena

Every once in awhile I create an image that sets a personal bar for myself as far as what I want to achieve. This image sets a bar for being messy and gritty— while still genuinely flattering the model, and even being quite sensual. I usually keep about a dozen of these images floating in my head, constantly thinking about what I need to do in order to rise above that bar that I set...

Katie

Now, this is what I was talking about— a level of abstraction that is just enough to confound viewers enough, but they can still sort of know what they are looking at. It's a macro shot of skin texture, about a square inch worth of an undisclosed body part. For me to know, and everybody else not too! To be honest, both the model and I probably forget exactly where on the body this is... and it doesn't really matter.

Corinne

Staring to edge into abstract territory, but a little short of what I've been tending to aim for– I think that just about anyone can tell what is what. I prefer it when I can have people guessing...

Izzy

In the beginning, and for years after, I often thought about how I was going to impress viewers with my photography. Eventually, I decided that I only needed to impress myself because that is all that really matters in the end— and if I achieved that, then everything will fall into place.

Ash

"The eyes have one language everywhere" ~George Herbert

Tali De'Mar

"I like the architecture of lingerie." ~Colleen Atwood

Ajaye

In a time where digital photography makes color ubiquitous, black & white photography seems like a curious anachronism. Yet black & white stays with us and remains relatively popular. Color film went mainstream in the 1930s with the introduction of Kodachrome & Technicolor, but black & white has stubbornly persisted not only in newspapers but also as an expressive outlet for many photographers who choose to shoot photojournalism, weddings, portraits and more by converting color digital files to black and white. But is black and white a gimmick? Given that humans see in color, is converting a photo to black and white an act of self-importance? A way to make an image appear to be more significant than it otherwise might be in color? To engage in a debate of whether black & white or color is better is probably a waste of time— both have their merits, and preference is ultimately subjective. Obviously, I wear my preference on my sleeve with my body of work here. I'm definitely not going to write a self-righteous manifesto on the superiority of monochrome, though. All I will say more on the matter is that it seems very appropriate for the work that I'm doing here.

Timaree & SaraWithoutAnH

"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Li

This image is not new— I shot it about a dozen years ago, although I just tuned it up a tiny bit. This image was important to me personally, as it was a definitive turning point where I knew what I wanted to achieve in my aesthetic going forward. It ticked off all of the boxes... showing real skin texture with razor-sharp focus, yet depicting movement in the softer bokeh areas; detail in the lighter areas, but mystery in the darker ones; gripping, twisting and body tension as opposed to static posing (later adding facial tension and mood to that); realistic sexuality as opposed to romanticized; realistic messy hair as opposed to perfectly coiffed (later adding bruised, scratched or scarred skin as well); compositions that look like they want to bust out of the frame. I thought that this was one of the strongest images that I had shot so far. This is one of a handful of past images that I tend to think of when I'm shooting, as a guide to what I'm currently trying to achieve.

Tali De'Mar

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else."  ~Margaret Mead

Ajaye

One of my favorite sources of lighting and shooting locations are windows. Window light is an excellent, free light source. As an indoor light source, it can achieve the same effects as much bigger, more expensive lighting equipment. A large window is essentially a huge softbox. The earliest photography studios didn’t use fancy electric lighting. They just used big windows.

Freikörperkultur

The abbreviation FKK comes from the German word "Freikörperkultur". It roughly translates to Free Body Culture. It endorses a natural approach to sports and community living. Behind that is the joy of the experience of nature or also of being nude itself, without a direct relationship to sexuality. The German nudist movement was the first worldwide and marked the start of an increased acceptance of public nudity in Germany. Some of the early pioneers of FKK were avant-garde intellectuals in the late 19th century who wanted to challenge the uptight Victorian morals of mainstream society, while other proponents advocated a more natural, healthier lifestyle, at a time when the syphilis-ridden working classes lived in cramped, squalid conditions.

FFK still very much exists, but these days anyone who runs around naked in public in Germany risks a fine because of the administrative offense "harassing the general public". At bathing lakes or beaches, however, nudity is now tolerated almost everywhere and has become the normal appearance. Nudity also occurs in places such as a closed off nudist campsite. Hence, there are signs posting "Naturist activities only in fenced terrain". So now you know what is going on in this particular diorama— enjoy!