It's gotten busy again at the office, after a couple of moderately easy weeks. That's a good thing in the sense that I like to be busy, and one of the new projects is challenging and fun and within my area of expertise. The down side is that there's less creative time after 12+ hour days. My cameras don't get to come out to play very often.
I need to teach a photography workshop at the office sometime in April, and then repeat it for our Bay Area offices sometime after that. Someone noticed that some of our young engineers and scientists are more capable with a camera than others (was that stated diplomatically enough?) when doing project documentation or marketing shots. While I keep a little distance between my work and creative sides, it's no secret what else I do. So the request was made a while ago.
I've taught before, three times, full semester adult ed/college credit courses. But never on photography, and never in this sort of time constrained, here are the highlights of the basics kind of way. It will almost certainly be a good experience, though. Every other time I've done this it's forced me to organize and clarify my thinking, turn what I know semi-consciously into a series of talking points able to be understood by others, and research gaps in my knowledge, or places where I haven't kept up with the latest. So I'll probably start outlining this weekend, and then think about the details for a while.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
found it
Oh, look. I found one of the images of Lizzy. Taken on a cold Sunday morning in the spring of 2003. She's wearing a too-tight pink corset, almost bursting out of it, and a pair of ratty jeans, and no shoes. Of course, you can't see any of that, because it was her face I was after. The wonders of selective cropping...
power as a two-way street
I've photographed people within countercultures ever since my punk years, so it's inevitable that I've encountered a fair number of fetish-related opportunities over the years. At first, this was accidental; for example, the girl in 1979 who slapped a pair of handcuffs on herself during the shoot, and handed me the key.
An opportunity presented itself in the spring of 2003 which made me curious. I met Lizzy on the art scene, and she had the most fascinating and expressive face; I asked her if she'd be willing to be photographed. She looked at me, hesitated not at all, and said "one can never have too many photographs."
I learned sometime during that conversation that Lizzy was the headmistress at a local house of domination. That is, she got paid to hurt guys, and managed other girls who did the same. And yes, that's what they wanted her to do, that's what they went to her for. I got to see the place when we did our shoot on a Sunday morning, a couple of hours before opening. Lizzy had obviously been out too late, was obviously hung over, her hair was a mess as she let me in the front door. She disappeared in front of a mirror for 10 minutes, fixed her hair and applied makeup while I set up the lights. She exchanged her tee-shirt for a corset, and came out looking... just great. We were ready to go.
That was when I learned about the roleplay ability of dommes. Even with a hangover, Lizzy could turn it on and off at will. She could look scary, silly, or any of a hundred other things. I was also struck by how open and friendly she was, how unlike the stereotypes of people like her. Later, it made sense. Her job was, essentially, about acting. Each guy would come in with a different fantasy, and it was her job to fill it... and it paid a lot better than working at Starbuck's. But away from work, she was just another pretty girl.
We took relatively few photos that morning, and got a number of keepers. I lost track of Lizzy not long after that, she got into a little trouble and disappeared (what I've heard is secondhand and anecdotal, so let's just let it go at that). But I'd learned a few things from her. Besides learning about the acting ability, I learned that dommes have a voracious appetite for photographs, because it's one of the ways they market themselves. Thus, they tend to be quite cooperative at least toward experienced art photographers.
Many dommes are artists, and I soon learned that I already knew quite a few of them, I just hadn't known about the other half of their dual lives. Usually I knew them by their real names, and as I photographed each one I learned about a carefully crafted internet persona. Each girl was known by an exotic pseudonym. Usually, pre-shoot, they were anything but exotic without the fancy makeup and clothes. Usually they had very ordinary real names.
I've photographed about 15 or 16 of them now, in half a dozen cities, and gotten lots of exhibit quality photographs. I've learned that dommes often are fairly comfortable in their bodies. Once I stood in a basement in Ohio, the young woman in front of me for this TFP shoot (they've all been TFP) wearing nothing but a pair of eight-inch platform heels, when she began to laugh, and said "just think, most guys pay $250 per hour, and they still don't get to see this." Another domme, in Los Angeles, explained it to me just recently: She said that to get the quality of images she needs, there's an understanding that the photographer needs to get what he or she is after, too. Since dommes tend to be artists and thus enjoy working with art photographers, there's often an acceptance that art nudes are part of the game. Usually, neither of us posts those. They're intended for gallery walls, for limited consumption.
All of this comes up because last night someone directed me to a recent forum post by a domme I'd photographed a couple of years ago. Here's what she said:
"I've never used photos on my website that looked like they were shot in a dungeon. My first photos were black and white, shot on 35mm in my old apartment in Chicago.... I liked my first photoset particularly, because as it was shot in a non-kink setting we had to completely rely on my expressions and poses to convey dominance. I think it was successful. The idea was that... it's important to show me as powerful in non-kink settings. I wanted to show that I didn't need the dungeon and toys to have authority."
She's talking about my photos... which of course is very flattering. And it's a good description of the way I work with people like her. They're on-location portraits, drawing out emotion, conveying energy through expression and body language and less tangible things.
She's also, consciously or not, talking about life. As a young (mid-20s) woman, even as a tall and exceptionally well educated one, she understands that outside of her work her power is limited. On the subway, no one knows (or cares) that she's a domme. At the fast food counter, the employee is as likely to be rude to her as to anyone else of her age and gender. Like everyone else, she needs to do laundry and buy groceries. She can, sometimes, use her looks to get her way. But it's not institutionalized power, and she knows it. Then, at work, she dons her fetish garb and assumes consensual power for a few hours. It's a fragile power, entirely dependent on that consent.
On the other hand, as a middle-aged white male, my power is real. It's built into my position at the office, my box on an organizational chart. I also enjoy certain political perks beyond those typical even for someone in my situation.
During the shoot, I'm actually the one in the dominant position, and usually they understand that. But I don't control freak them even though I could. There's no need. I will sometimes provoke emotion in very aggressive ways, although they know it's about to happen, it's discussed in advance and fully consensual. But overall, the shoot is intended as a collaboration, and one of the goals is to avoid the usual cliches. This model, at least, seems to think it's working.
That's her in the photo. Let's call her Victoria, although of course that isn't her real name (which isn't very exotic or edgy). This is one of the ones she did for me, never intended for her website. But I'm going to let her tease you, and we're both in on the game. I'm not going to show you the next frame, the one where she's let her hands drop to the floor.
An opportunity presented itself in the spring of 2003 which made me curious. I met Lizzy on the art scene, and she had the most fascinating and expressive face; I asked her if she'd be willing to be photographed. She looked at me, hesitated not at all, and said "one can never have too many photographs."
I learned sometime during that conversation that Lizzy was the headmistress at a local house of domination. That is, she got paid to hurt guys, and managed other girls who did the same. And yes, that's what they wanted her to do, that's what they went to her for. I got to see the place when we did our shoot on a Sunday morning, a couple of hours before opening. Lizzy had obviously been out too late, was obviously hung over, her hair was a mess as she let me in the front door. She disappeared in front of a mirror for 10 minutes, fixed her hair and applied makeup while I set up the lights. She exchanged her tee-shirt for a corset, and came out looking... just great. We were ready to go.
That was when I learned about the roleplay ability of dommes. Even with a hangover, Lizzy could turn it on and off at will. She could look scary, silly, or any of a hundred other things. I was also struck by how open and friendly she was, how unlike the stereotypes of people like her. Later, it made sense. Her job was, essentially, about acting. Each guy would come in with a different fantasy, and it was her job to fill it... and it paid a lot better than working at Starbuck's. But away from work, she was just another pretty girl.
We took relatively few photos that morning, and got a number of keepers. I lost track of Lizzy not long after that, she got into a little trouble and disappeared (what I've heard is secondhand and anecdotal, so let's just let it go at that). But I'd learned a few things from her. Besides learning about the acting ability, I learned that dommes have a voracious appetite for photographs, because it's one of the ways they market themselves. Thus, they tend to be quite cooperative at least toward experienced art photographers.
Many dommes are artists, and I soon learned that I already knew quite a few of them, I just hadn't known about the other half of their dual lives. Usually I knew them by their real names, and as I photographed each one I learned about a carefully crafted internet persona. Each girl was known by an exotic pseudonym. Usually, pre-shoot, they were anything but exotic without the fancy makeup and clothes. Usually they had very ordinary real names.
I've photographed about 15 or 16 of them now, in half a dozen cities, and gotten lots of exhibit quality photographs. I've learned that dommes often are fairly comfortable in their bodies. Once I stood in a basement in Ohio, the young woman in front of me for this TFP shoot (they've all been TFP) wearing nothing but a pair of eight-inch platform heels, when she began to laugh, and said "just think, most guys pay $250 per hour, and they still don't get to see this." Another domme, in Los Angeles, explained it to me just recently: She said that to get the quality of images she needs, there's an understanding that the photographer needs to get what he or she is after, too. Since dommes tend to be artists and thus enjoy working with art photographers, there's often an acceptance that art nudes are part of the game. Usually, neither of us posts those. They're intended for gallery walls, for limited consumption.
All of this comes up because last night someone directed me to a recent forum post by a domme I'd photographed a couple of years ago. Here's what she said:
"I've never used photos on my website that looked like they were shot in a dungeon. My first photos were black and white, shot on 35mm in my old apartment in Chicago.... I liked my first photoset particularly, because as it was shot in a non-kink setting we had to completely rely on my expressions and poses to convey dominance. I think it was successful. The idea was that... it's important to show me as powerful in non-kink settings. I wanted to show that I didn't need the dungeon and toys to have authority."
She's talking about my photos... which of course is very flattering. And it's a good description of the way I work with people like her. They're on-location portraits, drawing out emotion, conveying energy through expression and body language and less tangible things.
She's also, consciously or not, talking about life. As a young (mid-20s) woman, even as a tall and exceptionally well educated one, she understands that outside of her work her power is limited. On the subway, no one knows (or cares) that she's a domme. At the fast food counter, the employee is as likely to be rude to her as to anyone else of her age and gender. Like everyone else, she needs to do laundry and buy groceries. She can, sometimes, use her looks to get her way. But it's not institutionalized power, and she knows it. Then, at work, she dons her fetish garb and assumes consensual power for a few hours. It's a fragile power, entirely dependent on that consent.
On the other hand, as a middle-aged white male, my power is real. It's built into my position at the office, my box on an organizational chart. I also enjoy certain political perks beyond those typical even for someone in my situation.
During the shoot, I'm actually the one in the dominant position, and usually they understand that. But I don't control freak them even though I could. There's no need. I will sometimes provoke emotion in very aggressive ways, although they know it's about to happen, it's discussed in advance and fully consensual. But overall, the shoot is intended as a collaboration, and one of the goals is to avoid the usual cliches. This model, at least, seems to think it's working.
That's her in the photo. Let's call her Victoria, although of course that isn't her real name (which isn't very exotic or edgy). This is one of the ones she did for me, never intended for her website. But I'm going to let her tease you, and we're both in on the game. I'm not going to show you the next frame, the one where she's let her hands drop to the floor.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
tentative
Since the LA shoot... the results of which I'm actually quite happy with... I've had no real desire to photograph people. Before the recent Chicago trip I browsed portfolios, toyed with the idea of setting up a shoot or two, and couldn't find anyone who really got me excited. Even my known quantities didn't get the creativity to the surface. I had dinner while there with two of my favorite models from the past, and talked to a third. I didn't even unpack the camera til nearly the end of the trip, and then only to do a few night shots on the wintry suburban streets.
The nasty weather and the fact that I was fighting off a cold may have contributed to that. But thinking about it on and after the trip, this time it seems to center on the concept of who to photograph as much as anything. I'm in a bit of a rebellion it seems, against limiting myself to working with people who consider themselves to be "models." Sometimes, that's fine. But apparently it needs to be more diverse, be more than just pretty girls.
At an event last night I was introduced to a young woman who at first defined herself as a photographer, then talked about how she likes to be in pictures, too. She hinted pretty plainly that she'd like to be in mine. I went home without committing, looked at her online presence, mostly words with a few images. It's not a clear decision, but I've decided to photograph her, as much to step back and observe my reactions as anything.
I had a chance to watch her during the event. She's tall and thin, attractive enough, and moves reasonably well. She wore a piece of jewelry she had made herself, strong and primal, and it was that object, and her relation to it, that pushed me toward saying yes. That and the fact that she's apparently never heard of the online model sites, and thus doesn't define herself in that way.
From a quick comparison of schedules, it may take two or three weeks to make this happen, which is fine. More time to think, more time to ponder the implications of the fact that 45 days into 2008, I've done only one real shoot.
The nasty weather and the fact that I was fighting off a cold may have contributed to that. But thinking about it on and after the trip, this time it seems to center on the concept of who to photograph as much as anything. I'm in a bit of a rebellion it seems, against limiting myself to working with people who consider themselves to be "models." Sometimes, that's fine. But apparently it needs to be more diverse, be more than just pretty girls.
At an event last night I was introduced to a young woman who at first defined herself as a photographer, then talked about how she likes to be in pictures, too. She hinted pretty plainly that she'd like to be in mine. I went home without committing, looked at her online presence, mostly words with a few images. It's not a clear decision, but I've decided to photograph her, as much to step back and observe my reactions as anything.
I had a chance to watch her during the event. She's tall and thin, attractive enough, and moves reasonably well. She wore a piece of jewelry she had made herself, strong and primal, and it was that object, and her relation to it, that pushed me toward saying yes. That and the fact that she's apparently never heard of the online model sites, and thus doesn't define herself in that way.
From a quick comparison of schedules, it may take two or three weeks to make this happen, which is fine. More time to think, more time to ponder the implications of the fact that 45 days into 2008, I've done only one real shoot.
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