It's been quiet on this particular front...but don't mistake that for complete inaction

Here's a pretty...

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday I was in Houston shooting with a parade of talent with my trusty Canon Powershot G5. This camera has often gotten me 'surprised' praise from people that seem incredulous that I can get what I do from it. It's not particularly cantankerous or broken but there are hoops you sometimes have to jump through to get where you want to go. Still, I've learned a lot about what it can and cannot do and I've sharpened my skills with what's proven to be a blunt instrument.

Today, I had occasion to meet with someone who made me an incredible deal on a Canon Rebel XT. There have been a number of models released since and the XT is not the camera I would have gone looking for last week, but the deal was sweet and even with the stars in my eyes over Canon's latest and greatest, the XT is a pretty nice ride.

So now there's a new learning process with a new tool, but right out of the gate...wow, if I do say so myself. Hooray for quantum leaps and boo for denigrating reasonable equipment. This feels like a eureka moment and if you'd like to see: ( First public shot with the new rig - Kinda NWS )

Needless to say, I am TERRIBLY pleased with myself. Now to go after that next mountain with a bigger shovel...

Sometimes, you find something that kickstarts you. This is awe-inspiring whether it's true or not. I found the following casting call on one of the model/photographer matching sites I belong to:

Model Wanted ($2500 weekly-April)

For the entire month of April, I am seeking a model/personal assistant to work with me on a giga-zillion projects, assignments and tasks. You will receive $2500 each week for four weeks in the month of April. And your job will begin on April 2nd.

I will also photograph you as well. When I am not photographing you, you will be my personal assistant for another model I am photographing you.

You will help me with lighting, get food for me, fan me whenever I get too hot, wipe sweat away, read selections from the newspapers, but most of all, you will accept 100% verbal abuse even if I call you without reason such as 4 am in the morning...you will accept it.

Basically, I own you in April. All replies must be in before or on 04.01.2007. You will shush away pigeons, tar the roof, mop floors for other fellow photographers and makeup artists, find reasonable priced places to get undies, you will totally shop for me, yell at other people for me, you will jump rope for me holding an ice cream cone, you will bail me out of jail if need be. This job is not hard at all. It should be a lot of fun. Good luck!

I can't speak to the veracity of the advert, but this speaks volumes about the kind of person that posts something like this...you just know he means it and will get hundreds of serious applicants. Sometimes, there's nothing for it but to be amused.

The bulk of the move is complete! The woodshop has been completely moved (whew). Internet gets connected tomorrow and then the last of the "multimedia lab" can be reassembled. Wednesday a new couch arrives. There's still clean up to be done at the other addresses, but the new studio was set up tout de suite and here's takes from the first shoot:


And one more ( Here - NWS-ish )

Exciting news for the lair of the Obsidian Drag0n.

Moving into a new space in the next week or so. Though sudden, this means an actual woodshop, dedicated sewing/leatherworking room, and a larger and nicer studio for shooting. Talk about fireworks...the fuse has been lit on a burst of creativity.

Shoots galore are already lining up. Corset orders are starting to trickle in. The toys and furniture, oh the toys and furniture being prepped.

Meaning no disrespect to rednecks nor the Darwin Awards...Hey y'all, watch this!

The Muse with a new toy.


model: faeawynn2

Dark Faerie Muse


model: faeawynn2

Musings trampled by the heat of the moment...

It occurs to me that blurring the line between personal and professional creates all kinds of obstacles and pitfalls. Not that this blending is a bad thing all of the time. However, if the ethics and integrity of all of the players is anything less than 100% the bad things that can happen become catastrophic, consuming not only those involved but innocent bystanders as well. Being creatively and professionally involved with both parties in an ugly dispute over personal issues really shouldn't affect those not directly involved.

So the question bears asking...how much blurring of the line is reasonable? The business says keep it all professional. On the other hand, creating artistic nudes and fetish art tends to require some level of personal connection or there's a certain level of energy that's glaringly absent.

Finding the answers to questions like this is what living is all about of course, but life lessons like this shouldn't be quite so painful.

***EDIT***
This is not a "My 'friend' has this issue..." moment. I am one of the folk caught in the middle of a dispute that affects two people that I have worked closely with and hope to work with again. Unfortunately, the dispute has spread to engulf other members of the community and things are polarizing instead of cooling off. People like me are now being ostracized by members of both 'camps' for being friendly to both. In the end, this kind of devisiveness is ruinous to us all.

Had another fabulous shoot, this time with a new model that hadn't really had particular modelling aspirations until she took part in a recent calendar shoot for an event a friend was putting on (more on that in a bit). So, she buzzed me and we arranged something on short notice and got some wonderful work done. Couple of excellent candidates for my own calendar. Give her some time to review for her favorites and we'll have something to show. Hopefully tomorrow.

The friend with the event I mentioned above sets up semi-regular burlesque shows. I just recently got involved with planning for her latest one and am helping with their image processing for a calendar they want to have ready for the event in November. Unfortunately, it turns out that the images we have to work with for that project are below a useful resolution for printing so it's going to be a fun task to see if we can get the originals with enough time to finish re-processing and get this back from the printers in time.

Brings Marilyn Manson to mind...curious...This is the new shit, stand up and admit.