Figure in a Loft

Not a lot to say here. A no-frills moment.

A 21st Century Olympia

In 1863, Manet exhibited his "Olympia" in Paris, and caused a scandal.  Instead of the coy, sentimentalized Venus figure of tradition, he chose to portray a contemporary flesh and blood woman, staring uncompromisingly out of the canvas at the viewer.

The modern museum-goer has long been inured to the realistic portrayal of the female nude, but still has a way to go with the nude male.


Here is my contribution to the evolution of the form.  The model stares out without apology or artifice; he is what he is.

Figure on a couch

A word or two about equipment and technique:


When I began this blog a year ago, I began with the first deliberate figure images on film that I produced.


Film was, necessarily, my first medium in photography, and, for better or worse, the medium in which I learned my craft and my art.  It has been a long and exciting journey, one with many unexpected rewards, and one that is not over yet.


When the first point-and-shoot digital cameras came out, I was more than resistant.  I was appalled.  This was not photography as I had learned it.  The idea that it would very soon replace film was absurd.  As usual in these matters, I was wrong.


Nevertheless, I held out until the digital SLR made its debut, and shortly after, I gave in.  I still wasn't convinced, but I did see what was going to happen.  And I have to admit, the lure of a darkroom-free medium was strong.  I always disliked the darkroom, and hours spent alone in that dingy confined space were a chore.  Digital freed me from that.


Now I shoot exclusively in digital; I haven't touched a film camera in years.  I still miss the quality of the darkroom print, and sometimes the excitement of seeing the image magically appear in the developer.  Digital has taken some of the mystery out of the process, but it has made other things possible.


For one thing, I can now shoot color, which I seldom did on film, because I didn't have the facilities to develop and print color, and I couldn't bring myself to trust my images to someone else.


And there are the wonderful tools of Photoshop.  I still have a darkroom sensibility, and try not to use Photoshop "tricks" that wouldn't be available in a darkroom - dodge, burn, vignette, filters, tints.  


Sometimes I do give in to a technique that is more or less exclusively digital, because it is there, and because it can help to create a particular image.  I have come to terms with that.


So here I am - still creating, still learning, still excited.


We will see where it takes me.

Figure, supine

One of a series of studio poses.