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.

Bend Over Forward

Another entry in the Kinsey Exhibition.  I think it speaks for itself.

I like to skirt the boundaries of eroticism.

Nude with trainers

I am honored once again to be included in the Kinsey Institute Juried Exhibition 2012.

This is the third exhibition in which I have been included.  Ordinarily I hate entering competitions - I'm a very sore loser - but I told myself this time that since I had already been accepted twice it didn't really matter.  But it did!

The photograph came from a very intense session with this model, that began at about 9 in the evening and went on until nearly 3 in the morning, during which we collaborated in a series of grueling concepts ranging from hanging from the rafters by his wrists to doing gymnastic turns on a suspended rope to crawling nude through piles of dirt to being hosed down and brought back into the studio for dance poses.

This image came at the very end of the shoot, when we were both exhausted and exhilarated, and had gotten down to basics. There is no pretense or posing here; just raw beauty.

I continue to enter this competition because I have such respect for the Institute and its vision.  Their collection of 20th century photography is second to none, and I am very proud to have six of my own images in the collection.

Search "Kinsey Institute Exhibition" for more information and photographs and videos of past shows.

St. Paddy's Day

Just for fun!  I enjoy these exercises.