Tag: Portraiture

Steph and Jennifer Extras.

Beauty, Editorial, Erotic Photography, Studio Lighting

As I started to set up the lighting for this part of the session I had a specific idea in mind. I was inspired by some of the older Black & White film photographers from the 50’s and 60’s. As a kid, long before I even picked up a camera my Mom always had old photography books around the apartment. I would gaze at those books for hours on end. It was storytelling at it’s best.I always wanted to capture that look and feel.  Though I’ve been exclusively shooting in digital over the past couple of years I have been told that a lot of my digital monochrome images look and feel like old Black & White print film. Which, to me is one hell of a compliment. By setting the lights and messing with the cameras settings I came pretty damn close to achieving my goal. As for boudoir photography…. It’s something I’ve become very comfortable with. It beats the hell out of awkwardly positioning the model on a cold. hard floor. I can also get amazing angles and and position myself in a way that does not kill my knees or give me back aches. (Yeah, I’m getting old.) Another thing I really look out for is keeping it loving and attentive as opposed to dirty or sleazy. My Mom reads this blog and I don’t want her to think she raised me to be a smut peddler. I’m posting more pictures than usual here but if you only knew what it was like narrowing it down to this amount.

What if it Really Did Happen?

Beauty, Erotic Photography, Nudes, Pin Up

I had all but given up on an idea that had started just months ago with a somewhat anonymous email from someone on Model Mayhem asking me if I could photograph her with another, yet to be picked woman. At the time I was intrigued by the idea. Yet, time passed and after a few close calls nothing ever materialized with her.

Weeks later I brought up the story while photographing Steph. I wasn’t eluding to anything. It was just small talk. Something worth bringing up in conversation.  The idea seemed to intrigue her.  Later she noticed a picture of Iya and said “She’s beautiful. Can you ask her if she’d shoot with me?”  Her question was like that of  a kid in a toy store eyeballing  the biggest and most expensive toy. I thought “what the hell” and asked. Iya seemed curious and within a few days the three of us were in the planning stage of it. The day of the shoot I had everything ready. Chock full of ideas, energy and that James Damion angst. Then, less than an hour before the shoot Iya canceled. I don’t remember the reason but it was pretty serious. As big of a let down as it was the girls scrambled to reschedule for next week and my hopes were again high. The next week it happened again. This time it was Steph whose son came down with a fever. It was as if someone was playing a cruel joke on my emotions.  In the weeks that followed it seemed Steph was more focused on making it happen then ever. While Iya  seemed to be losing interest quickly. Me, I had all but given up. Different women were approached. Each one falling to the side like casualties on a battle field. Cancellations are a big let down. You’d be amazed at how hard it can be at times to get two naked women in the same room at the same time.

That’s when it happened. Steph calls and tells me they set a date. It would all take place the following weekend. “Sure, Sure.” I thought. “Don’t expect me to get excited.” I’d been there before. I’d been down cancellation road one too many times before. A few days before I confirmed with Iya and set a meeting place to pick her up. The day before I sent a message to confirm again. Last minute cancellations happen time and time again. Steph got back to me right away but Iya was nowhere to be found. To make things worse I had misplaced her number. Expectations were low but I’d go and wait at the time and place we set to meet. This time of course with a back up plan. I sat and waited with zero expectations for Iya to arrive. Already set for a day in Brooklyn. Suddenly, out of the mist of Avenue of the Americas I see a familiar face walking towards me. It’s Iya and she’s right on time. Shit was about to happen.

I give the word “GO!” to Steph and head back to meet up with her at my place. Within minutes Steph arrives and with child like glee asks “Are you guys excited or what?” Now, up until now I’ve been uncharacteristically calm and “Steady Spaghetti”. But as I realize this is about to happen I start to feel those nerves. Steph and Iya spill into the bedroom and begin the task of picking out what they’ll be wearing. Like the scene in ‘A Bronx Tale’ my mind wanders “Stay calm James” “Don’t lose it James” “Don’t Blow it.” “They’ll think you’ve got no heart”  I take a breath and all is well. Within a few minutes Iya pops her head out of the bathroom. “James, you’re out of toilet paper!” I reply “Oh My God.”  “You don’t have to take a shit now. Do you?” My true geek self revealed. Things are going to be  just perfect.

Here were two women who had never met in person before. Two women from opposite sides of the world chirping and laughing it up like old friends. They immediately meshed and I reminded them. “Don’t worry about me.” “I’m just going to observe.” “I’m just the voyeur.” I wanted their exchanges to be natural and honest. I didn’t want them to be playing for the camera. Now, you might think getting two beautiful, sexy women together for a photo shoot  is dirty. Something for dirty old men to take with them to the bathroom. Or a priest to gaze upon in between taking confessions. That’s your deal. What I was witnessing was two complete strangers in a very loving and tender exchange. They were laughing, joking and being intimate.  You could tell they were very much in the moment. My favorite shots were those where they were just laughing and talking or sharing the pictures I had just taken.

Spikey Takes on NYC.

Beauty, Friendship

Though we had never met. Jessy and I have maintained an online friendship for years. When I heard she was visiting New York city late this winter  I was hoping I’d get a chance to meet her. She had mentioned that when she finally came to visit she definitely wanted to be photographed. That made me more than happy. There was the initial back and forth through emails and texts while she was here. The time passed and to be honest I didn’t think it would happen. It was her first time in NYC and as you can imagine there is so much to see and do. Every minute counts. Monday came and while in  the midst  of a shoot I got a text. “Are we going to do this today?” “How do I get to you?” With my can’t miss directions she made it over without missing a step. As I met her at the PATH station I was taken aback. All these years and all the pictures I had seen of her had me thinking she was 5’9 or 5’ll. A tall, lanky Amazonian. Yet she was small in stature.

We talked and joked like any old friends would. There was none of the weirdness you’d expect when trading an online friendship for a face to face one. I showed her the main spots in town and we went to my place to take some pictures. Jessy is pretty damn awesome. We talked about everything from tortoises and her experience as a Park Ranger to life a Roller Derby girl. She promised to bring her skates and helmet the next time she came up. Jess, if you’re reading this. It was a pleasure to finally meeting you. I feel like I’d met my long lost little sister. Love you.

Everything Falls Apart Again.

Nudes

It was Monday morning and a plan that had been in the making since the beginning of the year was finally about to take place. Steph and I had been working on an erotic lingerie shoot with several other models at one time or another over the past three months. Each time coming close but missing due to schedule conflicts, illness, death in the family and everything else under the sun. However, on this particular Monday, it was all going to fall into place. Steph had an entire day put aside and I had the perfect model confirmed. “Shit is gonna happen.” I got up extra early and made sure everything was ready. Around 11:30 Steph contacted me to let me know she’d be leaving her place in just a few minutes. I was calm and collected. I sat down at the computer to check my Facebook page and ………… “Blamo!!!” A message from the other model. “I can’t make it.” “I got called into work.” Fifteen minutes before starting time I get this. No call. No text. A f%&king Facebook message. So I scramble for the phone to contact Steph with the news. The phone picks up but all I hear is a scrambling sound. We’ve all heard it before. The phones on and you can hear a number of things going on in the background but the person on the other end is nowhere to be found. I call again and it’s the same thing but someone eventually picks up. Whoever it was it wasn’t Steph. I thought “Either Steph’s boyfriend is fucking with me or I just called for Chinese food delivery”. Only seconds after hanging up  there’s a knock on the door. Of course, it’s Steph. I asked “Didn’t you get my voice mails and texts?” “She cancelled at the last minute.” A combination of disappointment and confusion came over Steph. “I didn’t get any messages.” “What happened?” I scrambled for my phone to show her my calls and texts. That’s when her confusion grew. “That’s not my number James” “I don’t know why you have that number.” We laughed for a minute but the disappointment in her eyes was irreversible. I calmed her down a bit and convinced her to stay for a bit. “I’ll make it worth you’re while.” “We’ll get some beautiful pictures.” She ended up staying and we got some nice shots. But damn, how hard can it possibly be to get two naked women in one room at the same time? The Photo Gods are definitely not in our corner.

Zoia Returns (In Color)

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment, Finding Solutions

This Saturday I had a chance to take care of some unfinished business. Back in June of 2009 I had the chance to work with a beautiful woman named Zoia. She had contacted me recently to tell me she had been keeping up on my work and was impressed with my growth. I took that compliment as my chance to finally take care of unfinished business.

At the time of our prior session I was doing pretty good work but I was still in this phase where the real confidence wasn’t there. The shoot started off badly when I made a rookie mistake of forgetting the camera battery. I had charged it that afternoon but when she came to pick me up for a short drive to the Monroe Center I completely for got to take it out of the charger. We were half way there when I realized and had to turn back. Once we did manage to get started everything was fine but I was killing myself for that mistake. “She must think I’m complete nob.” We got some nice shots at the Monroe Center and headed back here to finish up with some studio work. Again, the work was good but somewhat rushed. She never said anything but I felt as if I left a bad impression with my amateurish mistake.      Fast forward almost two year and I’m ready. “Battery? Check. Lights? Check. CF Card? Check. Model? Check.” I fire my first shot and nothing. My Photo Wizard II is not communicating with my Genesis lights. No Flash, whatsoever. In the past when something went wrong I would panic and lose it. But I’ve learned that, as corny as it may sound, every problem has a solution. I tried everything. Everything was working but for some reason they weren’t communicating. Time was ticking and I’m thinking “I’m cursed” “Nothing is working and I’m going to have to send this woman home.” Finally, I ran to the bedroom and got my backup camera. Connected the flash and fired a test shot. Alas, I heard a pop and saw the light. “I can live.” “I have been spared the certain shame, humility and doom that would surely follow my failure.” Once we got started it was magic. I finally got to tend to that unfinished business. Zoia and I did great work together.

The red head from the former Soviet Union is now a Brunette and in those two years is even more beautiful. Later on I found out that is wasn’t the cameras hot shoe as i had briefly suspected. It was the setting. I had used it at a concert a week ago and disabled the flash. Just forgot to reset it. So yes, I’m still kind of a dork. I’m a little clumsy and forgettable. I’ve got a heavy case of ADHD but I’ve come a long way in that when I’m given a problem or hit a road block. I’m able to see it through. Find a solution or a way around it.

DJ Shell Buuugz

Portraiture, Studio Lighting

After a number of weather related cancellations Shell and I finally got to meet and work together Tuesday afternoon. Shell and I clicked on all cylinders and got right to work. Though we had just met minutes before the conversation and chemistry was excellent. We listened to hip hop and I introduced her to one of my favorites, Dalek,  by blasting “Bricks Crumble.  Below are some of my favorites from our session. Shell is a DJ athttp://www.smashentertainmentlive.com/ Check her show out if you get the chance.

















Every Picture Tells a Story…

Documentary, Editorial

Photography has always been about storytelling. Whether it be my story, the subjects or someone else. Let the pictures tell them for you. Sometimes a person needs time to separate themselves from a story, an argument or in my case a photo shoot. This was one of those times. Like Yoda said. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

Monday Session with Abby.

Beauty, Ghana, Portraiture

As the snow continues to fall and my toes dance on the border of numbness and frostbite. I turn my attention to Monday’s session with Abigail. Abby as I call her, is a model from West New York by way of West Africa’s Ghana. Her smile and laughter are contagious and make working with her more like hanging out with a good friend.  Blessed with a sweet demeanor and mannerism that seems to have become a thing of the past. We both enjoyed the experience so much we were talking about setting up a follow up before we were even done shooting. I enthusiastically look forward to it.

Friendship

Beauty, Family, Friendship, Happiness, Portraiture

I’ve always felt very temporary about myself. The word permanent is wrapped in pitfalls. In life we move from place to place. From job to job. Even marriage seems to be a temporary situation for most these days. People come in and out of our lives in the blink of an eye. With all that said I’ve managed to make friends early on in life that still remain near and dear to my heart. People who’s presence defy classifications. No matter how long it’s been since we talked or how far the distance in miles we may be, remain close to the heart. I’ve been lucky in that regard. Which brings me to Mandy. I met her while skateboarding in a parking lot. I was an obnoxious sixteen year old at the time and if I remember correctly. She hated me at first but somehow a friendship was formed and almost twenty five years later we’re closer than ever. She’s been there for me through thick and thin and has always been an inspiration. Recently on a trip to Germany she met a man and fell head over heals in love. She’s back in Germany now and may be living there with him for the unseen future. I wish her all the love and happiness she deserves. I’ll miss her but there is no doubt in my mind that we’ll remain connected and see one another some time in the near future. We got together a week before I left for Florida and she for Germany. We finally had that bacon martini and ass juice we had been planning for so long. And I got to show her my favorite bar. Below are a couple of pictures I took that night along with a couple of my favorites.

Mandy @ Double Down