More From My Session With Kathy and Michelle...

There’s been a fair amount of interest in my photo shoot with Kathy Thomas and Michelle Phillips from late July. I had briefly written about the session in the post of August 11th and put an image up from the work with last week’s entry.

The shoot was done in Kathy’s home on a very warm and sunny afternoon. Kathy lives in an older Savannah home in an older Savannah neighborhood; a home with no central air conditioning. Even with fans on and windows open, even with the nice breeze we had, it was a hot space in which to work. The shoot plan called for using only available window light, which we had plenty of, and it was light of nice quality – when it was consistent. The skies were just cloudy enough to cause real headaches. As clouds passed in front of the sun, the light would change from fully illuminating sun to partial overcast in milliseconds. So while the quality of light was good, metering the light was a constant and challenging endeavor. Even shooting on the aperture priority setting was difficult as the corresponding shutter speeds were all over the place. Another challenge was the space itself. Because Kathy's home is situated on a crowded residential street, and this was a nude session, there were restrictions on which rooms we could and couldn’t use.

My original intent with the shoot concept was to produce a series of B&W images; however, as I wrote in the August 11th entry, the images revealed themselves to work better as works of color. To the purist, this could make the shoot concept and execution a failure, but I don’t see it that way. Looking at the image files that evening, it became quickly apparent the session worked better in color. There was no question about it.

I don’t want to give the impression the shoot wasn’t a success or that it was difficult work. It was a success, and it was also a lot of hard work, more than any of us bargained for. The heat and constant moving around of furniture and equipment added to the load. Nonetheless, our hard work paid off as several good and interesting images were made. Here are a few more of them.

Producing and showing color images has, in years past, been a rare thing for me.

I’d say that 85% of the work I’ve produced in the last 10 years has been monochromatic – black and white. There’s no denying it; I’m an old school shooter. I only emerged from the darkroom sometime in 2004. I’ve been writing about how I’m seeking change; questing for new territories to explore with my cameras. Seeing images in color, particularly images of figurative work, and creating those images is new and exciting adventure.

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You’ve probably noticed I don’t stray too much from the topics of art and photography. I may move about quite a bit within those topics, but pretty much, that’s the direction in which I want this blog to go and I try to stay on subjects connected to art and photography. Many of the photography and art oriented blogs, as well as some others that I actively lurk and follow, are also forums for their writer’s political views, etc. That’s fine, but it’s not my style.

Still, with passing of Senator Kennedy this past week, one can’t help but reflect on who we are and how we got here, as a people as a nation. I’m not going to say anything of real substance here, so don’t get your hopes up. I will say my mood of late has been one of deep self-reflection and pondering, on many different levels; a bit of soul-searching if you will. We’ll see where it takes me, and if it’s something I think may interest my readers, perhaps I’ll write about it here.

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Lastly, while I don't receive too many comments, the few that I do seem to take their time in showing up. If there's a delay in getting your comments read and published, my apologies. It is something beyond my control and I'm working to figure it out.

I'm also at a loss as to why some images link and others don't. Again, I ask for your patience please. I'm working on it.

Space-cially Challenged...

Studio space – a good working space, available at a reasonable price – is somewhat hard to come by in Savannah. There is a rental studio in the area, but nothing compares to having one’s own space. Don’t get me wrong; the rental studio is a nice one; fully furnished, well equipped, fairly priced, and owned and operated by a knowledgeable husband and wife team that happen to be friends of mine. I’ve done good work there in recent years.

In an earlier post, I wrote about how I wanted to take my work out of the studio; to play with natural light and natural environments, or shoot in other indoor environments besides a dedicated studio. Go “off set” in other words. This color image of Kathy and Michelle was shot in Kathy’s home using only window light. I recently shot portraits of a friend’s daughter and her friend in natural light, indoors and out. I’ve always believed window light is the best light for any indoor work. Images created in this light are almost always beautiful. I'm making some progress in that direction.

Still, from time to time, I need a formal studio. While I love to give my friends business when I can, the cost of renting a studio adds up, especially when preparing for a show. The economy being what it is, I needed to find a way to cut – or at least minimize – my production costs. I thought I had hit upon the perfect answer.

As many of you know, I’m an owning partner in a local art gallery, a little place called The Gallery. Our space features a marvelous main floor with beautiful tall windows and very inviting lighting. It’s absolutely gorgeous in daylight and at night. We also have a unique lower level gallery, where mostly large and original pieces of work hang. So I thought: why not use the lower level gallery as a shooting space, after hours, when the business is closed? It can’t be seen from the street level, and the floor space is plenty big.

Perfect – right?

Not exactly. I knew the space would have challenges, but it turned out to be more than I had bargained for. The ceiling was the issue, and while the height of it was a problem, the ceiling color revealed itself to be the bigger problem. The entire ceiling – every square inch of it - is white. Not just white, it is a very bright white.
In other words, the ceiling is a very efficient, not to mention gigantic, reflector. No matter what I did, no matter what ingenious ideas me or my assistants came up with to block or redirect the light from the flash heads, the ceiling scattered light far and wide. Since the vast majority of my work done in studio is done on dark or black backgrounds, this is a disaster of moderate proportions for the way I shoot. As evidenced by this image of model Sarah H., it works beautifully as a high-key location. However, I’m not a high-key kind of guy. Well, not much of one, anyway.

The only workable solution was to drape the ceiling in a dark, light absorbing fabric. This proved to be more difficult than it sounds. There are no real attachment points in place and I promised my partners I wouldn’t modify the spaces. Second, having to drape the ceiling each time before a session adds to the costs of the session, if not in dollars, in time spent. Once again, things were becoming too complicated – and complicated is not in keeping with my efforts to simplify and streamline my shooting work flow.

So, I’ll continue scouting new locations; I’ll keep hunting for beautiful, natural light to use as often as possible. Fortunately, my planning is taking me in this direction anyway. And when I need a good, workable studio to use, I know where to find it.

Same as it ever was…

Or so it seems; I’ve been afflicted with a bad case of not-enough-hours-in-the-day syndrome. Basically, I’ve been busy.

The busy has been good though, as a large portion of it came from spending significant time in a villa on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina with life-long friends. We’re scattered far and wide over the country now and it had been 30 years since I had last laid eyes on some of them. Those few days spent together were quite wonderful. Work of course, has made up the rest of being busy.

While on Hilton Head, I had the pleasure of photographing one of my friend’s daughters and her friend that joined the family for the trip. These young ladies are both dancers of ballet; they’re both 13; and they’re both tall, graceful and drop dead gorgeous. My make-up artist and stylist came to the villa and together, we spent an afternoon with these talented girls shooting fashion and artistic portraits, as well as some ballet on the beach. I’ll not likely post any of the images here. The two primary reasons for doing this session were for the girls to have fun, and for them to create something unique as a gift for themselves and their families. It was a great time and quite exhausting for all involved. I honestly don’t recall the last time I intentionally spent an afternoon with two 13 year olds. I'd guess it was when I was 13.

Now it’s back to the work at hand. I’ve got two figure sessions scheduled for this week; one is for the evening on the 12th and the other, the evening of the 13th. Both are models I’ve photographed before. After looking through my available inventory of images, I decided to go ahead with these two sessions and cross my fingers they will complete what I need for my November show and opening. Time is quickly running out.

I’m also behind in my film developing, with several rolls from a recent outing with the Holga, plus commissions to develop for friends. I’ll also be getting out and shooting more documentary and editorial work for my general gallery inventories and I’ve got a figure session planned for an outdoor location once the heat and bugs become more manageable. Lastly, and perhaps most critically with a show deadline hanging over me, I’ve got a printing dilemma to resolve. There'll be more on that in future posts, I'm sure.

The figure session shot week before last with Michelle Phillips and Kathy Thomas at Kathy’s home went well. In my initial edits of the images, it’s becoming apparent that this project may work better as color than monotone, something that has surprised me. The lighting was a challenge as the sun darted in and out of the clouds, sometimes with exceptional speed, and because of the location, we were restricted in our usage of certain rooms. Plus, the colors of the rooms are quite neutral and with the mix of soft and hard light, the contrast is all over the place. There are good images in the mix, but another session is in order.

The images accompanying this post are from a July figure session; I couldn’t stand the thought of posting without including at least some photography. I’ll have new images to show when the two upcoming sessions are completed and I promise the next update will include some of the new work.

Hello, it's me...

It’s been my hope to update this blog at least once per week. Too much time has slipped by since my last entry, and as I write this, I’m keenly aware more than 20 days have passed. I’m obviously late. To my one or two faithful followers, I apologize.

The amount of photography work not done in recent months has been disappointing, but things are improving. A week ago Saturday, I shot a fantastic figure session with a lovely model and made an abundance of beautiful images. The following Sunday, I did a photo-walkabout-tour at The Savannah River National Wildlife Refuge with photographers and friends Kathy Thomas and Michelle Phillips. These ladies have worked with me in the past as models and assistants, and this next week I’ll be shooting a figure session with them together as models. I believe this will become the start of a new project, and I’m expecting more good work to come from it.

A camera in hand is therapy, at least for me, and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to spend a weekend with my cameras. It was nice.

The recent Saturday figure session has been through a series of tough edits. This shoot was all about me making amends, mostly to myself, for a difficult session from the first week of June with the same model. (If you’re interested, you can read about that session here.) The problems I experienced were all of my own making and while it was difficult to deal with them at the time, I’ve done quite well in stepping back toward the light if I do say so myself. The new figure work has brought me to my good place, a place where I haven’t been for longer than I was aware. I hope you enjoy these images from that session.

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On that same Saturday evening, I stood at the magazine stand in my local Barnes & Noble Book Sellers skimming the latest edition of PDN. I’m not a typical PDN reader but one headline on the cover caught my eye. The article was about how online galleries and blogs of various sorts are changing the way artists are showing their work to traditional galleries, curators, and prospective collectors.

I definitely have a presence online. Along with this blog, I operate two websites which feature my photography. (My website links are posted to the right, under “Bill on the Web.”) Occasionally, I post work on Photo.net, Community Zoe, and Toycamera.com, and I maintain portfolios on three of the photographer/model networking sites. Exactly how much I’m benefiting from it all, I can’t say.

The question of how to best market myself has been buzzing around my brain lately. Mostly, it’s a question of how to introduce my work, particularly the figure work, to audiences outside of Savannah. The closest and most obvious “big” market is Atlanta and I did have a foot in the door there a few years ago. My first show was there; my first fine art photograph to be published was published there; and my first images to sell were sold there. Thinking of landed, brick and mortar galleries and not the internet, Atlanta seems a logical first step.

But are stand alone galleries in Atlanta – or anywhere for that matter - still viable? I think so, but either way I’m coming to realize it’s going to be a start over. I still have friends and acquaintances in Atlanta, but many have moved on. Galleries I used to frequent and have shown in are closed or under new direction.

Getting my work in front of more people more quickly is the main reason I started this blog. The PDN article highlighted several photographers whose careers ‘took off’ after their images were posted on one or two well read blogs. My work has been picked up by at least one blog that I’m aware of, so I’m still docked at the gate; still boarding passengers so to speak. But at least the passengers are boarding.

I’ll confess I didn’t read the PDN article from start to finish; but I did do more than just skim. I found myself wondering, is it true? Instead of sitting down with gallery directors and exhibit curators with my book of images, am I now expected send images to some blogger as email attachments and hope they’re posted and then found by these virtual gallery directors and exhibit curators? Do I produce my book on CD and send it out blind? Is that really how it’s being done?

It was then I realized I’ve not sat in a gallery office and showed my book in at least four years; that my most recent show was planned and executed almost entirely by an exchange of emails between me and the gallery manager. Oh my.

I’ve been caught. The market changed and I wasn’t paying attention. It’s time to catch up.

Something beautiful...

Given the chance, I would rather spend time with one or two friends, or time alone, than go to a party; I love music and prefer it recorded to live; I don’t like turkey and dressing for holiday meals; instead a beautifully grilled medium-rare steak with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli is far better; and I don’t like fireworks. Things launched into the air like missiles, that quickly explode over my head into a shower of burning debris, albeit colorful burning debris, simply don’t enthrall me.

This year’s Independence Day celebration has fit my mold quite nicely. My wife and I spent the weekend with friends in Florida. It’s been lots of time spent on a remarkably not too crowded beach (where my feet were sunburned); lots of talk and chat amongst friends; and good home cooked meals and drink. Best of all, they didn’t make me go to the local fireworks display.

Still, this is a blog about photography. Although there are no pictures of fireworks, no panoramic vistas of what must be one of the last peaceful beaches in Florida, I'll at least share one image of something beautiful.

More Thoughts on Models…and the Muse

After I finished my entry for yesterday’s post, I felt unsettled, as if something had been left unsaid. These weren't feelings of forgetfulness; these feelings nagged me to process and reconsider my words. I know now what was bothering me; what was not discussed: the question of anonymity.

Photographer Helmut Newton once said “an anonymous nude is a dishonest nude.” I’m not certain what he meant, or the context in which it was said, but his words have stuck with me. Perhaps this is because much of my work keeps the model anonymous. Often this is by design, as models sometimes ask to remain unidentifiable. Most times, it just works out that way. When I visualize my images, they often don’t include the model’s face. It’s how I see. It’s how I work.

And Mr. Newton, I don’t see my work as ‘dishonest.’

But to the question of anonymity, and Mr. Newton’s statement: why does anonymity bother some people – and why do some insist upon it? In my entry yesterday, I wrote briefly about the dominant views of nudity in our culture and society. In my opinion, the desire for anonymity is rooted in these cultural beliefs.

In the context of these ideals, anonymity allows all participants in the art to be active, to let go, to be immersed in the artist’s vision. Anonymity is a safe haven. No one will know we find pleasing lines, textures, and shapes in the bodies of others, that we can see beauty in the bodies shared by those of our own sex, even ourselves. We can remain a face in the crowd. Anonymity protects us from us.

Of course, there's a real world side to anonymity and figure modeling. It’s sad and it’s silly, but it’s true. Anonymity allows the school teacher, the lawyer, the police officer, to express their creative side, to share their beauty with the audience of the art and at the same time, keep their jobs.

How does the muse feel about anonymity? I don’t know. We don’t talk about it.

It doesn’t enter the discussion unless the model asks for it, and I often prefer they didn’t. Keeping a model anonymous is sometimes difficult for me as it changes how I think; how I see and visualize. Instead of simply seeing, I have to think about not seeing. If I ask you to not think of apples, what do you immediately think of? If it isn’t mentioned, if I allow the shoot to flow as it will, if I shoot as I see, then the nature of the work will take over and anonymity will happen. Most of the time. And if it doesn't? There’s always post production.

Don't believe I've never asked the muse to share her thoughts on anonymity. I approach; she keeps her distance. Always present, always hidden in shadow. Now that I think of it, I’ve never seen her face. I've only glimpsed her body. To me, she’s remained anonymous. For everyone that sees my work, she stands to face them.

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life; light, shadow, and perspective will always make it beautiful." - John Constable, painter.

There are two questions I’m asked most often about my work and both pertain to models.

The most common question people have is how or where I find models. They also want to know why I don’t have any images of male models included in my body of work. The latter is the easiest to answer, so I’ll start there.

The market for male figurative art, particularly photographic male figurative art, is so small it’s virtually non-existent. That’s particularly true for the area of the world where I live and work. I have photographed male models in years past and used to show their images in my portfolios, but I’ve never sold an image of a male nude. So, I don’t invest the time and cost in the production of work that will be difficult, if not impossible, to market. Simple economics.

This is interesting to me, as the vast majority of figurative art produced by the Greek and Roman cultures were of the male form. The male body was seen as the epitome of perfection; whereas the female figure was seen as incomplete and often described as “profane.” At some point, the cultural and world views changed and now the female form dominates figurative work the world over. To this day, male figurative art is more successful as statuary or drawings and paintings than photography.

So: where do I find models for my work? Most often, I ask people I know or those I meet to pose. There are also resources on the web, networking sites that specifically provide a way for models and artists to connect with one another. Model Mayhem, Model Coast, Model Brigade, and One Model Place are some of the more popular ones. I maintain portfolios on Model Mayhem and Model Brigade but haven’t had any real success with them as resources for models. I tend to do better when I look within my own community.

Finding models is challenging for any artist. The search for the model-muse eludes us all. One great thing about figurative modeling is it’s not restricted to certain body ideals, such as those sought for fashion or runway modeling. Anybody, everyone, can be a figure model. Granted, specific projects may call for a certain body type, skin color, age range, or some other criteria. But generally speaking, figure modeling is something anyone comfortable in their own skin, comfortable with who they are, can do. 18 or older, of course.

In a recent conversation with a photographer friend, he shared that he’s had good results finding models using Craig’s List. I was apprehensive about this approach at first; I had tried advertising for models without success in the past. I decided to try it again. This time I was able to make some promising connections. The image above is of a woman that responded to my Craig’s List advert. It's from a recent studio session, and coincidentally, it was her first experience as a model.

Asking friends and acquaintances to pose has worked quite well. But it's not surprising that nearly every day, I see women that would be wonderful figure models. Often, what I see as interesting about them are the very things they see as “unattractive” or “ugly” about themselves. Our cultural ideas of beauty are often based on unobtainable goals. Sadly, we live in a culture where merely being nude is considered taboo; being nude in a public place, or outside of one’s home, even on one’s own property, can be judged as a criminal act. These can be difficult barriers to deal with; but one thing I never do is to try to persuade or “talk” someone into modeling. I’ll give them a business card with my website address and contact number on it, briefly explain what I do, and let them know my work can be seen in a local gallery. It’s their decision to contact me or not. Fortunately, they often do.

I feel I do my best work with new or inexperienced models and I’ve wondered why this is. I've come to the conclusion it's because they have few bad habits to undo and no preconceived ideas of what the art should be. I’m also fortunate to live in a city where a prominent art school is located and where much of the community is receptive to art and the processes of art. Often, models I’ve worked with in the past will refer an interested model to me. My karma must be better than I know.

Models are critical to artists and artists are critical to models. The figure photographer cannot work without the figure model; the figure model’s work cannot exist with the figure photographer. On some level, model and artist are partners intertwined, bound together by the work at hand, giving and receiving in constant, intimate exchange, creating something that is simultaneously wonderful and beautiful.