Me, Myself, and I...

 

 

I am going to start an ALTER EGO series.. I think I am going to combine it with my Crime Scene series to make it a bit more challenging..

The plan is to have one person play every role in the image.. So these will be double and triple exposures that will be stitched together digitally in order to look like they are interacting with themselves... Hopefully I can work out the logistics to make everything line up correctly to feel like one image.. I am excited about the possibilities..

Kassy was my guinea pig today for some test shots.. As I found out in our 5 minute photoshoot, making things line up isnt as easy as I thought.. but you gotta luv her face..

Kassy is AMAZING and so much fun to be around.. She has a great laugh and a really inviting personality.. She has an expressive face that I really want to make the most of..

AND she claims to be the Queen of the Crockpot.. I will update that last attribute at a future date..

Side note: Red Bull is a dangerous thing in the wrong hands.. LOL

MODEL: KASSANOVA MARIE

WORDS HAVE POWER....



Words Have Power..

I often cringe when I hear people say that they "took the power" from a word. Is that even possible?? Words have a powerful and undeniably overwhelming influence on us. Words have meanings; that in and of itself has power that can't be taken away.. A word has the power to change your life.

Words cannot change reality, but they can change how people perceive reality. Words change our relationships, our demeanor, our entire system of beliefs. Words create filters through which people view the world around them. Words change the perception of everything!

A single word can make the difference between liking a person and disliking that person. If a friend describes the person you are about to meet for the first time as untrustworthy, you will be predisposed to view that person as untrustworthy, regardless of the person's actual level of trustworthiness. The single word "untrustworthy" creates a filter, or "primacy effect", that predisposes you to view the person you are about to meet as untrustworthy. Thereafter, you will tend to view everything that person says or does as untrustworthy. Overcoming negative primacy is difficult but not impossible.

Conversely, if before meeting a person for the first time, a friend tells you that the person you are about to meet is friendly, then you will likely view that person as friendly, regardless of the person's degree of friendliness. If you meet the "friendly" person several times and do not experience friendliness, then you will tend to excuse away the unfriendly behavior.

An unfriendly person initially described as friendly gains an advantage from positive primacy because people tend to allow the unfriendly person multiple opportunities to demonstrate friendliness despite numerous displays of unfriendly behavior; where you are less likely to meet an untrustworthy person a second time because you perceive that person as untrustworthy, thereby reducing the probability of overcoming negative primacy.

Words have power. Choose them wisely.



MODELS: ELASHA C.
MUA: Dana Marie Garcia

CHLOE..

Chloe is just amazing.. 

If I was half as talented as she is at her age, I would have probably been completly full of myself.. but she isnt.. She is funny and smart and creative and not afraid to take a dare..

She is an amazing photographer and a self portrait model.. I decided to take her out of her comfort zone and hopefully provide an experience that would shed some light where she may not have looked before..

We spent the day shooting and talking shop and she tried really hard not to get grossed out by fish heads and chicken feet.. I hope the experience was worth the nausea for her..

I look forward to being a part of her creative journey.. And her mine..

MODELS: Chloe

AU NATUREL.....

French : au, in the + naturel, natural (state)

adjective

1. in the natural state.

2. naked; nude.

MODEL: SHARON ALMEDA , APRIL E

SENSUALITY...

 

Is Sensuality Covert or Overt..?? Is there an innocence to sensuality or does it require a womanly confidence..?? Does it have the same appeal when it is force fed as when it is savoured.?? Must it be Carnal and Fleshy to be appreciated for the intangible attributes.??

Main Entry: sen·su·al

Pronunciation: \ˈsen(t)-sh(ə-)wəl, -shəl\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin sensualis, from Latin sensus sense

Date: 15th century

1 : relating to or consisting in the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of appetite : fleshly

2 : devoted to or preoccupied with the senses or appetites b : voluptuous c : deficient in moral, spiritual, or intellectual interests : worldly

Thank you Sharon for sharing your sensuality with me....

MODEL: SHARON ALMEDA

BLUE MOOD...

Thank you Rachel for bringing all that you do

MODEL: ASTROPHELLITA

CHAIR SERIES: Time-Out

Whenever I think about a Time-Out Chair, I picture it being more than just putting some randomly comfy chair in the corner and expecting someone to sit there unrestrained while they are in the middle of a tantrum.

But maybe it is just my issues surfacing..

MODELS: KELLY M

Feminine Strength

I seem to be in the minority of men I know who think women can be strong and feminine and sensual and womanly without looking like the stereotypical Barbie Doll or Video Vixen.

Those that know me know that I am a fan of physically strong women.. Great legs and strong firm frames always hold my attention longer than curvy and smooth. and when given the choice, muscle trumps anything else visually for me..

Yesterday I met Kelly, who at a glance is quite deceptive. She appears very petite and unassuming and has a self described "Tomboy" edge to her.

She has short pixie hair and wore oversized athletic gear and no makeup to our shoot. She seemed really comfy in her own skin without all the trappings most women get caught up in.

But once you get to SEE her, you realize how girly and sweet and goofy and funny she is.. We spent most of our time together laughing and talking trash like an old married couple.

Though she swears I cant, I think after some overdue cardio I can kick her ass.. LMAO

MODELS: KELLY M

Fear of a Black Planet...

There was a Diversity seminar I attended two weeks ago that reported "self described Whites are the true minorities by population when the world population is taken into account, though they behave as though they are the majority because of American and global white privilege".

Christianity, though promoted and marketed more than any other religion, is also outnumbered.

If there were only 100 people on earth, the racial, ethnic, and religious breakdown would be:
http://www.miniature-earth.com/

61 ASIAN
13 AFRICANS
12 EUROPEANS
8 NORTH AMERICANS
5 SOUTH AMERICANS / CARIBBEAN
1 OCEANA

31 CHRISTIANS

18 MUSLIMS
16 NON RELIGIOUS
14 HINDUS
13 OTHER

It always amazes me the things we believe being born and raised in America and thinking this is how the rest of the world looks, lives, and believes. If people looked beyond their own backyard, they may see the world differently and hopefully behave accordingly.



I had a great time shooting at our SUSHI SUNDAY photo shoot. While most of the day was me being obnoxious and enjoying the moments, some of the images made me think beyond the intended result.
MODELS: CHAR ROSE

Sometimes...

 

 

Sometimes all you can say is DAAAAMIT...

Thank you Rachel, one of the rare remaining "Ginger Factor X", for bringing a great attitude and fun luving personality to our little circus and putting up with all of our nonsense.

MODELS: ASTROPHELLITA

RESTRAINT SERIES: ANTICIPATION... Worth the wait..??

Gotta luv what you know is coming, even when you aren't sure you are ready for it.. Sometime you just have to accept your situation, brace yourself and breathe deeply..

And Embrace the Afterglow.....

Thank you to Rhona for allowing me to be random, bringing her ideas to the table, potentially corrupting others around her, and scaring every small animal within the sound of her voice.. Screaming really is relative..

MODELS: RHONA MACLEAN

Some Faces...

Some faces just pull you into them..

There is something so aesthetically pleasing about them that you find yourself staring at them.

I find myself more attracted to interesting faces than what some call traditionally beautiful ones.. Something quirky always holds my attention.. Where traditionally beautiful faces are often forgettable in a sea of faces..

MODEL: REV ARIELLE

Beauty Is..

Beauty TRULY is in the eye of the beholder..

Beauty truly is subjective.. I tend not to look for conventional beauty when I shoot but find beauty in the mundane.. I try to reach each subject where it is.. Find what is interesting about it and capture that..

That is because rarely are my subjects the people IN the pictures I take.. They are normally there to respresent the intent of the images.. not to be the subject of them..

There was a time when all I wanted to do was take pretty pictures of pretty women.. So I shot strictly to capture what I thought made each of them beautiful in a way that was the most flattering for them.

Then I took some Art classes and "drank the kool-aid" that my professor was serving.. Not quite Jim Jones, thankfully, but the things he made us find to shoot were things I would have never done on my own.. They were things that made me have to focus beyond the physical to find the essence of them..

I think that is why I dont have the same passion for shooting glamour.. I always hope there can be more to it than the obvious.. I was told by someone whose opinion I respect that whenever I do shoot glamour there is always something lacking.. and I think what is lacking is my passion for it..

Just as I tell the models I shoot with that they need to lose themselves in the process and buy into it enough to become whatever is necessary to play the role the image calls for convincingly because there are things few can fake well visually..

I guess this is the proverbial two way street..

So my goal for this summer is to find some passion for glamour.. and translate that visually..

This past week was my first attempt..

Thank you to JENNIE and HOTCHILD for coming out to play with me.. And to RICK J. for the Kool-Aid.

MODELS: JENNIE , HOTCHILD