New Year

This will be my last post of 2012! I know, this is not too surprising seeing as the year is about to come to a close.

This year included:
-travels in my typical nomadic path in the USA
-one 10 day magical journey in Europe where I was introduced to Belgium, Paris, Budapest and Amsterdam
-a move to Oakland which has since then been reversed (I am once again a Texas resident)
-Rossland! a week at camp for grownups who haven't grown up and like to run around naked or with cameras (or both)
-working in the UK and traveling in Europe as a part work trip/part vacation trip. Some of this trip was much too fast but gave me a taste of Scotland, Ireland (Dublin), England (London), Paris, Belgium, Germany (Dusseldorf, Berlin), Austria (Vienna) and Italy (Venice, Bolgona, Trieste)
-a month in Australia to visit many of my favorite Aussies and finally add Adelaide to the cities I have seen
-the experience of staying in one city for an entire month and feeling "home"
-two speeding tickets
-a return to being a pescetarian (vegetarian who eats fish)(which no longer applies - I now eat all things except red meat)
-realizing that I would like to live in NYC (but I still do not think I could keep up with the lifestyle there)
-I don't even want to talk about how much coffee, beer and chocolate has been consumed
-working with hundreds of photographers
-great moments of happiness

This past year has been wonderful. I cannot even begin to guess what 2013 will bring.

I wish you all a fun New Year's Eve, and a New Year full of great happiness.

Shot

Old Mine Floor

Scott Nichol

Rossland, Canada - August 2012

Yesterday I got shot.

This is a statement which considering the recent events in the media might immediately evoke thoughts of guns and horror. And to models and photographers we just shrug our shoulders and go, "well of course you modeled yesterday." But neither apply in this case, as yesterday was my appointment at the Adult Immunization Clinic in San Francisco where I received my yellow fever vaccine in my left arm. Yes, that kind of shot.

I now have a whole handbook with information on the many diseases in third world South American countries and in some of the more luscious rainforest regions of the continent. I'm working on my typhoid vaccine (taken orally) and will be returning to the clinic in a few weeks to pick up prescriptions for malaria, altitude sickness and other ailments which I will potentially be facing with my exposure to less than sanitary conditions  and new environments. January will be my month to prepare and I am realizing that planning to be gone 8 - 9 months and living on the road with only my backpacks will require an abundance of preparation.

Christmas

I am home. Or rather, I am about as home as I can get right now. My brother is out of town and I have the full run of his apartment in San Francisco for a few days, and am quite delighted. Today is my day to overcome the jetlag from my long journey back from Australia, and will include probably an overabundance of time spent online, but with the sun out and Golden Gate park nearby, I have a long walk on my agenda. Back in high school I experimented with running, was part of the cross country team. Throughout university I threw my shoes on my feet and occasionally kicked my legs back and forth at a faster than walking speed. As of late my life has been devoid of any such endeavors, and I am still in need of proper shoes, but I have thoughts to ramp up the aerobic activity in my life. I also have a few phone calls to make, but as I am not only tired, but fighting off a cold (or rather, babying my cold with warm fuzzies of life like baths, blankets and beverages). 

Self-portrait

Atlanta, GA - Fall 2012

No, I have not forgotten. Usually the fault of my spinning around and possibly appearing to neglect things is an overactive mind rather than one which sits too still and forgets. But I always do get around to everything I intend to. And right now I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday time. Today is Christmas eve day in the USA and in Australia, Christmas has already come. Merry Christmas everyone. If you celebrate, or even if you just use the time to relax or see friends. I hope you have a great holiday season.

I had been telling people how excited I was to spend Christmas all on my own, and apparently that is a less than normal predicament to be thrilled about. But I have been saying this with full sincerity. I missed Hanukah entirely this year - I received two emails wishing me well which brought a smile to my face, but somehow that holiday lacked true presence in my world this year. So this year I will embrace Christmas in my own way. Holidays are about happiness anyway, and best spent doing what you enjoy. Usually I feel they are about family and friends, too, but with my traveling lifestyle I am continually surrounded by friends and am currently enjoying the beginnings of my holiday solo style.  Christmas day on my own, with maybe some Chinese take-out Jewish style and a few movies, will do me well. 

And to the rest of you - celebrate however you feel fit. :) And enjoy! Merry Christmas.

26 shoots, 24 days, 4 cities

About 26 shoots, 24 days, and 4 cities later, my Aussie trip is coming to a close. Tomorrow will be my version of Groundog Day, and is a day I am absolutely not looking forward to. I will experience Sunday two times, with three airplane flights and four airports to endure, but in the end I will find myself back in San Francisco with some down time and a home all to myself.

I had a fabulous time while in Australia. My schedule may have started out a bit slow for my own taste (I am happiest while busy) but as the days tumbled on, I saw black pen scribbled all over my planner, my legs walking back and forth to buses and trams, and my skirt flying on and off my body.

Zoo

Photographed by JE Cordova

Irving, Texas - November 2012

My afternoon shoot cancelled yesterday, so I went to the zoo instead. I have heard great things about the Sydney Zoo, so finally getting to go was a real joy. I also had an impromptu Marilyn Monroe moment when a breeze came by, and fortunately for me none of children or parents scurrying around seemed to have noticed me and my lack of knickers.

Lattes

Australia used to be where I ran away from to escape the beginnings of the cold season in the US and avoid a couple of weeks of holiday buzz, but on this trip the same things I sought to free myself of are strong around me. I am glad to see my friends out here - after three previous trips in the past couple of years I have a small network of people I truly relish seeing in this country and these people are what brought me out here this year. The ticket price was higher than ever and surprising my family for Thanksgiving pushed my trip one week later than I would have liked, but to see these friends I jumped and made the trip out to Australia a fourth time. Unfortunately this year the timing seems wrong, which is part of the business with modeling trips, and a large portion of the photographers I usually enjoy shooting with have schedule conflicts preventing collaborations on this trip. The shoots I have had thus far have been good ones though and I will continue to find joy in my trip even if I may spend more time drinking lattes than posing nude and creating art.

 Photographed by Jon Mann

Brooklyn, NYC - Fall 2012

I am currently seeking some models to photograph while out here, but one difficulty of being on the road is that I have to rely on others to have a shooting location available, as I am less familiar with decent outdoors locations and do not have my own home to bring models to for shoots.

Kitten

People with 9-5 type jobs have weekends; I have an unpredictable schedule with a whole lot of days with travel and work, then days sprinkled in there without work. My past five days in Houston were exactly what I needed after a long trek back from the East Coast - they were my weekend days. I need to experience this phenomenon a bit more often. I was able to do everyday chores like fix the crack in my windshield, get my state emissions test done for my car, go to the DPS to switch back to my Texas license, pull together clothing and household items to donate, organize my things, go to the grocery store, sleep a little, go on walks to the neighborhood restaurants, visit friends and do general social activities. This all sounds so ordinary and yet, this felt so incredibly welcome to me. I also had a few shoots in my schedule.

And...

Photobooth Macbook Snapshot

I had a pet kitten for 48 hours. At the start of a photoshoot, the photographer and I heard continual mewing and after some searching the source of this sound was found - a tiny kitten was by the roots of a tree. Clearly abandoned, I picked her up, made a box for her and spent a portion of the shoot distracted by this adorable creature (but I look super happy in the photos and stayed an additional hour so the distraction proved a positive). I brought her back to my place and over to Friends for Life, a no-kill clinic where I was asked to foster her for a couple of days until they could find a more permanent foster parent. Thus my first and only days as the foster parent of a 3 - 4 week old kitten involved messy feeding sessions (even at 5 am), an abundance of mewing and me keeping her happy with rather periodic petting and cuddling. Little Lily was so adorable and I hated to see her go when I handed her over to someone else but this was a necessity seeing as I had more travel to do and the person I stay with in Houston is allergic to cats. Someday I will stay put and get my own cat - but not yet. 

Multiple

I am wearing tighty-whities. Why? Today I had the day off in Atlanta and ordered up a bit of thrift store shopping in addition to catching up on emails and taking a couple too many showers. Trying on clothing without underwear is sometimes a little disgusting, and when sharing a room with other ladies (yes, some stores still have communal dressing rooms) sparing the women the shock of seeing a panty-less girl seemed like basic politeness. Of course, I have good manners when in a store in the South, and yet, just a week and a half ago I was running around a friend's home in the DC area with a grey tape, which was not duct tape, covering up my butt crack. 6 cups of coffee and one pour of scotch and apparently I lost control, and the fun version of me came out.

Photographed by Mohandoss Photography

Raleigh, North Carolina - Summer 2012

I often joke about the two (or debated three) sides of myself. With my prose up above, I was reminded of this. 

I find pleasure in the small things in life. One of which is opening fortune cookies and reading their fortunes. I have learned Panda Express makes the most boring fortunes, so I do not recommend picking up a bag of their cookies for this purpose, but most fortunes are a bit more exciting. There is some order to my fortune cookie practices - I open a cookie, eat a small amount, and read the fortune. If I feel so inclined, I may eat the rest of the cookie, but having that one small taste is part of my being able to consider the fortune mine. I have no idea when I started doing this. A couple of weeks ago I found fortune cookies laying on the countertop where I was shooting, and decided to partake in the fortune experience. Upon opening my cookie I found this fortune - "a beautiful person is with you, confide your problems," and was of course in the room by myself.  Was my fortune cookie suggesting I embrace my multiple personalities and have them all talk to each other? :P (I of course say all of this in jest)

How are you?

I have been having requests to write more frequently, and have wanted this for myself as well, so I will endeavor to at least get a post out on a weekly basis, if not more. Time of my own which coincides with motivation to write is rather limited, as I have been on the road for 9 weeks with this current road trip and have friends everywhere who I visit when not working, which means my personal time has become time I share with friends. Tonight I am breaking this and ordering up a night in a cheap hotel by myself. A bit of quiet, "me," time is essential.

I am never too certain what is ascertained from one blog post. My mother appears to believe I was in the depths of depression based upon one blog about my disappointment in a lack of collaboration, and I want to assure you that is not the case. No person can be positive all of the time, but we maintain the impression of this as when walking down the street and asked, "how are you?" people do not truly want them to tell them anything negative. Usually on the rare occasion I am down and asked this, I exclaim, "I am terrible!" with a bit of happy enthusiasm. I have found that making a joke of my glumness can help pull me out. That said, I am doing wonderfully, thank you. :) And most often I am. 

I try to keep negativity off of this blog, and you may notice I have never pointed out specifics in terms of this. I'm a believer in positive thinking, and feel more people in the world could stand to be optimistic and hopeful about things. Yet sometimes a word about difficulties seems more real. 

Photographed by Reiver

Morrisdale, PA - October 2012

So, where am I today? At the moment I am happily sitting in a cafe sipping coffee as I wait for my photographer to battle through traffic to our studio location. The cup of coffee I picked up for him is getting cold, but I am glad today I have a bit of extra time on the back end of my shoot time, so I can stay a little longer to make up for the delayed start. Yes, sometimes photographers are late, too. :) And sometimes models bring photographers coffee.

I'm in DC one more day, then Virginia, and by Wednesday night I will be in Asheville, North Carolina and away from the east coast (I do not consider Asheville to be the east coast, but some may disagree) until about 2014. This notion excites me. I have some fun adventures coming up and my arriving in Texas in November will grant me a few days of "home."

Happy Place

I spent my final days in NYC just last week and was sad to depart knowing I will not return until basically 2014. I used to feel I could not keep up with the pace of NYC and I had no desire to live there, but while now I have financial concerns regarding the logistics of living in that glorious city, I have awakened to the charm of the place. I stayed up late, went to yoga class, drank an abundance of coffee and perhaps too much whiskey, hung out with friends, ate pizza and of course walked and walked and did quite a bit of shooting while in the city. NYC, I shall miss you.

Photographed by Rick Poston

NYC, NY - September 2012

Currently I am happily shooting and resting in the middle of Pennsylvania. Last night I was suspended over the dining room table, after spending the afternoon doing bondage ballerina erotica. With the colorful fall leaves all around me, and the smell of wetplate lavender, I'm in a pretty good place.

The dance

The rain has me down. Or maybe I am tired. Or perhaps shoots which seem they will not result in artistically sound or pleasant to look at photographs disappoint me. Or maybe shoots where many of the parties are in their own spaces, rather than opening up to see the opportunities available to them and taking the occasion to collaborate are what zap my enthusiasm. I begin all encounters with a positive outlook and attempt to maintain this as long as possible, but I am very much someone who feels the energy of the people around me and as their demeanor and the mood changes, I have to fight to keep myself in my normal happy state.

I am on a short lunch break and will head off to do another shoot soon. A new shoot in a new environment, by the time I arrive at Dunkin Donuts to meet the photographer, I will have a smile on my face and the energy needed to be fully me.

Photographed by Rick Poston

NYC - September 2012

People often do not realize what goes into a good photo shoot. An understanding of lights is a good base, then flows the ability to see the art possibilities laid out in front of you. Photoshoots can be like a dance with energy flowing between subject and photographer and light all swirling around a room.  When people are open to dancing, magic can occur, but when one party is disinterested in this dance, things are a bit more stilted.

I must caffeinate and hit the races, I am clearly sounding hippy-dippy and overly brief in my words. I will muse on this with greater eloquence at a time further down the line.

Fairie

Painting by Fred Fields

The majority of my shoots are with photographers whose end goal from a shoot is to create photographs, but on occasion the photographs are just one step in a long creation process. Time is elusive, but a while back I worked with an artist who took reference photos for his paintings. I was immediately impressed with the quality of his work - gorgeous whimsical scenes with fairies, plants and animals - and had a feeling great works of art would be created from our photos.

You can learn about the step-by-step progress of this painting by viewing his blog.

Central Park

Tomorrow morning I will be modeling in Central Park. Please do not tell the police.
While toplessness is legal in NYC, being completely nude is not, but with a handy dress that goes on and off quickly, a pair of panties I can claim I was wearing if need be, and a bit of stealth, I think the photographer and I will get away with this. Last time the two of us shot together, I was naked on the Brooklyn Bridge.

 Photographed by Andrew Kaiser

Sauvie Island, Portland, Oregon - Summer 2012

I awoke today about 30 minutes prior to my alarm, which was a glorious way to begin the day. I also felt miraculously rested. Of course this faded and I am currently running on my second cup of coffee as I have a late night shoot planned (ought to be low key and experimental as shoots with MC tend to be). I was in New Jersey for the entirety of the day, shooting in Greg Price's studio for the first time ever (he's known for throwing huge workshops with an abundance of photographers and models running around with various amounts of nakedness and a vast array of cameras), then modeling in my friend's home for a few hours. I have safely returned from that state (the state of New Jersey that is, although the state of disarray might also apply) and am ready to fuel up with sushi then carry on with my last portion of my NYC trip. By tomorrow at noon I'll be on my way to Boston. This week has flashed by.

Dragging my home

Photographed by Audie C Photography

Washington DC - Summer 2012

Presently I am truly homeless. Sure, I use the term nomadic and could have a home if I chose to, but with the rapid pace of my current schedule and my impending departure out of the country, renting an apartment and setting a base seems impractical. My car has three homes in several parts of the country - Texas, North Carolina and now Massachusetts as well. As for my possessions, they are either carried upon my back or in my arms, stowed away in my car, splattered throughout my legal residence in Texas, and there are certainly a few items which are strewn across the universe of photographers' and friends' homes.

These past four days I have slept on 4 couches in NYC and have been carting around my suitcase on a daily basis. I am relieved to finally have a place to stay for the next three nights. This place is precisely where I am perched with a bowl of thai leftovers for a much needed dinner. I spent the morning walking with my backpacks (yes, two) on my back and chest and sincerely believe I walked about 4 miles. The decision to walk far, when public transportation is an option, is a habit that is not too uncommon for me and likely is a contributing factor to my leg muscles and leanness).

I under anticipated the craziness which is NYC and wish I had longer, but can find some consolation in the fact that I will be returning for another quick week in October.

Last night making the trek to Manhattan from Brooklyn did not sound appealing at midnight when a long shoot which involved me looking very 1960s and ironing in pin-up garb came to an end, so I camped out where I had shot. This was not my first time for a spontaneous stay over on a couch (clearly) and I was adequately prepared sans contact lens case. Fortunately a bit of ingenuity involving tea cups and way too much saline solution allowed me to keep my contact lenses hydrated all night. At least I remembered my toothbrush (or one of them - the other I had left at another photographer's home the other day).

Turtles are one of my favorite animals. Perchance there is a connection...

Wrapping up with Nude Photography

Photographed by Klaus Kampert

Dusseldorf, Germany - June 2012

I'm thrilled that a series I did with Klaus Kampert in Germany has been featured on F-Stoppers.Com. When first presented with the idea for the shoot, I was excited, as getting to play with an incredibly long and think piece of fabric, with a photographer who truly knows his light and art, seemed like the perfect equation for great photographs. You can see the full series in this article.

Tumblr

Models: Marcus and Keira

Photographed by Marcus Ranum

Morrisdale, PA - Summer 2012

A month has passed and I have not stopped by here to write. Shame on me. I shall bend myself over for penance. I have been posting more in tumblr than here, as I feel people are more drawn to the endless stream of images than sitting down and reading the words nimbly typed out by a mere model. I enjoy sharing my images on that site, and always hope to see images of mine reblogged by someone with great exposure, but something in me has a little disappointed in the effects tumblr. Images which may have taken great effort to create are lined up and scrolled through like pages in a cartoon flip-book. 

 Photographed by John M. 

Edinburgh, Scotland

tumblr

Photographed by MC Film

NYC, NY

tumblr

These are my two most "popular" or "liked" photos on tumblr. One would have to be blind not to notice the common theme. 

Little Car

Photographed by Stefano Brunesci

Bath, England - June 2012

You may have heard through the grapevine that my car is having issues. And with no car, I have no home on wheels. Fortunately she'll be fixed extremely soon if all goes according to plan and my schedule will have only had a week long hiccup which was remedied through a rental car and an expensive plane flight. All in all, I'm just grateful to find out the problem is something covered under an extended warranty (a cracked engine block is no small repair job or fee) and that she did not explode or break down in the middle of nowhere. I'm also reminded of how many lovely friends I have made over the years of traveling the United States, and appreciate all the help offered to me.

On a side note, my cars have always been woman. I have only had two. One was little, "Putt-Putt," a white '94 Honda Accord. My current car is another Honda, but she has no name. She's a good, little girl and takes me where I need to go, and is patient as could be when I leave her for months at a time in Texas, North Carolina and once in Rhode Island.

Sfumato with George Krause

A couple of years ago I had the chance to work with George Krause in Houston as part of his Sfumato nudes project. The box of light he had built for his photography was impressive and his general shooting manner and personality enjoyable. And of course, he photos are truly lovely. Recently this video was forwarded to me. I found it interesting, and of course, I always enjoy seeing the end result of a project I am involved in.

This video is a private listing, so I was unable to directly post here, but you can view the video through the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sNnQmqFG6I&feature=youtu.be&t=5m50s

She may be a dork. And it didn't explode.

Photographed by Gregory Brown

London, England - June 2012

Some days I feel my nerdiness has left me, then I see the ideas I come up with when given a room full of props and ultimate creative license for a couple of minutes, and realize I am mistaken.

My car almost exploded two days ago. My thermostat was running on high. I may not know much about vehicles, and I'm convinced I do not have enough mass to change a tire even if I needed to, but I do have enough savvy to pull out the guide book and obey. Fortunately right when I needed to pull over, there were car shops and an automotive store. An exceedingly friendly and helpful customer assisted me, and although I was a bit uneasy during the rest of my drive to my figure modeling session, all was well. Apparently my car was overly thirsty for coolant. Who knew it evaporates over time? Or leaks? I'm probably about due for a tune up with the 65 K miles I have on my car, those are 65 thousand miles, but could also be 65 thousand Keira miles, but I'm wary of the way auto places seem to rip off girls. I think I need to bring my car to a place recommended by a friend, and with a friend, on one of my days off.

Microtel

Photographed by Bob K

Rhode Island - July 2012

Did you know that hotel are now around $80-100 on the cheapest end of the spectrum even when in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania? I was surprised as well. Tonight I am at the Microtel about an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh. I have a bit of wine, a can of tuna, a bag of chips, green beans and dried mango. And of course, a cozy room to splay out naked in.

On this trip through upstate New York and the boondocks of Pennsylvania, I am meeting up with photographers I have met several years ago and am able to come out and see every once in a while. I always enjoy seeing them again even if I do have a bit of extra driving to do. Long expanses of road without traffic can sometimes be enjoyable to drive, especially with a good book on CD. Right now I am listing to, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," at the almost insistent recommendation of a good friend. I'm enjoying hearing the story, so he suggestion was a good one. Today I took advantage of the extra time in my schedule and spent a couple of hours at the Corning Museum of Glass while in town. For three years I have heard about this place, and was always rushing off somewhere else. Something tells me I am the only model to stop there thus far.

DNS

I had thought my internet was infected with the hairy, scary, gross DNS virus, but as it turns out, I was just having difficulty with internet at some of my hosts' homes that coincided with the outbreak of the virus. I am sitting in McDonalds using their free internet and this is the happiest I have ever been in a McDonalds. :)

Photographed by Bob K

Rhode Island - July 2012

Random fact about me: when driving long distances and wearing thongs on my feet, I drive with only a thong on my right foot.

Fire

Two days ago I had the most invigorating shoot. During past shoot with Bob K, there had been mention of this awesome fire spinner who he believed would be a good addition to his 3D photos with me. With elements of fire and a larger number of people involved, setting up a shoot always becomes trickier and discussion of grandeur does not always actualize. We had a large factory space to use, and the scheduling worked perfectly - Spagga, the fire spinner, was available to come by for a short time.

With the debris of the ground swept aside, my hair pulled into a braid to keep it out of the fire's not always completely contained path, the fire extinguishers brought to the set, the lights set up and tested, and a bit of rehearsing choreography, we were cooking.

These unedited photos are from the digital stills - the final products will be the stereo film photos and even more dynamic

Photographed Bob K

Fire Spinner: Spagga

USA

I have not disappeared. I have not fallen through a rabbit hole. I just went into an internet free vortex for a while in Europe.

Today my travels in the USA commence again with a trip from Rhode Island to Albany, New York. I will work my way from Albany to Syracuse and Corning and down to Pittsburgh, then to Morrisdale, over to Washington DC, up to Philadelphia, all the way out to Asheville and then east to Raleigh. I foresee some hotels, couches and nights of sleeping in my car. Some days of solid driving, others with me modeling and networking, and a bit of time coming up with new adventures. Pittsburgh is letting me down a bit, but with the way my schedule works I have to find an appropriate place to be between Corning and Morrisdale or within a three hour detour. I am confident I will sort things out.

Schedule:
Troy: July 9 - 12 
Upstate NY/Rochester/Buffalo/Syracuse/Binghampton: July 11-12 
Pittsburg, PA (Or anywhere between Corning and Morrisdale): July 14 - 17 
Morrisdale: July 18 - 19 
Washington DC/Baltimore: July 20 - 24/25 
Asheville/Knoxville: July 26 - 30 
Raleigh, NC: August 1-6 

Photographed by John M

Edinburgh, Scotland - June 2012

UK

Today marks my first day creating a blog post on my iPhone. Impressive, the may not be, but since I have had the technology for a while and never explored how to do this, I find making note of my new, small achievement not too silly, or perhaps overly silly. Those of you who know me are probably well aware that technology is not a strong suit of mine, but that like a monkey even I do well following a clear demonstration. Today is also my first morning in Dublin, Ireland. Friday I departed Boston for Scotland and knowin I had a morning shoot upon arrival, one which was to have me out in the cold waterfalls of the countryside, I drank a cup of wine, read a short while and endeavors to sleep immediately in the plane. I have a knack for falling asleep anywhere (although only when intentional)so I fared alright. During my quick layover in Amsterfam and that flight, I continued to try to snooze. When my plane landed and throughout the day I was practically my normal self - assisted by a bit of coffee, but that is my norm anyway. Graeme the photographer who came to collect me was remarkably great as tour guide and brought me to a lovely, isolated place outside of Glascow where I relished in the mossy ground, lush greens, and enjoyed the sight of a couple of black slugs (new to me). Although we did not have the heat wave present the previous week in Scotland, weather cooperated and the day was good. Then onwards to Edinburgh I went... I must get ready for my shoot, as I'm under the impression blog writing is not an adequate reason for tardiness to a commitment. :) Suffice to say, I'm safe, happy and well, and I made it past the border (which was actually rather difficult and felt like a full on interrogation).

All over the place

Photographed by Bob

Providence, RI - May 2012

My Boston trip has been marked with car rides from the border of New Hampshire to Rhode Island, back to New Hampshire and then once again yo-yo-ing down to Rhode Island. The variety of my shoots these past days have been tremendous with one shoot allowing me to scale up a rock wall and lounge on a nearly disintegrated car, to looking cute and cheery in bright clothing in a sunlit room, to prancing in sprinklers for 3D photos, to twisty-bendy figure studies, to wrapping my face in thread, to wearing fetish ballet slippers, to sliding myself within a table.... and the list continues.

I depart for Europe tomorrow afternoon and have most of my details neatly written out. July will bring me time to return to my blog.

Cheers!!!!

Polaroids by Rick Poston

NYC, NY - May 2012

Yikes

Photographed by Here4Art

NYC, NY - May 2012

I awoke in a panic. My hands are shaking. There is a warm cup of coffee within hands' reach, perhaps I best not drink this. I depart for Europe on Friday and have a to-do list which scrolls about a mile long for me to tackle in the next few busy days. Apart from my current realization of how soon my trip is, I have been having a wonderful time on the east coast this past month. Graduate school taught me how to procrastinate, and I'm not sure how pleased I am with that. On the plus side, I'm rather good at compartmentalizing, so as soon as I jump into model mode, all fears will be assuaged.

Cows

Photographed by Andrew Kaiser

Portland, Oregon - April 2012

I feel I have been neglecting my blog lately and focusing on my tumblr instead. To me, Tumblr is the twitter of photos, and I have never been a fan of twitter, so my posting so many photos there almost seems wrong to me. 

This photo was taken after Andrew and I had finished our shoot and hopped in the car to head back. We decided the light was just too perfect to ignore it, so while I ripped off my clothing, he unpacked his camera and we took a few quick photos before the light ducked behind the trees and a car came wizzing down the parking lot road of where I should not have been so openly nude. I enjoy the fact that there is a cow in this photo. 

Specimen

Photographed by Felix Martin

Portland, Oregon - April 2012

I'm not certain what is going on in this photo, but something about it jumps out and grabs me. I was told the background is from a photo from the Portland Museum of Art. Looking at this photo makes me feel like I am looking at a version of myself pinned to a wall like an insect specimen at a natural history museum. Read into that what you may.

I have been waking up at 5 in the morning lately, after going to sleep at 2 in the morning. My body schedule needs to sort itself out or my current coffee addiction will become horrific. 

Body Double

Photographed by Daniel

Models: Keira Grant and Mauvais

Oakland, CA - February 2012

I found my body double in the east bay of the San Francisco area. Our legs are the same length, our torsos equally tall as well, and from the toes to the top of our head we are the same heigh. We both have pretty small chests and a bit of art model shrubbery. We are both rather pale skinned and the hair on our heads - curly brown. :) The great thing is that not only is Mauvais an awesome model, but she is cool, too. These photos are from our introductory shoot at my Oakland studio. Since then we've worked together a couple more times and have learned that together we have very few personal space boundaries when it comes to creating good artistic images. 

Last week she and I had one session of figure work at the end of a day of goofy, awesome shooting. We fought over cleaning a man's public restroom, had a fake fist fight, streaked over a bridge, flashed oncoming traffic from a bridge, played chess in a cemetery and pushed each other around in a wheel chair, and licked each other's ice cream while strapped in the back of a car. 

I'm about to head out of town again, but will be around the San Francisco area in August. I would love to do more shoots with her when back. 

Dance

Photographed by Lisa Jupiter

Sacramento, CA - April 2012

Models: Keira and Kitty

Human interaction is a dance.

Thus stands to reason that modeling with another individual is a dance. These dances are not always elegant or smooth, and sometimes this lack of grace is intentional.

The opportunity to model with someone who has no fear of crossing boundaries and is confident in their own power and who is willing to put themselves in your space and at your trust is rare and beautiful experience.

Photographed by Robert Triboli

Sacramento, CA - April 2012

Models: Lisa Jupiter and Keira

a spoonful of teeth

A week has passed since my last blog, and as the hours and days turned I told myself I needed to update my blog, but photographing beautiful women, being photographed myself, driving, socializing, eating, posing for painters, posting on tumblr and facebook, sleeping and hiking have kept me busy, happy and away from Mr. Blogger.

Now I am in Raleigh, North Carolina with a house all to myself and a few gloriously quiet mornings to drink coffee, do laundry, tap on my key board and lounge about in the nude before getting prepared for my afternoon and evening shoots. The house is not lacking in coffee, chocolates or wine, but until I head to the grocery store, my meals will be less than balanced. I will set things right soon.

While staying in Oakland I was completely convinced being home frequently and limiting my road trips was the practical and good thing to transition, but since I've been on the road, I've been reminded how many friends I now have scattered all over the United States. Once again I have seen how wonderful being able to stop in a city or town long enough to see them and take a breath of fresh air (as I did in Asheville this past week) rather than work and hurry on to my next destination. On this previous trip to Asheville I was afforded the luxury of spontanaeity with my art making. My photographer friend Arthur Pearsall was having his portrait done by artist Marsha Hammel and had wanted me to be in the portrait with him as the nude model he was photographing. From this meeting, she and I arranged a session the next day and went thrift shopping. (Her work is very popular in the UK and can be viewed here: http://www.mhammelstudio.com/). Arthur is keen on atypical ideas that are not for everyone, but thrill me (our shoot involved baby dolls, a clown, rotten teeth, chopsticks...).

Photographed by Arthur Pearsall

Hendersonville, NC - Summer 2011

Meet me in Memphis

Photographed by Dunlap Photoart

Memphis, TN - March 2012

I recently learned that Memphis abounds with great buildings to shoot in. Photographer Tommy Dunlap brought me to an incredible building he had spotted while driving on the freeway. The location was amazing and I got to do one of my few completely clothed shoots.

So thrilled by the location and lighting, after the shoot, I headed back with a fresh memory card and battery, dragging along the friend I was staying with. Instead of using a tripod (I don't have one on this trip), I put my friend in the role of photo assistant, with me setting up the shot and him in charge of the shutter. Perhaps not a perfect method, but it was an entertaining exercise in photography. My introduction to assisted self-portraits came to an end when I spotted amazing light and ran towards it camera in hand, ignoring the broken glass everywhere. Moments later, yipping like a sad puppy, I had to pull out a shard of glass that was lodged in my foot (thank goodness for long nails), and decided to go home, shower the dirt off my face and body and enjoy the cleaner sides of Memphis (a meal at Itta Bena).

Turns out my friend in Memphis has some good connections for shooting spaces, so if a photographer in the general area wants to meet me somewhere in the south sometime, I could supply a neat location for shooting.

Self-portraits assisted by Jay in Memphis