Can't Wait To Started

My favorite model, Jessica (first sitting, second sitting), is a fine photographer in her own right, but as a starving college student, she can't afford models often. We decide to share models during her summer visit with her folks. Yulia was our first shared model, less than two weeks earlier. Next, the fabulous Betcee May comes through town & agrees to pose for the two of us.

When Betcee first came through town, we had a great time together, but I had all sorts of technical problems. Jessica was very interested in working with Betcee, so I proposed to Betcee that Jessica & I would share her modeling. Betcee's response: "that's okay with me as long as I get a chance to photograph Jessica, too!". Hence, we had an all day photo orgy -- three made exposures, but only two got naked.

Photographers: if you want to get better, work with better models. (Also, models: if you want to get better, work with better photographers.)

Jessica really enjoyed working at that location where we photographed Yulia two weeks earlier, and Betcee liked the images we made there. So, we made arrangements to work there in the afternoon.

Betcee stays in my guest room during her visits through town, and when Jessica met us here at my home, we couldn't wait to get started. So, in the late morning, we made some exposures here at my house using natural window light. We start in the guest room itself, where Betcee stayed.

Betcee does "sultry" really well.

My top floor is actually a finished attic -- it has walls that are about four feet tall, then a slanting ceiling leading up to a central flat ceiling at normal height. I have a few skylights here on the slanting bits, including one in the guest room, with a nice table & chairs under it. This skylight faces north.

We start here, with Betcee on top of the table & directly under the skylight. I had thought that the sitting would start at the location, but we just couldn't wait.

"Chemistry" is a theme I suspect I'll discuss a bit for this sitting. Most of the time, it is sufficient to have a good working relationship with a model, but I feel a bit stronger connection with Betcee (and I count Jessica as a good friend).

With "chemistry", I feel a bit freer to try more things, like moving in close.

As a photographer of the nude, I often meditate on questions like "when is nude not nude?" and "when is not nude nude?". Trust me -- Betcee here is bare ass naked -- she is not even wearing jewelry. Is she nude here?

Here's a sitting favorite.

It's no secret that Betcee has many, many assets as a model, including incredible eyes & smooth, clear skin.

A wider shot. Here's a rarity for me -- I rarely include the model's feet in the image. With the exception of the funny distorted figure images I make in the steam room, I usually don't include a model's foot. I like this image because it does a good job in showing Betcee's smooth, clear skin. Don't you want to touch her?

I like nude photos that include a feeling of intimacy, and Betcee does this for me better than pretty much any other model I've known. It's that "chemistry" thing again.

At the root of any good photograph is an appreciation of light. After all, "photo" = "light", and "graph" = "record" -- all a photograph is is a record of light. Further, we are programmed to react to natural light.

Having exploited this one particular spot as well as we could, we move on to other spots on my top floor finished attic.

We wander into the my office at the other end of the top floor. There is a weird little section -- the inside of a tiny gable with a low window facing north; above the window the walls join at a peak. My office walls are a deep green, and Jessica asked whether I had anything to soften the walls. I remembered this gauzy backdrop which I rarely use, and we pin it up. It created a very interesting effect. The gauze is pinkish-brownish. So, sometimes you can see the green walls through the gauze, sometimes the gauze looks pink, and sometimes the gauze looks brown.

This is Jessica -- we can't stop her from modeling for us, and for the first time, Betcee starts making exposures, too.

The digital camera (blast it) has trouble focusing with the low light & with objects at different depths, but I like this abstract impressionistic feel. But eventually, the camera learns how to focus.

Here's the lovely Jessica.

Also, you can see the weird effect of the brownish-pinkish gauze in front of the green walls (that is, for those of you looking at the walls -- what's wrong with you!).

Betcee & I are making exposures, sharing Jessica as a model. Jessica gets in some exposures, too.

Betcee working with Jessica. This image was selected as a Showcase Image on One Model Place. It's a big favorite of mine, too. It's kinda like us guys learning about what really goes on during slumber parties.

I should mention that Betcee is planning on publishing a model web site for herself. She plans to display photographs of herself made by other photographers, and she also plans to try her hand at photography, too. At this point, she's photographed a friend; Jessica is Betcee's first experienced model. At Betcee's suggestion, I step back & photograph the two of them working together. Betcee figures that an image like this would be a great introduction to her images of Jessica.

Jessica is photographing Betcee; Betcee is photographing Jessica; I'm photographing each of them; and I get to photograph the two of them working together. It's a photo orgy!

We were supposed to go off to the location, but we couldn't wait. We start early, working in spots within my house that are normally not used, using concepts that we normally don't use. We've just got started, but we are already having a terrific time & making some interesting & unusual images.

This sitting continues with Betcee May On Location