Thanks to these two wonderful models:  Shawndelle O'Brian is Shawndelle, and Nicole Scott is Nicole.  Both are listed on the One Model Place modeling website (as am I).  At this site, models & photographers can post profiles of themselves, specifying what kind of modeling they are willing to do.  One of the nice features of OMP is that members could specify trip dates & seek jobs while traveling.  I got a notice from OMP on these two models, and they both indicated that they enjoy fetish & erotic posing, and as it turns out, they know each other very well.  When I proposed this sitting to them, they agreed.  And they were great, happy to get into the moment and do everything I asked of them.

In case you are wondering, the "blood" is chocolate syrup, a trick used by Hitchcock in "Psycho".  If you want to try this yourself, be forewarned -- it is very messy, and it gets everywhere.  I have a small private elevator in my house, and after the sitting, we rode it up to my living quarters so that Nicole & Shawndelle could take a shower.  If I had a nickel for every time I rode an elevator with two nude models covered in chocolate syrup, well, I'd have $0.05.

Also, don't forget to visit the Font Note.

And, yes, the design of the banner at the top of each page was inspired by the one on the HBO show, Carnivale.

Finally, yes, I don't write very well.

I guess I've been doing a bit more fetish/bondage photography than before.  I suppose there are several reasons for this:  this little area in the basement of my 113 year old Victorian house just looks like a dungeon, and that silly wooden post in the middle of the floor just invites some bondage; also, I seem to run into a lot of models who enjoy this kind of posing, many of whom have their own wardrobe.  Also, it is a bit of a challenge -- the space in the basement is cramped, and the ceiling is very low, maybe 7.5 feet tall.  If you ask me, it's the challenge that appeals to me the most.

Since I've been doing fetish photography lately, I've been looking at fetish photographs on the Internet, and I must say that I rarely find any that is at all appealing to me.  For most, there are little to no production values -- random lighting, no settings, no drama -- I mean how can you tie up a model without drama?  At best, some sites offer a bit of artistry where it comes to rope & knot work.

So, I am clear about my goals:  I want to bring artistic techniques (lighting & composition) to the genre.  I am also pretty clear about the kind of bondage photography that appeals to me:  I am only interested in making images about erotic surrender, seduction, submission, and consent.  I am not interested in images featuring pain, punishment, rape, or humiliation.  I guess my respect of models is just too deeply ingrained for me to even consider images like that.  Now I know that some people (including models) enjoy images like that, but I'm pretty clear that those images are outside my interest or abilities.    

Assessment:  I think these two models were/are terrific.  They were enthusiastic for the sitting, and they were instantly comfortable posing.  It was an added bonus that they knew each other well and were able to show me the best of each other.

Now I have to admit that I wasn't totally comfortable with this sitting.  It was a bit more erotic that I'm used to, and I'm afraid that I am the one that brought inhibitions to the sitting.  I could have asked for a wider variety of poses.  Be forewarned -- it's just that kind of thing that I find challenging; perhaps I'll try more in the future.

Further, in some of the images, I wasn't in total control of the lighting.  Truth be told, we had technical difficulties -- I had to replace a modeling light that burned out, but fortunately I had a spare.  But later, I knocked over a light & broke one of the strobes, and I didn't have a suitable replacement.  Originally, we started with three light sources, but we finished using only the two remaining ones.  I think we did well, but I have to admit that these difficulties were frustrating & distracting.

Ah, I'm always critical of myself.  Overall, I'm happy with these images.  After all, I printed a lot of them.  Each sitting is about 100 exposures, and I printed a high percentage of these -- I take that to be a good sign.  But I wouldn't put it past me to try this again.  In a way, I'm somewhat happy that I didn't quite go as far as I could or should have -- it give me something to shoot for the next time.

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