Shoot with Xlcr Moon

XlcrMoon-25Continuing my way behind catch up of the shoots from May, I got the chance to work with model Xlcr Moon last month.  I’d not been home for long after my shoot with Keira Grant back in May when I got a message from Xlcr Moon.  She and I had talked about setting up a shoot, but the timing hadn’t looked promising until June.  Now though she was heading out for a trip a bit early and wanted to see if I could do a shoot the the next day.  Luckily I had the evening free and after a bit of texting back and forth we’d managed to set up a shoot.

We met that evening and worked together for a couple hours.  I’ve been coming back inside a bit more recently after spending a lot of the year after it warmed up outdoors.  While I do love outdoor shooting, sometimes you want to explore ideas and concentrate on an emotion or concept that really just doesn’t work outside well.  At the first of the shoot we did a set exploring the idea of sadness and loss.  After that we worked on some bodyscape images with her.  She did great work and you can see my favorite from the shoot to the right.

More images from the shoot with Xlcr Moon are also now up on Uncovered Visions.

Shooting with Mya and Changes in Nature

Mya Matthews in SwimsuitFor my shoot with Mya Matthews back on Saturday I decided to head to an old favorite location.  This location was the one that I’d mentioned in my post about the storms in late April where the storms had been particularly strong and at least one tornado had touched down.  I’d last been there in mid-April, a couple weeks before the storms, and knew there would still be signs of the storm.  But I was surprised at the destruction still visible.  On the drive there I saw a metal roof on a house that looked like like someone used a giant can opener on it.  I saw several buildings that had been destroyed to the foundation.  The most striking was a home where only part of one wall and the foundation remained, but the stove next to that wall looked so untouched that you felt you got could go up to it and fix lunch right then.

The parking area when we arrived was more crowded than I’d liked and it was a bit later in the day than I’d hoped, but by staying off the main paths as usual we avoided seeing anyone until on our way back to the car after the end of the shoot.

Out in the woods the destruction was neither as severe or as widespread as seen on the drive there, but there were signs of the storm everywhere.  I saw dozens of trees, some more than a hundred feet high not just broken, put ripped from the ground roots and all.  Broken branches and limbs were common everywhere.  The photo to the right shows one large tree that had fallen across the trail, but leaving enough room to walk under it.

The damage only affected one location I’d planned to shoot where a small tree had fallen in the middle of a clearing and too much debris cluttered the ground around it.  Overall the shoot went well and Mya was a joy to work with and I’m hoping to get her in for one more shoot her fall schedule makes that more difficult.  While working I did find a new area that we explored a bit and I will have to go back there again soon to see if this new spot will provide some interesting images in the future.

Image at the top one a swimsuit image from the shoot with Mya.

Images from Recent Shoots with Keira and Melissa

The weather feels more like August than June right now, but after my last outdoor shoot with Keira Grant felt like February I won’t complain.  Working with Mya again tomorrow on a mix of some swimwear and outdoor nude work.  I enjoyed working with her back in March and looking forward to seeing what she can do tomorrow.

As promised looking back at the last two shoots that I’ve mentioned on the blog.  First a few images from my shoot with Melissa Troutt in mid-May (the one with the butterflies).  As usual, she did great work and I’m very happy with the images.  I could post probably half of them, but will just settle for these two at the moment.

Melissa Troutt - Melissa In the StreamMelissa Troutt Posed on a Rock

Also as mentioned before I worked with Keira Grant a few days later at the same location, though in much different weather.  For variety though I’m showing some of the indoor images from earlier in the day here.  I wanted to explore some dark, sad, and moody emotions in this set and I think that she nailed it.  Here though are two more slightly uplifting shots though including a very interesting arrangement of limbs.

Keira Grant - Reaching Beyond Your GraspKeira Grant - Pinwheel

In the next few days expect some images from the recent shoots with Xlcr Moon and Katy T along with some of my work from tomorrow’s shoot with Mya.

Announcing Uncovered Visions

Ginger-Lee-13It takes time to launch one site and getting Rural Nudes off the ground earlier this month was a marathon and took about a month longer than I’d expected.  Having done it once though makes things a bit easier the second time around.  Over the long weekend I was able to get my second web site ready to go live and would like to introduce Uncovered Visions.

IMG_0772This new site will be a place to share more of my photography and not just the handful of images I place onto this site or on my profiles at sites such as Model Mayhem or One Model Place.  You’ll see a little of everything that I shoot there.  A lot of art nudes of course, but also glamour, swimsuits, and even the occasional foray into the erotic.  It’s a place to allow me to present more of my work on a more regular basis.

Among the models that you’ll already find on Uncovered Visions are Ginger Lee, Melissa Troutt, Candle Boxx, and Delikah.  Models to come in the near future include Charlie Kristine (including the image from the previous post), Katy T, Xlcr Moon, Velocity, and Deanna Deadly.

If you’re interested in seeing what’s there, then head over and take a look.  As always I’d love to hear any feedback or thoughts on the new site.

Seeing with New Eyes and Shooting with Keira

CharlieK-2One of the most enjoyable parts of meeting and working with new models is getting to experience the familiar through new eyes.  My shoot on Wednesday with Keira Grant offered an example of that.  I’ve been shooting outdoor nudes pretty often for over a year now and maybe have gotten just a bit used to the scenery.  It struck me though how much Keria kept commenting on how beautiful and green things were while we were driving and shooting.  This is probably the best time to see that beautiful green since it’s been warm enough for the foliage to be out in force, but we are not yet into the main part of summer where the heat and lesser rain  brings brown back to the land.  It’s this time of year that pulled me out there to shoot, but I see it so often that it helps me appreciate it more with someone seeing some of these places for the first time.

I worked with Keira near the same location Melissa and I worked at a few days before.  Contradicting my last post, the morning weather was not as warm as I expected so Keira and I did some indoor work first hoping the weather would improve.  The dreariness and chill lingered though and in fact would not go away at all Wednesday.  Still in spite of the weather it could have been worse (like the day before when it was cooler and raining) When we arrived the rise in water levels since Saturday shocked me.  The previous few days had seen a lot of rain and I expected some rise, but the amount caught me by surprise.  In fact water covered the majority of the spots that Melissa had posed on or I had stood on during that shoot and the current was dangerously strong in many places I had waded with no concerns just a few days before.  I’ve mentioned before how I enjoy the way the woods subtly change over time, but change this dramatic in such a short time felt out of place and a bit jarring.

Even with many of the locations I’d planned to shoot not usable because of the water rise, we found a great spot brought about by that same change as these things often balance out.  Overall we produced some great work, a few of which can be seen here and I look forward to the next time I’m able to work with Keira.

No images from shoot with either Melissa or Keira ready to post so the photo above comes from a shoot with Charlie Kristine from earlier in the month.

Outdoors with Melissa and the Butterflies

In the middle of a busy week, but so much to blog about.  Adding to everything else I’ve been a bit under weather and spent much of late last week through early this week finishing the Rural Nudes site launch.

In a really busy stretch of shooting at the moment after a relatively quiet April caused by weather and cancelations.  Saturday I had the chance to work with Melissa Troutt again.  I always enjoy the chance to collaborate with her and every shoot always produces amazing results and this one was no exception.  We went to a new location for this shoot and it worked better than I’d hoped.  This location was off the path of the damage from the storms late last month, but I was surprised at how many signs of the storms were still visible.  We still found some good locations to shoot and images will be up on Rural Nudes in the near future.

As we went back to the car at the end of the shoot we came across an interesting display of dozens of butterflies gathering in groups next to where I’d parked.  They were surprisingly accommodating and posed for a few images before we left the area.  The image above shows one kaleidoscope (and yes that is a term for a group of butterflies and yes I did have to look it up) and the photo to the left of Melissa taking a picture shows how close they let us approach without flying off.

The timing was good as the temperature dropped dramatically the day after this shoot.  Fortunately for my shoot today with Keira Grant more normal weather returns in time for us to to go outdoors today.

Rural Nudes is Now Live!

hannah-perez-sample-2It takes longer to build and launch a web site than you think.

A bit over a month later than hoped, Rural Nudes is now live at www.ruralnudes.com.  This site will focus on high quality outdoor nude photography with beautiful models and wonderful scenic locations.  At launch the site includes photos from shoots with Carlotta Champagne, Kimberly Marvel, Hannah Perez, Melissa Troutt, among others.  More shoots are coming soon including photos with Ashley Graham, Katlyn Lacoste, and Adrina Lynn.  The goal is to update the site with new images at least twice a month and perhaps more.

carlotta-champagne-sample-3At Rural Nudes I hope to provide a destination for those who appreciate the beauty of the female nude shown in a tasteful and respectful manner.  If that sounds like something you would like to be part of visit the site and consider joining.melissa-troutt-sample-2

Back into the Woods

Kimberly-Marvel-17I always enjoy meeting and working with new models, but I especially enjoy when I get the chance to work with a model again that I enjoyed working with before.  Kimberly Marvel is a wonderful model out of California I’ve had a chance to work with a couple times in the past.  She and her husband were travelling through on their way across the country which worked great as it gave us a lookout to use while shooting so we could travel to one of my favorite locations, but one that this time of year sometimes can have a bit too much foot traffic to shoot nudes.

We met just off the Interstate and drove out to the location to find no cars parked, but oddly when we arrived at our first stop, a waterfall, a couple was already there.  We waited a few minutes until they had left and then with our lookout posted worked for about a half hour at the falls before moving on to other locations.  I explored a trail that I hadn’t worked on before, though I’d hiked about a year ago, and located some good spots there we could work with.  Overall I had a great shoot.

Been busy of late on a new project.  If all goes well then it will be live in a couple days.  Stay tuned for the announcement. (Update – now live Rural Nudes)

Flow

Melissa Against a WallIt doesn’t happen at every shoot or with every model, but sometimes while working with a model the two of us enter a state of flow where everything seems to just vanish except for the shoot (for a good overview of the idea of flow I suggest Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experienceby Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi).  I’ve always found my best work comes from here.  It’s a fragile thing though and easily broken by the smallest outside interruption like a cell phone beep or a knock on the door.  When we’re in the flow an amazing amount of good work can be done in a short amount of time.  The model and I operate almost as a single unit to produce images, lost in the act of creating the images and operating at a level below thought and on instinct.  This image from a recent shoot with Melissa came from exactly one of those moments.

The photos come may come fast or slow, but the transitions move so smoothly that the normal evaluation of each individual photo becomes irrelevant.  Instead of the click, evaluate, change/correct, click process it works more like click, change, click.  In spite of the loss of that evaluation step, I usually find the images are as good if not better than done during the rest of the shoot.

I think this happens because for two reasons.  First is that while in the flow state I’m more focused on the process than the result.  I don’t analyze each image on the back of the camera, I just work on getting the current image onto the camera and I also stop thinking as much about each image.  I see those little moments that might otherwise pass by while I’m planning and just take images as they appear.  Second, the model and I are working as a single unit and I don’t have to pose each image.  I can be reactive to her and let her lead and she can react to my changes without needing verbal instructions.  In the shot with this post for example the pose evolved when I simply moved against the wall Melissa is leaning on and photographed her from a different angle than before.  She adjusted to this new angle without me having to ask or tell her what I wanted.  She just knew how to move for the shot.

When I go through the photos after the shoot I almost always find one photo that just stands out.  It’s not always one that I expected, but as soon as I see the image, the final version just appears in my head.  This photo of Melissa did just that when I saw it.  I saw the above version almost at once.  It has nothing in common with the photos taken on each side of it other than the subject and I think is one of my favorite two or three that I’ve taken with her.

Keep in Mind When Visiting Tennessee

Nyxon in Gloves

I’ve had two issues come up a few times when working with models travelling through the state.  Both have happened a few times of late so two tips when traveling TN from east to west or vice versa.

TN is a large state east to west compared to north to south.  It will take you about nine hours to drive from the southwest corner in Memphis to the northeast corner at Bristol.  For comparison in that same nine hours from the northeast corner in Bristol you could nearly drive to Philadelphia or drive to Jacksonville, FL with time to stop for a meal.  I live about an hour from the northeast corner of the state meaning that I’m (rounding up) about an hour from Knoxville, an hour and a half from Asheville (if you’re coming from North Carolina), and three and a half hours from Nashville.

Looking at the map will tell you the above, but less well known is that Tennessee has two time zones.  The western two thirds of the state lies in Central Time which is the same time zone as Chicago.  The cities of Nashville and Memphis lie here.  The remaining portion of the state is in Eastern Time just like New York and Atlanta.  The Eastern Time zone includes Chattanooga and Knoxville along with me.  So if you’re driving here from Nashville, it will be an hour later that the three and a half hour distance will indicate before you get here.  On the bright side driving from here to Nashville you’ll end up getting there in only two and a half hours on the clock.

Image above from recent shoot with Nyxon partly spent playing around with gloves.  She had no problem with time zones or the size of the state and was right on time.