PHOTO ANTHEMS BLOG

See it in FULL LIFE

2012-02-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

I guess I will have to ask for your forgiveness and apologize for that rant in the last post. I'm myself and again and once more have full and sole retention of my cognitive faculties. I'm a very passionate person. I've got my own goals and aspirations as well as problems and challenges. But pain, as I so eloquently put it in the last post, can be a bitch. That's what makes torture so long-lived.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

I'm still in the same predicament, only the agonizing, debilitating pain has become less pronounced. A good analogy might be that I've been thrown back into my prison cell after cruel attempts to "get me to talk". I'm still limited in my mobility and have to really concentrate on taking it easy for a bit longer. So I try not to go anywhere unless I absolutely have to. All this past week, I left the house twice. I think I shall go visit my pals at B&C Camera and talk photography and gear with some of the regulars. It'll be good to see Joe and the crew again. Outside of that, I'll root myself again in my computer chair and bed.

“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling

But this is still all for the best. I had this surgery because I hated dealing with the aching pain and weakness that interfered with my ability to live life to the fullest. I talked about this last April in a post, describing how I had met with a doctor who felt he could refer me to an Orthopedist with some answers to get me back on the trails and to eventually start up on the Appalachian Trail. So now, I'm at least getting started on that fix. I've had the surgery. Now I just need to let it heal. Plans are in place to take me abroad later this year, which will be the first of many quests that I set out on, not to "find myself", but rather just to start living life to the fullest. That may mean different things to different people. For me, it means to experience other cultures and see new lands. As a kid, I hardly ever left a 200 mile circumference from my home in East Texas. I used to wonder what might lie beyond in other countries and relied on the TV and World Book Encyclopedia to show me. As good as those sources were, I learned from my military travels that they just didn't do it justice.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

My first military tour of duty was Germany. Spend 18 years with 200 miles of one place in Texas and then you find yourself on the far side of the Atlantic. It was glorious. I don't recall exactly what church it was, but I remember looking at a building in either Mainz or Frankfurt that I could recall from pictures from school studies. And now, I was standing in front of it looking at it in full LIFE. Being a photographer now, my desire to see more things in full life has taken its toll on my future agendas. Everything I do now is in preparation for that. I hope to become a better photographer and also one who is more fulfilled in his work. Those of you who can't, won't, or don't believe you too can do this can live vicariously through me. I'll be blogging and posting pics of my experiences and escapades. I can't wait. Its what keeps me going while I am ~~incarcerated~~ waiting to heal fully.

Stay Positive! (....right...)

2012-02-01T01:24:00.000-08:00

"Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind."

- Aristotle

(...Still working on that one!)

I had originally looked forward to chronicling my events and happenings as it relates to me recouping from my recent surgery. Now, not so much. Originally, this was going to be an adventure of discovery and re-invention. Now its turned into more of a bitch-session of my rants about how bitchy this process has become. I've got 5 and a half more weeks of this mess on crutches. Then another 6 weeks of rehab. I have ABSOLUTELY no clue how to do this. I'm inclined to head back to Texas and just let moms take care of me. But you know...MOM's got a life. Dealing with the pain and limited mobility is only one aspect of what's got me pissed off. However, the loss of independence has to be more than 50% of it all. Asking somebody for help is okay to some extent, but when it comes to just the menial tasks of doing for one's self... Its just not in me to do that and living on your own in this sort of situation is a bitch. There ain't no getting around it. It's just pure-BITCH!!

Granted, I am relieved when a friend comes by to visit. Sometimes I enjoy going out to dinner with good company or something that is a distraction from the everyday crap. But that's about 6% of my time. The rest of the 94% of my day is spent just trying to not go crazy, keep busy with productive things, don't fall, and don't accidentally (or willfully) do something stupid! I was actually doing so well yesterday. I took note of the fact that the swelling was going down. The pain had considerably lessened. I was still limited on range of motion as well as mobility, but everything was looking up! That is until I started to go to bed. In an oblivious and euphoric lack of concentration, I jubilantly jumped into bed. If a full bound, I lifted off with one leg and sprang with the other. Can you feel my pain, yet? I actually never left the ground. And the leg that I "attempted" to sprang with was the wrong one, or should I say the one I JUST had surgery on. All I could basically do was crumble against the side of the bed. There was no elevation. I didn't get an inch off the floor. The moment the muscles around my knee tried to accommodate the pressure of my body weight... well, I call it white pain. That's the only way I can describe the blinding, searing, hot sensation that squeezed tears out of my eyes like Summer's juicing machine. My prayers of relief were not immediately answered. I prayed I'd just pass out. I wanted to just friggin' pass out. I've never wanted to die. But right then, I just wanted to pass the F*** out. It didn't happen. I lived through every eternal minute of that...damning my stupidity the entire time.

Wow. Did that paint a picture? Its starting to hurt again just from the thought of it. Have you ever had pain so bad, you actually lose weight from it? I kid you not...I KNOW I burned about 3 pounds on the writhing on the floor last night. There should be pre-op therapy sessions designed to prepare you for this. You shouldn't even be allowed to have this kind of surgery unless you have a stay at home wife or can afford a live-in nanny. I have no idea how many other people endure this sort of ailment or what they do to cope. I know many have endured far worse. Yes, there are others who don't even have a knee to even have surgery on. But you know what... NONE of that has anything to do with what's going on with me right now. Showing me a guy who's an amputee does not help me manage pain or my affairs. Dang, I forgot to even pay my bills til my cable got turned off! This is how disorienting all this is. My phone, car insurance, and some utilities were on the verge of getting suspended.

Okay. Like I said. I'm trying to stay positive and look forward to getting a knee that's in much better shape than it was before all this. I just don't know what to tell myself when something as uneventful as last night takes place. I mean, Damn! I just about wish I was still in good standing with an ex-girlfriend, but she's no longer in town anyway. I know that wouldn't be overall good for me, but at the moment, if you merely suggested that crack would advance me through the next several months in relative ease, I'd be spending a lot of time trying to talk myself out of it and can't say with a high degree of certainty that I'd be successful. All I know is this. This sucks. I gotta deal with it. I gotta get better. But I'm also gonna be bitchy. Where's my next nude model??!!

A New Panda!

2012-01-26T22:38:00.000-08:00

"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."

- Og Mandino

Wow. I went by Panda's house since I was in the area. I wanted to introduce her to my knuckles. [Insert: knuckles = kids!] Cassie and my kid-in-law came to help me get around for the first week after surgery and on the way back from one of my doctor visits, we stopped by Panda's joint. I didn't recognize her for the first .04 seconds that I saw her. She cut her hair drastically...actually she let her hubby and a friend do it! I wasn't expecting that and as I sat in my car wide-eyed as she came down the stairs to meet us, I knew I couldn't wait til I fully recuperated from the knee surgery to shoot her again. I desperately needed her new head! Well, I got that chance earlier this week and she came over to my place. I'm not taking any other assignments right now. The knee is too swollen and I'm in too much pain to try to concentrate on doing a great job. HOWEVER, shooting nudes, for some reason seems to distract me from the pain. And I've already shot Panda enough that I'm comfortable with her seeing me so vulnerable. I don't mind if all of a sudden I move incorrectly and searing pains emanates from my knee causing my body to wrack in awkward momentary contortions. I catch my breath, ease myself back into the correct position and proceed as if nothing had ever happened. Besides, it gives me something to edit during my downtime!

I couldn't be like that in front of a client or a model whom I'm not as familiar with. Its just not a good showing or good form. It also puts too much pressure on the person I'm shooting to feel like they should help or do something when in actuality, they can't. So why then would I then shackle them the inevitable millstone of helplessness that is sure to sink them below waves of disparity at not being able to assist me? Panda would call me a Dumb-Ass and laugh at me. And to another fact, I've been specifically requested to do a NILMDTS session. I had initially considered not taking that assignment, but since I've previously shot for this family only a few months back, I felt a certain obligation to commit. I can only do this with Panda's help. She's got a car that's easy for me to get in and out of and she will assist me on this shoot. So for the time being, the only thing that can make me pick up a camera is doing a nude or a call for a NILMDTS session when I'm specifically requested (or if no one else is available).

It's been two weeks since my surgery. I just left the doc yesterday for me two-week post-op and he gave me the lowdown. I went in sort of irritated as hell. I've been in constant pain for most all of this past two weeks, but I walked (or hobbled) in very reserved. I didn't go in blasting about how I couldn't get any stronger pain meds like I wanted to. This guy has been genuine with me from the start and the first thing he did was apologize for my discomfort. He told me everything he had to do and why it wasn't good for me to have stronger meds. My knee was basically a trash heap inside. He cleaned all that up, scrapped down to the good bone, and then proceeded to drill 20 HOLES inside all that! That's the Microfracture procedure I mentioned in the last post. I didn't know it was 20 holes, though. I was thinking maybe 5 or 6. This guy went for the shotgun effect, but he explained that it was truly necessary and that it needed to be done and that it was necessary to get deep into the good bone. This was going to leave me in a little more pain because the swelling was going to be so much more persistent.

But you know what, I feel better about that now. I'm focusing more on the new stuff I'll be able to do when I hit the trails! I'm excited about my travels this summer! Ever seen a chained dog when suddenly let off the leash? They come blasting out the gates!! That's what I'm concentrating on. I won't be blasting, but I'm just looking forward to living again and I'm going to really make use of my long awaited ambulatory prowess. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do and will try to make sure to not be stupid and rush ANYTHING. I've got 6 weeks of crutches. Then its at least 6 weeks of rehab. I'm going to make the best of it and get back on my feet. Not saying its not going to suck, but you know what, its no different than taking really bad-tasting medicine...except that the distasteful experience is a little longer.

Another Surgery plus 2010 Interview of Me by Karl

2012-01-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

"My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn't stand the sideline."
~ Michael Jordan

Wow. This has been an interesting month so far. I wish I could tell you about all the wonderful shoots I've been on, but alas, such is not the case. Knee surgery has been the theme of the month so far. Weeks of trying to prep for it and now just recovering from it. My daughter and son in law decided to take vacation time to come and assist me for the first week. I didn't think I needed it, really. I was wrong. Pain meds haven't been helping and the doc sees no reason to give me anything stronger, so I've just stopped taking anything all together. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with the VA no understanding the problem. I can't say why I don't respond like they think I should to medication. I wish I was more of a typical case for them, but I'm not.

I don't expect the kiddos had that great of a time trying to accommodate me over the last week. I know I was being a bear. I didn't want to stay seated or immobilized and the thought of having to use the word "can't" for routine tasks tasted bitter in my mouth. It wasn't until reading about my procedure online that the truth sort of sunk in to where I understood it. The docs told me I'd be looking at 6 to 8 weeks. In my mind, that adds up to half that time for me. I'm strong. I recover quicker than most. And I can handle it. 6 to 8 weeks is the general "play it safe" recovery time for the average guy. I couldn't have been more wrong. I had so many other people tell me a simple scope of the knee is an in and out 2 to 3 week thing. Even my primary care doc told me I'd be on my feet in 3 weeks top. So why was the othopedic surgeon saying 6 to 8? Well, what he knew that the others didn't was that he was also performing a Microfracture procedure on my knee, whereby you drill small holes into the larger pot-hole that's already at the end of my femur. This is supposed to encourage bone/cartilage growth to fill in the hole naturally. THAT's the part that takes so long. Weight-bearing activities such as "walking", can prohibit the bone growth. So 6 to 8 weeks ON CRUTCHES is what's prescribed.

I simply had no clue and didn't understand that I'd be on crutches this long. SIX to EIGHT weeks! Wow. I simply cannot get that out of my mind. That possibly puts me all the way out to mid-March! I've already had to postpone two projects to the end of March. I don't know if you realize it, but that also means postponing getting paid til the end of March. Which simply means I gotta slow down spending big time. Personal projects have also been postponed. My continued work with Panda is having to be delayed as well. And I have a couple other models whom I thought I'd be working with around the first week of Feb, that I've had to simple cancel til further notice.

The good thing is that I just have to get through this doing the right things. Its believed that I get another 10 to 15 years of "good knee" time, instead of what I've been dealing with over the last decade. Two months for 10 years. Not a bad trade. To my understanding, this 2 months doesn't include rehabilitation time. I won't find that out til next week. I had 10 weeks rehab for my hand last year. I read in one place where full recovery might not be expected for 6 months! So this'll be interesting.

Karl of "Looking About" blog has reposted an interview he did of me a few years ago. After a look back on that time period, I sort of wonder what my answers might be today and if any of them have changed. Not much would be different, I presume. I think I'd answer the same in about 27 of them at least. Its a good reflection because I was definitely in two different places in 2010 vs today. I was coming out of some pretty hard months in oh-10 and even the 3 years before then. In fact, I think it may even be time for another "Interview of Self" like what I did a long time ago in 2008.

What is your favorite word? Altruism
What is your least favorite word? Normal
What turns you on? A naked woman
What turns you off? Clothes!....kidding...People who don't take responsibility for themselves and pass the blame.
What sound or noise do you love? Bacon sizzling in the morning would be the least crass answer
What sound or noise do you hate? Its a tie between a high-pitched nagging voice and an alarm clock
What is your favorite curse word? Fuck
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Probably acting, but I used to dream about playing football
What profession would you not like to do? There are plenty but I'm going with Nursing. I've got much respect for them, but its not my gift.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Come on....Get your butt on in here!
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Traveling the world with boundless resources and a model that I photograph everywhere, all the time
What is your greatest fear? I honestly can't say I have one. I mean, I certainly don't want to be eaten by an alligator or fall from the empire state building but they are not fears of mine that I think about all the time.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? Galileo Galilei, just because he's the only person I can think of who was also misunderstood.
Which living person do you most admire? Other than family....Billy Graham, Chris St. James, and Bill Cosby (How can you stick with just one?)
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Procrastination
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Lack of integrity
What is your greatest extravagance? I spent $400 on comic books once, but I've since sold my collection and not bought another since 1994, I think.
On what occasion do you lie? When I have to take into account someone else's feelings and the truth is not worth the heartache or when I need to be polite because I need the business.
What do you dislike most about your appearance? I'm actually cool with myself. If I had to say any one thing its that I look mean when I am not smiling.
When and where were you happiest? Christmas at Mama Carrie's as a kid
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I'd be kinder to people and more understanding
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? Me. That's all I have control over.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Jeremy and Cassie
If you died and came back as a person or thing what do you think it would be? As a person: A white female, just so I could experience the opposite of my current self. As far as a thing, I'd want to be a star just for the billions of years galactic experience
What is your most treasured possession? My faith
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? A disapproval of yourself because of someone else's opinion
Who are your heroes in real life? My Mother
What is it that you most dislike? A coward
How would you like to die? Old age preferably, but if not, then on my feet in a way that makes it count
What is your motto? Stay alert, Stay alive! Hooooah!

"A Year in Review of the Nude: 2011" by Terrell Neasley

2012-01-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

Visit the link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2888660 for more details on how to order your copy!

Mercy, Cover Model featured in
"A Review of the Nude: 2011"
by Terrell Neasley

Thought I'd make a post to talk about my latest pictorial periodical (as in this will be a regular thing). "A Year in Review of the Nude: 2011" is my reflection of the models I worked with who shot nudes throughout the 2011 year. I didn't shoot as many models as what I may typically shoot in 12 months. The first two years I was in Vegas, I was probably shooting about 2 models a month, but I've since slightly waned on how many models I shoot. Lately, I've had a propensity to shoot more images with fewer models. Some models you just simply gel with and you tend to end up shooting them again and again without searching out new talent. This last year, I shot 7 models of whom I feel I did some incredible work. Some experimental first time shoots and then others that were simply exploratory while discovering new countrysides and vistas. Some shots are almost overly conservative, even by artistic nude standards. Then again, there are some shots that are bold, daring, and provocative enough to make your pupils dilate a few more millimeters wider than normal. Regardless, I ofttimes take what the model gives me and that becomes my raw material for editing.

Viki Vegas, Model featured in
"A Review of the Nude: 2011"
by Terrell Neasley

Dominique, Model featured in
"A Review of the Nude: 2011"
by Terrell Neasley

I've had a few emails and inquiries asking why I've got the book priced the way I do. A reasonable price might be $30 to $50 and if I wanted to maybe push a little more profit, I could charge upwards of $75. Those are the suggestions. Truthfully, I could have gone that route. I could have made a smaller book, both in size and in quantity of pages and made it paperback. However, that's not exactly the way I want my work to be portrayed. I want it exhibited big and in large fashion. I also want it on good paper, bound well, with excellent print. That's the ONLY way I want my work shown. I am a photographer, make no mistake about that, but I'm an artist first! This is my artwork and I'd much rather my pieces be viewed as such. I didn't make a "book", per se. I assembled a collection of my artwork. I've sold SINGLE pieces of art for much more than the $149.99, I have this book listed for at about 115 images. I feel like I'm practically giving the book away at that price point. Chances are, YOU'VE paid more than $200 for a single photo or art piece to hang over your couch. Realistically, my first thought was to have it over $500, and this may well be the case in the future. But for now, $149.99 is where I set the option to purchase. This is my art. There's a story behind every single shoot. There is emotion, love, and feelings wrapped up into each image. Time, energy and effort is spent in editing these captures... all done to share and exhibit my wares to you, the general public. So this is more aimed at a specific demographic of people who spend money on artwork and who will generally spend well over that amount for art. Its well made. Its large. And the pictures are friggin' awesome! So if it sells, great. If not so much, then that's okay too!

Panda, Model featured in
"A Review of the Nude: 2011"
by Terrell Neasley

My main goal had nothing to do with profit generation, oddly enough. I want each book I do to be successful, of course. I desire for it to be in demand, without a doubt. However, I didn't make it for everybody. The majority of people will not desire a book on nudes anyway. Of the ones that do, most won't shell out my asking price. I know this. I am not bothered by it. My goal if anything is to share this with people who see it more as a piece of artwork, as opposed to simply a book to be consumed once, and shelved. I am interested in my work being shown in your homes, no different than the art you hang on your walls with a lamp shining on it or propped up on a pedestal in the corner. Its the same as my single images I create. When I edit and do my final crop, I'm not as concerned with whether or not its been cropped to standard sizes, so you can go to Wal-Mart and purchase a frame for it. How it is, is how it is. I'd prefer it to be custom mounted by a professional and framed accordingly. I've sold to some clients and assist them on choosing how my images will be mounted and framed once I have the print produced. Maybe its just me, but I don't want my artwork in regular frames all the time. If the print size is 13 x 9 3/4, then I don't want it cut down to an 10 x 8 so it can fit a ready made frame! Granted, people will do what they want, but my work is made to be custom hung. Don't fault me for being particular about this.

Mercy, Cover Model featured in
"A Review of the Nude: 2011"
by Terrell Neasley

I think you will love this book. You are going to fall in love with my models and the shots they each contributed to. You will feel the story behind each image and be left wondering about the details. It will definitely pique your interest and you will want to imagine what shooting with Panda, Mercy, or Viki Vegas, must have been like. Each have their own different feel. Shooting with Viki was far different from shooting with Mercy and I believe you will sense this as you peruse through the pages. You will get a sense of Panda's willingness to create art and feel how cold Dominique must have been and wonder how she tolerated the temperatures. This is what my book delivers. Its artwork that you can appreciate, but its the experience that will make the hairs stand on end and give you the goose bumps your sympathetic nervous system has been starving for. At the very least, take a chance. Jump!

Panda, Get Used to Seeing Her

2012-01-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

"There is no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness." ~ Po

First post of the new year! Hope you all have been safe and have reasonable New Year's Resolutions. Me? I've got big expectations for 2012. Lots of traveling, for one. A lot more shoots, for two. I'm not sure yet, but I think I photographed less than 6 models for all of last year. That's unsat...can't happen again. WON'T happen again. But I did do some great models. In fact, I'll be showcasing them in a new book coming up that I think will be an annual thing for me from here on out. "A Year in Review of the Nude: 2011". Yeah, I think that's catchy. Look for my posts announcing it within the week.

On of the last models of the year that I worked with is Panda. I photographed her pretty much all of December. We did about seven shoots and more than 200 edited shots. I don't think I've edited so much work of any other model I've worked with. Lorilei had the record for the most hours shot in a day. That was broken, with Panda. Viki had the record for the most shoots in a relative short period of time. Panda took that record too. I've had some pretty awesome shoots with several models and she ranks up there with some of my all time best. The girl's just got a talent for posing and she's one of those that will not hesitate to get in the cold water. AND SWIM AROUND IN IT! I'm not taking put putting the feet in the water or standing knee-deep in it. This girl was in the Colorado River in December, just because she felt like it would make for some cool shots.

It was very fortuitous for me to meet her, because I actually met her at Trixie's going away party. I arrived late and Trix had introduced me to everyone as her personal photographer. Of course after discussing some of the work we've done over the years, it piqued some interests. One of those interested was Panda. I wasn't so sure she was serious, just because she was slightly inebriated at the time. So I wasn't so sure of what to think. But of course as it turns out, she was absolutely 100% serious and committed. And she came along at the best of times, because right at that particular moment she was exactly what I needed and as long as I don't disrespect the hubby, its all good. He's been cool to hang out with. I just have to be a little smarter and make sure I stretch before racing him down hotel corridors again. I'm sure he didn't know the old man could get up and go like that, but 43-year old quads that haven't been stretched don't like that kind of stuff so much and my right one let me know. After 3 weeks, I'm still putting heat on it.

I think one of Panda's biggest assets is her portrait. Those eyes are killer and her expressions can grab attention quicker than Jackie Chan snatching a fly out of the air with chopsticks. The good thing is that she's just moved here and will be here for a while. We have a bet on who's going to get tired of who first. Its hopeless. She doesn't really know me. I can shoot all day every day and wake up every morning looking forward to the day. The girl doesn't stand a chance. But I'm more than willing to put it up to a challenge and see. I suspect I'll be announcing my victory sometime well before the new year is out. But she's definitely been a blessing. She was a big help with my shoot with Mercy and for being so young, she's very mature for her age. And for being a student of anthropology, damn she's highly intelligent. There's no downside to the girl.

"There is no charge for awesomeness...

or attractiveness." - Po

On another note, I finally got to meet Karl, famed blogger from Looking About. It appears he'll be spending time here in Vegas on and off and was here for a week last week, so we got to hang out a little. He's cool (and tall!). We got to do some lunch at the Shish Kabob House over off of West Flamingo. It was great meeting him and his Mrs. Conversing with him over a myriad of topics was excellent. Its awesome to share new ideas and perspectives in this line of work. The dude's got a fascinating job. I think we talked about everything except for politics and the school system here in Nevada. Time went by so fast, I was almost late for my next gig, even though I thought I had allotted myself plenty of time. We also both shared our mutual admiration for Carla, the most talented writer/blogger/model in the business who runs "What We Saw Today". Maybe you recall her as Unbearable Lightness. We have both been influenced and mentored by Carla over the years, but yet neither of us have ever met or worked together. I came close to going to visit her in the late Summer of 2010, but we had schedule conflicts and the trip didn't happen. I think before 2012 expires, I'll have Carla in my portfolio. Its just got to happen. Its a tragedy that it hasn't already happened. I can't let another year go by. I actually had a dream of a shoot with Carla that I still have worked out in my head. This will be a reality.

Okay, dang. I just clicked over to Karl's blog so I could link to it for this post. There's a huge pic of me and a reprint of the interview we did a year or so ago. I don't look too bad! Think I'll use it for a new Facebook profile shot. Thanks, Karl!

The Mix One Week, Lake Las Vegas the Next

2011-12-30T00:47:00.000-08:00

Luxor and Vegas Srip shot from The Mix,
© 2011 Terrell Neasley

Shooting for fun with some friends can be an exceptional experience. This is when you get out and try some new things and get mixed up in situations where you ordinarily may not have ever tried on your own. My Las Vegas Photographic Society has some events all the time where we go out for specific purposes to get a particularly desired result. Sometimes these are training workshops and seminars. Other times they may be opportunity excursions to far off locations. And then there are times where a small group just meets up and you just wing it! Last Wednesday was one of those nights. We just went out on the strip and took some shots. We at least had an initial "guiding" goal to shoot Mandalay Bay in that golden hour of sunset. Trying to find a spot to set up proved tricky, as we all desired to be up in high vantage points, but there's nothing across from the Mandalay Bay to offer such perspective. The street becomes the only option, but you have to contend with the electrical and phone pole wires, trees, and other obstacles that trash the composition you see in the viewfinder.

On this night, we split up. Unintentionally, we ended up dividing up between the Canon shooters and those with Nikons. Of the 5 of us, it just worked out that way. We all had tripods and cable remote shutter releases. I loved what I got with the long shutters using a wide-angle lens and going Black and White. We eventually moved inside where I got to do some more interior scenes. I don't think I got to rattle off 10 shots before security was on our butts. At this point, we were not inside Mandalay Bay. We were on the side with the Four Seasons. They were the one's who nabbed us. We tried to argue, but of course to no avail. We left, but came right back and went just outside to the pool area and got some shots. Our troubles returned when we came back inside and were asked to leave once more. We did.

But when we got to The Mix (64th floor, Mandalay Bay), a classy bar/lounge, the experience was a total 180. The Mix has an outdoor seating area overlooking the stip. A 5 foot high glass wall keeps you from falling over the edge, but it was off limits at this point due to high winds. I asked for permission anyway. What we got was an alternative. On the restaurant side, which has an identical balcony, the rules were a little more flexible. We got an escort to take us through to the opposite side and she stayed with us patiently in the cold while we got our shots. She was a real trooper shivering in her short black dress. I put my coat on her, gave the guys a few more minutes and told the big chief that we needed to head out and let this girl warm back up. We tipped her for her kindness, thanked the manager who approved it, left some business cards and left. I promised to come back to dine there real soon as I had not known the restaurant part of the Mix even existed. They really made our night.

Yesterday, just a week later, my friend Heather and I took a ride out to Lake Las Vegas to experiment with her new camera. I had just gotten a new lens and so I put it through its paces. Our initial plans were to head over to the Las Vegas Strip and just play, but I asked to change the plans at the last minute. I hadn't been out to Lake Las Vegas in quite some time and decided it might have some better scenes to test our new gear. It was fortuitous for us that we also got there right about the time a very interesting show/exhibition was beginning. Champion Water Skier, Franky Zapata had come out to showcase his new water jet-pak that allowed him to fly through the air on jets of water. I almost started to describe it, but you can see the pics. He looked like Iron Man, just without the iron, or whatever type of alloy Iron Man's suite is made of. I'd never seen anything like this before. It was fabulous and we had an excellent time there. We spent a good chunk of the day shooting and then hanging out in the local cafe. Marvelous day.

Looking Out for Little Miss Mercy!

2011-12-27T01:02:00.000-08:00

This has definitely been an interesting month. Its been a slow month, but I've at least been able to work on some of my personal projects and found my final model to cap my 2011 book of nudes due to come out in early January. I hadn't been doing many books just for me and my own work, but I've done several for private use for others. Miss Mercy, from Albuquerque was my feature model and we finally hooked up to do some collaborations. We didn't get to do everything we had initially planned, but I gotta say I'm happy with the results. We did a bathroom series and then several hotel nudes in a suite I booked for a couple of nights. The girl was fabulous and had the weather cooperated, we'd have also done some more outdoor urban stuff, but how often does rain kill a shoot in Vegas? Well, this was one of those rare days.

Mercy was simply way fun to work with. She's bold as hell and I felt like she was determined to make sure I got the shots I needed. These were public bathrooms and needless to say we were not always alone. We had to do some major adjustments and remain flexible to make it happen, but we had fun. There was also another girl, Panda, who helped make the shoot happen. She's somebody you're gonna see a whole lot of coming up, but I'm going to save her for the next post. She'll be the first one of the new year. Panda was a big help in assisting Mercy and I. It would do you well to check out Mercy on Model Mayhem and Zivity, as well as follow her on Twitter. You can also see her posting regularly on Tumblr, Oh, Have Mercy! Be sure to keep an eye out for the book! She'll be on the cover.

Back with Selena Bree

2011-12-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

A little while back, I interviewed a fascinating woman (Part I and Part II) who was getting into modeling for the first time a little later in life than what most people do and she's been successful with it. Her new career is taking off and at 58, she's really taking off. This has become such a serious endeavor for her that she's constantly on the road. Hailing from Arkansas, let me again introduce Selena Bree. *Applause*

Selena Bree, by GBI Graphics

1. So how have you been doing since our last interview earlier this year?

Uh...modeling? I quit the belly dance group to concentrate on modeling. Trying to get back to doing my art. Will do a workshop on dancing with a sword. Will choreograph my own solos. I am now more of a “life dancer” or “tribal fusion dancer” and I like rehearsing a lot before I perform and enjoying the “process” more than “performance” so particularly since I have my own studio I enjoy the idea of going back to working that way. It suits me better.

I turned 58; ouch Getting close to that sixty....EGADS! Let me start off by saying that what made the difference the most is that I have worked with so many really wonderful photographers and a few make-up artists that have so generously helped me with each shoot I have done. I can not thank Wayne Madison of Wayne Madison Photography enough for getting me started in this and so wish I had done it three years before when he first mentioned it.

Some people do enjoy working with someone that is older for what we bring to the table as far as knowledge and life experience. Especially the eyes...the window to the soul and what we have survived, loved and lived through. Some see me as forever youthful. I got to work with several female models and tried to encouraged one by being helpful and it being a comfortable and fun experience and she took the leap and got on OMP. My husband came along way concerning me doing nudes. He knows I do good tasteful work. We don’t talk about it and I don’t show them to him but when I told him my calendar has a few nudes and how did he feel about that; he just said don’t sell them here in the small town I live in.

What is interesting is that more and more photographers have been contacting me to work with them without the standard model first step “I would love to work with you.” or have asked me when I will be in there area or when I am in there area please stop and see them. In the spring I have already booked one photographer driving from North Carolina to shoot me here and another is providing me travel, food and lodging to bring me to Utah for a week of desert shoots. This year I have been housed, and feed and treated extremely well. I hope to work at Great Lakes Workshops in Milwaukee several times a year where I can do the workshop, stay a while, and easily access the Chicago and surrounding areas. Richard Pickert is a great guy and has accommodations for models where I can stay a few days to pick up paid work.

2. Have you found your niche yet?

Not really. Geez...fine art nudes would be good this time of year since I have put on my winter weight. LOL But actually I look healthier by pulling up the nutrition, water and getting lots of sleep.

Selena Bree, by GBI Graphics

3. And how about your personal mission to help society redefine the concept of beauty?

As far as the fashion industry not a dent. I am probably the wrong person to do this with being petite and tattooed. (And I perfectly understand why photographers don’t like tattoos; it is extra and more complicated work for them). Amazing models like Michaela (OneModelPlace#6858) who have the physical requirements and outstanding modeling skills is already doing that. She is still my hero and has already battled the age barrier in my opinion.

I have seen changes already. Commercial ads don’t necessarily need a gorgeous run way model (and they are so stunning and already show fashion off so beautifully) but who knows....maybe more people could relate to an ad if they felt that model was more like them? Then we get back to the baby boomers...we are a huge population with leisure time. And what about expensive gowns and other merchandise...can that 20 year old really afford that? Would it be more realistic for someone in their 40's, 50's or 60's to be seen wearing a designer’s best?

4. So you've also started a new genre of nudes. Tell us about your decision to explore erotica.

I have only done one so far but I really like it. I would love to do more if they are quality as far as concept and photography. I have seen some really stunning erotica which is tasteful, and leaves much to the viewer’s imagination...I would like doing that sort of work. There is a distinct difference between gallery edition upscale erotica and pornography.

5. Will you continue on this adventure or is this just an experience it once and done sort of thing?

Selena Bree by Artistic Expressions

I don’t know at this time. The only thing I regret in my life was not taking the offer to model shoes. I was approached at 17 by an agency but my parents didn’t like the idea. I wasn't smart enough or didn’t have the self-esteem at the time to simply go back at 18. Also due to illness and dying (or so we thought) I missed again doing more fine art nude photographic modeling which I did at about age 36 to 39 because I had to quit at 39 and spent most of my time in bed for the next two years and then two more to get back to the ability to work a part-time job. So I missed out again...but hey, better late than never! Even if that is like, twenty years later.

6. How far would you like to take it and what do you think you bring to the erotic arena?

You know I have no idea. I do have some “hidden” photos under wraps until the photographer and I decide where and how to use them. Truth be know we never have control as to how our endeavors go. That is the universe’s job. I do believe in opportunity meeting preparation so this winter will be spending time in my studio nailing poses that not only work well on my body but should have ones that work well with what wardrobe I have. I need work on facial expressions.

7. What other new and interesting projects are coming up?

Me working out and getting back to a pattern. This last year I spent so much time on the computer and traveling I lost a lot of what I feel my strengths are: a killer body for my age and the flexibility and versatility of other venues I have done in my life (the dancing, etc.)

The next exciting project is something that I'm collaborating with another photographer on that will benefit models and photographers of all skill levels. I can't go into details just yet, but you can all share the surprise and excitement as we get closer to completion.

Selena Bree, by Secret Drawer Photography
with post by Shen Garden of Suiy

8. How has your overall impression of modeling changed since the time you got started?

It is like anything else. Hard work, consistency and determination. I recognize the amount of work I am needing to do. I am starting today with many outfits that are out in my studio right now preparing for a shoot with Cajunpix2. More planning/less photo shoots/better photographers who would like to work with me. Images that are as good or better than I already have in my portfolio. I plan to work several times a week in my studio with my mirrors. Reminds me of doing dance improvisation. I will work it for poses, facial expression, different ways to put the items together, etc. I see it as rehearsal and practice time. I have been so looking forward to this time of year. I am thinking of this as my “off season” time...October/November through March where it is more about working the craft, getting healthy, organizing wardrobe, working out more, etc. What is ironic is that I spent decades getting my body aligned because I was so knock-kneed, sway backed and pigeon toed that I find it very painful to do the posing That perfectly straight back and strong core strength from years of Pilates and that upright pelvis from ballet training now make it hard to “stick my butt out”, twist and move body parts where they don’t want to go.

9. Has your goals changed any since the last time we talked?

Selena Bree by Beach Photo

Yes. Like I stated earlier: I plan to work less with more planning for a shoot and doing less shoots with more quality photographers. I think working with a smaller group of photographers is a very smart move especially when I am not any where close to being the typical modeling concept at all. Find those that believe in what the goal is and stick with them. So many wonderful photographers that have been so very generous with teaching and instructing me. Frankly some of that has had less to do with modeling and photography and more to do about people skills and how to present yourself.

10. What's next?

Modeling as Zen. Part of one’s every day life. Getting to where I am doing poses and am “on point” where ever I go...I need to be putting gas in my car and working on poses. My modeling mentor will get me going with this when we work in January where I will have set routines that I will be working all the time. Oh and I keep saying I am not going to buy any more wardrobe and then I find this new piece to add to that outfit...a belly dance outfit from Nadia who worked in Las Vegas for 20 years that she is selling...a cool vintage hat on ebay or at the local flea market I go to frequently...hmmmm....is there a 12 step program for people obsessed with putting together concepts with clothing and accessories? :-)

Selena Bree Calendar, by Fashion Figure Fantasy

No crystal ball today...just a very positive and excited attitude and great optimism regarding my future.

Be sure to check out more of Selena Bree on Model Mayhem, Model Brigade, and OMP. The Selena Bree 2012 Calendar is available for $19.95 + $4.95 Priority mail. You can send inquiries on where to send checks to: selenabree@hotmail.com.

Thanks Trixie!!!

2011-12-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

"True friends are hard to come by...I need more money." - Calvin, The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes, p86

Having to say it once is really once too many. Good-byes are definitely not pleasant, especially when its with a model you've come to appreciate because of her willingness help you be better. This day last week, Trixie moved off the Mainland and over to the Big Island. She corrected me at her Aloha Party last week. This was no a good-bye but rather an "until we meet again", kind of deal. Then a friend of her's, Gwen, highlighted the fact that I now have an excuse to travel to Hawaii! Sweet.

I gotta say Trix is one of the main models who have been in my corner since I arrived in Vegas. She bears some of the weight in forging my development as a photographer and has been my partner in crime in expanding my skill with my nude art. She also helped when I ran my Las Vegas Art Models Group for not only my photography workshops but for my drawing sessions as well. When I needed to experiment for my own personal growth, (which often required someone of patience), I knew who I could call and that was Trixie. The news of her departure was somewhat stunning. I don't know what its like to have a man-hole cover dropped onto your head, but that's what I would imagine it was like, except maybe without the searing pain and unconsciousness/death part, that is. But you're left shocked all the same.

So I just wanted to do a post to say Thanks Trix for all your help, love, support, promotion, encouragement, (I could go on....) I also extend a thanks out to your family for being so cool and understanding. "I got a pig on me!" will ever be ingrained in my psyche now.

See you in Hawaii!

Joseph Watson and the Joseph Watson Collection

2011-11-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas Artist Extraordinaire, Joseph Watson. Photo by Ryan Reason

"My art turns bad experiences into something good. Its a tool for happiness, a reminder of potential and a recipe for success." - Joseph Watson

Sometimes its not all about photography and most certainly this blog is not all about me. So for a little twist, I thought I'd do an interview with another artist, who's doing it big here in the Vegas scene. Maybe about 2 months ago, I was down at the Arts Factory just perusing through some of the new galleries and came across a fella I hadn't seen before. I loved the style of his art. And the overall vibe you get from his studio is that of something refreshing, new, and different. THEN... out of the corner of my eye, I spotted MY PIECE! I gotta say it connected me with this artist because it so resembled what I do. I bought a print on the spot.

"The Color of Women", The Joseph Watson Collection

Folks, let me introduce you to Joseph Watson of The Joseph Watson Collection. The piece I so identified with is his magnificent creation of "The Color Of Women". I identified so well with it because it embodies what I do in my photography of nude women. I shoot all different sizes, shapes, ages, and ethnicities of women. My nudes aren't just about glamour and fashion, but real women with flaws and imperfections who are just as beautiful. Mr. Watson embodies that same spirit in this work and I had to have it.

"Shopping on a Gloomy Day",
The Joseph Watson Collection

Joe personifies cool, better than most artists I know. The man is confident and he knows he's talented, but a forensic scientist would not find in him even a hint of ego. Fifteen minutes after meeting the man, he's already schooling me on his iPad about ways I can expand my own art and showed me different websites that can help with that. He's big on promoting the Vegas art scene and other local artists. I think that's what I like more than anything else about the guy. I can appreciate his sense of community and his altruistic approach to art. I knew I wanted to get his story and share it with you guys.

1. So when did you go "all in" as an artist as a profession? And do you think you'd still be in this had you not started with those T-shirts long ago?

I went "All In" with the art profession back in 1989. This was when I was in high school and desperate to get a new job. I was employed at a snack bar at a local swapmeet at the time. My daily wage was just enough to fill my tank with gas. One day I was offered the chance to display and create airbrushed T-shirts on a busy street. I called in sick one day, set up on the busy street, and made over 10 times my daily wage...... off of something that I loved to do. If I didn't start off with shirts, I might of taken another career path.

2. Did you always have family support? You weren't ever encouraged to "get a real job"?

I always had family support. Everything from my folks critiquing my art to my brother helping me run an airbrush business. I don't think that I was encouraged to get a real job after everyone discovered my true talent. Even now, my wife supports me to the fullest.

3. How many times in that first year did you ask yourself whether or not you should do something else and what made you push through anyway?

Not many times at all. I believe that my level of confidence was a little high in my early years.

4. No man is an island. Who mentored you early on in this career choice and why were they particularly effective in inspiring you?

Fortunately, I had excellent mentors. Here are a few: Mister Cartoon (world famous tattoo artist), Jon Davis (designer), Donavin Howard (Disney Layout artist). Mister Cartoon gave me golden advice in high school. He was a direct connection between who I was as an artist at the time and who I wanted to be in the future. These mentors are responsible for all of my success and determination. I do plan to pass the torch when the time comes.

"Something from Nothing", The Joseph Watson Collection

5. On the flip side of that, how did you deal with naysayers? A poor economy? And other challenges you may have faced?

Believe me, there were many people against me that tried to break me down. It just made me stronger. The best thing to do is to prove them wrong. The challenges that I faced during my college years (Art Center College of Design) were financial, long commuting, lack of sleep and absence of a formal art education. Being a student at Art Center was a life changing experience. It gave me the conept that nothing is impossible. Dealing with today's economy is quite challenging. I like to provide an experience for everyone who visits the gallery. Whether they buy or not, they will leave the gallery enriched with a creative experience. Believe it or not, I was quite shy during my early years. Explaining the concepts of my art to many people enabled me to overcome shyness.

6. There are a lot of good artists out there who have no clue how to market themselves. Where did you acquire your business sense? Where you always entrepreneurial-minded?

I acquired my business sense from my mentors and just pure mileage. Many mistakes were made along the way. With every mistake that was made, I gained knowledge on what not to do in the future. My commerce maintains my creativity. It's not all for the money. Its about getting my ideas out there to as many people as possible and letting my ideas fuel their ideas. It's one big chain reaction. You never know who you inspire. The people who inspire you might actually be inspired by you.

7. What do you regularly read to help keep you inspired, driven, and current on the latest art trends?

"Elements of Success",
The Joseph Watson Collection

Honestly, I don't get to read as much as I like. I read many random things on the internet, etc. As far as current art trends go, I go to different conventions such as Art Expo, Liscensing Expo, and other industry conventions to see what is current. My biggest inspiration is everyday life. The dynamics of ups and downs is enough for me to work with and develop into a marketable work of art. Everyone goes through good and bad times. My art turns bad experiences into something good. Its a tool for happiness, a reminder of potential and a recipe for success. I guess that you can say that my art is an investment in yourself.

8. Who do you mentor? Are you involved in any community projects that help young Las Vegas artistic hopefuls?

I mentor anyone who desires to get mentored. Usually, people that I mentor are trying to break into the art profession. These are various students from many different schools that come to my gallery. I am involved in many community projects. ZAP project, children's book readings, etc. One of the projects that I am focused on now is called Go, Go, Greta! This is a children's book that author Dana Satterwhite and illustrator (myself) created. We now have a huge local following and sell these wonderful children's books at the gallery. It's a book about encouragement and accomplishment. You can check out what we are doing at http://www.gogogreta.blogspot.com/

9. Here's a little rapid fire for you:

a. What was the last movie you saw? Tourist
b. Favorite two places to eat in Vegas? The Burger Bar, and Bar and Bistro at the Arts Factory
c. A quote that often comes to mind? Never underestimate the Underesimated
d. Monet or Manet? Monet
e. A particular charity or cause you like to support? St. Judes & March of Dimes

10. When are we going to see some international urban scene inspirations like an authentic Italian or Asian cafe/market? (Just a suggestion, but I'd like to see what characters you might come up with from spending a little time at Wal-Mart at about 2 a.m. on the weekend!)

Hopefully soon! I'm working on a chef series now.

11. Outside of the art scene, what else fascinates you about Las Vegas?

Radio controlled airplanes, restaurants, theatre, my wife and KNPR.

12. How long before things pick up in Vegas again? Will the new First Friday concepts make a splash?

The wheels are spinning faster now. I assume that the Christmas rush will boost the economy. The new First Friday will be a great thing to participate in. I beleive that new opportunity will arise. It's all about adapting and finding out how and where you fit in. With our current exhibit 'Oh...Nature' featuring artist Shark Toof, we have really raised the bar. Shark Toof is an internationally recognized artist that has a "must see' show at our gallery. It deals with human personna and nature.

13. If Mayor Goodman pulled you to the side and asked you to give her one good idea to help downtown Vegas, other than "Buy lots of my art and exhibit it everywhere!", you'd say what?

Keep up the good work!

"Blue Soul", The Joseph Watson Collection

14. When my daughter said she wanted to become a photographer, I was like, "Why in the world would you want to do that?" What if you had a kid that wanted to become an artist?

I would give full support.

15. What's next for the Joseph Watson Collection? And where would the ideal place be for a new public Joseph Watson Gallery? The Airport, maybe?

The Joseph Watson Collection has a great plan for the future. Our messege is universal. We are taking steps to become a nationally respected gallery. Our artist roster is growing and our integrity is rising. Thanks to all of the supporters, fans and followers for making this possible. I would like to see our gallery on every television screen in America and beyond. I would also like to expand the gallery into every major city in the US as well as a location in Canada and Switzerland.

Check out more of Joseph Watson and the Joseph Watson Collection by visiting his website. Oh, be sure to take a look at his video below. You can see how how he creates a masterpiece a digital drawing of a St. Bernard/Chiuaua mix! And feel exceedingly free to BUY some of his artwork! You'd be doing yourself a favor! That's why I bought it. Follow him on TWITTER / TUMBLR / FACEBOOK / RSS !

"I guess that you can say that my art is an investment in yourself." - Joseph Watson

Photo Contest Win

2011-11-13T03:03:00.000-08:00

Photography Master's Cup 2nd Place, Americana Category "Desolate Road"

Earlier this month, I was notified that one of my photos had taken 2nd place in an international color competition and 2 more of my shots made the final cut as a nominee selection. Its taken a while for them to jury all of the selections. This was supposed to have been done back in July, but I guess there were several delays. This was for the 5th Annual Photography Master's Cup. I placed in the Americana category with my "Desolate Road" shot and had one other shot to nominee in that category. My other nominee shot was in the Nude category. I gotta admit, I can't say that I feel like my shot was the best one. I think there were other nominee shots that were better than my 2nd place win. I'd even say the 3rd place winner could have beaten out mine, but for DAMN sure, I can't agree with the shot that took 1st place with the plastic flamingos!

Photography Master's Cup Nominee, Americana Category "Dragons"

Contests are very subjective which is one reason, I don't really participate in them so much. As far as I'm concerned, if my model likes what I've done, then I'm happy. If someone wants to part with their hard-earned cash in exchange for one of my shots, I'm happy and this is what keeps me going. Having a panel of judges gather around to jury a pool of images of which mine is hoping to be noticed, is not that appealing to me. However, I do realize that to be recognized by a group of your peers can be quite satisfying. I felt really good to see one of my shots place. I know it can mean more exposure and help get my work out there, but I also don't know of anyone who's career took off like a rocket because they won a photo contest.

"So even if you don’t win, they can still use your photos without any sort of compensation whatsoever. THAT is the real reason most companies run photo contests. They get a large portfolio of decent images for basically nothing. If you read the contest closely, they only say the the winner will end up on a cover. They don’t say the non-winners will not end up on a cover. (that’s a triple negative)" - Gary Arndt

Photography Master's Cup Nominee, Nude Category "Katherine's Hawk"

And aside from maybe local competitions, there are only a select few I think I would even consider. Some of these things are just too expensive to submit an entry. I remember reading a segment "Why I Don't Enter Photography Contests" by Gary Arndt mainly because of usage rights. This particular online competition easily netted a couple mil and they are not awarding out near that in prize money. I get nothing. The 1st place ticket got $500 for the category and the grand prize winner got maybe a grand. So why did I do it? I just thought I'd give it a shot. Plus its a good stocking filler to say you've won an award as a professional. A client can see that and be impressed, I guess. Maybe they'll offer you more money than you charge or something. I do get some exposure in the new magazine coming out soon, "The PHOTO Paper". Not sure when the 1st issue comes out, but its supposed to be nice. So basically, I'm going to give a few of these things a shot, but the only time you'll hear of it is if I win!

What's upcoming? A few interviews. Waiting on several interview questions to get back to me from both models and photogs, a writer and even an artist who does some remarkable paint work. Gotta give mad props to TopazLabs for donating the Topaz Bundle to me. I didn't realize they did so much other stuff than HDR. I've been using a few other plug-ins for most of my work, and can now add the whole Topaz bundle to my repertoire. I mainly use Topaz Adjust, Clean, and Simplify for most of my stuff, but I'm getting to the other 7 different photoshop plugins. Topaz B&W is new and I'm eager to see how it stacks up against Nik Silver Efx.

Get Well Soon Faerie!

2011-10-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think I may have mentioned earlier this Summer that you were going to get to see Faerie again. Well, it didn't happen, but we're working on it again. Initially she left town for a little while gallivanting all over the country. Can't hate...only envy. But she back now, and we're trying to put get to shoot again, but now I just have wait til she's feeling well enough to shoot again. You might think that all she'd have to do is just sit and look pretty, but Faerie tends to put a little more into a shoot than that. That woman can naturally bend and contort that make you have to stop and look over the top of your camera to make sure you're seeing things right through the viewfinder. She's definitely a pleasure to work with and lends some excellent talent ideas to a shoot.

But I think its been about TWO years since I've worked with her! She was one of my first models after arriving in Vegas that would shoot on a whim. In fact, I am certain I recall her once calling ME up telling me to come over and lets shoot. What can you do but grab your camera and walk your ass out the door and go shoot. She and her whole family have been the best people you'd want to know...great kids and a really cool husband that can grill a mean steak. In fact, that just reminds me of why I was doing this post to begin with. I was telling another model just last night about Faerie and her hubby's steaks, when it came to mind that one thing about Faerie that I really appreciate (I mean, other than the fact that I get to photograph her naked...) is the simple fact that she always remembers how I take my coffee. I never have to add anything after she makes me a cup. Sometimes its just those little things that make the difference.

Now she'll be all good to go in a little while, so I don't suspect you'll have to wait too long. But I'm oddly enough finding myself slightly creatively challenged on what I think I'd like to do with her. (If only all my problems were so nice...right?) We've done a lot of things together already, and I feel like I want something uniquely new with Faerie and I just hadn't quite put my finger on it just yet. My initial idea this Summer was going to be my Nude Ball of Light gig, but she wasn't available and I had to go with another model. So I'm trying to find the next great concept that fits Faerie like a glove. Granted, I'm going to run this past her for some ideas, as well. Public nudes are out. She doesn't need that sort of heat. Pregnancy nudes are out. They're already waiting on the youngest to finish school and move out, so I know she won't ask the hubby to make another kid just for me to do a photo project. What else...?

She's way too young for my mature model project. Erotica? I'm still experimenting with that. Or how something in water. Actually, I've just done that. Nah, I think its gotta be something original maybe in some unique location, that's at least unique to me. Its either that or I'll start out with a simple, no-concept shoot and make it as easy as 1. Get naked, 2. Take pictures, 3. Repeat as necessary. It almost never fails that I come up with something more tailored to a particular model after I do a simple shoot with her. The mind just gets to rolling after you burn off a few rounds through the shutter.

So get well soon, Faerie. Take your time. I'll have something fun to do and we'll make some great pics again.

DaveL, Brooke, and Kat... Part Deux

2011-10-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

Photographer Extraordinaire, Dave Levingston

Okay. You got me on this one. I promise I won't go this long without a post. That's about 3 weeks since my last musings and I don't really want that. So what I have planned are more model/artist interviews. Upcoming will be Q&A time for Selena Bree, Brooke and Kat, and local artist Joseph Watson. You're going to really love Joe's work. In fact, let me just give you a preview of some of it with this link.

BUT, Back to the point of fact:

"The Road Warriors"

Very interesting evening! I say interesting because I got to finally meet some of my favorite people, but nothing quite worked out as planned. When does it ever, though? Dave Levingston, Brooke Lynn, and Kat finally arrived to Vegas after almost 3 weeks on the road!! What didn't quite work out is some of the events they had planned when they got here. Yeah, Dave hit a dear back in Nebraska. That slowed things up a bit. The muffler ended up coming off. That slowed things up a bit more. Fortunately, he was able to get it fixed because Vegas is not the end destination for these guys. They've still got a long way to go and THEN they gotta head back. A mode of transportation in good working order facilitates that objective rather well. So needless to say, we didn't get to spend much time together, much less shoot! By the time things calmed down for them, my schedule picked up to where the last two days they were here, I was pretty much unavailable.

Until, that is...the Party!

So we finally meet! It was cool to get to see them all and I got introduced to another top notch model whose actually a local model. Any of you ever work with Jolene Hexx? Well, get on that. Jolene was supposed to shoot with DaveL Wednesday morning, but since the new priority became fixing the muffler issue, that got held up. Jolene being the super-duper trooper that she is, was totally understandable and sympathetic to their plight. She stopped by to visit for the party and the girl was the baddest thing walking on two legs in the entire hotel. I loved her dress. I'm saying stunning, as if to not use the word too loosely. You're literally left stunned at that initial glance. Everybody else was way more casual, but I'm glad Jolene didn't get the word on that.

Terrell, Brooke Lynne, Jolene Hexx, Kat, Dave Levingston

And getting to meet two other famous art models was quite a grand treat in itself. Kat and Brooke are some of the nicest people you'll meet. I can tell you from my personal experience, that they don't let their celebrity status go to their heads. These are really down to earth girls when you meet them and not intimidating in even the slightest sense. Modeling is in their blood though. I didn't bring my serious gear, but I do have a handy-dandy S-95. So even with this point and shoot, the mere fact that a lens is pointed in her general direction cause Kat to immediately focus in on the barrel of my camera and instinctively morph into, not anything that was overly dramatic, but in fact it was the most subtlest of gestures...an elbow to the table; a hand under the chin. And a gaze that reminded you of a cold drink with a twist of lemon in it. *SNAP* ...and the moment was gone.

DaveL and Art Model, Jolene Hexx

Brooke was no different. Though more known for poses sans any articles of clothing, she sat comfortably, albeit, I dare say swaddled in the sweater she was wearing. This wasn't like any Wal-Mart sweater. It had no bearings of anything you get for Christmas from your Aunt Thelma who incorrectly flaunts herself as a fashionista. No this was style. And when I say style...I'm dragging out the "Y" for added effect. The sweater seemed to be tailored for her except for in the sleeves, as was able to easily tuck in her hands. As I said, she was swaddled in this sweater. It was adorable. I should not have passed up the opportunity to tell her so, myself. Every woman appreciates a compliment on her wear. [My mistake.] With Brooke, there was no pose to assume. She was just already there. You can photograph this woman from any angle at any time, with clothes on or off and its like something that was just supposed to happen. All you have to do is just get the shot. Is it in focus? Chances are its a good shot.

Art Model, Kat

And the grandest moment... Dave. Mr. Modest Levingston, himself. The man was the perfect host. He could have easily sent one of the girls down to retrieve me, but he came down himself to get me from the lobby. He served me beer and pizza. Which reminds me, I need to ask him where it came from. It was damn good. We got to swap stories all night and regale the ladies of military adventures, which I am certain they enjoyed! I can see why Dave Rudin appreciates Dave Levingston so much. DaveL is the man. Simple as that. I've joked that I want to be like him when I grow up, but even in jest, I am every quite serious. The dude is road-tripping a thousand miles with the company to two of the hottest and most respected mods in the business. So I ask you... Have you done this recently? Would you like to? I rest my case.

Art Model, Brooke Lynne

I know Dave might think I have a propensity to embellish a bit. Okay, maybe. But ask me about any specific element of my tale and inquire as to its validity. I will affirm every word of it. My thing is that I want to make sure I let those whom I appreciate know this very fact. I applaud their life's work in a field that's relatively not well-understood and sometimes not well-received. I admire the commitment and dedication to a form of art that has been in existence since charcoal drawings were first done on cave walls. They do it with class and distinction. And you should honor their efforts too. Ovations...

DaveL, Brooke, and Kat

2011-09-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

Photographer Dave Levingston with Art Model Brooke Lynne
Copyright Dave Levingston

Sometimes you gotta think hard about finding something to write about. I don't want to keep my fans, followers, and subscribers waiting too long between posts, so I need to put something out. With the exception of this past week, I hadn't shot much of anything, but it hasn't been slow by any means. I've just had to concentrate on my photography in areas other than shooting. Some good things have transpired and I've been blessed beyond my deservings. New ideas and concepts have launched me in additional paths that have required more time researching, studying, and getting consultation help. The car's been rolling fairly well and seems to have recovered from the August Colorado episodes, (thanks to Art!). I just got my desktop back after two weeks to functioning correctly. There's also been the continued challenges with the VA, which seems ongoing and never ending. I just got to see an MRI of my knee and as you go down layer by layer, the end of my femur starts to resemble a spork! I knew I had to shut down the hiking and running for a while a few months back and now I know why.

Art Model, Brooke Lynne, Copyright Sanders McNew

Art Model, Brooke Lynne, Copyright Risen Phoenix

Had my first chiropractic visit this past week. Freaky! I didn't know what I was in store for, but the guy has me in a very relaxed state with my head in his hands, standing behind me. I thought he was just feeling my neck for irregularities, and SNAP-CRACKLE-POP was the sound that emanated from my head and resounded in my ears. I became immediately alarmed and it took some time for him to calm me back down so he could do the same thing the other way. I liked the electric therapy treatment for my lower back, but the neck-popping thing scared the hell out of me. Normally when you hear someone's neck pop like that in the movies, its over.

Art Model Kat, Copyright Jonathan Kane

Art Model Kat, Copyright Katherine Villari

So anyway, I ~~(need to)~~ wanna get back to shooting some nudes. I hadn't done that since July, so its high time somebody got naked. Dave Levingston [ website & blog ] should be here early October. I can't wait for that long, but it'll be my first time getting to meet the acclaimed photog, though we've emailed back and forth, commented on each other's blog, and even talked on the phone. The guy's a master at what he does, which is shooting nudes, and that earns my highest respect. And he's on a friggin' road trip with two models!!! Art Nude Models, Brook Lynne and Kat will be traveling with him and Vegas will be but one stop and I'm stoked that they are coming out this way. Kat is new to me, but when you check out her port, you'll want her to be new to you as well, and in your portfolio. This girl is not just a model, but she also shoots AND she's a writer! I will personally hold it against you if you haven't already clicked over on her link. If you want to be on my good side, you'll also check out [ Kat's website, as well as this one]. Just saying...My good side is not a bad place to be.

And who doesn't already know the highly prolific model, Brook Lynne and seen [ Brooke's website ]? I might actually hold it against you if you HAVEN'T already seen her website, but might forgive you if you check it out now. That girl is just plain gorgeous, a dedicated artist, and a credit to her trade.

So you might want to see if you can book these highly-recommended models while they are in town. You won't get a shot like this too often, so take advantage now. Its gonna be cool to get to work with Big Papi, Dave Levingston! THIS is who I wanna be when I grow up. Either him, or the Dos Equis Guy. Its kind of a toss up...

Between Labor Day and Halloween

2011-09-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

Summer is starting to draw to a close and before you know it, you're going to be surprised that Christmas is just around the corner. September and October usually blur past for me. The time between Labor Day and Halloween is often fast-forwarded before I realize I'm staring down the throat of November and the year's end. Often times, its at this point that I'm looking back over the year trying to figure out what I've done and evaluating my life for the year. Did I do what I set out to do? Am I further along now than this time last year? What's around the corner for me in the upcoming year? And finally, what am I doing for New Year's?

Model Melissa

So am I alone here or what? I'm guessing I'm not that unique in this regard. So here is my challenge to myself and I'd like to extend that same out to you. Instead of letting September and October blow by, let's slow it down a bit. Let's ask of ourselves all those November questions NOW and then actually answer them AND address them. If we haven't met our goals, why not and what can be done in these two months to meet them? I'm willing to bet that a lot can be done in these two months if we stop with the distractions and just get to work for a bit. And another trick I'll throw at you, how about getting Christmas shopping out of the way early? Like, NOW! Make the holidays easier for yourself. Get to work for the next 60 days with some measurable progress along with some early holiday prep. This way you coast into the season feeling better about entering the new year AND you feel better about yourself having accomplished what it was you set out to do in 2011.

Model Melissa

I mean, its just an idea. For myself, I know I could use a diversion and some better focus for my stress. August was kind of a ball-buster. Between my car issues (which seem to be better, by the way) and now computer issues... I'm going nuts. Most times my computer is working well, but as soon as I get really deep into something, it starts freezing up and I get a "display driver has stopped responding but has recovered" error message and its kicking my ass. I've updated chipset and display drivers, ran registry cleaners and virus scans, a system restore, and installed a new graphics card. I've checked the web and see many people in forums having the same issue, but no one solution seems to solve it. I'm really hoping I don't have to do a complete system dump and re-install windows. If anybody's got some solutions, I'm running an Intel Core 2 Quad processor on a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system, 8GBs of RAM, with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX250 graphics card pushing a 25" monitor that I've had for almost 9 months now. So any help would be appreciated.

But back to my point.. I'm just telling you how I plan to spend the next two months. I have a few things in play that I hope will take me where I want to go and get me what I need, but its going to take a little hustle, some studying, some prayer, and a lot of reading/researching. All focused on answering those aforementioned questions. My goal is to learn, learn, learn...make connections and figure some things out. You might need to try to inspire yourself to spark some motivation to get going. Whatever you gotta do, make it happen. I'm on a mission. I hope you can be with me on this.

On another note, I'll be having breakfast with good friend Dave Rudin in a few days and this time my Vegas-bud and fellow photog, Dave Proctor will be joining us. Next month, I finally get to meet, your fave and mine, Dave Levingston! Everybody knows DaveL, so I'm excited about that. The dude's a legend in nude photo art. Enjoy these shots of Model Melissa! And be sure to check out her Blog, CLOTHING OPTIONAL!

The Month of August

2011-08-25T01:45:00.001-07:00

Birthday dinner with Dana and Jacob, Boulder, CO

Street performer, Boulder, CO

What can be said about this month of August? Its probably been the strangest birthday month to date. Good things...not so good things. Four main parts to this month have been the most significant. First and foremost, I had a birthday. So that was definitely a good thing. Another day above ground is always cool. Along with that, I took a trip to Colorado. This is where it gets a little tricky, but I won't bore you with the details and specifics. Suffice to say, I didn't get to shoot any models. I didn't get to see many of the friends I went there for because I had to cut the trip short. Time was limited for the friends I did get to see. And to really put the crown on the cake, my car suddenly took a dump. It began spitting coolant everywhere.

Street performer, Boulder, CO

It took me about 16 hours to drive back and about 5 gallons of coolant. I went straight to the dealership but they could not even find a problem after keeping the car for a day. It was believed that a gas attendant I saw along the way might have fixed the issue by releasing air pockets through a bleeder valve. Well, I lasted another week before my ride started spitting coolant again. This time, my buddy Felix and his life-long friend Art came over to look at it. Art found a leak in the water pump and thought it might be wise to change out the thermostat as well. He agreed to work on my car the NEXT MORNING. What I didn't know til after I got over there was that it was HIS BIRTHDAY and we spend from 7am to almost 5pm taking apart, replacing parts, cleaning parts on my car. We took apart the entire coolant system almost and flushed both the engine and the radiator. We replaced all the hoses, installed a new water pump and thermostat, and he made my throttle body look like new again since we had to remove it to get to the thermostat. Sadly the car is STILL spitting coolant. I'm giving it a few more days to see if it may have just been overfilling it or something simple. So the jury is still out on that one. Long story short... Papa needs a brand new ride.

The deaf cat

So yeah, its been a weird month. So much so that I've got friends asking me where I've dropped off to. Photo-wise, its been mainly catching up on edits. As soon as I got back, there were two projects waiting on me still and the primary one was from a volunteer session for NILMDTS I had done a week before I left for Colorado. I did more edits on that project than any NILMDTS session to date. I didn't get many shots from Colorado either. Most of my time was spent hanging with friends and when I did try to head up into the mountains, I got stranded on the side of the road while heading up some mountains waiting for my car to quit steaming. And this has probably been the month with the most VA appointments ever!

Street Performer, Boulder, CO

But this month has definitely been a blessing too. Despite the car, I honestly can't complain. Well, maybe a little with the knee and my back, but other than those things all together, its been a blessing. I got to see 3 friends that I hadn't seen in 25 years. The only regret was that I did't get one shot of me with Kev, Jay, or Susie! I spent the majority of my time at Kevin's house and despite the 3 times we went out... not one shot. I only got to see Jay and Susie only briefly but still, not even a camera phone photo. I also to see two former models of mine that I hadn't seen in 5 years. I spent the night with one of them, Dana, (another shot of Dana) and since I wasn't going to get to do any camping, I took my sleeping bag out on her patio that was covered by a big crab-apple tree. Her boyfriend was also a former photo classmate of mine from college in Murray State University in Kentucky. They took me out for a birthday dinner that night.

I haven't done any more nudes since working with Viki Vegas in early July. So I need to change that. I think my next concept will be a little more edgy and possibly dark. Any takers? I've been doing safe and conservative for a little too long so I definitely need to spice it up a little. Come to think of it, I hadn't been doing much hiking either. Its too friggin' hot to do stuff locally, but I could easily head out to Mt Charleston or maybe something out to Utah. My last hike was with Aletha and friends in mid-July and that was Mt Charleston's Big Falls. Before that it was in June where I also camped out and did Little Falls that night and Big Falls that morning. I guess I never posted any pics from any of those hikes.

Well, the month isn't over so there's still lots I'll still have to report on. I gotta finish this thing up quick. Got another VA appointment on the other side of town. Hope the car holds up!

Mary, Katherine... Sorry I didn't get to drop in on you guys in Gunnison, CO. I'll be back that way, though... PROMISE!

Is the US Really a Parasite?

2011-08-04T05:44:00.000-07:00

"Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave-driver." - Ambrose Bierce

"What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?"
- Adam Smith

"Be assured that it gives much more pain to the mind to be in debt, than to do without any article whatever which we may seem to want." - Thomas Jefferson, In letter to his daughter.

Model, Katherine

Great civilizations have come and gone since man first decided to live in a community by a water source. Nimrod built some of the Earth's great original metropolitan sprawls. Babylon, Persia, the Greeks, Rome were all powerhouses and at one time centers of the planet. The Dutch East India Company was the first to become a publicly traded corporation when they issued the first share of stock in 1602. Following this several European countries became centered on expanding their influence in colonies around the globe. The superpowers back then centered on Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal.

Today, that map of superpowers has to be redrawn a little bit. A paradigm shift relocated the influence away from Portugal. Most kids today couldn't find Portugal on a map and the other nations sort of keep to themselves. The ability to maintain a space program became somewhat of a defining prerequisite to be a member of the superpower club. And right now, the United States of America can boast a superior position in this exclusive members only club. So let me get to my point. Actually, its more of a question.

How long does America have before its membership expires?

All the aforementioned great civilizations had its time, but did not sustain. The U.S. is still fairly young and I submit that we may be burning too brightly, and could potentially have a shorter life, comparatively speaking. The larger the star, the shorter the life because the immense pressures to maintain that size causes it to burn up its hydrogen at a much faster rate than say a star like our sun. So what is America's hydrogen....CASH!

Model, Katherine

If there is any one thing with the potential to kill our nation and reserve our spots in the history books, its our national debt and the lack of cash. In one of my first Econ courses during my undergrad years, I had a professor who encouraged us to simplify huge problems by imagining them on smaller scales. The National debt and the totality of how we pay our bills is too much for me to wrap my brain around. I used to say in High School that I'd be Treasury Secretary one day. Just in case you were wondering, it didn't happen. But what I can do is model the debt crisis after me. The model and principles are still the same. I have bills to pay and I know what happens if I don't generate revenue to pay them. I also know that credit cards have to be paid off at some point. I understand full well the consequences of the transfer strategy whereby a balance is simply transferred to a new card instead of paying it off.

It took the first 204 years of our Nation's history to accumulate $1 trillion in debt. And now we are doing that every 2 or 3 years. - Jim Cooper

Model, Katherine

We have a new deadline, and it looks like congress and the president have staved off disaster by finally reaching an agreement to pay our bills. I don't see a success at all. I see a delaying tactic. Raising the debt ceiling by 2-something trillion so we can increase debt, in exchange for making cuts that will equate to that same amount, but over 10 years?? Its not sustainable.

Here's my prediction. Obama is not soley responsible for all this. Our two-party system is essentially failing us. The weight of the sun in debt plus a government that can never come together for meaningful resolutions is the perfect storm. Wait... we're missing one last element. A perfect storm is always characterized by at least 3 elements that come together to create the uber-mega effect. I think that 3rd element will be the rest of the global community coming together to effectively stifle our influence on world markets. Chiefly, this will be done by devaluing the dollar, but I believe other international policies will come into effect that curtain our ability to conduct business as normal. In the same way we create oversite and regulatory divisions after something disastrous happens (Federal Reserve, OSHA), so will the international community create a governing body who's prime directive is to keep any one country or government from becoming a cancer to the rest of the nations. Who started the housing debacle that crashed the economy? We did. Who else felt the effect because they bought our debt? The World. Putin just said it, and I can't say I disagree with the man. "Putin says U.S. is 'parasite' on global economy", By Maria Tsvetkova | Reuters – Mon, Aug 1, 2011. America is only 235 years old. In the life-span of a nation that's teen-age years. Would you give your kid a credit card?

Model, Katherine

Sorry about talking on matters that have nothing to do with photography. Had to get this one out though. Photo next time, okay? Congrats to Katherine who got married recently.

"Ten million dollars after I'd become a star I was deeply in debt." - Sammy Davis, Jr.

"Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt." - Herbert Hoover

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan doth oft lose both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

Psychology of the Soldier

2011-07-24T01:44:00.000-07:00

The psychology of the soldier is one that can be difficult for civilians to come to terms with. No, this has nothing at all to do with photography, cameras, models, or anything remotely related. You can stop reading now if you wish, but I came across an interesting article the other day and have gone back to read it several times.

Model, Joanie

"82nd Airborne Paratroopers Unhappy With Iraq, Afghanistan Troop Withdrawals", by David Wood for the Huffington Post on 11July2011

Model, Joanie

So what's the gist of the article? Simply put, many of the soldiers don't want to leave for one reason or another. "Instead of an exciting and challenging combat tour, they'll be relegated to the dread "garrison life" here at Fort Bragg.", reports the article. That may sound like war-mongering to many of the citizens of the United States, however I might ask that you hold that judgement for a little bit and take a second (or longer) to see where these "Joes" (...as in G.I.'s, hence G. I. Joe...) are coming from.

The 82nd from Fort Bragg, North Carolina is one of the most famous and storied units to honor, serve, and defend your way of life here in the United States of America. Along with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, they comprise the two Army Divisions most known to the populace if you were to ask them to name ANY military unit. (Yeah, Seal Team Six gets some notoriety too). I served 2 tours of duty with the 101st...first with the 502nd Infantry Brigade, and then again after a stint in Korea with HHC Division G-3 as an Air Operations NCO...loved that job! I received my honorable discharge in 1998, after 10 years of service. I was done. My body had taken enough abuse and I wanted to still enjoy some physical abilities as a young civilian. I can tell you quite literally that from head to toe, I still contend with injuries sustained over my tours of duty.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to get the chance to go again," said Spec. Brenton Parish, a 21-year-old paratrooper from Fond du Lac, Wis. "I like doing my job, and I can only do that when I'm deployed," he told The Huffington Post.

Model, Joanie

So why would a man or woman want to maintain operations in a hostile environment? Let me put it to you this way: Your Armed Forces Command units take pride in turning that snot-nosed brat you worried would never amount to anything, into a highly trained, high speed, low drag, bad-ass, machine that can maintain his or her military discipline and professional bearing in the most inhospitable, uninhabitable work environments like nobody you'll ever encounter at the office. Imagine if you were expected to get out those expense reports or make your quota, while doing so in the desert heat with sand grains in every crevice imaginable, wearing long sleeves and weighted gear. An error on your part might cost a life. Your former snot-nosed brat is now responsible for million-dollar equipment and is depended on to do his job and keep the well-oiled machine from seizing up. Only a few years ago, they could hardly get along with others that well. They couldn't figure out how geometry would ever serve them in life. Now they are part of an intricate team on a mission to hell and back, calculating back-azimuths and learning to triangulate their 8-digit grid coordinate on a map. No matter if they are on the front lines or in the mail room, they understand that they may never draw breath on American soil again, yet they do their jobs and watch out for the soldier, marine, seaman, or airman who stands in the gap next to them.

Capt. Tom Cieslak, a staff officer with the 1st Brigade: "If we're going back to garrison life, to pressed and starched uniforms and all that? After my seven years of war, I don't think I could do that."

Model, Joanie

As a civilian, you really cannot fathom what it is that you ask your servicemen and women to do. With that said, it will probably be difficult to understand the mentality that they have to assume in order to complete a mission, do their jobs dependably, admirably, and above and beyond the standard. You are in effect, asking a man or woman to become a machine and you loose them upon the world to protect you and your way of life. To ask them to come home and shut it off is to ask water to not be wet. The expectation for these service people to adjust seamlessly to the life that is your reality is not realistic. This is what they do. This is what they had to become in order to go forth and protect you. You can honor their return by being understanding to the military mind and aiding in the transition rather than ridiculing and judging like what happened when our veterans came back from Vietnam.

In a major study released last year, the Army reported that a small but growing number of soldiers who perform credibly in combat turn to high-risk behavior at home, including drug abuse, drunk driving, motorcycle street-racing, petty crime and domestic violence.

This is the part I fear most. After spending years at a time, "keyed-up", these guy come back to garrison life know they need to "gear down" but can't. Alcohol and drug abuse is common. Something to take the edge off becomes a new priority and this is where you see men getting into trouble with the law, having a disastrous family life, and go further sink into depression. I first became conscious of such matters when I began hearing about Bragg soldiers killing their families (and its still going on). And then it started happening at my Division at Campbell. It was almost like an extreme case of some type of disease or disorder where a plague hits your community. Everybody gets sick and some are killed. You never know who is most susceptible, but no one is untouched. God help our veterans.

Go See a Doctor

2011-07-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

"I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know what those doctors were wearing masks for."

~James H. Boren

Model Viki Vegas

In several of my posts, I've confessed that I am sometimes talking to myself when I start dispensing "words of wisdom". Some of those little nuggets come from conversations I have with other people who either share blog content-worthy material or they may bring up a point that I think is good to pass on. In this case, its another one of my own personal experiences that make me wish I was smarter and learning this stuff PRIOR to making the mistakes. I've been talking about things you can do to improve your stature in life and offering suggestions that can aid you in your endeavors. Maybe this is particularly a man thing, but I've had a problem, pretty much all my life, going to see a doctor. I can not give you any sane reason for my lack of visits, but unless something is broken or causing me no end of grief, I tend to bear down and deal with it.

Model Viki Vegas

Its the same with medicine. Its hard for me to put a pill in my mouth that can quicken my recovery, not because my mouth is too small to insert the danged capsule, but rather because it simply does not cross my mind. If I get a headache, I may let somebody know. I might complain that its excruciating. They'll ask me what I've taken for it and the answer is pretty much the same. Nothing. And I cannot give them any plausible excuse as to why I haven't taken anything. I see that look on their faces as if they want to call me an idiot and I cannot even justify any form of reply to defend myself. I called in today to see if I could get a same-day appointment and got one within the hour, surprisingly. I was actually 10 mins late getting there even though I left right away. I told the doc my ailments and she asked how long the I had been experiencing the issue. I told her a few months and she stopped her examination to stare me in the face. Before she could even say anything, I just blurted out, "I KNOW...". What was her reply to that? "MEN..."

"You are afraid we will put our finger in your butt." - No 1 reason why men don't go to the doc, Dr. Sharon Orrange

Model Viki Vegas

As a kid, I didn't see a doc too much either. I rarely got sick and if it wasn't for the required routine inoculations, I'd probably never have seen the inside of a doc office but once every so many years. I broke my fingers once and it was a whole week before I saw a doc. Prior to this, I spent that week "working" my fingers out, by forcing them open and closed until my hand swelled up to the size of a softball. My step-dad looked came in my room and saw me bending it back and forth and asked if I thought they might be broken. That had never crossed my mind as I had never broken any bones. I was in 10th grade. He took me in for x-rays and sure enough two fingers had really nice fractures. It was amazing to see my x-rayed hand and the bones broken the way they were. One finger bends toward the inside now when I type on a keyboard.

Being in the Army didn't help my cause in this manner either. Airborne Rangers were supposed to be indestructible. If you can maintain consciousness and can walk, then you shouldered your weapon and moved out...pain be damned. I'm now paying the price for subscribing to that concept. Its also been a recent thing in that I've learned how serious some of my ailments really are. I've got tinnitus which is a ringing in the ears from all the loud guns and explosions I was involved with. NPR today had an episode on Tinnitus that almost made me stop my car and listen to it. As I drove to my doc appointment today, I heard about a man who was driven to leave his own start-up company because he could not concentrate on his work and was plagued with panic attacks because of the constant and incessant ringing. I had never even heard of anyone else with Tinnitus am not conscious as to whether any of the other things I deal with might be as of a result of my hearing impairment. I still hear well enough, but have to filter out the "other noise". Sometimes it can be difficult and I think I'm hearing something that isn't there because my brain tries to make sense of it and may incorrectly fill in the gaps for the imperceptible parts. I've never been treated for it. Apparently, according to the VA, (Dept of Veteran's Affairs) there is no treatment...you just deal with it. Which is what I've been doing for most everything I have military ailments for all along.

"You are afraid we will examine your balls." - No 2 reason why men don't go to the doc, Dr. Sharon Orrange

Model Viki Vegas

You definitely have to fight with the VA sometimes and it can be a very long process. You can realistically expect to wait a year for treatments when you submit a disability claim. But I can honestly say, its worth the fight. VA or civilian-based, GO SEE A DOCTOR! Don't let stuff fester inside your body. Your health is more important than anything else you can attend to outside of your family or religious affairs. It does you no good to be optimistic concerning your job prospects or living a better life if you're going to be dead in a few months. See the doc. Take the meds and live. The financial stuff come second to that. Quality of life first starts with health. Take care of it. Be smart about it. Don't do the stuff you already know you shouldn't. Drop a few pounds. Lay off the sweets and salts. Check your prostate, breasts and get your paps done. Watch those spots on your skin. And by all means, if you're not feeling right, get yourself checkout out. And even if you feel fine, do the routine examinations. Young or old, man or woman, schedule a doctor's visit. Please.

Top 10 Reasons Men Don't Go to the Doctor - Daily Strength, Dr. Sharon Orrange
Top 5 from AskMen.com
4 Reasons Why Men SHOULD Go to the Doctor - Healthy Living
WebMD.com
MayoClinic.com/
JustAskMedical.com

Model Viki Vegas

In All Honesty... Get Out of the Way

2011-07-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Model Enyo

"Lead, follow, or get out of the way"

-Thomas Paine

Model Enyo

When was the last time you wondered how or when things would turn around in your favor. Weekly...daily? Did you think that you'd be in the condition you're in today at your age when you were a kid? Do you look around at other people on the highway driving luxury cars who are much younger than you and wonder how you missed it? Well, who's to say you have? Who makes that call to judge your case and dictate that you are not where you are supposed to be at this point in your life, so therefore you are now sentenced to life in failure? God? The "Man"? No, I'm afraid the answer is a little more complicated. Its you.

Think back to when you were a kid and dreaming about what you'd be like as an adult. Think about where you thought you'd live. What car(s) you'd be driving; basically, your stature and accomplishments in life. If you were to gauge the distance between the dream back then and the reality now, how far off the mark are you? If you are on target, then congratulations. If not so much then, well... keep working at it. If you didn't have a dream, well chances are you were the rich kid in school who's been been living the dream all along then.

Model Enyo,

More likely than not, somewhere along the line, your thought pattern changed. Somewhere, you got caught up in the rut of the 9 to 5, raising kids, and having other people around you who became a slave to the grind. That notion has probably worn off onto you and infected your head too, effectively killing the dream. I submit to you that a change in the way you think, view yourself, and a change in your perceived ability to seize opportunities will put you back onto the road to recovery. If you look at our nation right now, we've got weeks to come to a congressional consensus to raise the national debt ceiling. If not, the global community will watch as the great big United States of America begins to default on its loans. The creditability of this great nation will plummet and much of the world's economy will begin to suffer far worse than the economic collapse we suffered back in '07 and '08. Now without further digress, the same analogous model also fits you. You too are on your road to economic recovery and its simply a matter of getting back on the right track. You can get bogged down in the politics that will complicate matters or you can simply do what has to be done and make it happen. The U.S. can do this right now and solve everything, but she's marred in political banter and nonsense. Two sides want power and control much in the same sense that you might also have to battle... "The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak!"

Model Enyo,

It begins in the mind. First learning what's important. Figuring out what the real priorities are and then making every decision made reflect that goal. If a course of action does not take you to your objective, don't do it. If a person in your life is more like an anchor than wind in your sails, cut'em loose. If your job becomes an obstacle to your real dream, quit it. Granted that sounds harsh or unrealistic, but what is the better reality? To keep doing the same old thing? To keep hold of that same old job or person that doesn't let you fly? You'd better do something! I'll further submit that if you can't let go of the weight that keeps you down, let go of the dream. Stop wondering what it would be like to fly and resign to your fate in the lowlands. Don't wonder what it would be like to have a better life. In fact, quit dreaming altogether. It will only pile on more stress and make you even more miserable. And by all means, leave the ones trying to fly alone. Don't become their weight. Don't be the reason they can't achieve their goals in life. If you see one of your peers with that ambitious gleam in his/her eye, turn around and don't let them see you. Give them the gift of not interfering with their lives. When they do begin to blast off and achieve, you can then sit back and boast to your friends, who've also given up, and say you knew so-and-so "way back when" and talk about the good ol' days. That'll probably cheer you up!

Be patient and find a way to win. Otherwise get out of the way of those who still have a mind to do something beyond talking about it. Be a doer, ~~not a loser~~, or at least don't become an obstacle.

On Og...

2011-06-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

"To be always intending to make a new and better life but never to find time to set about it is as to put off eating and drinking and sleeping from one day to the next until you're dead."

~ Og Mandino

Model, Viki-Vegas

Over this past weekend, I went camping again with friends from my hiking and outdoors meetup group, Having Fun in Las Vegas Outdoors for Singles. We camped out at Mt. Charleston and hiked Little Falls on Friday night and then did Big Falls the next morning. Had a splendid time and got to see some marvelous waterfalls. At some point during that time, I brought up the subject of one of my most favorite writers, Og Mandino. Outside of the Bible, I don't think you can find an author that writes more beneficial material for the human spirit than this guy. I've read everything he's ever put to print that I'm aware of...well, almost.

Model, Viki-Vegas

Many people don't put a lot of stock into self-help books. I'm one of them. It would seem as if everybody's got some new psychological strategy on improving your current stock in life. I think today's books are more about techniques, strategies, and a way for an author to get rich himself. Back in the day, most of the self-help books were inspired by basic fundamentals, built on specific core principles. Today, there are millions of self-help authors out there and I'm forced to ask how many do we actually need. I don't think any more need to be written. Promoting the current ones and re-releasing old editions should suffice til the end of time. The human mind hasn't changed, nor has the human condition. All we need are more of the old ones. Making them part of the curriculum in middle school should be the standard. Og is so easy to read. He keeps things short and builds them into very memorable stories. I used to read them to my kids at night. Something else I used to do would be to always check some of the local used book stores and purchase any Og Mandino books they got in. I'd then give them away to friends and people I'd meet who I thought might actually read them and not just stash the book away unread.

Model, Viki-Vegas

Og's most noted book is "The Greatest Salesman in the World", first published in 1968. Within the story, he discusses midway through the book, 10 scrolls of success who's secret is to read each scroll 3 times a day for 30 days, then move onto the next scroll, until you complete all ten scrolls. His main focus points deal with the principles of love and having the initiative to "DO IT NOW" as if an urgent call to action is critical. The scroll titles are:

Scroll I - The Power of Good Habits
Scroll II - Greet Each Day With Love In Your Heart
Scroll III - Persist Until You Succeed
Scroll IV - You Are Natures Greatest Miracle
Scroll V - Live Each Day as if it Were Your Last
Scroll VI - Master Your Emotions
Scroll VII - The Power of Laughter
Scroll VIII - Multiply Your Value Every Day
Scroll IX - All is Worthless Without Action
Scroll X - Pray to God for Guidance

Model, Viki-Vegas

Like many of us, Mandino had to fall before he rose to prominence. As a returning war veteran (he flew with Jimmy Stewart!), he got the best job he could get as an insurance salesman and became an alcoholic from being on the road so much. His wife took his kid and left him as he contemplated suicide. Time in libraries reading self-help books saved his life and inspired him to become renew his initial passions of being a writer. The rest is history. He also became a prolific speaker. The man's greatest gift is story-telling. According to Wikipedia, the books he feels are the best self-help all time include:

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, by W. Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill
The Power of Faith, by Louis Binstock
Your Greatest Power, by J. Martin Kohe
Wake Up and Live, by Dorothea Brande
I Dare You, by William Danforth
Acres of Diamonds, by Russell H. Conwell
The Ability to Love, by Dr. Allan Fromme
How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success In Selling, by Frank Bettger
The Magic Power of Emotional Appeal, by Roy Garn
As a Man Thinketh, by James E. Allen
The Holy Bible

Model, Viki-Vegas

Og Mandino has published more than 20 books. Some are derivatives or combinations of his other books. For instance, The God Memorandum is a published piece which is a part "The Greatest Miracle in the World". The ones below in bold were most impactful to me. The first one I ever read was "The Greatest Salesman in the World Part II: The Rest of the Story" and was a book given to me by my good friend, Tracie Taylor back in 1998.

The Greatest Salesman in the World
The Greatest Secret in the World
The Greatest Miracle in the World
The Gift of Acabar
The Choice
The Christ Commission
Mission: Success!
The Greatest Salesman in the World Part II: The Rest of the Story
A Better Way to Live
The Return of the Ragpicker
The Twelfth Angel
The Spellbinder's Gift
The Greatest Mystery in the World
The Greatest Success in the World

If you're reading Og Mandino, you're going to do yourself a world of good. You'll also be doing the world some good as we in turn benefit to your better contributions to society and humankind. So do us all a favor and read the man. The books are short. So you've got time. They are cheap, especially when purchased used. So you can easily afford the books. So there you go. Your excuses have been eliminated.

Model, Viki-Vegas

Viki-Vegas has burst on the scene recently with her decision to go au natural. I had the privilege of working with her a few weeks back and was quite amazed at the results that came from our collaboration. We had a 15-hour long day as our road trip took us to places I didn't think my car could make. I have GOT to get something with some road clearance! I treated my low-profile tired car like an ATV to get to some back-country spots that I found the day before our trip on Google Earth. We had a blast and have some more plans for future shoots in the immediate future. All I can say is that the woman is amazing to work with and is definitely a pleasure to watch perform. She practically lives in a gym to keep that figure of hers and it's paid off. So keep those two things on your mind... Og Mandino. Viki-Vegas! And be sure to check out her profile and leave some comments. Tell her Terrell sent cha! You can see more of Viki-Vegas on my website.

An Interesting Month So Far

2011-06-15T03:07:00.000-07:00

Model, OutdrBeauty

Its really funny how, throughout the week you've got all this material in your head you want to blog about. Then you finally sit down to write and you draw a blank or have a difficult time gelling your words together to actually make a coherent sentence. I'm sure it happens to the best of us, right? ...Right?

Model, OutdrBeauty

Well, its been a fun-filled, action-packed month so far. Lots of new pics, new models, new locations, and new friends. Its been a strong desire for me to get to shoot out at one of the hotsprings near here and with the help of Ourdrbeauty, I was finally able to get on that. This has been in the making since last December. Outdrbeauty has been in contact with me since our shoot late last year. Things have slowed down a bit from her hectic schedule and she was able to give me a little time to shoot. She called up, we hooked up, and then there was the walk. Its 3 miles down to the hotsprings. That's not so bad. Its the walk out that's the butt-kicker. You're going uphill, all the way, in loose fluvial gravel that gets in your shoes! It was still fun though. Conversation helped big time. We had reached a point that I thought put us about a third of the way back to the car, but was actually more like three-quarters of the way. Carrying all that camera gear and water wrecked havoc on my knee and lower back, so I was popping pain-killers a-plenty. I stayed on my ass much of Sunday.

Model, OutdrBeauty

I got to do a more extensive project with VikiMae two days later on Monday. She and I did a two and a half hour road trip, to some well-know spots and also some remote locations. I had to treat my Pontiac Grand Am like an ATV to get back to one particular location. Not sure I want to do that again, but I was adamant about seeing this particular spot. In all, I guess we were gone about 15 hours. I've gone over all the photos and most of the edits. I always like to learn new things and I definitely saw areas I could improve upon. Shooting through reflective water, for one. A polarizer would have been nice. And I've often talked about this intense and direct Nevada sun which can also require more post-work, so maybe a ND filter would suffice. Sometimes stopping down just does not do it.

Model, OutdrBeauty

Dave Rudin came to town for the week. We only got to hook up one day while he was here. Both our schedules turned out to be somewhat occupied for the both of us, but we made the best of the one day. We had breakfast at our usual place, just not in the same spot. I got to meet a most interesting girl while there and she's since contacted me and I got to visit her place and discuss some ideas for a shoot. She had one of those faces that you just have to talk to and you can't leave without putting a card in her hand. Yeah...one of those girls. I got to meet with her a few nights later after my Las Vegas Photographic Society meeting and discuss some potentials. Hopefully, you'll be reading a special blog post on her before long. After breakfast, Dave and I scouted some excellent locations. I got to skinny-dip in the Colorado. Dave got some pics that I will probably not be too proud of. Then he took me to some of his Nevada spots near Lake Mead where he likes to shoot. We think we found his Carlotta Champagne spot where he photographed the best pic ever taken. And then scouted some more locations along North Shore Drive.

Model, OutdrBeauty

Three of days of the week last week was spent with VikiMae (OMP profile) for one reason or another. Aside from shooting Monday, she came with me to one of my photo meetings that Thursday after we had already spent a good chunk of the day scouting. Rather than taking her home, she just came with and met some photog friends of mine. We're meeting one tomorrow to discuss ideas for a shoot. That Friday was an evening event at the Aria that SHE, in turn, invited me to. I then kicked off this week, with back to back days of shooting Enyo, whom you'll also get to see pretty soon. I'm just starting to edit her work tonight. Trust me, you ARE looking forward to these. The girl's amazing. I'm telling you...I've been working with several models of whom I can fully recommend you include on your "Need to Hire" list. VikiMae, Tawny Fein, Outdrbeauty, Enyo... check them out.

Use Your Time Wisely

2011-05-31T01:15:00.000-07:00

"Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week."

- Charles Richards

"The key is in not spending time, but in investing it."
- Stephen R. Covey

"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Model, Laura

This one isn't so new, but its another one of those gems of wisdom that somehow still elude us.

Use your time wisely.

Simple, I know, but its mostly the most simplest of things that tend to bite us in the ass when we don't take care. In the Army, we called it "Paying attention to the little things". What exactly does using your time wisely mean and how do you do it? Well, I'll tell ya. I don't really know. Its different from person to person and you have to be the one to chose what you do.

During my periods of downtime, I try to pick up on my To-Do List and shave it down a little. This happened this weekend when plans didn't come to fruition. Truthfully, on Saturday, I had to miss a shoot due to weather. That bummed me out. I got some take-out and watched a movie. The next day plans again fell through, but instead of moping around, I shook it off and did some tutorials, studied some Business Financial Management chapters in a book I'm reading, and finished up my online Traffic School course from a speeding ticket I got a few months back. So the first day's use of time...POOR. Second day's use of time...WISE. I was flexible on the second day and took a bad situation and make something profitable out of it. I got KNOWLEDGE. You'll never make a better investment than what you can by investing into yourself.

Laura, From back in 2008

So who's unemployed right now? Who's laid-off at the moment? If you've got time on your hands for an indefinite period of time or just for the day, make some positive use of it. Exercise. Write the next chapter in your book. Call up a friend that you haven't talked to in a while. Send me some money through my Paypal Donation Button. Who care's what you do...just do something that results in a positive.

We used to have something called Hip-Pocket Training when I was serving. I hope you are being safe this Memorial Day, by the way. Hip-Pocket Training was a concept designed to take advantage of unexpected downtime for soldiers. NCO's, (the Sergeants) would have on-hand a special training planned for just such occasions, i.e., after a long road march to a destination, we arrive but our rides back home have not. The first thing we'd do was to ensure our coordinates were correct and then we'd radio in a situation report. The response is that the truck due at our rendezvous has an engine problem and a replacement can't be allocated for my mission for two hours. Now you've got mad soldiers on your hands who are cold, hungry, and tired. They don't want excuses. They want food and a hot shower. A good NCO will occupy their time with some easy training on Land Navigation techniques or risk mutiny. I used to do this same thing with my kids on long car rides. They'd get tired of sitting in the back seat for so long, so I'd quiz them on Bible history. Next thing they know, they're pulling into Grandma's driveway.

The only difference now is that YOU have to take responsibility for YOUR OWN Hip-Pocket Training. Learn a new language, computer program, or beneficial skill. Get out of your comfort zone, if you can. Stretch yourself a little by leaving your same old routines alone for a while. And while I'm at it, in addition to using your time wisely, pick your friends more wisely. Prioritize your family more wisely. Make your decisions more wisely. Spend your money more wisely. And take care for what you eat with more wisdom. Utilize your time to make a better YOU. Think about all the times you've complained that you don't have time to lose weight...read that book...or visit relatives in retirement homes. Now you've got the time. What are you going to do with it?

Write It Down

2011-05-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

“The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.”

~ Lee Iacocca

Here's an idea for you. Its fairly novel, easy, and actually common sense. However, despite the wisdom in it, very few people actually take advantage of the benefits this simple little action can afford to you. Let me tell you how simplistic it is. Despite the fact that I am writing a blog post on the matter, I TOO am guilty of not exploiting this ever so easy concept when possible. What is it, you ask? Well, as you've probably already guess from the title and Iacocca quote:

"WRITE IT DOWN!"

Yeah. Simple, ain't it. You would really be surprised at what you can achieve when you have an idea and write it down. Spell it out on paper, or on your computer as it were. Where ever you do your best thinking, (okay, except for the shower), take a pen and paper with you and challenge yourself to plan out your goals in a way that makes the most sense. After you've built your road map to success, STICK TO IT! Ever decision you make you should be able to stand up to your own personal constitution. In an almost flow chart sort of way, if the decision to do (or not do) something takes you away from you objective, strike it from you to-do list. How many of us really have time to waste with non-productive errands, tasks, or actions that have no bearing on our goals. I know I don't, even though I'm still learning this lesson, myself.

Writing things down has helped me get pointed in the more decisive direction and has made me organize my efforts into deliberate actions with less waste and more efficiency. Who's up for a cup of "decisive directions and deliberate actions"? YOU should be. You should readily wake up every morning and take a smell the aromatic flavor of efficiency and take a sip while its still piping hot. Specifically, putting it on paper expanded my scope and helped me see possibilities that I otherwise didn't account for and resulted in a plan that, with the proper execution, has the possibilities to be both profitable and fulfilling.

I say its simple, but if I said it was easy, let me take that back. Its not easy and it should't be. Any worthwhile endeavor will more likely than not be a challenge, but I dare say its worth it and that's all that matters. Doing whatever it takes should be foremost in our minds as well leave behind those that can't shake off the scales of mediocrity and complacency. Not everyone will climb aboard even though they want to, but there is a big difference between wanting to do better and doing something to make themselves better. As you rise up and climb the achievement ladder, they will remain at the bottom and watch you ascend. Either of a few things will result. Chances are, they will try to throw negative ropes around your ankles to bring you back down to their level. They don't want to be left behind. If you get caught up in that, then you'll provide them company...which misery loves, by the way. If you do not succumb, and continue to climb, you'll leave them behind. You'll likely end up with a new friend circle which is okay. Love the naysayers where they are, but don't sit with them or keep too much company there. You'll give them something to talk about and increase their worth a little when they can say they knew you back when. In a way, you will become their claim to fame.

I know you're loving these pics of Model, Tawny right? Be sure to check out her Model Mayhem profile. Yeah, she's a hottie...granted. The girl's got curves that should come with Warning and Danger signs.That much is obvious. There are a bunch of pretty faces and hot bods out there already. Tawny definitely brings lots of flair and energy to a shoot and sometimes its those intangibles that make all the difference. If you're needing a model in Las Vegas, don't hesitate to give this young lady a look. She's been beneficial for my portfolio already and I know she can bring that added something to your photography projects.

*** BTW, I'll putting together another Ball of Light session this Saturday, the 28th of May and could use a curvaceous nude model or two. Need to be available around 6pm for a few hours to shoot some sunset pics and my ball of light imagery. Get with me for more details.