FigureBaby

FigureBaby noir

2009-04-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted anything black and white, which I know I should do more often. There is a different feel with black and white. Catriona's sense of style fit's the theme, too. Be sure to look for the complete set at FigureBaby.com.

Phish!

2009-03-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

If you haven't gotten them already, the Phish reunion shows are available for download at phish.com. They sound as great as ever, and if you were not among the ones lucky enough to attend the shows (like me) you can enjoy every minute of wonderful sound for free. I'm a fan of all the music, but my favorites, Down with Disease and Maze, didn't come until the last night, and there are no repeats over the 3 shows. All totally great! Check it out for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

Girl Scout Cookies!

2009-02-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. The Girl Scouts are on their annual fund raiser selling cookies (and yes, for you perverts, this really is about cookies). I look forward to buying them by the case every Winter, and somehow I never buy enough to last through the year. Strange thing is, I generally don't like cookies, even homemade, but Girl Scout Cookies are different somehow. They're delicious, and they come in many varieties. This year's box came with all the usual choices, Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Samoas, etc., and a fabulous new treat called Dulce de Leche. It's a caramel cookie, and out of this world. I always order the same thing each year, 2 of everything, and I'm not sure what the Scouts think when I tell them they really are all for me. Whatever. They never last that long though. If you are in the USA, contact any Girl Scout troop near you and get some of these delicious treats. If you are outside the USA, you might be out of luck. But maybe the Scouts will send you some if you ask nicely.

NJ and the turtle

2009-02-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

Alot of what we shoot around here is a little silly, and not all of it is posted on FigureBaby. Playing around keeps things upbeat, and adds to the spirit of the work. Here's Noname Jane and a threatening aggressor.

Nadia Firefly

2009-02-13T14:45:00.001-08:00

I haven't worked with Nadia in a while, but there are a few shots we did that are among my favorites. This picture of her reading is from 2007, but it still looks good to me. Don't know why, but I think there's a story in there somewhere.

Congratulations to Ashley and Amber

2008-11-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

If you follow adult entertainment, you are no doubt aware of the AVN awards. This is the time of year AVN extends nominations in a long list of categories, and it's a great pleasure to congratulate FigureBaby models Ashley Haven, who also performs as Anna Stevens, and Amber Chase on their nomination for best all-girl couples sex scene. For those interested, you can see the spicy footage in Lezlove Video's Bellezza 8. Way to go Ashley and Amber!!!

Balloon week at FigureBaby

2008-10-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

Turns out this is Balloon Week at FigureBaby. It sort of happened by accident, and for the first time I find myself posting sets with the same model and theme back to back. Or, as it may work out, back to back to back. There are 2 balloon sets online now with Ashley Haven, and I have 2 more waiting to be posted.

Lily Cameron suggested working with balloons. Turns out she did some balloon fetish work some time ago, and thought it might be a good idea for FB. Not knowing anything about it, I did a quick Google search and came up with, well, balloon porn. Odd thing, that balloon stuff. What struck me about the 2 or 3 sites I looked at was the lack of balloons and the quality of photography. Only 1 or 2 balloons and some pretty standard lighting. I can't characterize all sites of this theme that way, just the ones I saw in my 20 minute review.

So I decided to do things with balloons the FigureBaby way. Fun and excessive. I made sure we had a hundred balloons, and a model who knows how to have fun. Ashley has been down the road before with our silliness, so she was a natural choice. Funniest part was she came over, saw the balloons and thought I filled them myself. Like, with my lungs. I didn't discourage her fantasy, but she found the compressor later and was, I believe, dissappointed. Anyway, be a kid again and have fun with a few balloons.

CHAMPIONS.....Finally!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Pennsylvania; grew up watching the Philadelphia Phillies play baseball each year, watching all I could on TV, listening to what I couldn't on the radio. The voices of By Saam, Andy Musser, Harry Kalas and the great, late Richie Ashburn are still fresh in my mind. I loved watching Larry Bowa patrol the infield, the great glove of Mike Schmidt, who was joined at the plate by the Bull, Gregg Luzinski for more than the occassional home run. Carlton was the ace on the hill, and by 1980 Pete Rose had joined the Whiz Kids and the world series belonged to Philly. I thought it was a start of something that I would see over and over again. I had no idea it was the beginning of 28 long, sometimes miserable seasons without a title. Many were without even a playoff appearance, and the few playoff runs were always dissappointments. No Phillies fans could forget "The Pitch" in 1993.

The drought is over tonight. After a postponed game, a lousy, postponed game, the Philadelphia Phillies are once again champions of baseball. Savor this. Twenty eight years in the making, this is a special occassion, worthy of celebration. The Fightin' Phils didn't blink, and took the weather and delay with an admirable determination. The only thing to say is thank you. Thank you to the Phillies for this year. Thank you for bringing a winning team back to the city of brotherly love. And while I no longer live in the wonderful city of Philadelphia, I am overjoyed to see a home town team finally win something that matters. Tonight, the Philadelphia Phillies are the best baseball team there is. A sports fan could ask for nothing more.

Upcoming video

2008-10-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I've been slowly adding video to FigureBaby. We've been doing video quietly since FB is about photography, which is what we want to keep at the forefront. Model Lily Cameron has been doing a great job filming our video interview, but the next video update is a bit different. We have an idea to shoot a series of 90 second video shots, string them together in a 20 minute loop as a gallery installation. They are still figure studies, so next week I start putting them on FB. As with most of what we do, this is not your standard adult website fare. I imagine some will like them, others won't, but as an artistic experiment I have hopes of doing many more. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Adventures in advertising

2008-10-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been playing with the idea of adding advertising to some of my websites. I'm not sure if there is value in it yet, but I'll give it a fair try. I have no plans to put ads on FigureBaby, but elsewhere it may be the right thing to do. So far I've been trying AVN Ads and they seem to have a good program but their website is a bit confusing. I'll figure it out though. BTW I also plan on eventually moving this blog to internal servers. Stay tuned for updates

The Fourth

2008-07-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here it is the Fourth of July. This is one of our major holidays in the United States. It's a time for Americans to celebrate independence by blowing things up.

Americans have a love of fireworks. I'm not all that enthused, but the magical displays light up the night sky all across the union. Back yards and side streets crackle with firecrackers and bottle rockets. Some even like to mix beer with their ordinance, which always results in a spectacular and unintended display with lots of collateral damage. Fire departments earn their keep on the Fourth of July.

The big displays don't excite me, and as for the personal fireworks, well, I saw enough spectacular ordinance fly downrange in the military. Bottle rockets just aren't that exciting, unless, of course, you shoot them off inside. Young stupid me did that once, with young stupid Rich, and a case of Coors. I must admit, the adrenalin rush was amazing. Especially when the rockets bounced around the room and flew back at us. But please don't take this as a suggestion of how to enjoy your holiday.

Fireworks aside, the Fourth of July is also about the cook-out. Quite simply, grilling (and barbeque for that matter) is THE GREATEST kind of cooking ever invented in the history of the world. You don't have to go far on any given Fourth of July to find someone kicking up flames for hamburgers or hot dogs. Chicken on the grill is another favorite. Salmon is popular here in the Pacific Northwest, but today, for my cook-out, I'll be burning Italian sausage, sweet and hot, with tomatoes and peppers. Not typically American, but just as tasty, and it doesn't matter what you cook on your grill, there's just no better way to spend a summer afternoon.

Cook outs are also about friends. Everyone brings something to a cook out. It's customary for the host to do the grilling, but for everyone else to bring a side dish. Macaroni salad, or potato salad are quite popular. Peppers have always been standard fare in my family. All kinds of peppers. Sweet, hot, mild, roasted, stewed, or dried. Fresh fruit abounds, and the Fourth of July cook out has also been the time to taste the first corn of the season. And we all know, no Fourth of July cook out would be complete without some sort of Jello monstrosity for dessert. Alongside all the pies every aunt you have just had to bake. Apple, cherry, and strawberry are the common fruit pies, but don't forget things like the delectable pecan pie, the rare and amazing key lime pie, and the greatest of all pies, the shoo-fly.

This to me is what defines the typical Fourth of July. We're talking about The Great American Cook Out. It might sound picturesque, or a bit old fashioned, but it is very real. Everywhere you can find people coming together, for whatever reason, at whatever detail, to share food and explosives. It might not always look like a Rockwell painting, but it's always fun in the way people define their fun.

Ashley reclines

2008-05-06T19:14:00.001-07:00

Some of my favorite shots are the ones that just happen. The casual, like today's image, or all the others in this set, coming Friday to FigureBaby. The entire set is one of my favorites with Ashley, and there's always something new to see.

Nothing is 95% off

2008-05-05T14:32:00.001-07:00

When I get bored, or need a laugh, I read the messages in my spam folder. I sure do have alot more of them than email I care about anyway. Amid offers for Versace shoes and rolex watches and great deals from the World's Greatest Online Pharmacy, many of the new spams offer 95% off this that or the other thing. The laugh is who falls for this? Nothing is 95% off. Ever. Yet so many great deals arrive every day at such an enthusiastic discount!

A well seasoned marketing pro once told me, "no one gives a damn about 10%." The idea that 10% off anything is no discount at all. Customers respond to 15%, 20% or even 25%. But I'm sure he would agree with me that nothing, I mean nothing, is 95% off.

Facebook, where's my RSS!

2008-04-24T15:36:00.001-07:00

I had a Facebook account, and deactivated it when they started their Beacon nonsense a few months back. I never made much use of it because it just added yet another social network tool for me to check every day. I reactivated that account to see if I could make use of it as I desperately try to break free of email.

Reactivating Facebook is a bit spooky. Everything is as I left it, sort of frozen in time. It looked neglected, but I figured I can take care of that later. The first thing I want is an RSS feed. I don't want to have to check every communication system and device only to find nothing is new; instead I want new stuff to find me. Which is why I use RSS and why I want all my information in an RSS stream I can get in my reader. A single source of information. And I want to publish to various tools remotely from my RSS reader, so I also hope to find an XMLRPC or Atom interface. Not on Facebook, though. In fact, not on any social network tool I use.

OK, so the shiny progressive Facebook is not up to the technology available. They do use RSS, to be fair here, but it's a feed consumed by a widget on a Facebook page. Maybe I missed it, but feeds should be obvious, and plentiful. But I could at least update my friends list. They have this nifty feature that lets you 'find friends' in your email contacts. You just enter your email address and password (not a bright thing to do if you still cling to the illusion of privacy) and it prowls your address book looking for other Facebook users. I don't mind providing my email address and letting it snoop, so off it went and in a matter of seconds I discovered, of the 300+ people in my email list, exactly 20 have Facebook accounts, of whom 10 I know well enough to invite, half of those being professional contacts. Three hundred addresses and I can communicate with 5 of them using Facebook.

In the end I only wound up feeling depressed and lonely. The Facebook account is deactivated again.

Subscriptions and ownership

2008-04-23T14:33:00.001-07:00

Microsoft recently announced a shutdown of its DRM servers supporting the closed MSN music service. For those not familiar, MSN music was a music service associated with Windows Media Player, much like iTunes music store is associated with, well, iTunes. MSN music, however, provided all content with DRM, digital rights management, which meant every song you bought had to have a serial number to play, and that serial number comes from the DRM servers soon to be turned off. Users who have a music collection purchased from MSN stand to lose it when licenses can no longer be accessed. So, if you spent money on MSN music, what exactly did you get?

The answer is simple, you got nothing. DRM is only a way to enforce ownership of the product by the seller. It's a way to keep you from owning anything, and under any sales model it is wrong. If I buy something, I own it. That is the rule of the transaction, cash for merchandise, and even in a subscription model, the insertion of mechanism to revert or enforce ownership by any party other than the customer is wrong.

Mainstream entertainment is coming to grips with this reality, but adult entertainment has known it for years. If I subscribe to an adult website, I can download content from and store it on my computer, look at it or play it whenever I want, even after the subscription is canceled or expires. My own site, FigureBaby is no different. Members are free to download the content, either as individual images or in zip files, and own it. I even offer print ready files if you (goodness forbid!) want to print anything to hang on the wall, or look at on paper. I firmly believe you bought it, therefore you own it.

The overriding problem is a confusion of ownership and rights. This is where DRM comes from, the idea that you can own something, but not be a responsible owner. It stands to reason if I don't trust a person, that person will prove himself less than trustworthy, while the converse is also true. And at this point, who doesn't know it's not proper to resell the fruits of creative labor? I trust FigureBaby members with unrestricted access to to my creative content, every artist should, because it's a compliment to me that my site member is interested enough in what I do to help subsidize it by buying a membership. Wanna download content? Go for it. Wanna show them to your friends? Rock on. I'm not going to look over your shoulder and approve the way you enjoy my work, and I'm not going to take it all back in two years because it no longer profits me to let you have it. I'm not Microsoft.

Stolen Moment

2008-04-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

One of the big challenges for me is lighting a small space, especially when the space is a small room with bright white walls. My preference is for big soft light, which I haven't found very friendly to small spaces. So, to avoid the problem, I chose not to light very much at all. I set up a table lamp by the side of the bed, and shot ambient at a high ISO for warm grainy pictures. What emerged was a much more erotic sequence then either Brandy or I had planned, but it works. The story is a simple personal moment, but if you look at the whole sequence you notice Brandy drawing away from the camera and into herself. I recommend this one.

New site design

2008-04-15T19:30:00.001-07:00

I recently finished some redesign work on FigureBaby trying to add more features to the tour and member's area. In the free preview, there was no real connection with the work inside, just a few pictures and words that didn't really explain what FigureBaby offers or is about. I removed the existing samples and replaced them with small preview galleries of the most recent updates. I also added a magazine style cover for each gallery. I'm not sure how I feel about these; the web is not a print medium, but I like the creativity they can show. I chose to use them only for the most current update on the preview page, then to represent each gallery in the sample page.

In the member's area there are now 2400px images, our highest resolution, but only available in the most recent galleries. I'll add back updates in 2400 as I get to it, but they are not all there yet. Also in the member's area I've added a few print ready images for those who like prints. I picked a few images I'd print, and added them on their own page so you can download and print them as large as you wish.

The picture today is Krisha. She is new to the site, and there are some great updates coming. Keep an eye out for more!

2008-03-25T18:53:00.001-07:00

An early figure study with Ashley. I tried for a more artistic composition, and while there are some good images, the background is not my favorite. We shot this in my living room, which left us little room to get away from the background. As an experiment, it is a success, but I've changed how I arrange the set since. Don't be shy, though. There's still plenty of good shots to see.

Catriona and chemicals

2008-03-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Say hi to Catriona. I worked with her for the first time last week and got some wonderful pictures, including 3 rolls of film.

Speaking of film, I've started processing my own. I gave up trying to chase down a decent affordable photo lab. There was one in downtown Portland that always did good work, but they closed last year. Then I was sending the film to LA. Way too expensive. So, out of necessity, I've been developing in my laundry room.

It's sad to go to a photo supply store and see nothing on the shelves. Thus is the photo chemical rack in every place I visited to buy some developer and fixer. And that was just in the places that still sell chemicals. I did get a new tank, well, a new used tank. Used film processing stuff is now plentiful and cheap. Film, of course, will never go away, but it sure seems like it's become the imaging equivalent of the LP.

Where is the easy, smart RSS filter?

2008-03-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

Most of what I read online I read in RSS feeds. It's easy to accumulate feeds, too many feeds maybe, but there is no shortage of information in them. Finding information relevant to my interest is the challenge.

Lately we have seen a number of websites claiming to organize and filter web feeds. Yahoo Pipes may be the well known option, with sites like Feed Rinse offering flexibility and functionality. The list is fair, ReadWriteWeb offers a good summary, but in the end, as good as tools like Feed Rinse are, they still require an unacceptable amount of manual manipulation to get them to work. I have to construct keyword based filters to sift information out of a collection of feeds, which doesn't really help if I don't have a clear understanding of what those keywords should be.

Think of it this way. Each keyword is a white dot on a black page. Let's say that keyword is Flyers, as in Philadelphia Flyers hockey. I set up my filter for Flyers, and all pages with Flyers get through. But surrounding the keyword, our white dot, is a whole spectrum of gray containing ancillary keywords of associated interest. Names of Flyers players or coaches, for example, may be in an article not naming the team specifically. It feels like these filtering tools still put the burden on me to cope with associated information by laboriously constructing filters to accommodate it.

It's a dicey proposition. Will these RSS filter sites be able to figure out an article on Eric Lindros' may be of interest to me because he once played hockey for a team I like? We'll have to wait and see, but until then, I'll just skip over what's not relevant. It's still quicker that way.

The neighborhood raccoon

2008-03-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

A few months or so ago I was walking home and saw something in the road before my house. It was evening, the sun was down, and the way was lit only by the orange street lamp. Whatever was in the road was big, bigger than a cat, even though it looked a little like the silhouette of cat. It might be a dog, so I walked closer. Raising its head, I could see glow in the creatures eyes, and in the next step saw the black mask of a raccoon, a large raccoon, looking right at me. Now I wasn't prepared for no raccoon. I'm not used to seeing these wild creatures in my urban surroundings, but there he was. How big was he for a raccoon? I don't know, but I imagine big enough. He sat there, squat and bulbous, like a gallon jug on its side. We stared at each other, then he loped off...into my yard and into the dark.

Over the weeks I occasionally saw Mr. Raccoon hanging around and doing very little. I assume it was a he, but never felt the need to be sure. I'm satisfied with simple assumptions sometimes. There's a little creek about three blocks from my home, and I further assume he lived there. A fact also not verified. As infrequently as I saw him, though, he seemed to be part of the neighborhood.

Today, while walking to my bus, I saw the raccoon had passed away in the park. I don't know what killed him, maybe old age caused inevitable fate, maybe a sudden fatal affliction struck, or maybe an illness took its toll. However it happened, animal control apparently removed the remains this afternoon because the park was empty when I got home. And the neighborhood was officially less one raccoon. Bye bye old gray.

This picture of Brandy is not gray, and has nothing to do with raccoons.

Back in black and white

2008-03-01T09:06:00.001-08:00

I finally got around to processing some of the film that has been sitting on my counter since, well, a while. I took several rolls with Ashley. This, I think, was the last shot on the last roll of the day.

Be nice. Have fun.

2008-02-24T20:47:00.001-08:00

I don't work with many different models because I work very well with the models I already know. I've been blessed with some of the nicest, genuine, pleasant collaborators I've had the pleasure to work with, and models are really collaborators when you think about it. We're a small group of creative people making what we hope will be beautiful pictures. Are all the pictures good? Of course not. If they were, we wouldn't be trying all that hard to be better. But they are always fun to make, always the product of the joy of creating something, good or not so good.

This picture of Ashley was one of the harder ones to do. Not because it's all that complex, but if you review the other pictures in the series you can see how much she was laughing though the whole thing. Both of us had to struggle to stop joking around long enough to take some pictures. Do they look good? You decide. But they sure were fun to make!

Cheeseburgers in paradise...or anywhere

2008-02-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me recently where to get a good burger in Portland. I usually recommend the Hollywood Burger Bar, which is good, but doesn't rank among the tops when compared to places in other cities.

Choosing a great burger is a dangerous affair. It runs the same risk as extolling the virtues of your favorite chili, or favored barbeque: there is always someone who will vocally disagree. But I've never avoided the discussion of great chili or barbeque (yes I have my favorites) so why not a list a great burgers?

OK. Here goes. My 5 top hamburger stands.

5. In-N-Out Burger, Los Angeles, California - OK, a cliche I'll admit, but the place is fun, clean, and the food is good.
4. Helvetia Tavern, Hillsboro, Oregon - A pile of delicious food for small money in a bar full of hats. I dare you to try the jumbo.
3. Dew Drop Inn, Mobile, Alabama - This is great if you're looking for a tasty chili burger.
2. Camellia Grill, New Orleans, Louisiana - The wait to get in will be measured in hours if you go during a rush, but wait anyway. The perfect combination of great food (get a side of chili cheese fries and share with your guests) and great atmosphere. A must on any trip to the Big Easy.
1. The Wave, Boise, Idaho - The best cheeseburgers, by far, and my all time favorite. Just off the Boise State campus, you'll spend a bit more for a burger here than at other places, like the Big Bun, but who cares. It's worth every penny and more. Plus, in the middle of beautiful southern Idaho, it really is a cheeseburger in paradise.

Let the arguing begin, or share your favorites if you like.

This is Ada Rose. I've shot alot with Ada, and the best sets are always the artistic ones. She has an amazing ability to strike classic poses, and the pale pink background adds just enough color to complete the scene.

Black gloves and Coltrane

2008-02-14T21:28:00.001-08:00

It's perfectly reasonable to admire someone's work, but maybe less so to discuss it. One runs the danger of being misinterpreted; being seen as comparing oneself to the admired. I've been spending time seriously revisiting the work of John Coltrane, and can't help but admire not only the man's work, but the man's tireless pursuit of his craft.

Coltrane's legend is secure. He influenced and shaped an entire artform. He achieved feats reserved for only the very few absolute masters of their artform. Great as his work remains, however, he was not a born genius. Coltrane did not pick up the sax until age 16, and the earliest available artifacts of his music do not hint at natural greatness. Greatness did come to Coltrane, but only after endless hours of practice. Young Trane is known to have studied other musicians intently, practiced to the exclusion of all else, and worked with devotion at learning his craft. And boy did he ever learn.

Everyone starts somewhere. They arrive at craftsmanship and success only through hard work, study and practice. This is an early photo of Amber. There's much I don't like about this set, but I feel it important to post everything. Vintage settings and props are a dangerous seduction; I've not done many in the past 6 months or so. I do like the sepia tone, though. That's something. And maybe this is just an artifact of evolution; one of the early works.