Highly Subjective

Location: San Francisco, CA
Model: Sasha

Location: San Francisco, CA
Model: Ashlé Nouveau

Contrary to how I may have sounded in the last 2 posts, I did get some images that I'm happy with at the Nude Photography Workshop I participated in this past weekend. I really like this image of model, Ashlé Nouveau. It's best viewed large, so click the image.

Ashlé was a pleasure to work with. She's knows her stuff, and she made my job a lot easier. I would gladly work with her again. In fact, if I start hiring models myself, like I talked about in the last post, Ashlé will definitely be on the list.

In addition to modeling, Ashlé has quite a few other interests and talents including:

# Go-Go Dancer
# Stilt Walker (Peg & Power Risers)
# Aerial Acrobatics (Lyra)
# Living Statue
# Characterization Performance
# Clowning
# Fire Performer (Fire fingers, fire umbrella)
# Costume Design & Fabrication
# Event Planning, Theming & Coordination
# Entertainment Director & Coordinator
# Creative Consultant

In addition to Ashlé's Model Mayhem page, you can also find her (under various names) at MySpace and Tribe.

Location: San Francisco, CA
Model: Sarah Ellis

In the previous post I mentioned that I had the opportunity to shoot Sarah Ellis. The shoot was actually part of a Nude Photography Workshop. There were 4 models and 12 photographers, including myself. If you've been coming to my site for a while, you probably know that this is the fourth workshop I've participated in.

If you read my previous post, you also know that I was a little disappointed with the images I came away with. I'm not sure why, but the last two workshops have gone this way. No matter what I do, I just can't seem to get the images I'm trying for.

The rational part of me realizes that I haven't been shooting nudes that long, and like all things, it takes time and practice to get good. But, the emotional side of me comes home from these workshops, looks at my images and thinks... I suck!

Even though I try to convince myself that I will improve over time, It's easy to get frustrated and depressed when things don't go how you want them to. It's also hard for me personally to get better at something if I can't determine what I'm doing wrong. When I do get it right, it seems like more of a fluke than anything else.

My own inadequacies aside, I've also been seriously considering hiring some models directly, outside of these workshops. I enjoy doing them, but they can be a bit of a madhouse, with models and photographers stepping all over each other in a shooting frenzy. I think that environment can be a little overwhelming when you don't have a lot of experience, like me. I've wondered if I need to slow things down a little, have a little more 1-on-1 time with the models, and time to actually work through some shots in order to achieve what I want.

If I do decide to hire some models directly, Sarah will definitely be on my short list. Fortunately for me, she just moved back to the Bay Area.

Location: San Francisco, CA
Model: Sarah Ellis

I had the opportunity today to shoot well known model, Sarah Ellis. I first saw Sarah on the website of one of my favorite photographers, Chip Willis. Being a fan of both Sarah and Chip, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to work with her.

I think I got a few shots of Sarah that are OK, but in general I was a bit off my game today. That's assuming I even have a game to be off of. Sometimes I feel I don't.

Regardless of how I see my own work, Sarah was a pleasure to work with, and I'm glad I had the opportunity.

It's late, and I'm tired from shooting all day, but I'll be posting more images and giving some more details in later posts.

Location: Fort Funston, CA

More than likely this will be the last image of this bird I post. They're a little too depressing. It's a very interesting exercise... trying to turn something so ugly into a beautiful image.

Like the others, this one is better viewed big, so click the image.

Location: Fort Funston, CA

This one is better viewed big, so click the image.

Location: Fort Funston, CA

In the previous post I mentioned that I found a few interesting things to shoot while walking out at Fort Funston today. This was one of them. Unfortunately, what's left of this bird is still attached, just out of frame on the left. You'll probably be seeing more than you may want to of this bird as I go through my images.

This one is better viewed big, so click the image.

Location: Fort Funston, CA

I've mentioned this several times before, but we take our dog, Maggie Moo, to the beach at Fort Funston every weekend. She loves to run in the surf and roll in the sand.

I work freelance, so my schedule can be fairly flexible. It affords me the luxury of taking time off in the middle of the week to get her out to Fort Funston a second time. Which is good, because if I didn't, she would be climbing the walls by the next weekend. We went out there today and had a great time. Maggie did her thing, and I found a few things to shoot. I'll be posting a few more images from todays walk.

The fact that Maggie needs to burn off some energy mid-week is actually a good thing. It forces me to take a break from work. It's interesting, I take her there to get rid of some of her energy, while it seems to help me recharge a little. I think I enjoy it as much as she does.

On a side-note, you may have noticed that I've posted a few images that are a 4:3 aspect ratio (instead of my typical 3:2). That's because I picked myself up a brand new walking-around camera the other day. I bought a Canon G9. I love my Canon 40D, but I don't really want to carry it every where I go. It's a little big for that. I wanted something I could just keep with me at all times. So far I'm pretty happy with the G9. I'll be writing a full review once I play with it a bit more.

Location: San Francisco, CA

This was just a quick shot as we walked past the new Contemporary Jewish Museum here in San Francisco.

Location: San Francisco, CA - Gay Pride Parade 08 (Pre-Party)