Topless in B&W

[Will Thompson]

On a bridge!

EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro, 1/125 f4.0 ISO 200, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX Flash FEC -1 2/3 & Studio Lights!

RAW converted to B&W in Canon's DPP​

 

[Tom dinning]

Nice looking chick, Will. She does look a bit nonplus, though. Like my wife with a headache.
I often wonder why photographers get girls to take their gear off then have them cover over like they are protecting the self from a plague of mozzies.
Areal surprise for us would be to see her dressed and in a more relaxed pose or naked and posing as if she were dressed.
Either way, she looks like you caught her going to jump off the bridge. I hope you are making her life worth living.
Cheers
Tom

 

[Maris Rusis]

On a bridge!

EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro, 1/125 f4.0 ISO 200, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX Flash FEC -1 2/3 & Studio Lights!

RAW converted to B&W in Canon's DPP​

There seems to be an awful lot of "taking" and "making" in this picture, a heap of work. Even to the extent of setting up Studio Lights on a bridge at night! Wow! And yet on first glance or even the second the result looks very paltry for the effort invested by the picture-maker and the model.

But I'm convinced there's more. Surely no one organises this set-up and comes away with only one picture. Maybe there is a sequence, a visual narrative, a theme that carries a message that just one picture can't deliver.

Just because I can't find much reason to re-look this picture proves little. Seeking "reasons to look" can be a defence against wasting eyesight or more tragically a dead weight that chains the imagination and closes the mind to new vision. In the arts one can't be sure.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Areal surprise for us would be to see her dressed and in a more relaxed pose or naked and posing as if she were dressed.
Tom

Tom, these are good points.

Maris,

There's a style of implied nudity that's considered edgy in the USA, where since the time of "Hair" everyone has taken out their bibles and painted the map of the states redder than ever! This place is so prudish. So I think that the pose is considered the best that can be done without risking arrest. Taking the picture in a studio means paying the model so one sets oneself up for this type of picture on a public location in the States! As it is Will really took a bunch of risks!

Asher

 

[Tom dinning]

Tom, these are good points.

Maris,

There's a style of implied nudity that's considered edgy in the USA, where since the time of "Hair" everyone has taken out their bibles and painted the map of the states redder than ever! This place is so prudish. So I think that the pose is considered the best that can be done without risking arrest. Taking the picture in a studio means paying the model so one sets oneself up for this type of picture on a public location in the States! As it is Will really took a bunch of risks!

Asher

Thanks for the info, Asher. I've not none any shooting in US but I am aware there seems to be some contradicitons in what people think and what they do and how things are legislated. It must be tough going for artists who would like to express themselves in a more liberal manner.
We have our issues here as well. There's a presumption that someone might be offended by such exposure so, for those who are not, you can't look either. The idea of 'taking' offence assumed there is an intent on the photographer or model, yet being offended is a personal issue that belongs to each of us. I'm not suggesting people should be less sensitive to their own feeling; just recognise that those feelings belong to them. And I'm not suggesting we should be less sensitive to others' feelings. But in a crowd, there will be all sorts of reactions to nudity. I'm always happy to have a look and so is my wife. Neither of us have felt any ill effects from the experience or need exhorsising. Has anyone ever died as a result of being offended that you know of, Asher.
Keep posting the naked body, Will and others. Its a fine thing to see and photograph (except mine).

 

[Asher Kelman]

Let me add something about motivation for the picture.

Will didn't make this for his own art. Rather he helps new models get a portfolio together so they can get jobs. There are many available here in L.A., but the would be models need to send in a variety of pictures. They may end up shooting for a clothing catalog or doing "fashion shows" in stores. This is another level of modeling very different from the models that end up being used in the glossy catalogs of Sacks or Bloomingdales or Neiman Marcus.

So the pictures Will takes are the best he can do without any special set and for the fee he charges and budget and time constraints.

It's not art or really mean to be technically perfect or compositionally impressive, just go good enough quality to get the portfolio to do it's work and get the gal a job! What he delivers works in that they get the work they seek!

Now he also does work with a great sense of humor, photographing the model as if she was a glamor girl out of a classic picture, like in the 1920's or 30's. or dressed up in a Catholic School uniform as in Atom Egoyan's brilliant movie, Exotica. The girl, Krissy, dances to a Leonard cohen song, Everyone Knows.

Asher

 

[Tom dinning]

Thanks, Asher, for the info. Now I am More informed. I should ask more questions. I'll look forward to more from Michael and view them with a different eye.
Have you read Terry Bartletts work on Photography in Contexts? I'll go read my copy again just to remind me of how important that is.

 

[A.K. Nicholas]

With the dark night background, and the portable light, it might have been interesting to get more light on the edge of the model, especially the hair. I think a single lit edge might be all you'd need to define the pose against the backdrop.

 

[Asher Kelman]

With the dark night background, and the portable light, it might have been interesting to get more light on the edge of the model, especially the hair. I think a single lit edge might be all you'd need to define the pose against the backdrop.

A.K.,

That's a good point that a lot of folks forget, even in a studio setting. I hope Will get's converted, LOL! For sure, he can reproduce any lighting pattern requested by a client.

Asher