Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Since getting back into the swing of photography, I've realised I can express myself much better visually than with words. Occasionally words are needed too, and I needed to write about some recent photos without attaching the words to the pics themselves.
There's these and these
The first set, "An Unnamed Friend", has been by far my most popular set. I know that this is mainly because it is "titillating" and I have deliberately played with that. The model is a good male friend who loves to dress up, but most people don't know this. It was illicit and FUN taking the pics. But that's not all it was.
I started taking the shots after seeing nudes on flickr and having very ambivalent feelings. Beautiful pictures, many of them. Beautiful bodies. Bravery. Erotica. I was interested in people's responses to the photographs, and wondered how the people in the shots felt about these responses. Did they want to be seen as art? Did they enjoy the titillating aspects? Well, I wasn't going to have the guts to find out, but luck threw my friend in my direction.
He loved posing for the shots, but he too had mixed feelings. He was worried to some degree that he would be recognised, but also felt "strange" about people looking at him and finding the pics sexy. He was almost perturbed that the first comment was from a man. He was also discomfited when looking at the pics himself, because he found them sexy.
After the shots had been out there a week, we took some more shots last night. These ones (or at least the ones I have posted) are, I think, subtler. After the shoot, we talked about how we felt about the whole thing. My friend struggled to find the words, but was able to explain in time that he felt quite vulnerable being looked at in such a way. Essentially, he was experiencing a feeling very familiar to women in response to being looked at. And I realised that what I was feeling was POWER.
I feel humbled that my friend trusted me enough to do this, and when I explained the power feelings, he nodded. We realised what this had meant for each of us, and I think it may have helped to exorcise a ghost or two for me.
If you've managed to look at the shots and read this far, I'd really appreciate it if you would leave a comment, just to let me know you've seen this.
Thanks
There's these and these
The first set, "An Unnamed Friend", has been by far my most popular set. I know that this is mainly because it is "titillating" and I have deliberately played with that. The model is a good male friend who loves to dress up, but most people don't know this. It was illicit and FUN taking the pics. But that's not all it was.
I started taking the shots after seeing nudes on flickr and having very ambivalent feelings. Beautiful pictures, many of them. Beautiful bodies. Bravery. Erotica. I was interested in people's responses to the photographs, and wondered how the people in the shots felt about these responses. Did they want to be seen as art? Did they enjoy the titillating aspects? Well, I wasn't going to have the guts to find out, but luck threw my friend in my direction.
He loved posing for the shots, but he too had mixed feelings. He was worried to some degree that he would be recognised, but also felt "strange" about people looking at him and finding the pics sexy. He was almost perturbed that the first comment was from a man. He was also discomfited when looking at the pics himself, because he found them sexy.
After the shots had been out there a week, we took some more shots last night. These ones (or at least the ones I have posted) are, I think, subtler. After the shoot, we talked about how we felt about the whole thing. My friend struggled to find the words, but was able to explain in time that he felt quite vulnerable being looked at in such a way. Essentially, he was experiencing a feeling very familiar to women in response to being looked at. And I realised that what I was feeling was POWER.
I feel humbled that my friend trusted me enough to do this, and when I explained the power feelings, he nodded. We realised what this had meant for each of us, and I think it may have helped to exorcise a ghost or two for me.
If you've managed to look at the shots and read this far, I'd really appreciate it if you would leave a comment, just to let me know you've seen this.
Thanks
Comments:
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I really must organise myself one of these, then I won't have to post anonymously. It's me, brendadada.
I can really identify with what you are saying here about power. It's stuff about who is the looker and who is the looked upon. Men are usually the voyeurs, looking at women's bodies naked in a huge variety of guises from porn to soap adverts. That gaze, that open wide eyed, hands-on-hips stare from any man at a beautiful, sexy, or un/available woman is all about power. Shall I choose you? Shall I come over and talk to you? Shall I notice you or walk away? What shall I do? And we women wait and see, for the most part.
But I'm on the point of a long digression here into Selkie and her self portraits, and ways of looking right back atcha, which is really what I hope this lovely un-named friend of yours will do. The powerful paintings, photographs of women, are the ones where she looks straight back into the camera. Right. So what, you're looking at me? Feh!
These images are, I feel, just the beginning of a long and fascinating road for the both of you, full of meanderings and misgivings, lurches of delight and exhilaration. I'm looking forward to being there whenever I can, to help in any way I can. Hey, just give me a shout. I told someone today that tagging along is rarely all that much fun, but sometimes it's such a blast, I'll even do the dishes.
Much love and BIG RESPEC' to ya both. xx
I can really identify with what you are saying here about power. It's stuff about who is the looker and who is the looked upon. Men are usually the voyeurs, looking at women's bodies naked in a huge variety of guises from porn to soap adverts. That gaze, that open wide eyed, hands-on-hips stare from any man at a beautiful, sexy, or un/available woman is all about power. Shall I choose you? Shall I come over and talk to you? Shall I notice you or walk away? What shall I do? And we women wait and see, for the most part.
But I'm on the point of a long digression here into Selkie and her self portraits, and ways of looking right back atcha, which is really what I hope this lovely un-named friend of yours will do. The powerful paintings, photographs of women, are the ones where she looks straight back into the camera. Right. So what, you're looking at me? Feh!
These images are, I feel, just the beginning of a long and fascinating road for the both of you, full of meanderings and misgivings, lurches of delight and exhilaration. I'm looking forward to being there whenever I can, to help in any way I can. Hey, just give me a shout. I told someone today that tagging along is rarely all that much fun, but sometimes it's such a blast, I'll even do the dishes.
Much love and BIG RESPEC' to ya both. xx
# posted by 
: 11:15 PM
: 11:15 PM
of the 2 sets I enjoyed the second, mainly because they were darker and and overall seems of better quality. (not that I am really in a position to judge at all)
I'm the guy in them, they were quite weird to do but also a lot of fun. you really get mixed feelings when you do stuff like that. The next morning on each occasion was one of mixed emotion. "I'm partially clothed on the web" excellent! along with, "fuck, what have I done?". If you know that hangover feeling that you've killed someone, it's a bit like that. to be continued....
I think they're fantastic sets, and what's interesting for me is they challenged me and my feelings about Flickr - even though I've only been on it a month or so, I'd developed some ideas about what sort of photos appear on Flickr - which I hadn't realised or articulated to myself, until your first set. I'm not sure I'd have the guts to post up a set like that - I've got one of a couple of shots of me in a corset up on there, and it's odd to think of flickr friends seeing that - and being favourited by someone I don't 'know' - although it is one of my most viewed pictures!
I knew he was a man straight away, even in the ambiguous shots. A sexy man though!
rambling, sorry - 'it's a great set' would have done it!
I knew he was a man straight away, even in the ambiguous shots. A sexy man though!
rambling, sorry - 'it's a great set' would have done it!
Thanks everybody for leaving the comments. I have been very curious about people's thoughts on these sets.
These sets are quite amazing; full of courage and daring, not only on the part of the model, but of the photographer as well. To explore such *boundries* takes such courage, and all the better that you have a good friend to go along with you. Congratulations to both of you; really excellent work.
looks like I stumbled in too late the sets seem to have been removed or disappeared from flickr, ah well good liuck in your photography endeavours it is indeed a powerful medium of expression
Even though I can't access the sets, the written piece is a fascinating and thought provoking experiment. How would I feel if...
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