The Joy of Too Much Work

I think the critical mass point is finally in sight. When I first decided to add model photography to my skill set last summer, I knew there would be a significant amount of time spent scrounging both for models willing to let me shoot them and for money to pay the models that demanded cash compensation. In the month of April I had six different shoots, only 2 of which I paid to participate in. Of the six shoots, I was able to garner from three of them images I think are of high enough quality to begin assembling a physical portfolio book. With the remaining shoots I have lined up for the next month or so, I think by July I’ll be able to start attracting models to shoot with me on the strength of my port and name alone; by Sep/Oct I should be able to break even on shoots from either selling the images or the model paying me to shoot her.

Today’s images are both from different April shoots. The single model, Genevieve, I tracked down through her Model Mayhem page and contacted. She was a pleasure to work with: easygoing and creative. The couple, Jessica and DeSean, I also contacted off of Model Mayhem; I answered a casting call Jessica had put out looking for photographers. DeSean was a great worker, and hopefully he manages to succeed in getting signed to an agency. I hope to work with Jessica again in the near future.

I'm hoping in July to have some time to revamp the website. I also should have some thoughts ready to post then about the TV series Lost. As the series concludes, I find myself considering how the series worked as a story, and how the series was received by the audience, and what all of that says about current American culture.

A few more images

I have a few more images from the same model as the previous post. Her OMP page is linked here, her professional moniker is Natalie Rose. My OMP portofolio can be found linked here. My MM porfolio can be found linked here.


The first image is my attempt at a prone headshot. As this was shot late in the afternoon, the shadows are quite strong in the image. I'm thankful to Natalie for this image because I now know how to shoot the next one better.




The second image I am more frustrated with myself about. There were companion images where Natalie had even better poses and expressions, but I failed to capture them properly as I was holding the camera with the wrong hand, while my arms were crossed and my other hand was holding a light reflector to shine the sunlight coming from behind the model back up under her face. I'm still pondering the better alternatives I had to get that shot. Next time I think I'll use a remote trigger release.

At the moment, I'm also pondering what to do about the website. I've just renewed the domain name and the host for another year, but I don't have time in the next month to actually take the old site down, update it, and reupload it. I'm dissatisfied with the current web design, but my few hours of free time I'm trying to invest in actual photoshoots, so I am at a quandary as to what to do.

A reworked Cloned Image

Flight of the Dancer


The preceeding cloned compilation image of a friend (MM#1292289) was my first foray into this style of image shooting. There are many creative possibilites, but it appears to require more preplanning than a standard series of shots. I am really eager to try this style again.

Don't have many announcements with this post. I finished my novel outline. Now the only hurdle left is to find enough time to be able to write it. I'm hoping to squeeze in a couple of shoots in the next few weeks, so hopefully I'll have more images then.

Work in Progress?

Here is an older photo. (Click image to see larger picture) It actually doesn't directly relate to the post title so much. The title more relates to what to do with old digital images that have the potential to be good (with significant amounts of photoshop work) when I don't wish to work on them. For example, there are still probably over 100 Agora II images (nearly half of them include some form of unclothed, undressed, nearly naked, or nude performers) that I've reached my saturation point for dealing with. In addition to all the other projects consuming my time, I do not know if I want to spend additional time on such an old one: particularly since I was dissatisfied with my photographic endeavor at the time. (I didn’t utilize the best photo-chronicling techniques, didn’t attend enough of the performances to get all the pictures I wanted, and didn’t have the best equipment to maximize my efforts) If I am already unhappy, does it make sense to spend more time and energy on something with which—at best—I’ll only be partially satisfied?

Right now I am in a place where the majority of my discretionary time is spent trying to push out the remaining chapters on my Batman novel. I am in a rush for several crucial reasons. I want to finish the 1^st draft before the new Batman Movie (The Dark Knight) comes out, specifically so I can turn the novel into a screenplay (targeted for a TV miniseries). As the TV show ‘Smallville’ is winding down to its likely last season (2008-2009), the period is approaching where a new vision of the DC Universe—as it relates to television and film—has the potential of being seriously considered. My vision (led by the Batman, Superman, and WonderWoman characters) is groundbreaking, intriguing, and most-of-all sustainable for a period of 5-15 years.

Another reason for the rush is that the transition period I am in for my career path will soon close. Once the new work begins in earnest, I will not have the luxury of devoting time and energy to this project except in dribs and drabs. If I cannot get the ball sustainably rolling before that time, it may be over 10 years before all the personal and external factors align again.

The proceeding two paragraphs lay out, in part, my reluctance to work on older photos I am already dissatisfied with. Whatever efforts I make in photography over the next while, I really want to devote my energies to finding a collaborative model who is willing to work with me to develop our skills and both our portfolios, despite my current lack of finances for that endeavor.

Where, Oh where, has Daeman been?

Over 90 days without a post. Such inaction does not indicate a person who understands the nature of blogging. I apologize for my virtual inactivity.

Though I have been absent from posting, I have been utilizing that time for other endeavors. While I disdain talking about myself (in favor of talking about ideas) I will give a brief indication of my activities:

• In November, my father had surgery to remove some cancer.
• I spent most of December and January studying for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) which I took on January 25. My combined score was a 31R.
• I have been helping my mother with her doctoral dissertation.
• I have written 5 more scenes in my novel, and prepped 10 more.
• I have been reevaluating the nature of this particular blog.

The last activity has left me in somewhat of a quandary. There are numerous things I would enjoy discussing, but most of them require outside research. I am eager to do the research, but currently do not have access to the majority of (academic) electronic journals I need. I am hoping to rectify this in the next few weeks.

I do wish to include photographs in this blog, but because I want to include new material, that necessitates breaking out the camera equipment and taking photographs: something that I haven’t done in over 4 months.

More on this later...