*That look

Rain DeGrey - 103116

You can seduce a man without taking anything off, without even touching him.

Rae Dawn Chong

Jolene -103116

There is something special about that look.   Some call it the "Come-hither look".  It is not the coy flirting glance across the room or the laugh that lasts a moment to long.  It is a look that is directed to you and only you.

Valya - 103116

I don't use my body to seduce, no. I just stand there.Ursula Andress

I think of it as the boundary moment when the moment is now and now is the time to move, to act.  In my young days, I was bad at reading that moment, that look, that signal.  I think learning what that look means and then knowing what to do next is one of those things that separates the boys from the men.

  

*Originally published in my former blog, shadowsexposed.com 

At last, Friday Night Lite.

Jolene  - 020813

My last post got all deep and theological and shit.  Enough of the deep stuff for this week.  I just turned off my work computer for the evening and it is time to relax with a cocktail, some brie and crackers, and maybe a cigar.

First, I want to say goodbye to 30 Rock.  Tina Fey and her companions gave us 7 seasons of intelligent comedy.  It was never a great popular success, but a critical one.  I thank NBC for giving this smart show a chance when they could have killed it years ago.  It ended well.  Below is a great montage called "Shit Liz Lemon Says".

I am in Las Vegas for the weekend.   Below are a few shots from the inside of my Virgin America flight.  I highly recommend flying with them.  Good prices, great service, and a Rave Party feel inside, minus the drugs, plus the lighting and music.

And here is a bit of music to start the weekend.

I've been living (living) on a dead-end street
I've been asking (asking) everybody I meet
Insufficient data coming through

And in other news.

Jolene - 013113

Over at my shared blog, shadowsexposed.com with Miz B, we have are getting great comments on an Art vs. Porn post.  It is the first of an ongoing series on this topic.  My post about it comes out on today at 5pm Pacific time.

In other news, I am playing with some old polaroid film and haven't photographed nudes in a few weeks.  Maybe February will be better.

Now onto a musical interlude to get us back into the 70's mood.  (Yeah, I know.  I was 8 or 9, but I remember liking this song back then too.

Well I think you know what Im trying to say woman,
That is I'd like to save you for a rainy day,
Ive seen enough of the world to know,
That Ive got to get it all to get it all to grow.

Wanton, Wanting, Wonton Wednesday

Jolene - 010913

Rain - 010913

Tiana - 010913

Wanton - adjective (of a cruel or violent action) Deliberate and unprovoked.  Noun - A sexually immodest or promiscuous woman.  Verb - Play; frolic.
Wanting - adjective 1. Lacking in a certain required or necessary quality: "their products would be found wanting in a direct comparison"  2. Not existing or supplied; absent.
Wonton - noun - (in Chinese cooking) A small round dumpling or roll with a savory filling, usually eaten boiled in soup.   - Dictionary.com

 I find all three of these words apropos to today.  Each fit a mood, desire, or need for my Wednesday.  Starting from the bottom.

Wonton - For me, there are few soups that taste as good on a cold, rainy day.  It warms the body and soul.  It also helps decongest the sinuses. 

Wanting - I sometimes feel like I am lacking in a certain required or necessary quality.  This hits hard on Wednesdays because the week has evolved far enough to know what must be done, but the realization hits on what I am capable of doing.  I feel like the black horse in this gif today. 

Wanton - I wonder why that word has different meanings, whether as an adjective, noun, or verb.  Other than not being a woman (and why is it only directed at women?), I sometimes feel like all three variations at the same time.   Today I may feel sexually immodest or promiscuous with a desire to play or frolic cruelly.  Ok, that is a bit of a stretch, but I can see that it could happen.

Along with the wanton label, I wonder if I described the ladies in the images as "wanton" or "wanting", how would they be perceived compared to "empowered", "aroused", or "erotic"?

You take the good, you take the bad...

Tiana - 123112

... because you have no choice.  

I recently heard on NPR a great show on meditation and mindfulness.  While I do need to include much more of each into my life, I heard a sentence or two that hit home.  In essence the spokesperson said, "In Buddhism, you must acknowledge that both change and tragedy are unavoidable in life.  This is something that was forgotten by many Americans prior to the financial collapse."  This was true for me and 2012 was a great reminder of the changes.

I am going to briefly describe the good, the bad, and the changes I experienced in 2012.  One overall influence was Las Vegas.  You will see my new part-time city as a reoccurring theme through the year.

The good.

I got to meet up with blogger buddy Terrell in Las Vegas a number of times, once as recently as this week.  On top of being deep in the local Las Vegas photography world (he is a local legend with the old timers - I learned of an interesting story of him and park ranger), he is a genuinely nice and true guy.  I hope we get to collaborate in the future.

I got to know my new sister city better by spending the equivalent of a month total time here in 2012.  I initially had a crush or infatuation with it.  It turned into a steamy affair quickly.  I am now in the growing in love with it, while starting to see the warts in the relationship.  Sometimes it is the flaws that are most attractive.  During that time, I got to meet three lovely ladies who modelled for me.  Thanks to Gabbi, Fae, and Jolene for blessing me with your beauty.   You will see a few fresh photos of those beauties below.

Starting in January, I included alternative processes into my art.  These included cyanotypes, van Dykes, digital negative to chemical paper printing, gel transfers, Polaroids, toy cameras, assemblage, collage, and multiple other fun techniques.   I am pushing my art into areas I've never considered before.

Below is a small portion of my "I objectify women..." series, where I used discarded packaging as surfaces to affix my photos of women I have taken over the year.  It was a very personal series for me as I know I am part of the objectification of women.  I am going to take higher quality photos of these pieces and present them here.

IOW - 123112 - Photo by Jackie Pruitt

In October my family gathered to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary with 100 of their friends.

In the last three months I got my work into four shows.  That was great exposure.  On the downside, a woman called asking to buy one and balked at the price.  She needs to learn there is a difference between a fine art print and a photo calendar.  Let us see her get an original Ansel Adams for the price of the cheap copy she could get at a book store.

I went to England and Switzerland for work in May.  While the working situation was good, the trip was pleasant, and not much more.

In February, I worked again with the great Candace Nirvana.  This September and October I worked with Tiana and Rain deGrey.  I hope to work with all of them again in 2013.

I am helping a friend start her blog.  I am also starting a new blog with an old friend.  More news on that in the 2013.

The bad.

My health is slowly deteriorating.  It is starting to get noticeable.  Sadly, the cause is purely self induced.  I need to get in better shape and take care of my self before I pass the point of no return.

My relationships with my family are drying out.  I am starting to realize that there is a reason my friends are close, we chose each other.  As my relationships with my family age, they contain less commonalities or areas for us to be close again.  I don't know which is more sad, the fading relationships or that I am not as bothered as I probably should be by the situation.

A close friend of mine died within a week after visiting us in Las Vegas.  LV had nothing to do with it. That was just a month ago and still feels raw.

The changes and the neutral.  

My wife and separated due to her starting a tenure-track position in Las Vegas.  We see each other a couple of times a month.  I am proud of her getting the position.

It is interesting being quasi-single again.  I have a home in California all to myself.  I find I spend almost all my time in my home-office, bedroom, or kitchen.  The rest of the home stays dark.  This time alone makes the times when we are together both fun and difficult.  It is hard to go from single to instantly together again.  On a positive side, I have more time than ever to work on art.

I want to thank my blog friends - Carla, Terrell, C.D., D.L. Wood, Joe, and many others (sorry if I didn't include you.)  You continue to inspire me to create and write more.

I will be back in 2013.  There is much more art to create, life to live, sex to be had, and just general life stuff.  Happy New Year and Ciao.

Some new stuff.

Candace Nirvana - 123112

Fae DeCay - 123112

Gabbi- 123112

Jolene- 123112

Rain- 123112

A little party music for dancing into the new year.  I really like a quality remake like this.

Jolene Hexx and faded memories

Jolene 072012

 Kodachrome - Paul Simon

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they'd never match
My sweet imagination...

I worked with Jolene Hexx in late May while in Las Vegas.  She is a local that has great professionalism and is a very high quality model and person to work with.  Her energy worked so well with the mood and feel of what I wanted. I highly recommend her to all the photographers in Las Vegas.

We had two major themes to our photo shoot.  The first was using the couch for quiet time.  The second was using an LCD projector.  Jolene rocked both themes and I am wanting to work with her again.  For today, I want to share some of the couch series.

Jolene - 072012

For these images, I wanted a vintage feel and used a post production "cross processing" technique to give them a feel that is more like a faded memory of mine than truly capturing the details of the complete moment.

I always think back on those key memories and  notice certain elements gain emphasis while other details fade away.  Some of these memories have faded to just certain elements.  The scent in the air, the music we listened to, the wind on my face, the curve of a hip or the sigh softly released in a quiet sensual moment.

I wish my memory for emotionally important moments in my life weren't fading like this.  I have so many useless bits of knowledge that I would gladly give up to keep these memories whole.  I guess though that it is better to remember the essence of them than nothing at all.  

Thanks to Jolene and her beauty and energy she brought to the session.  I look forward to sharing more with you soon.

I have a question for you.  Which do you prefer of the last two?  I love how her hand is touching her face in the one with her eyes closed and I love how beautiful her eyes and lips are in the bottom one.  

Jolene  - 072012

Jolene A - 072012

Jolene B- 072012