Blog: 14 Dec 04

Helena by Lara

Here is something different - a guest gallery, but with a series of images shot in my studio at a private workshop. Luis Lara is a promising amateur photographer who spent a day with me recently, shooting the lovely Helena. We both shot this model - Luis with his nice hi-res digital camera, and I with my trusty Hasselblad. I would set up a scene and various poses, shoot a roll, and then let Luis take over. We both had a terrific time, and we both got some very nice photos. My black & white series of Helena is going up slowly, as we scan and process the b&w negs. Luis was able to quickly send me some representative samples from his digital files. This is not meant as a competition, but more as a demonstration of how different photographers can interpret the same model, using identical lighting - and also, a good sample of how a non-professional can come up with some pretty impressive shots with just a bit of coaching (and a near perfect model !). (For more info on my private workshops, write to me at chm@moreystudio.com.

Bobby C1

Bobby is one of my personal favorites from the Penthouse sessions, and she's back, by popular demand. She has a certain innocence and casualness about her that I find very sexy. She seems unimpressed, almost embarrassed about her nearly perfect body, which adds to the allure.

Shannon C1

OK, a bit of a gap in the updates - Thanksgiving break, etc... But we're back at the scanner now. Shannon's gallery has had some additions. For me this set of photos proves you can never predict the erotic possibilities of any subject. She appears very unrefined at first, but then reveals a truly authentic sexuality. More coming shortly. --- This is the start of the new Shannon gallery. I've got quite a few variations of these images which will be posted over the next few days. These are part of the WhiteHouse series, shot on location in San Francisco. Shannon reminds me of one of those girls from high school or college - not exactly the traditional high fashion model type, but more earthy and sexy.

Moist Magazine

Just received a copy of the new Moist magazine, with a nice feature on my work. They've selected a group of images related to the theme of "touch", as I think you'll be able to see from this gallery. Most of these photos can be found elsewhere on the site, although there may be a couple that most of you have not seen. Moist is a nice little publication out of Ottowa Canada.

Couples

Someone has asked to see a selection of b&w Couples shots, so I'm posting a small group of these that I've been intending to expand. (We hope to get to that shortly.) I have several sets of work with couples that I shot for Penthouse, most of which were never published. The first group comes from my very first assignement with them (see thumbnail).

Poom B2

A few more from Thailand...Poom on the bed.

Poom B1

The Thailand girls all have what we Westerners consider unusual names. It seems most of their real names are nearly unpronounceable, even to the Thais, so they all have short cute nicknames. This model is called "Poom ". I shot her in my hotel studio during my second trip to Bangkok. She looked like a little lost waif when I first met her, but soon showed an unusual poise and eroticism during our session. A second group of shots with her will be up in a couple days.

Kitty C2

I'm adding new images to the Kitty (Session 2) gallery today. She turned out to be quite a contortionist, as you can see in our Featured Nude page. I'm also reviewing about a dozen proofs from her first session (with Trisha) - those should appear in a new update shortly.

Bambi C1

I've had a request for another Archive favorite: Bambi. This set is from the original group of galleries, and we're in the process of enlarging and enhancing the images. Bambi was shot for my Penthouse series and she's known for having what may be the best natural breasts on the site (with the exception, of course, of Natalie)

Heart C1

Today I'm experimenting with b&w conversions from color digital files. These are new shots that originated as high res camera files. The green and blue channels have been removed in Photoshop, leaving only the red layer, which was then converted to monochrome gray. I must say I prefer my old fashioned b&w negs, scanned for the web, but I'll keep experimenting. Your comments on b&w conversions are welcome. The subject is Ms Heart, a local fetish model, photographed in my San Francisco studio prior to our move. Before you ask, I have no idea what that snake tattoo may mean...

MampampP C1

This is a session I call M&P. A group of models who were VERY into being photographed - and who couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Cynthia O1

Cynthia is (as far as I know) the only Native American / Indian I've photographed. As you'll see from the unusual combination of determination and hesitancy in her eyes, she was not used to being in front of a camera.

Private Commissions

I've been getting more than the usual number of inquiries lately about private nude commissions. Evidently, someone has recommended one of my nude sessions as an excellent Xmas gift. So, I've put together sort of a "best-of-the-Private-Commissions" gallery - both for the Archive members and for my prospective clients. Many of these shots have appeared here before, but I find it very interesting to group them together and take a look at the range of bodies and poses. These commissions are always fun - sometimes it's the woman doing a secret session to show her boyfriend or husband, and sometimes it's a man's gift to his lover, to have her pampered and photographed as an object of desire. If you're interested in more details, costs, etc, just write to me @ chm @ moreystudio.com.

Sasha Monet C1

If you like feet, or shoes, or if you've ever wondered what it would be like if women wore high heels designed like ballet point shoes, then you'll enjoy this set of b&w shots of Sasha Monet. I've seen lots of high heels, but these are the absolute highest. I shot several rolls of Sasha wearing these shoes, and not much else, and then had to carry her to the dressing room for recovery.

Kitty C1

Kitty seemed to feel very much at home in this position - and looked good too. I shot three or four rolls of this pose, with many and various alterations. Eventually I ran out of ideas, so she had to stand up - the rest of the session coming shortly.

Naked the book

I've just received a nice big book from Germany, called "Naked". I'm very impressed with the quality of the photos and the book production. Since my work is rarely reproduced this nicely, I'm also posting most of the selection they used here on the site. Details: 8x12 338pp, hardcover, ed: Lars Oscenda (Feierabend Verlag OHG, Berlin) ISBN: 3-89985-160-9 This is a very big collection, released some time ago in Europe, but now available via Amazon.com in the US. Mostly German, Italian and Scandanavian artists - photos of both male and female nudes, mostly b&w. Photographers: Craig Morey, Martin Wieland, Carsten Tschach, Franco Fontana, John Santerineross, Sylvie Blum, others.

Guest Michael Blue

You've undoubtedly noticed that some of my photo sessions contain some stylized bondage images. I began experimenting with rope and bondage imagery in 1996 (with Natalie) but I've gotten the opportunity to explore this theme much more recently, since meeting Midori and Michael Blue. In 2001, I did the photos for Midori's book, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage, and have collaborated with her on several photo shoots in the past few years. Michael Blue did a great series of behind the scenes photos for that book, and we've been friends ever since. This month's guest gallery is a combination of the creative work of both Michael and Midori. Together and separately they have become important influences on the world of fetish photography.

Amoreena Proofs

I've scanned a few of the b&w proofs from the 7/25 workshop with Amoreena. These are not quite as clear as my normal film scans, since we had to use the flatbed, but I like to show proof sheets from time to time so you can see how a shoot progresses. For those who attended the workshop, these proofs are available, signed, for 30.00 each. For anyone else, the price is 50.00

Amoreena C1

More of Amoreena - these are the digital files - and more to come. I'll post some of the b&w proofs either today or tomorrow.

Amoreena Workshop Candids

I'm off for a long weekend of waterskiing and frog hunting back in Indiana, but I wanted to quickly post some candid shots from our last workshop in July - compliments of Archive member Luis Lara, who has been kind enough to let us see these behind-the-scenes snaps. I'll get some more of Amoreena up when I return (she was the workshop model) Also don't forget, if you're interested in seeing the next workshop session on Aug 15, please register as soon as possible.

Anne C4

Back from a brief vacation in the Heartland - anyone interested in buying some frogs?... I'm updating Anne's gallery today. She's another of my favorites, who started out with a private commission which evolved into a much more explicit nude session. I've chosen this shot of her in the designer sunglasses for the thumbnail for her gallery, because it suits her rather aristocratic real life. Also, if anyone wants to do a last-minute sign-up for the Sunday (7/25) nude workshop in Emeryville, we do have some openings. Click here to complete the transaction (no same day signups, please)

Kona C1

Here's a more complete selection of one of my favorites, Kona. This is the WhiteHouse session - the first one I did with her, and her first time posing nude (although I don't think I've seen many novices this comfortable in front of the camera). Later, we'll be updating her studio session with some new scans.

Barbara C2

Over the next few days, we'll be adding some images to a few existing galleries, including Kona and Anne. In the meantime, I came across some of the color shots of Barbara that were meant to have a bit more of that "Playboy" feel than I usually do - a bit of softening overall, to give it that airbrushed look we're all used to. Take a look and see what you think.

Barbara C1

I'm posting another private commission today - an interesting shoot for a girl who wanted to try out for Playboy and needed some well-done nudes. I've photographed her twice now, and I must say she has noticeably grown between the first and second sessions. I originally met Barbara when she was only 14 years old - a pretty teenager with braces, brought to the studio by her mother for some standard head shots. Much to my surprise, she phoned me four years later, as an aspiring Playboy "bunny" to request a much different shoot on her own.

Jarrae O1

One of my most well-known images is the shot of Jarrae's legs sticking up in the air, her hand gently covering what otherwise would make the photo almost pornographic (not that there's anything wrong with that..) If you've ever wondered what the rest of that roll might look like, I'm posting some of the outtakes and uncovered shots later today, including a scan of the entire proof sheet. I think you'll agree that 96.15 is the outstanding image of the group, but there are some other very nice shots too. Also, more never-before-seen pics from the rest of Jarrae's session.

Trisha C3

This should be the last of the Trisha 3 group. There are more shots in the series, with solo groups of Kona and Nicolette, coming later.

Penthouse Outtakes

I'm still working on those Trisha negs - it's interesting to compare these early shots, showing shy tentative expressions, to some later sessions I did with her. But in the past week, I was interrupted by one of those frantic art director emergencies, so I've been a bit delayed. I'm posting some out-takes from a quickie shoot we did on Monday for Penthouse. They were looking for a shot to illustrate an article about what women like to see in a man stripping - it wasn't anything I had in the files, so I suggested we throw together a new photo shoot, and they agreed. These are not my usual, erotic symbolic studio shots - we did this with kind of a "pulp fiction" novella look - but it was a fun shoot and it may be interesting to those budding photographers out there to see what we really do to make a living....

Tabitha C1

I'm posting the first group of scans from the Tabitha WhiteHouse session today. It may look as if some of these are identical images, but if you look carefully, you'll see what I was doing as I conducted the shoot. Each shot shows a slightly different position of the body - primarily the arms. I was attempting to maintain symmetry in the shots by keeping her arms either hidden or positioned as design elements in relation to her legs. We experimented with high heels in the same bending over positions, but in the end I decided that the barefoot look was more successful. I'll be adding seated shots in the next update, so you'll also get to see her rather pleasant front side.

Tabitha Proofs

At the same location, I shot a session with Tabitha, most of which has never been shown. Individual shots from that shoot will be coming soon, but as a preview, I've posted some big proofs.

Isabella C1

Perhaps a bit esoteric for the casual surfer, but at least slightly interesting to the photo aficionados among you.....a recent inquiry in the Forum prompted me to explain why the ID numbers of my images are not always consecutive, leaving the impression that there are many missing photos. (Most of my posted work comes from hi res scans of medium format Hasselblad negatives, and I edit out many of the shots) This gives me a chance to post some sample proof sheets from a photo session, including the out-takes. I've done this with the model, Isabella - and the proofs are about twice my normal scan size, so you'll be able to see the shots that were chosen versus the ones that were not. At the same location, I shot a session with Tabitha, most of which has never been shown. Individual shots from that shoot will be coming soon, but as a preview, I've posted some big proofs.

SAJB with Dita von Teese

The chapter photos from the Japanese Bondage book- these were styled and cast by "Fetish Diva" Midori.

Jeanne O1

I'll be posting some of the Jeanne photos today - a small series shot in Portland. I'm also putting up the chapter photos from the Japanese Bondage book - these were styled and cast by "Fetish Diva" Midori, to fit her specific rope techniques for each section of the book. (This series will make sense of the behind-the-scenes shots you may have seen previously

SAJB Behind the Scenes

With the Dita files, we've also got some behind the scenes shots done by SF photographer Michael Blue. These are from the day we shot Dita for the cover of The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage, plus some location photos from a second session for the same book. Later today, I'll put up the six chapter header images from the book.

Lynx C1

I'm going through another Penthouse shoot and posting some new scans. This is another of my personal favorites, but mostly for the way the shoot was arranged. The model was a pretty young French girl (she calls herself "Lynx") who lived in the building where I had my old studio. She had never modeled before, but when she discovered what I was doing, she asked if I would consider shooting her. What a silly question...

Absinthe C1

My mother refuses to believe that women actually come to me and ask to be bound and photographed. I'll have to remember to show her this series of Absinthe. I don't ask too many questions; I just try to be accommodating. We're testing some new monitor settings in Photoshop 7, so the contrast and brightness levels on these files may be adjusted over the next few days. --- I'm adding more stylized bondage images to the Absinthe gallery (sorry Mom). The tattoos seem to disturb some people, but if you take a look, with an open mind, they're actually quite interesting - the one on her back is a huge snake. I made a detail of one image showing the nipple piercings, which then became quite beautiful (imho) as abstract shapes. I'm also making some improvements to the site previews - so you can now see one big page with all of my favorites from the past few months.

April O2

Adding a few more images to the April color gallery.

April O1

The April series has been brought back to the Recent Gallery thumbs. This is the complete selection from which sample shots have been showing on the Stern Magazine site. I'm also posting some color shots from this session - never published before. The color shifts are due to an experiment, using tungsten film with daylight strobes.

BampampW - ampltOampgt Magazine C2

The beginnings of the Magazine b&w session are up now... more coming soon --- I'm adding more to the B&W gallery, and preparing a few color shots from April's session, in honor of all the new visitors from Stern. Those will go up shortly.

ampltOampgt Magazine C1

What began as a fashion shoot for Magazine of Germany, ended up without a lot of "fashion" on the models. The editor actually used a lot of these rather explicit images, which would never happen here in the US. We're upgrading the scans for this shoot, but I thought it might be interesting to show both the new results along with the original scans, for comparison. Once the new ones are all up, we'll remove the earlier smaller files. This job was shot the old fashioned way, using transparency film, and was then scanned at the lab. We're now doing our own hi-res film scanning, and I think you'll notice a vast improvement. In addition to the color images which were published, we'll also be presenting some b&w shots from this shoot, which have never been shown before.

Ronnie C1

More Ronnie photos going up today. To clarify, although I do think she looks like one of the classic Playboy centerfolds, this assignment was for Penthouse.

Whitehouse Nudes - Iris C1

Continuing with the Iris session, from the WhiteHouse Nudes series.

Carol Q C1

And now, for something completely different: from the book, I Am My Lover, a documentary series of masturbation photos I did on assignment - gritty, grainy, graphic - completely unposed, and rather exciting. --- You'll notice right away that these are not your normal porn-star, fake-orgasm, nobody-believes-it-for-a-second masturbation shots. This is gritty, grainy, graphic, and a real woman (and a really interesting woman, as well). I had the opportunity to do a once-in-a-lifetime assignment for a book called "I Am My Lover" . The project involved having several photographers work in their own styles to photograph several women masturbating - really masturbating, by themselves, at home, in the way they would really do it. I was given the names of my subjects, both of whom I had met casually before the photo shoots, and we worked out the arrangements for doing these very intimate sessions. I realized that there was no way I could shoot this in a studio, in my normal way, without having the photos turn out much too staged and posed. I knew I'd be in small rooms, in close quarters, and there would be no room for studio lights. Instead, I mounted a powerful flash on the Hasselblad, loaded it with high speed film and hoped for the best. Carol Queen is a local (San Francisco) celebrity amongst the "sex-positive" community. She's sharp, articulate, bold, outspoken, and obviously not very shy. It was great fun to do this shoot with her - I was probably more nervous than she was, since I was holding about 10lbs of camera equipment hovering over her bed for an hour. In addition to the normal considerations about camera angles and exposures, I had to reconcile myself to the situation - being an observer and documentarian of an intense sexual event, which under other circumstances would be considerably more arousing than my usual posed model sessions. But Carol made it easy on both of us. She was an expert masturbator, as it turned out, and had several orgasms - allowing me to shoot from different angles, with different lenses, and still capture the "the moment." The resulting photos do not have the polished look of my other work. The combination of fast film and on-camera flash makes for a very raw and almost rough appearance. These are not icons of perfection - rather these images are slices of an intimate reality that few people ever get to witness. I must say it was much harder work than my studio nudes, but I do like the images I got, particularly since they're so different from my other stuff. I'll be posting the other session in the near future.

Guest Herve Lewis

I'm posting two galleries of the work of Herve Lewis; the first is a general collection of fashion / nudes, and the second is a series of ads done for the French lingerie company Aubade. --- In the Spring of 2002, I spent several weeks working in Paris, followed by two months in Aix, in the South of France. It was a great trip, with lots of adventures, great wine, wonderful sights, incomparable food, etc. - as you would expect - but one of my strongest memories of those three months is the series of Aubade ads that seemed to be on every street corner news stand and bus kiosk. These striking images for the lingerie company stuck with me not only for their audacity (they would never be allowed in public in the US) but also for their artistic eroticism. I was determined to find out who the photographer was, and by chance I wandered into a Parisian photo gallery hosting an exhibit by Herve Lewis. At that time, I'd never heard of him, but I recognized the style immediately. Since then I've visited his web site, and spoken with him by phone about his work - and I've found many more great photos. He's kindly given his permission to have a few of them here in this month's guest gallery. To see more of his work, try both his own site, and the Aubade site.

Trisha C5

While sorting through the latest Trisha session, I rediscovered an earlier studio shoot with her and added a few more scans. I'm posting this as Trisha C5, although eventually we'll have at least four sessions with this model. Still working on Natalie and Carol Queen.

Whitehouse Nudes - Trisha C4

Reloading the Trisha / WhiteHouse scans today - we've reworked some of the negatives and I'm happier with the results. Also including some pair shots of her with other models. Coming soon, more Natalie and some infamous shots of the infamous Carol Queen....

Whitehouse Nudes - Allliya C1

Raven C1

Jan B1

Guest - Eric Kroll