Welcome To Meme Week

pop culture / PotD

Welcome To Meme Week

September 6, 2015

Poison Coffee

The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.—Richard Dawkins

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Welcome to meme week! Sort of. I have this well-engrained habit of taking pictures that leave room for copy (those are the words in an advertisement). Almost every set I shoot has a couple of images that leave that kind of space. So, I thought we’d play with that a little bit this week.

In the most strict sense of the word, what we’re presenting this week probably falls short of actually being a meme. You see, we have British biologist Richard Dawkins to thank for putting the concept of meme into the public lexicon. The definition he was using, though, had nothing to do with silly pictures or the Internet. He coined the word in 1976. There was no Internet. Rather, he was using a definition more like this:

a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition and replication in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.

For something to actually be a meme, it has to spread, such as from parent to children, President to citizens, teacher to students, or pastor to congregation. The presumption is that for a meme to spread, there must be some value to the idea or concept, something that make it worth sharing.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Nothing we’re going to share with you this week is that heavy. I’m not going to pretend that any of our photos this week have an ounce of actual value to them. Instead, what we have here more falls in line with the Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Used to give a bit of pseudo-academic gravitas to stupid viral shit.

I’m not even going to claim that any of this week’s photos are funny. Funny wasn’t what we wanted. Instead, we went for things more along the line of insulting (such as today’s), egotistical, and sexually inappropriate. If my read of the Internet is correct, those factors should make them immensely popular.

But that works only if you share them. And since we’ve disabled right clicks on this page, you’ll need to share the whole post, not just the picture. If you don’t share them, then all we have are pictures with bad copy on them. You’ll find the social media sharing icons below each post, or if you came from Facebook, you can share the link there. The success or failure of this week lies in your hands.

Yes, I’m very frightened.[/one_half_last]

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this week’s photographs are strictly those of the author: charles i. letbetter, and do not necessarily reflect the attitudes or opinions of the models involved in the pictures. If you don’t like what you see, don’t blame the model. Thank you.

Fashion / PotD

More Than Jeans

September 5, 2015

A Hot Summer (2009)

The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn’t know which was which.—Helen Mirren

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]We’ve talked all week about jeans as though they were the only option for denim clothing. Reality paints a much larger and more varied picture, though. Denim jackets, dresses, shorts, skirts, bustiers, bras, leggings, socks and even denim footwear have, at various times, come in and out of popularity. Granted, not all of those were necessarily good ideas. The socks, leggings, bras, and footwear were all very short lived because, while they presented a unique look, they were a bit short on practicality. Denim is, after all, a fairly heavy material that can induce perspiration in places one doesn’t especially want any level of dampness. Not quite everything works.

Growing up in the 70s, it seemed as though almost everything was made of denim. Not only was everyone wearing their favorite flared-legged jeans, denim skirts were a huge rage. Not short, denim mini-skirts, either. Long, calf- or ankle-length denim skirts seemed to be everywhere. What has been interesting is that for a group of particularly conservative religious fundamentalists, that style of denim skirt or dress has stuck. One can still see them worn by women and young girls whose hair has never been cut, with plain blouses, as they shop at discount stores and thrift markets. Even a certain notorious court clerk wore a denim skirt to one of her many court appearances.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Much more popular, though, has been denim shorts and jackets. The jackets are especially popular with those who spend a lot of time on motorcycles because the denim provides similar protection as leather, but is more suitable for attaching patches and embroidery popular among riding clubs. Jean jackets are also heavy enough to keep one warm without interrupting the style going on underneath. They can be accessorized with anything from diamonds to costume brooches and still look great. A jeans jacket can be one of the most flexible pieces in a person’s wardrobe.

Nothing, though, beats the super-short, cut-off jeans look known as Daisy Dukes. Popular long before a television sitcom gave them that name, the shorts have become a summertime standard for young women everywhere, much to the delight of young men everywhere. There’s something to be said for the way the jeans shorts presents a young woman’s posterior and can make a short girl’s legs look longer than they are. Jeans shorts define that down-home, girl-next-door sensuality that turns heads and breaks hearts.

So ends our look at denim. What started as a fabric for workers has taken over the world. Fashion weeks are coming and I expect to see no shortage of denim still, so watch for it.[/one_half_last]

Fashion / PotD

Casual To Classy

September 4, 2015

Well Accessorized (2011)

Blue jeans are the most beautiful things since the gondola.—Diana Vreeland

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]All week long we’ve talked about how casual and comfortable denim is. While we normally think of blue jeans and anything denim as being more of the type thing one just pulls on right before walking out the door, the past several years have seen quite a change in that denim has become quite the classy, couture material, showing up frequently on red carpets around the world, even at places such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Met Gala. Jeans have become the celebrities way of inferring that they haven’t lost touch with their humble beginnings, or at least don’t want their fans to think they’re stuck up.

There’s also the factor that not everyone who has a lot of money is comfortable showing that off in public. The late Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart empire, was known for dressing in jeans or denim overalls when away from the office. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is frequently photographed wearing jeans and it would be out of character for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to be seen in anything other than blue jeans and a hoodie. Ostentation is definitely out of style and blue jeans are the way many choose to “keep it real.” For them, being classy is more of an attitude, not a wardrobe choice.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Nothing takes on the concept of being classy more than the red carpet, though, and some severely big names have chosen to wear jeans as they make the paparazzi-lined stroll. If we were to drop names, they would include Mila Kunis, Kristen Stewart, Shakira, Rebecca Romijn, Ashley Tisdale, Perez Hilton, Jamie Foxx, Diane Kruger, Keira Knightly, Olivia Munn, Miley Cyrus, Kylie Jenner, Mel B, Selena Gomez, Lucy Lawless, Katies Holmes, and Jennifer Lawrence. Those, and several more, have not shied away from wearing denim to major awards shows and film openings.

Over the years, we’ve seen denim come down the couture runway as well, with names such as Viktor & Rolf, Donna Karan, Dior, Bill Blass, and Diane von Furstenberg attached to the waistband. They’ve been embellished with everything from pearls to diamonds, rhinestones to emeralds, feathers to metal studs, and copious amounts of leather and lace. Denim is a big deal and while it is still primarily a casual fabric, there’s no question it can be classy when it needs to be. Ultimately, the difference comes in the attitude. [/one_half_last]

Fashion / PotD

Because It Feels Natural

September 3, 2015

Just My Jeans (2012)

A friend sat next to a nun on a plane. He asked her what she missed most. “Wearing blue jeans,” she replied. —Amy Krouse Rosenthal

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Why do we love our blue jeans so much? There would be many reasons, of course, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that a good pair of jeans just feels natural—almost like a second skin on our body. The more we wear them the more they adapt themselves to our curves and bulges, the way we sit, and the things we carry in our pockets. Our jeans become such a natural part of who we are that it is possible to forget we even have them on, and being without them can be a discomfort that leads to anxiety.

Blame the natural cotton fibers for most of that. There have been some jeans manufacturers who attempt to blend other materials with the cotton, but it never works long term. Natural cotton grows softer the more it is worn and washed. Sure, if one buys a traditional pair of blue jeans there’s a breaking in period where the dye causes them to be a bit stiff and maybe even itchy, but that matter is solved easily enough. All one has to do is wash them a couple of times, then wear them while doing something physical such as playing softball or riding bulls (the real ones, not those mechanical toys). The jeans fashion themselves to our bodies quickly and we don’t want to take them off.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]One of the sad aspects of the move toward pre-warshed denim is that the jeans don’t get that initial opportunity to fit themselves to one’s body. Sure, the cotton feels softer than traditional jeans, but when people complain about having difficulty finding a pair of jeans that fit, what they don’t realize is that jeans never really fit well until you’ve worn them four or five times. Pre-washing and distressing may soften the fibers, but that doesn’t replace the natural evolution that comes from actually wearing the jeans.

There are few things in life that we can really call our own: our toothbrush, our underwear, our dental implants, and our jeans. The first two make the list because of sanitary reasons. The last two, though, become part of us. Sure, you theoretically could share a pair of jeans with a friend, but they’re not going to feel natural on them the way they do on you. They conform to your body and just don’t feel the same on anyone else. A good pair of jeans even has wash marks on the pocket where you keep your keys or your cell phone. Our jeans are part of our person; it’s just natural.[/one_half_last]

Advertising / Fashion / PotD

Those Sexy Ads

September 2, 2015

HOT DENIM (2011)

Anyone who is secure about herself shouldn’t be threatened by the ads I do. What we’re doing is fun—if you have any sense of humor at all! —Calvin Klein

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Ads are designed to get your attention, but just because one has an ad doesn’t mean anything is going to sell. To actually sell anything, the ad has to be sexy, has to give the appearance that the product makes you more attractive, even if it’s something as simple as a toaster. Nowhere has sex been a more successful sales agent than in fashion, and there are a handful of brands, such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Balmain, Saint Laurent, and most notably Calvin Klein, that have convinced us that jeans are sexy.

When Calvin Klein hired a largely unknown fifteen-year-old model to utter the words, “You know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing,” the entire Western world screamed. Brooke Shields became an instant household name and the sales of not only Calvin Klein jeans, but all denim jeans skyrocketed. The war for who makes the sexiest jean was on and has yet to end. Styles have changed from skinny to loose to flared to straight-legged with at least a hundred different variations of each. Stone washed, pre-shrunk, pre-stressed, pre-torn, cut, embellished, and studded styles have all come, gone, and returned again.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Ultimately, what the ads are trying to say is that the jeans displayed are so sexy, will make you look so incredibly attractive, that someone will want to help you out of them. Notice how many of the ads now involve two people with posing implying that they might be a couple. Want a new boy/girlfriend? It all comes down to wearing the right jeans. Add the celebrity factor that has taken over and the ads also deliver the message that the right jeans will make you cool.

Of course, deep down inside, somewhere, you know the ads are lying. Just this year, one of the sexiest advertisers, Abercrombie & Fitch, has backed off their nearly hardcore ads because they weren’t working with a target age group that isn’t so impressed by the overt sexuality. Still, look at the ads, and even though the tone is softer, there remains an understated sensuality that pulls one in and makes them want a new pair of jeans. Even millennials eschewing materialism still buy jeans. You know you want them even now. We’ll see you at the mall.[/one_half_last]

Fashion / PotD

Him And Her

August 31, 2015

HappyTOgether (2012)

Fashion is mysterious, as a rule. Why are blue jeans a classic? You just hit on something that happens to be timeless and right.-Diane von Furstenberg

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Like much in the fashion world, denim has at times been a bit sexist. For much of their early existence, jeans were something worn exclusively by men. Most early jeans manufacturers didn’t even make clothes with women in mind. The relatively few women who wore jeans had to adapt men’s styles and cuts. For a high fashion perspective, denim was such a low, working class fabric that it was considered too rough to be next to a woman’s delicate skin. Denim was a man’s material.

World War II did a lot to change women’s wardrobes as they took to the floors of assembly lines and machine shops to do the jobs of men who had gone off to fight. The loose skirts and dresses women were accustomed to wearing were inappropriate around heavy exposed machinery. Jeans and its even heavier cousin, denim dungarees, needed to be worn by women and they needed something that would better fit her frame and shape. Slowly, manufacturers took notice and women’s jeans started working their way onto store shelves.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]It wasn’t until the 1970s, though, that “jeans for her” really became stylish, and much of that is due to Anderson Cooper’s mom, Gloria Vanderbilt. Tighter, designed more specifically to fit and hug a woman’s body, Vanderbilt’s jeans raised denim from farm wear to Fifth Avenue. Then, when 16-year-old Brooke Shields appeared topless, lying on her stomach, in an ad that read, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins,” sales of women’s blue jeans skyrocketed.

Today, the average woman has seven pairs of blue jeans in her closet, while men are only likely to have five. Styles of his and her jeans are more similar than not, with men being just as likely to wear tight-fitting, butt-hugging denim as do women. Almost everyone knows someone who lives in their jeans, wouldn’t consider wearing anything else. I know at least one bride (and I’m sure there are more) who wore jeans to her wedding. No longer sexist and low-class, jeans are a fundamental staple for both him and her.[/one_half_last]

Fashion / PotD

The Allure of Denim

August 30, 2015

A Causal Throne (2009). Model: Erica Von Trapp

I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity – all I hope for in my clothes. -Yves Saint-Laurent

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Ah, denim. From such humble, working-class beginnings, this simple cotton twill fabric has become the staple of most wardrobes, it’s styles and name brands often envied, and grows in value the more it is destroyed. There’s nothing quite like a good pair of jeans, and there’s no denying the appeal of the look. Despite its working class beginnings, the exact same fabric can be so exclusive as to be affordable only by the super-rich. So, this week we’re focusing on denim, mostly in blue jean form, and all the sexiness and expressiveness that it brings to our lives.

Of course, first we have to get past the basic understanding of what denim is. Originally of Italian construct, the fabric quickly made its way to France where it became a standard in working men’s clothes, primarily trousers. It’s unique cotton twill is composed of one white thread running over/under two blue-dyed threads at a time. This gives the twill sufficient strength without making it too stiff. The indigo dye commonly used fades with washing, providing denim with it’s classic, relaxed and comfortable look.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Levi Strauss is, of course, the name most Americans associate with denim.It was Strauss who introduced the fabric to the United States in 1853, during the California Gold Rush, and pioneered the use of metal rivets at the stress points so that the jeans would be less likely to tear. For the next hundred years, denim jeans would be the uniform of the American working man, from riding the range to working in the factory. When denim shirts were introduced, the term “blue collar” entered the lexicon for most anyone who didn’t work in an office.

Today, one would be hard pressed to find any denim constructed as sturdy as those original trousers were. Instead, we prefer our jeans pre-washed, distressed, cut-up, ripped, and in a condition our ancestors would not have even considered wearable. Yet, when they’re carrying the right fashion label on the waistband, denim can cost several hundred, even thousands of dollars. All from the same, simple, working class fabric. It’s going to be a fun week. We hope you’ll not miss a day![/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

A Little Solitude

August 29, 2015

Sitting Alone (2004)

When I did my self-portrait, I left all the pimples out because you always should. Pimples are a temporary condition and they don’t have anything to do with what you really look like. Always omit the blemishes—they’re not part of the good picture you want. ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Okay, I get it: not many people lie or appreciate the style we’ve posted this week. With the exception of Wednesday, which was admittedly different, you’ve stayed away. We’ve not had a week with such low hit counts. Too bad. Fortunately for you, this is the last I have in this style. Next week we go back to more traditional imagery.

That doesn’t mean I don’t stand behind the work, mind you. I do. I like the pieces we’ve shown this week. They’re different. They eliminate the details and force us to look at form and shape, making a distinction between highlights and shadows. We let them sit in solitude, away from all the other images, and they’re often neglected. I don’t even have any of them printed, which is my failing. I should. They deserve some attention.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Solitude is what today’s image represents as well. I remember how much the young woman loved this picture when we first showed it to her. She said it was an almost-too-perfect representation of who she is. She likes being alone, and because she chooses to not interact with as many people, other people leave her alone as well.

Solitude is not a bad thing. It gives one space to think, to work things out, to be yourself when no one else approves of who you are. So perhaps it’s fitting that we end the week with this image, sitting alone, taking some time to ourselves, contemplating our place in the art world, derided by most, enjoyed by a few. Solitude is short-lived, though. We have things to do, and we shall do them. Onward.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Flip Phone

August 28, 2015

Communicate Everywhere (2005)

Sex is more exciting on the screen and between the pages than between the sheets ― Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Here is the proof that 2005 was eons ago: that flip phone design was brand new. I’d chosen that particular phone primarily because it reminded me, a lot, of the communicators used in the original 1968 Star Trek series. Of course, they didn’t quite work like that. One still had to push buttons and wait for someone to pick up on the other end of the phone and half the time coverage sucked so you couldn’t hear what the other person was saying. Still, the look was cool, in my opinion, and there’s just enough geek in me for that to matter. I would happily flip my phone, communicator style, and use the voice function to place a call. The future had arrived.

Until I visited New York, where the images for this photo were taken. We were out shooting in Central Park on a horribly cold and windy day in February and, for some reason I don’t remember, pulled out my phone. The model giggled. I thought she was laughing at my geekiness. She then explained that, at the time, flip phones were a favorite of local pimps and drug dealers. While there were probably hundreds of thousands of people running around Manhattan with similar phones, the stereotype was prevalent enough that pulling one out while standing on a street corner was likely to get the unwanted attention of NYPD.

I was careful about where and how I used my phone after that conversation. Placing it in these photos, with the same model, was our inside joke. Nothing said pimp quite like a flip phone on a woman’s naked chest. We convinced ourselves that it was the duty of art to make fun of such social idiosyncracies and that even if we were the only ones who understood the meaning behind what we were doing that the message was still valid. One thinks such things in New York when the snow is falling. Realities of the world are somehow altered and art was as good a justification as any for being naked and playing with phones.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Ten years later, flip phones are making a comeback, largely in frustrated response to the increasingly large smartphones that everyone else seems to be carrying. My phone is so large that people often ask if it’s a tablet. While I like the benefits of my phone, such as being able to see it in the dark without having to squint or hold it at arm’s length, there are times when the shirt-pocket convenience of a flip phone would be nice, at least on a temporary basis. Of course, there would be no facebook on that phone, and trying to send text messages was an absolute pain in the backside. Still, carrying something that is the size of a thin brick isn’t exactly fun and games all the time, either.

The evolution of phones over the past fifteen years has been nothing short of amazing. They have completely transformed our lives and our expectations for communication. It really wasn’t that long ago that we were all tied to land lines. If someone wasn’t home or at their place of employment, they couldn’t be reached. Now, if someone doesn’t respond to their phone, either voice, text, or social media, in a matter of minutes, we are immediately concerned about their health and safety, or upset that they might be ignoring us. There is no escape. Phones have now made us available to everyone all the time. Even in bed.

With the exposure of the recent Ashley Madison hack, I have to wonder how often people used their phones, rather than a computer, to make that connection. Rather than being an object that identifies a pimp, the phone has become the pimp, selling out our information, our lives, our souls, and maybe even our bodies to the highest bidder. They track everything we do, report back to the NSA when we connect with certain people or go to certain places or use a certain vocabulary. Thinking along those terms, I look at today’s image and laugh even harder. Phone. Pimp. Damn straight. [/one_half_last]

Art / pop culture / PotD

Learning To Live

August 27, 2015

Coming Clean (2005)

People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly. ― Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Late March, 2005, I was preparing for my move to Indiana when a young woman approached me about taking some nude pictures. Her one requirement was that they all be framed and processed so as to keep her identity anonymous. She had recently graduated from a prominent university with her Juris Doctorate, would be sitting for the bar the next week, and had an internship at a prominent human rights organization. I couldn’t help asking, given the direction her life appeared to be going, why she would risk taking any nude pictures at all. Yes, they would be sufficiently anonymous, but should anyone ever see or find her copies of the photos it could be just as detrimental to her career. Her response was nothing I expected.

“How can I defend the rights of other people’s lives if I have no knowledge of how to live myself?”

I have long since forgotten the young lady’s name, so I’ve no idea where her path has taken her, but her statement has stuck with me. Her insight at such an early point in her life was astonishing. Too often, especially when the intent is good, we become so concerned about what other people are doing that we pay little or no attention to the fact that our own life is passing us by. We reach middle age, or later, realize that the flexibility of our youth is gone, and try to compensate with the time we have left, not knowing how much time that may be.

While millennials have been roundly criticized by their predecessors as being too slow to grow up and take responsibility for their lives, perhaps they have more sense than their elders did in their twenties. Young adults today are more likely to postpone marriage and families and long-term responsibilities for one primary reason: they want to experience life before doing so becomes an act of chasing old regrets.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]We have expanded the longevity of life to the point where it is now reasonable to expect a fair number of people to live past the century mark. 65 is no longer the old age marker that it was a mere thirty years ago. Yet, we have to ask ourselves what good it does to exist for longer periods of time if we continually put off learning how to actually live that life? What good does it do us to argue over when life begins or ends when we completely ignore the quality of the substance between those two points?

Time is not nearly on our side as much as we may think. Accidents have always been a risk as long as humans have existed, but an increasing risk is what we are doing to ourselves. Just yesterday, a 24-year-old reporter and a 26-year-old cameraman left television station WDBJ for what they thought was a routine interview, shot live for the station’s morning show. They had no way of knowing their lives would be taken from them on-air. Later yesterday, in Sunset, Louisiana, the lives of a mother and a police officer were unexpectedly cut short. The United States has now had more mass shootings this year (247) than there have been days in the year (238). That we are the only Western, allegedly civilized, country to have such a problem is damning.

I firmly believe that people who understand how to live life neither interfere with nor take the lives of others except as a legitimate act of self-defense. People who learn how to live do not threaten the lives of others. While there are no one-word or single-action solutions to any of the social problems we face, there is something to be said for removing oneself from the mayhem and focusing on living one’s own life. Don’t just learn to live a little; learn to live a lifetime. One never knows what day opens the last page. Embrace each moment. [/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Swimming At Night

August 26, 2015

Kick Harder (2004)

If something’s going to happen for you, it will, you can’t make it happen. And it never does happen until you’re past the point where you care whether it happens or not. ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]This is not underwater photography. I’ve watched with interest over the past few years as that particular genre has gained popularity, but it’s not something I’m likely to actually do. First, an ear condition prevents me from being able to enjoy swimming; there’s no photograph worth spending the next two weeks trying to get rid of a painful infection. Second, the cost of even renting underwater equipment is excessive. Unless one is planning on making underwater photography a significant part of their services, it’s not worth the price. So, we won’t likely be doing any underwater shots any time soon.

Instead, this is an above-the-water, long exposure image. The shutter speed isn’t too terribly dramatic, three seconds being short compared to some I’ve taken. Yet, that was enough to capture this unique image. Of all the photos in this week’s series, this is one for which I wish I still had the original RAW file. The state of technology, and my understanding of it, at the time, prevented me from being able to do any more detailed processing. But then, the simpleness of the shot is part of what I like about it. There were others in the set, of course, but this is the one that stood out.

The situation around this image wasn’t exactly normal, either. I hadn’t planned on anyone doing any swimming that evening. I hadn’t planned on doing anything at all. Two models traveling from North Carolina contacted me when one of their scheduled shoots fell through. In one of those made-for-late-night-cable moments, they invited me to join them at their motel to take some pictures. Being human, I accepted, grabbed materials for a project I was shooting, and drove to their hotel. When I arrived, the girls informed me they wanted to shoot down by the pool. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Most hotel outdoor swimming pools aren’t open in mid-October, but this particular hotel sported a warm indoor/outdoor pool. A large glass window was the retractable barrier between inside and out, but it only came down to the top of the water. Swimming under the window was rather easy. Since the outdoor part of the pool was technically not open, the security cameras were conveniently off. So the models showed no hesitation in removing their swimwear once they were outside. Sitting along the edge of the pool, I was the only one who was feeling a bit cold.

The only light was the one inside the wall of the pool. Look in the bottom right corner of the image and you can see it. The amount of illumination wasn’t much and if the girls moved too terribly far away from the light they were completely in the dark. Since I hadn’t known I was going to be shooting outdoors I hadn’t brought a tripod. There was a limit to how long I could hold the shutter open without the result being a complete blur. I tried several other shots while they were swimming, but none were turning out well. I was feeling woefully unprepared.

What eventually worked was to have one girl hold the other in place, near the light but not directly above it. I was pleased enough with this shot and soon convinced them to return to the indoor portion of the pool. As the air grew colder, I was shivering too much to take a decent photograph of any kind. For someone else, this might have been one of those “Dear Penthouse” moments, but not for me. From there, the evening went downhill, with one of the models having a severe allergic reaction to some food they had brought up to the room. I have my picture, though. Life goes on.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Smelling of Flowers

August 25, 2015

charles i. letbetter - smells like flowers

charles i. letbetter - smelling like flowers

The Private Garden (2004)

Just because people throw it out and don’t have any use for it, doesn’t mean it’s garbage. ― Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Flowers carry a lot of meaning and subtly hold a rather strong and dramatic place in art, literature, and song. Three books that immediately come to mind are The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Emmuska Orczy, which thrilled me as a teen, and the one book I read in high school that still makes me stop and thing: Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. In all three the flowers are highly symbolic, subtle undertones that hold deeper meaning than one might suspect.

Musically, flowers are used to invoke a specific imagery to help make a point. I looked through my various playlists and see titles ranging from Henry Mancini’s Days of Wine and Roses (which will be playing in my head the rest of the morning now), to the Statler Brothers’ Flowers on the Wall to The Foundations singing Build Me Up Buttercup. There are myriad songs about roses, which I suppose is appropriate given their sentimental relationship to love, but I think it’s the non-rose songs that perhaps hold a stronger imagery, such as Edelweiss from The Sound of Music, and Tip Toe Through The Tulips by Tiny Tim.

My mother was always one of those people who said, “Give me my flowers while I’m alive,” and we tried to do that, but when she passed the church was so full of bouquets and sprays I’ve no idea whatever happened to them all. While flowers do, in some aspects, represent the temporary nature and frailty of life, I’ve never understood why we feel the need to inundate a family with them upon losing a loved one. Most cemeteries through them out after a week or so and for grieving families they can be an unwanted reminder of their loss. While their origin dates back to a time when bodies were not embalmed and would smell as they decayed, that’s not exactly a problem we face much anymore and too often the flowers are overwhelming, or a reminder in some cases of how few friends a person had.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]When flowers appear in artwork, however, I fear we are often too dismissive of their presence. We tend to think of them merely as decoration, or perhaps something to hold so that one’s hands don’t look awkward. Yet, flowers in art are symbols of femininity, virtuosity, and in some cases even conniving. Flowers have symbolized everything from a family’s wealth to the subject’s religious beliefs and in some cases even political affiliations. Present in almost every form of religious art, flowers serve as powerful metaphors for matters of significance.

So, where are we going when we pick a couple of dyed daisies and use them as we have in today’s photo? Daises traditionally represent innocence and gentleness. Given the implied placement of the flowers here, innocence and gentleness is certainly a preferred way of looking at the matter. However, that would really only apply were the daisies white. These were dyed red and orange. Red daisies represent a beauty the possessor doesn’t realize. Orange, while not natural in daisies, generally represents warmth. I’ll just let your imagination take it from there.

Flowers are so very fragile, and at the same time so very powerful. They are a simple way of infusing deeper meaning into an image that possessed little. Their mere presence can write stories that would go on for pages. They spark our sense of the romantic and the poetic. And occasionally, in certain circumstances, the flowers seem to beg us to pick them. Should you choose to pluck these, I strongly recommend handling with care.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

This Sh*t Is Bananas

August 24, 2015

charles i. letbetter - this shit is bananas

Matching Curves (2004)

I just do art because I’m ugly and there’s nothing else for me to do. ― Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Bananas. Not only is there a giant one in this picture, in case you hadn’t noticed, but it’s also perhaps the kindest way to describe the model. She was from one of the barrier islands off Georgia’s coast, near Savannah. A trust fund baby, Daddy’s only little girl, who had grown up with every privilege possible. She saw one of my pictures in a magazine and decided that she simply had to come shoot with me for a whole weekend. I needed the money, so I took the job not knowing the girl’s reputation, nor the trouble into which she had a habit of getting.

My first warning came moments after meeting her at her motel, one in the higher-end of the Hilton chain. She carried a number of credit cards that Daddy had provided, but despite each one having an excessively high limit, she had already maxed them all out for the month, and it was only the 12th (strange how I can remember that date). So, checking into the hotel was a bit of a challenge. Hotels don’t like to accept cash anymore. She stood at the desk and argued with the night manager for the better part of an hour, calling him every dirty name in the book, before finally calling Daddy, who gave them yet another credit card number. She then called a sorority sister, at 1 AM, who was a regional manager for the chain, and complained. The manager’s phone rang immediately afterward.

After checking in, she changed clothes, and then wanted to go out to the clubs. I knew several club managers and owners personally, so that wasn’t going to be a challenge. What bothered me, though, was that we were supposed to start shooting at 8:00 the next morning. It was already almost 2:00. She promised she’d have no problem waking up and being fresh, so off we went. First place we went was doing jello wrestling. She volunteered to participate. Second place was doing wet t-shirt contests. She needed to do that as well. I almost lost track of her at the dance club. I had already nicknamed her bananas, to her face, by the time I tucked her into her bed at 4:30.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]I left messages for all the places we were scheduled to shoot, postponing everything until afternoon. Even if Miss Bananas managed to wake up, which didn’t happen, I knew it would take a couple of hours’ worth of makeup and water consumption before she’d be in any condition to take pictures of any kind. We had talked through several concepts before she arrived, most of which involved nudity in some form. I was hoping to tone down the ideas a bit toward something a bit less pornographic and more editorial. When she finally woke up, a little after 10 AM, we ate brunch then headed out. This was going to be an interesting day.

After she bought half the clothes at one boutique (Daddy had wired her cash), we started taking pictures. Convincing her that a public park in the middle of a Saturday afternoon was not a good place to be flashing her ample breasts was not easy. After more than one close call with police, I insisted we move inside, to a rented studio where I wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested for her actions. Along the way, she wanted some fruit. The banana shot was one of the first we took in the studio, and arguably one of the best. You would need a very dirty mind to imagine what she did with the banana afterward.

Over the course of the weekend, we managed to drop over 2000 frames. Only three photos remain, none of which records her face or her name. Interestingly enough, she was arrested for cocaine possession the moment she stepped off the plane back in Savannah. Apparently, she thought her tray table was a good place to set out lines. One of the flight attendants called ahead to local police. I never heard from her again. I sent pictures to the address she had given me on her release, but received no confirmation that she ever saw them. Gwen Stefani was right, this shit really is bananas. So, how’s your Monday? [/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Trippin’ Like Warhol

August 23, 2015

charles i. letbetter - trippin on warhol

Strawberries For Dessert (2004)

Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. ― Andy Warhol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]This is going to be an interesting week. Trippin’ is the only way I know to describe the seven pieces we’ve chosen without launching into multiple paragraphs that don’t fit well in the banner at the top of the page. And while the colors have a pop art similarity that might, to some, be reminiscent of the late artist Andy Warhol, I can’t claim any direct influence was present when we did these. They are unlike anything else in my catalog and certainly aren’t part of my normal portfolio. I no longer can find the originals, so we had to jump through some serious technological hoops just to get them in a condition suitable for presentation.

Pictures hold memories of specific moments, so I’m almost always able to recall at least the situation surrounding a shoot, if not necessarily people’s names and specific places. These pictures are among the fuzziest of memories. I remember shooting them in late 2004-early 2005, but I don’t remember model’s names and, with one exception, I don’t remember much of the circumstances. I certainly don’t remember processing any of them, so I can’t tell you how we achieved the effects you’ll see. I could possibly claim another Warhol reference and say I was literally trippin’ during this period, but that would be disingenuous.

Stress is probably more responsible for my lousy recollection of these pictures. Taken during a period of tremendous personal change and upheaval, photography was as much of an escape from, perhaps even a denial of reality more than it was an occupation. Most of the pictures from that period have been lost entirely. Of those that do remain, I only have small, 72 dpi copies taken from an old website backup. Theoretically, there might be better copies on an old Flickr account somewhere, but if that does still exist I’ve no clue how to find it. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Just looking at these images sends me trippin’ a little bit. They’re disorienting on a very personal basis, so I’ve absolutely no idea how other people see them. If no one else likes them, this could end up being a very boring week. I don’t necessarily have a good feel for what anyone else wants to see, other than the fact that nude images cause our hit count to go up. There is some sense of sexual provocation to these images, if one is bound and determined to find such. Models we worked with from this period tended to be more open and willing to experiment with what was then a relatively new digital media. There were no social media sites to provide potential embarrassment. There was less fear of backlash.

Comparatively, the cameras we worked with back then, which costs more than a medium-format film camera, were toys. Your phone can probably do as well. These were a mere 3.5 megapixels, something we wouldn’t even consider marketable now. Again, we have improved technology to thank for being able to bump up the quality a little bit, though I still wouldn’t want to try and actually print one. Only a handful of publishers would risk working with digital images, though there was no question that this was the direction photography would go. Ten years have seen a lot of change.

I may be trippin’ just to put these on display. You may not be interested and walk completely away. Warhol’s advice about not caring about opinions, just make art, is one I’m trying to embrace this. After all, I remember well the public reaction to his work; a lot of people thought it was stupid, pointless, and definitely not art. Today, those works are worth millions. I should be so lucky. Just know that you’ll likely not see us produce another set of images like the ones you’ll see this week.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Anonymously Naked

August 22, 2015

Hold That Pose

There is something very freeing about being anonymous because nothing is expected of you; nothing is getting back to anyone, and no one cares. —Dolly Wells

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I’ve never actually done an official survey, but I’m relatively sure that the majority of nudes in my archives were done anonymously. It’s a thing. People want to participate in art, or want to remember their bodies before children, or how they looked when they were young adults, but they are very much afraid of the backlash of criticism that comes with taking nude pictures, especially if they’re going to be posted on the Internet. Comments, not just from Internet trolls but from family and alleged friends can be hurtful, cruel, and disheartening.

Artistically, there is also the reasonable argument that nudes done anonymously are open to greater personal interpretation. Without the identity that comes with a face, one is free to extend their imagination beyond a single personality, possibly even imagining themselves in place of the model. Where there’s a face there is someone else’s identity, a personhood inherently attached to the body. For a great number of people, that identity prevents them from being able to fairly and artistically respond to the rest of the body. All they see is “that person” nude. When “that person” happens to be a celebrity or someone of note, the work becomes all about the person and any artistic valuation flies out the window.

Shooting nudes anonymously has its purpose. When nudes are anonymous, one doesn’t have to worry that one’s children might accidentally find them in Internet search results one day. Anonymous nudes don’t require any effort toward hairstyles or makeup; one can literally crawl out of bed and straight in front of the camera. Working anonymously gives one more freedom to be expressive with their bodies than they might otherwise. Without identity issues, one can usurp the norms of a given society and use their body to make any number of statements they might not otherwise make.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]At the same time, however, working anonymously in art has many of the same drawbacks as other forms of anonymity. At the top of that list is taking responsibility for the statements that one makes. Being nude in front of a camera or for a painter makes a statement which one should, in ideal circumstances, own. Anonymously, one might poke at society, or a segment of people within a given group, without having to deal with any actual harm that may result from making the statement. We enjoy the freedom of being expressive, but fail to realize that, at times, being anonymous in exercising that freedom holds the potential for being abusive.

There is also the argument that working anonymously does nothing to help change public attitudes about nude art and being nude. If anything, anonymous works might reinforce the argument that being nude is somehow wrong. After all, if there’s nothing wrong with it, why wouldn’t one want to own the work? If we want to make nude work more accessible and publicly palatable, hiding the identity of those who participate does not necessarily help to achieve those goals. Progress comes in standing up, proudly, for the work that we do and not allowing anyone to shame us for it.

Still, reality forces us often into a position where anonymity is required. You’ll notice that we no longer list the names of models who pose for nudes. We made that decision because of the frequent stalking and other safety issues that come with a society whose attitude toward nudity remain warped and at time dangerous. For all the progress we’ve made the past thirty years in terms of accepting ourselves and our bodies as they are, our society still is too often incapable of handling nude photographs responsibly. Until those matters improve, some pictures will remain anonymously nude.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Naked In The Sunlight

August 21, 2015

A Moment To Myself (2010)

The breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind. ― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Of all the creatures attracted to sunlight, none seem to enjoy it quite as much as do cats. We have three of the critters that Kat has rescued and all three know exactly where the sunlight is going to hit in each room at any given moment of the day. They have their preferences, of course. Our bedroom gets more light than anywhere else and each one has a favorite spot staked out. They will be underfoot all morning until the sun is up, at which point they disappear to their appointed places in the sunlight and there they happily nap until mid-afternoon when the light begins to fade. Rather makes one jealous of being a cat, doesn’t it?

Cats aren’t the only creatures who enjoy sunlight, though. This summer has been an unusual one in that the persistent rain has kept skies more grey than usual; there hasn’t been as much sunlight to go around and I ‘m pretty sure that has affected people’s attitudes. Folks in Northern states, especially, endure the harsh winters with the full expectation that spring will come along and bring a sufficient amount of sunlight to compensate for all those cold, dreary days of November through February. When that doesn’t happen we feel cheated. Sure, one can always lie in a tanning bed in hopes of coaxing the melatonin to the surface of your skin, but that’s really no replacement for being in the actual sunlight.

We enjoy those warm days of standing or sitting in the sun for they are all too fleeting. As I forced my body out from under the covers this morning, I felt an ominous nip in the air. The morning’s temperature is below 60° for the first time since May and looking across the forecast for the next week, that trend only seems to move lower down the thermometer. Autumn is most surely on its way and it won’t be long before sunlight alone won’t be enough to keep us warm and comfortable. We’ll be looking for sweaters and coats and hoodies and blankets that won’t hardly leave our bodies for the next six to eight months.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Nothing feels much better than lying naked in the sunlight. Even with autumn rapidly approaching, we can follow the habit of the cats in finding those places inside where sunlight regularly appears and make our winter homes there; those precious rays of sunlight warming as they pass through the glass. There’s a scientific explanation for why sunlight feels warmer after passing through glass, but we’re not nearly as interested in that as we are with how we feel sitting or lying in the sunlight. Of course, if you have windows with tempered or tinted glass, then you’re just screwed.

One of the things I like about today’s picture is the precise lines the sunlight creates across her body. The borders of the window are clearly evident, to the point that it almost seems as though the sunlight is drawing a line between her breasts. The narrow patch of sunlight creates a strong visual contrast that our minds automatically translate as warmth even when the picture is captured in black and white. We feel the increased temperature of the sunlight, and the coolness of the shadows as they deepen. Lying in the sunlight like this, naked, comfortable, alone, is one of the rare joys that life does not often accommodate. These moments can hold great meaning, or provide much-needed respite from otherwise ugly days.

Oh, if we could only be more like cats and spend our days curled up in the sunlight, naked, on the bed. I’m sure we would all be much more pleasant creatures if basking in the sunlight were a regular part of our day. Sure, there’s the whole thing about being responsible and productive members of society; I suppose we need to attend to those matters as well. Still, when we see that splash of open sunlight, just sitting there in the middle of the floor, for just a moment, wouldn’t it be nice to be a cat?[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Sleeping Naked

August 20, 2015

A Spot in the Sun (2010)

In Sleep we lie all naked and alone, in Sleep we are united at the heart of night and darkness, and we are strange and beautiful asleep; for we are dying the darkness and we know no death. —Tom Wolfe

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I’m sitting here this morning wondering if I can survive writing about sleeping. I’m too close to having just awakened to feel very objective about the subject. I like sleep far too much, get far too little of it, and rarely anymore do I risk doing it naked. This is where being an adult and pretending to be responsible really becomes a drain on one’s spirit. I would have much rather stayed in bed this morning. Kat is still there, sleeping soundly, and the cats are still snuggled at her feet. The bed is inviting. Why the hell am I up typing at this hour? Oh yeah, this is the only time I have for things like this. Life, you know.

Do a quick search on sleeping naked and you’ll inevitably find all kinds of advice columns about the health benefits of tossing your pajamas to the side before you slip under the covers. Some of those articles even invoke science and medicine, which makes me sad that I wasn’t invited to be part of those studies. I would happily volunteer for someone to pay me to sleep. I wouldn’t even charge that much; maybe ten dollars so I could buy a decent breakfast when I woke up. Such is the story of my life, though. No one ever invites me to participate in the really fun experiments.

Sleeping naked is something into which one gradually becomes comfortable. I don’t think anyone can make the claim that it’s natural. Even babies liked to be diapered and swaddled tightly. Sleeping naked requires the right combination of comfortable accommodations and safe environment. The room temperature has to be just right. The sheets have to be clean and soft. Any companion not only has to also be naked, but they have to be totally non-judgmental; not merely about your body, but about your sleeping style as well. This sleeping naked thing gets complicated.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Sleeping naked comes with some challenges, as well. The last thing anyone wants to do is wake up to an embarrassing situation. Risks have to be eliminated as much as possible. No going to bed with candles still burning. Make sure you’re not sleeping next door to a meth lab that’s about to be raided. Don’t sleep naked during a tornado watch. When sleeping naked, we must realize that we are not going to wake up looking as sexy as when we went to bed, not even close. We don’t need strangers seeing us in such a disheveled state, especially if those strangers might be attractive.

Then, there’s the matter of children. There’s no sleeping naked when there are children in the house who are old enough to come wandering in to talk to mommy in the middle of the night, and it’s always mommy they want. The sounds daddies make when they sleep are frightening to small children, so they always choose the quieter parent; the one they mistakenly assume to be more sympathetic and comforting. Having absolutely no concept of spatial boundaries, children will attempt to crawl right into the bed with you and when you are sleeping naked things immediately become awkward, if not downright embarrassing.

Sure, sleeping naked is wonderful, good for your health and good for relationships, but it sure is a lot of trouble as well. By the time one has mitigated the risk factors, changed the sheets, put out the candles, locked the doors, changed the batteries in the smoke detectors, and duct taped the children to their beds, you might just be too exhausted to care. And there’s no rest for the wicked, so I’ve heard, so I might as well make another pot of coffee.[/one_half_last]

studio nudes

The Missing Pinups

August 19, 2015

charles i. letbetter - the missing pinup

The Missing Pinup (2009)

The great seductresses in history knew that it isn’t just about trying to look sexy or pretty; it’s an art and one becomes skillful in it when she realizes that there are all these conflicting elements that all come together to make something magical. —Dita Von Teese

I like pleasant surprises, even when they’re rather embarrassing to admit. This set of pictures is one such surprise. As I was going through files last week looking for an image suitable for a particular project, I clicked on a folder with a fairly specific label. I wasn’t expecting much, but as I scrolled down I was totally surprised to find this set of pinups which, even now, I don’t remember shooting. I immediately kicked myself, hard, for not having paid attention to these when they were first shot.

The mistake was simple enough. As often happens, when we schedule a shoot around a specific concept, the prep and makeup takes quite a while but the actual shooting time is so brief as to almost seem insignificant. So, it isn’t terribly unusual for us to tag on another complimentary set or two so that we feel as though all the prep time is justified. That is exactly what happened in this case. The pinups were an add-on, probably last minute, to help justify all the preparation.

Unfortunately, in this particular case, the primary concept was so incredibly time consuming that we were only able to finish a couple of the images. The vast majority of raw photographs remain untouched and completely forgotten. When I see the folder, I think of the primary concept and its challenges, so we’ve gone six years without paying any attention to the final set, or even remembering it was shot.

A lot has happened in the waning years. The model is married and has a significantly different look (still incredibly attractive, mind you) and life. The facility where we shot no longer exists. Support staff has moved on to other ventures. These shots are truly gems snatched from the digital dustbin. I’m actually rather surprised they weren’t accidentally deleted to save space.

So, here they are, all twelve poses, processed and published for the very first time. We hope you enjoy them.

Art / pop culture / PotD

Naked Ink

August 19, 2015

Posture, Please (2010)

There is something vulnerable about showing your tattoos to people, even while it gives you a feeling that you are wearing a sleeve when you are naked. —Lena Dunham

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I like tattoos. I like the artistry of ink on skin. I don’t have any, mind you, and at my age I rather doubt I ever will. At this stage of my life, it seems rather pointless to be making any kind of permanent statement on a body in such rapid decay. If they had been as popular and socially acceptable thirty years ago as they are now, I might have considered it. I grew up in an age that looked at ink suspiciously, though. Tattoo parlors had the bad reputation of being dirty places run by people of questionable morals and intent. The reputation was undeserved, of course, but it was there and was enough to make anyone who had a tattoo worthy of sideways glances and cautious observation.

Actually, as I was growing up, there were only two kinds of people who had tattoos: World War II veterans and carnival/circus workers. The WWII veterans with ink were mostly, interestingly enough, those who had served in the Pacific theatre, primarily in the Navy. Their ink was almost always high up on an arm where it would be easily covered by a shirt. Many of those pieces came with stories that I wasn’t allowed to hear when I was little. Unfortunately, most of those men were gone by the time I would have understood the stories.

I didn’t actually know any carnival/circus workers. We’d see them at a distance, though, smoking hand-rolled cigarettes, their ink shamelessly visible as they typically wore sleeveless t-shirts. We were warned to stay away from them, which was unfortunate. I’m sure most of those people had interesting stories to tell, too. They certainly tended to have a lot more ink, even the women. My mother would reach over and shut my mouth as I stood gaping at the sight of someone whose body art was expansive and colorful. These people were outliers, though. Rumors always swirled that they were convicts on the run. The here-today, gone-tomorrow nature of the carnivals didn’t help. They could commit a crime and disappear.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Amazing how much society can change in just a few years, isn’t it? Anecdotally, it seems that almost everyone has a piece of ink hiding somewhere, even preachers and the little old ladies praying fervently in the pews. As a photographer, I’ve come to expect that aspiring and amateur models are probably going to have at least one tattoo, even if it’s small and out of the way. When I come across someone who is completely bare I’m rather caught by surprise. We are more likely to ask someone why they don’t have any ink rather than why they do.

The cool thing about ink is that it allows one to be naked and still appear somewhat dressed. When one has a tattoo, especially a larger piece such as a sleeve, one is never really bare. From a fashion perspective, that permanent decoration can be a problem. Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld has famously said:

I think tattoos are horrible. It’s like living in a Pucci dress full-time.

By contrast, Christian Louboutin counters:

People are proud of their tattoos. It’s like a modern coat of arms.

All of this leads to the question: is one ever really naked when they’re covered in ink? Since I have none, I cannot relate to how it must feel to have one’s body permanently adorned. There are times I see a well-done and artistic piece and feel a twinge of jealousy. Other times, I see a mess of poorly done and ill-considered pieces scattered across a body and think how tragic. I don’t have a good answer to the question. One thing for certain, though, is that it certainly makes taking off one’s clothes a lot more interesting.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Casually Naked

August 18, 2015

Life Upside Down (2009)

I always say: To be well dressed you must be well naked. —Oscar de la Renta

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Being casually naked is wonderful, but rare. One of the reasons I enjoy getting up so atrociously early is that it affords me the ability to sit here and work without having to put on pants. I’m not naked, mind you. There are still small children in the house and one never knows when one of the little buggers will wake up and need some encouragement to return to bed. Still, just the simple condition of not having to be fully dressed the instant I wake up each morning is pleasant, and a luxury I’ve not always had. In fact, for many people, being casually naked is not so much about comfort as it is opportunity. Our lives don’t give us much of a chance to even sit naked in our own home.

For most of us, we get up in the morning, get dressed, perhaps dress children, down some coffee, maybe some food, and try to make it to work on time. After work, there’s some combination of dinner, child care, social events and obligations, and by the time it is all over we’re more likely to pass out fully clothed on the couch than spending any time in our bare form. Casually naked? Sorry, I just don’t have the time.

I would like to suggest, though, that the best friends, not just intimate relationships but the kind of always-reliable friends who would either bail you out or be in the jail cell with you, are those around whom one can be casually naked. Granted, those friendships are rare, especially if one is male. For some, male nudity is seen as being inherently aggressive, so finding someone with whom one can just “hang out,” so-to-speak, can be challenging. When those relationships happen they are priceless.

To the degree we’ve created a society where we fear being naked around each other, we’ve done both ourselves and our friends a disservice because we’re afraid to let our friends see us as we truly are. Yet, that is exactly what we’ve done. Being honest, letting our real selves show, is considered bad form, even taboo. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Socially, I’ve known a lot of people who talk about enjoying being casually naked, but one would never actually catch them in that state. For all the tales of pizza delivery people being greeted at the door by someone naked, modesty tends to overtake most of us. Actually, I’m no so sure whether it’s modesty or a fear of being judged that forces us to put on that robe. The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield famously joked:

My wife was afraid of the dark… then she saw me naked and now she’s afraid of the light.

We worry so much about what other people think of our bodies that we tend to want to hide them rather than enjoying the natural state into which we were born. Fashion and popular culture doesn’t help, either. There’s a double standard between men and women that perpetuates old habits and stereotypes. Designer Christian Louboutin has said:

A naked woman in heels is a beautiful thing. A naked man in shoes looks like a fool.

What amazes me is that some people find being casually naked threatening, as though it might bring about the end of civilization as we know it. One of the most laughable objections I’ve heard is that to allow casual nudity in public would be to encourage an increase in crime. Think about that. You’re naked. Dude, you have no pockets and you’re barefoot. The only thing close to a crime one might commit while naked would be a random walk-by mooning.

Being casually naked is elusive, especially this morning. I hear children rustling around in their room. That means it’s time to put on pants. Perhaps we’ll find time to be naked later.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Naked Ambition

August 17, 2015

No One’s Looking (2010)

Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. —Bill Bradley

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Erg. Monday. Time to find the ambition for getting up, again, and doing more of the same things we did last week in an effort to achieve a goal that may or may not make us happy. I’m not a particular fan of hip-hop, but in the back of my mind I can hear Rick Ross in a continual loop, “Every day I’m hustlin’, hustlin’, hustlin’.” Motivation often needs to be kickstarted on a Monday morning and some weeks it’s everything we can do just to put on pants. That’s when we have to stop and ask ourselves, “Why? Why must we put on pants? Why can’t our ambition, and our bodies, be naked?”

Well, okay, there is that whole legal thing about indecent exposure. Starting the week off in jail might do more to kill one’s ambition than fuel it, but at least it would make the Monday interesting. Naked ambition, though, is a different matter. Strip away the pretense and excuses that make our ambition socially acceptable and admit that what we really want first and foremost is to make enough money so that we don’t have to be so damn ambitious. Yeah, sure, save the world, feed the children, house the homeless, etc. That all sounds good, but that all requires funding so isn’t it better to tackle the money issue first by making as much of it as possible?

Yes, I know, there’s more to life than money. That’s a lesson learned long ago. However, to pretend that our pursuits are not, at least in part, financially motivated is to gut any altruism attached to our ambition. By all means, do good things! Yes! Be generous and kind and loving to all! But let’s be honest: doing good from a position of penury has its limits. By bettering our own condition, we put ourselves in a place where we can make a difference on a much larger scale. There’s nothing wrong with naked ambition, and sometimes being naked is just the thing to get us where we want to go.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Let us take, for example, supermodel Karlie Kloss. Ambition? Not only does she maintain one of the busiest runway schedules on the planet, she poses for multiple designer campaigns a month, appears most months in no fewer than three magazine editorials, operates her own charity, bakes her own vegan chocolate chip cookies, and still somehow finds time to hang out with BFF Taylor Swift.

Arguably, one of the most defining moments in Kloss’ career was a 2011 editorial in Vogue Italia shot by Steven Meisel. While this wasn’t the first time Karlie appeared naked in an editorial, it was certainly the one that garnered the greatest amount of attention. Unflinching, at least publicly, the model said:

“I think they’re beautiful photos and I’m very proud of all of them. I’m happy with the results … I think that they’re photos that are hopefully going to become iconic.”

Karlie’s not the only one to take such ambitious steps. Amber Rice, the model in today’s picture, is one of many I’ve watched pull up roots from the Midwest and move to Los Angeles on her own driven by a desire to succeed in ways that simply are not possible in Indianapolis. Some make it, some don’t, but at least they had the ambition to shed themselves of the excuses that hold the rest of us back. Blame it on youth if you want, but they set a strong example.

So, let’s kick this Monday in the backside and get something done, shall we? There’s really no excuse and pants (and tops) are totally optional.[/one_half_last]

Art / PotD

Random Naked People

August 16, 2015

charles i. letbetter - random naked people

Nothing To Hide (2010)

To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength. ― Criss Jami

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Last week’s project was incredibly time-intensive, taking up several hours of my day, every day, in order to have the videos ready for the next morning. After all that, I’m ready for a week where I don’t have to think quite so hard or worry about doing everything wrong. My first thought for this week was to make it totally random, to just open up a folder, close my eyes, and click on a picture. However, when I opened an archive folder I discovered that the first several, from 2009-2010, all contained naked people and, with one exception, none had appeared in any other #POTD series before now. In fact, most are not even in my art portfolio. They’re not bad shots, just unused. So, what we have this week, through the process of semi-blind selection, is random (sort of) naked people.

The next question was what to write. I’ve talked about the virtues of posing nude so many times before I’m not sure I have another seven days worth of words to talk about the subject. Would I find something different to write about?

Thank you, Sharon Stone. The 57-year-old actress, who has a new television series starting this fall, appears nude in front of Mark Abrahams’ camera for the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. I didn’t request permission to show any of the pictures here, but you can see them and read the article online on their website. There’s a lot in this article that is important regarding who we are, our self-esteem, and being honest about ourselves regardless of our age or what we’re doing with our lives. For everyone who thinks that posing nude isn’t classy or demeans one’s femininity, please take a moment to read what Ms. Stone has to say. Not only is her perspective unique, she looks much better saying it than I would. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Sharon has earned the right to be rather frank, though I don’t think we ever thought of her as being shrinking violet. The actress suffered an aneurysm resulting in a nine-day cerebral hemorrhage. This is the type of thing that kills most people, and those who do survive often have difficulty walking and/or talking ever again. Talk about clawing your way back up from the absolute bottom, Sharon Stone has done just that and now that she’s back in the limelight she doesn’t mind talking about the reality of being naked.

“I’m aware that my ass looks like a bag of flapjacks, but I’m not trying to be the best-looking broad in the world. At a certain point you start asking yourself, ‘What really is sexy?’ It’s not just the elevation of your boobs. It’s being present and having fun and liking yourself enough to like the person that’s with you.”

Had she said something like that in 1992 when Basic Instinct came out, we probably would have dismissed it as being self-serving. Now, though, it’s a statement of triumph over a set of circumstances that would have left most people relegated to a treatment center for the rest of their lives. Not Sharon Stone, though. She’s re-gathered, despite permanent brain damage, and moved forward. Naked.

I will always applaud those strong enough to be naked, whether literally in front of a camera, or figuratively in how they live their lives. Naked people are the strong ones, the wise ones, the ones who endure. Perhaps the rest of you should step up and get with the plan.[/one_half_last]

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A Final Thought

August 15, 2015

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. ― Ingmar Bergman

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]I have had a number of thoughts this week about converting still photographs to video, more than a few of them born out of frustration at not having a clue what I’m doing at any given moment. I had this same feeling about twelve years ago when I first made the leap from film to digital photography. The difference is that the change then felt imperative, that there was no option but to change or be left behind in the dust. I don’t get that feeling about video, but I do have a final thought or two on the subject.

First thought: Video isn’t going away and photographers who want to remain commercially active in the field need, at the very least, a cursory understanding of the medium and the tools involved. My biggest frustration this week has been not knowing the tools. I understand Adobe® Photoshop™, and am comfortable with what I can achieve with that tool. I also understand its features well enough to know that a little goes a long way and that less is often better. I’m not sure those rules apply to video and felt lost more often than not. Perhaps there needs to be classes specifically oriented toward photographers, taking what we already know and translating that to video.

Second thought: The dangers that were present with digital photography are present in digital video as well. Just like Photoshop™, Premiere Pro™ has a lot of different capabilities built-in to address a wide variety of needs and challenges that are common to the medium. A number of the effects and presets are meant to be used in various combination with each other, but exactly how to do that isn’t necessarily obvious. So, there’s the danger of misuse and overuse. That is one of the points we try to make in the first half of today’s project. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. There’s a sense of discretion needed and just as with photography when that judgment is lacking it will drive the rest of us crazy.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Third thought: Video is not going to replace still photography. When I started this project, in the back of my mind were the moving, animated pictures mentioned in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The more I’ve played with things this week, the more I’m convinced that the difference between a still and moving picture is too emotionally complex and different for one to fully replace the other. Sure, as technology provides different applications for viewing both we’re going to see popularity wax and wane. They’ll still remain to distinct forms of visual media, though, and each will have its own purpose.

Fourth thought: For the time being, short formats, such as the 30-second ad-styled projects we’ve done this week, may be better for still photographs than trying to stretch them into a long format. Tutorial material would be the exception to that thought, but beyond a couple of minutes a still image in video format feels forced. We expect video to move, to do something, to change in some way. When a still image remains static in video format it’s a different emotion than just looking at the same image in purely photographic format.

Final thought: I don’t want to be a videographer. I’m quite happy with my still images, thank you. Video editing is far too complex and highly specialized for my brain to even begin to make that leap. I can’t imagine ever having the patience necessary to edit actual video segments. One thing I take away from this week is a new respect for those who manage to edit video quickly and efficiently on a daily basis.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our adventure this week. Next week we move to something more sedate. We hope you’ll join us. Today’s original photograph is below.[/one_half_last]

Pinup Revival (2009)

Advertising / PotD / video

One Voice

August 14, 2015

Hitchcock makes it very clear to us. There’s an objective and a subjective camera, like there’s a third- and a first-person narrator in literature. —Manuel Puig

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Oops, sorry, but if you were looking for the Barry Manilow song One Voice, this isn’t it. You can find that song here, if you’re really insistent. And old. Like me. Actually, it’s the only song from the 1979 album of the same name that I like at all, and it’s actually the 2010 version he did with acapella group Straight No Chaser that I prefer. You can find that one here, but again, the song has absolutely nothing to do with today’s picture. They just happen to share a name. That’s it. Hope you’re not too disappointed. If you’re younger than 50 you’re probably wondering what I’m even talking about.

What we did with today’s picture, which was completely reprocessed from the original to fit the video format, was experiment with adding a voice over, one voice, specifically my voice, to the video. Narration of this kind is a fairly common thing for short videos such as this, so I figured it couldn’t be too terribly difficult, especially given the challenges we’ve already had this week. My assumption was that this might not be easy, but would be reasonably doable without having to purchase new equipment of any kind.

Let me just say that equipment certainly does matter and the absence of a high-quality recording contributed to the challenges of laying a voice track over everything else. In an ideal world, the voice over would be recorded separately where it could be appropriately equalized and its levels adjusted professionally. Instead, what we ended up with was a recording that caught every possible background sound and left my voice sounding as though I was shouting into an empty room. [/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]To its credit, Adobe® Premiere Pro™ has a number of filters built into its effects selection that did a great job of removing most the background noise. You probably won’t hear the air conditioner running. You definitely won’t hear the cat jumping into my lap in the middle of recording. You won’t even hear my hand bumping my coffee cup right toward the end. The tools in the software are not sloppy by any stretch of the imagination. Any deficiency here is mine. To be able to properly utilize those tools, though, would take much more time than what I have to offer the project this week.

Adding the voice over to this picture was made somewhat easier by the fact we didn’t have to follow complicated motion or animation that would have required precise synchronization between the audio and video tracks. Yes, that capability is there, but again, we would be looking at a severely steep learning curve that doesn’t fit well with the remainder of my schedule this week. There are other things to do. Such as laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. As much fun as synching a voice to animation might be, that’s just a luxury we don’t currently have.

What we have, though, is one voice over what is actually two images. This allowed us to reveal the photograph slowly so that one actually listens to the narration. I like the overall effect, but, perhaps like most people, I’m less than thrilled with the sound of my own voice. We never sound how we think we’re supposed to sound. There’s a scientific reason for that but it would take a lot of time to explain. Barry Manilow is more interesting.

The original image and appropriate credits are below.[/one_half_last]

A Second Thought (2012). Model: Kat Gulling; Makeup: Danelle French; Hair: Kelly Walsh; Styling: Jantina Anderson; Studo assistance: Brian Logan

Advertising / PotD / video

Title This

August 13, 2015

You make a film to distract people, to interest them, perhaps to make them think, perhaps to help them be a little less naive, a little better than they were. —Claude Chabrol

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]What is a title? We hear the word and most people think of a book title, or the name of a song, perhaps. So, to tell someone that I’ve been playing with titles all day, or that a title has been causing me trouble, or that I can’t get a title to fit, is confusing to the average person without taking the time to give the word some additional context. Let me do that now: A title is to film what copy is to printed material; words that explain or emphasize or instruct or give credit.

Titles are everywhere in almost every form of video. The opening segment of one of my favorite cartoons, Phineas and Ferb, ends with DeeDee shouting, “Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!” Instantly, you’ve learned something about video production you didn’t already know. Any time you see words on a screen in any form or fashion it is a title. So, the opening of a show that list actors, producers, and the name of a show is a title sequence. The credits at the end of a movie are another title sequence. The product name and tagline at the end of a commercial is another. The video world is full of title sequences.

Titling is one of the advantages video has over still imagery or print. With print copy, there is limited space and text can easily get in the way or even overpower an image. While ads from a century ago tended to try and cram every bit of information they could into small print on a page, we’ve since learned that less is more and often we see ads with only one word and the product logo. A title sequence gives us a little more space and a number of different options so we can say more without it being overwhelming.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]I have to admit that, at least to some extent, I’m not using the best tool for the job here. Video editing is a complex monster, as we’ve learned this week, and requires multiple tools to handle the various pieces that go into the average video. Of course, those tools cost additional money and the cost can grow large rather quickly. Our goal at the beginning of the week was to stay within the boundaries of what comes by default with Adobe® Premiere Pro™, so we held today’s experiment to that confinement, though most professionals would shudder at doing so.

I also avoided the use of any special effects for the title sequences, beyond those that cause them to appear and disappear from the screen. Animating titles seems to be a big thing, especially giving it the appearance that someone is writing on the screen. I actually looked into that one. Again, wrong tools and way too much effort for something not going into full-fledged broadcast. I also question whether such gimmicks actually help the message or distract from it. These are merely experiments and I do have other things to do with my day.

Titles do help drive the point we’re trying to make with today’s image. I could just post the picture with copy that says, “Experience counts,” and you would likely get the message. The title sequences in the video explain why that experience counts and also embeds a concept that photography isn’t something one just “picks up.” Are the titles effective? You tell me. 30 seconds isn’t all that long for those who can’t read well. The original photo is below.[/one_half_last]

The Pain of Beauty (2012)

photographer

The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.—Richard Dawkins

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this week’s photographs are strictly those of the author: charles i. letbetter, and do not necessarily reflect the attitudes or opinions of the models involved in the pictures. If you don’t like what you see, don’t blame the model. Thank you.

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The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn’t know which was which.—Helen Mirren

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Blue jeans are the most beautiful things since the gondola.—Diana Vreeland

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A friend sat next to a nun on a plane. He asked her what she missed most. “Wearing blue jeans,” she replied. —Amy Krouse Rosenthal

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Anyone who is secure about herself shouldn’t be threatened by the ads I do. What we’re doing is fun—if you have any sense of humor at all! —Calvin Klein

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Fashion is mysterious, as a rule. Why are blue jeans a classic? You just hit on something that happens to be timeless and right.-Diane von Furstenberg

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I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity – all I hope for in my clothes. -Yves Saint-Laurent

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Sex is more exciting on the screen and between the pages than between the sheets ― Andy Warhol

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People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly. ― Andy Warhol

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If something’s going to happen for you, it will, you can’t make it happen. And it never does happen until you’re past the point where you care whether it happens or not. ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

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Just because people throw it out and don’t have any use for it, doesn’t mean it’s garbage. ― Andy Warhol

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I just do art because I’m ugly and there’s nothing else for me to do. ― Andy Warhol

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Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. ― Andy Warhol

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There is something very freeing about being anonymous because nothing is expected of you; nothing is getting back to anyone, and no one cares. —Dolly Wells

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The breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind. ― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

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In Sleep we lie all naked and alone, in Sleep we are united at the heart of night and darkness, and we are strange and beautiful asleep; for we are dying the darkness and we know no death. —Tom Wolfe

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The great seductresses in history knew that it isn’t just about trying to look sexy or pretty; it’s an art and one becomes skillful in it when she realizes that there are all these conflicting elements that all come together to make something magical. —Dita Von Teese

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There is something vulnerable about showing your tattoos to people, even while it gives you a feeling that you are wearing a sleeve when you are naked. —Lena Dunham

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I always say: To be well dressed you must be well naked. —Oscar de la Renta

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Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. —Bill Bradley

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To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength. ― Criss Jami

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Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. ― Ingmar Bergman

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Hitchcock makes it very clear to us. There’s an objective and a subjective camera, like there’s a third- and a first-person narrator in literature. —Manuel Puig

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You make a film to distract people, to interest them, perhaps to make them think, perhaps to help them be a little less naive, a little better than they were. —Claude Chabrol

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