Newness

Shot Saturday night and Sunday morning. Yes, it was exhausting, but I think the photos are cool. I've posted to sample shots here, with the rest going on the website soon.

Also, my Dalek and Diana cameras arrived yesterday. I have a quick beauty shoot Friday, and I get to play. More on that later.

A few things

1. A note to the SF peeps: seriously, the rain? Over it.

2. Smut, Vol. 1, a new book from Nerve.com, has a photo from one of my sets on pg. 56.

3. I'll be shooting avant-garde, high fashion, bondage-esque fashion Saturday night, and swimwear Sunday morning. Hopefully, the photos will be done by the end of the week, after which I'll have a quick beauty shoot (two looks), and hopefully, a website update that weekend. I'll blog about it in case you forget.

4. Marin MOCA show is still on. I can't go, but you should.

5. I am a loyal Mac user. Always have been. My dad was bringing home Apples when I was still in diapers. I was typing by two, albeit slowly. I had a Newton in elementary school. I really was one of those people who had an iPod before everyone else. The Boy is either on a Mac or Linux (I'm ok with a mixed marriage). I don't think I have the chops to be called a bona fide tech geek, but I'd like to think I can handle a machine.

Now, I've been working on my Powerbook for a while--yes, mine is old enough to be called a Powerbook. It has served me well. It's just not serving my needs the same way. So, back around the holidays, I decided I was going to really start investigating a replacement. Since I spend SOOOOOO many hours in front of the computer, I need my eyes, and I usually forget to wear my reading glasses, I decided to upgrade to 17", and something really, really sexy. No point in getting something in December when MWE was a few weeks away. So I waited. And waited. And finally, Apple made their announcement: Macbook Air.

MACBOOK AIR?! WTF?! I like my computers like I like my men: Big. Reliable. Dent-resistant. Specs aside, the Air looks like I should put bruschetta on top and serve it at a party. This isn't a review of the Air; I actually don't think I'm qualified to really judge it based on anything other than aesthetics (as I said, I never claimed to be a tech geek.) Macrumors is saying not to get one since we're due for an upgrade. It's been 235 days since a change, with the average being 186 days. Damn it, I want a new computer!

Sorry. It won't stop raining. My computer is cranky. I have two shoots, and no room for the photos. I'm a little cranky.

I switch to digital, and this is what happens.

I used to be a die-hard film gal. Hated the darkroom for some reason, but loved shooting with film. I'd buy all sorts of kinds and just play around. I even bought a few rolls of infrared just for grins and giggles.

But I never really did anything with them. I had a thing going, I needed certain things. I had go-to, trustworthy film, and clients who weren't paying for experimentation. But I was going through 40-50 rolls of film per shoot, and I knew I had to go to the dark side.

So I bought the Nikon D200 a few years ago. I LOVE it. So much faster. So much freedom! It was great for what I was trying to do. It has served me well.

Well, now that I shoot fashion, I'm trying to teach myself the language of the genre, studying modeling (I can pose. Who knew?), lighting, and what the best photos say. I still have a lot to learn, but I want to make things a little different. So while I was home in DC, I was going through all my old photo books, and it hit me--color infrared fashion shots! Brilliant! It couldn't be editorial, since the garments would be completely distorted, but they'd look freakin' awesome. So I plan the shoot. I buy the clothing. I get the hair, makeup, and models. I go to buy the film.

Kodak discontinued its color infrared film a few months ago. Monochrome infrared will soon be departing, too.

WTF?! You can't discontinue infrared film! It's not like you can really, truly replicate it with Photoshop or something--it's unique! It's special! Damn you, Kodak!

So, the shoot. I've purchased two really cool-looking toy cameras, some expired film, and we'll see what happens. The shoot is Sunday, the equipment hasn't arrived yet. Today's shoot has been postponed to Saturday (I think), and Friday's model bailed, so I'm out looking for a hot acrobat. Such is life.

Like MCM Furniture? Like My Art? In SF? Good News!

If you're in the Bay Area, might I suggest going to a furniture showroom opening on Sunday? Lynne Jensen, owner of Klassik by Lynne, is having the grand opening of her new showroom this Sunday. She has some GREAT mid-century modern pieces--I'd live there if I could. My first solo "adult" purchase was a MCM teak console from the 60s that I ADORE, and I got it from her for a scandalously decent price. Seriously, I love this piece of furniture. I know it's just an object, but it's just so freakin' cool.

Anyway, back to me. She asked me to print and prep a few prints for the opening, so among the very cool European furniture will be my five archival-grade framed prints available for collecting. Each is 16"x20", acid-free mat, glare-free UV-filtering glass, $500. You should come!

The nitty-gritty:
Who: Klassik by Lynne/Lynne Jensen, me
What: Grand opening of her new showroom, a chance to collect some great photography
Where: 1313 67th st. Emeryville, CA, 94608
When: Sunday, Jan. 20, 10-3
Why: She has some great, great furniture, and I have some great, great, art. You should come, give us money, and make your home prettier.

Post #301: I'm Not Going Anywhere! Ha!

So, call me jaded, but I was expecting more insults and epithets in response to my last post. Instead, I got some great positive feedback! Thank you! I feel all warm and toasty inside. Really. I'll be keeping the blog to post updates, but more to keep an archive. If I have some good stories to tell, I'll pass those along, too.

If anyone lives in the New Haven region, "Always Tip Housekeeping" will be in "Black and White: A National Photography Exhibition" at the Arts and Literature Laboratory. The show opens tomorrow, Janurary 12, and closes February 9. For more info go to http://www.allgallery.org/.

If you are in the Bay Area, "Always Tip Housekeeping" (again) will be in "It's Photography III: A National Exhibition" at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato. I can actually go to that one, so if you see a freakishly tall chick who looks vaguely like Snow White, that's me (and also the most I'll divulge about my looks. :) ) The show opens Febrary 2nd and closes March 2. For more info, go to http://www.marinmoca.org.

I'm still on the East Coast, currently writing in NYC, but I go back to DC Sunday, then I fly to SF Thursday. When I get back, I have four shoots planned. I won't spoil the surprise, but I will say that one will use a special film process, one will be of some crazy, avant-garde, architectural fashion, one will be of some crazy/pretty portraits, and one will be swimwear, and I like skimpy. I'd like to say this time next month, the website will have tons of new work, but The Boy gets older on 2/12, then it's V-day. I'll try to get everything done before then.

300th Post: My Last?

It was fun while it lasted.

When I was shooting erotica, the blog was a good idea. I could post new work immediately, I could rant about the fuckers who harassed me, sexually and otherwise, and I could notify people of various professional developments. Fact is, now that I mostly shoot portraits and fashion (and have "officially become boring" according to one asshole reader--thanks, buddy), I have no need for the blog. The title is no longer accurate. It's gotten easier to post new work directly to the site. I intend to shoot more regularly, so checking the site once a month would suffice. I might still post a notice if I'm in a show, but I've cut back on submitting to those, too, so even those posts would be cut back to a minimum. I just don't need the blog anymore. I'll keep it up for the time being, just in case, but I doubt I'll really use it.

I want to address the fashion/erotica thing. While most of the feedback I've gotten on the new site has been positive (thankfully), a few people have expressed their anger and disappointment in the switch. I'm flattered you liked the photos so much, but I'm not sorry. I'd say 75% of my experiences were positive--I'm proud of the work I made, and I met some great people; erotic art is still so misunderstood, and I'm glad most people I've met have been open-minded and sex-positive. But the harassment and lack of creative flexibility just got to be too much. I had potential clients who didn't care about the art, craft, or skill of photography, and just wanted to be shot masturbating by some 20-something chick. A lot of people assumed I got off on watching, and were shocked and angered when I informed them that no, this was my job, and I expected to be paid. One man went so far as to call me a "cunt" when I explained I didn't work pro bono. As for recent requests for self-portraits, I won't show my face in conjunction with the work because it would be too easy to lose objectivity when looking at my work. If you thought I was attractive, your opinions of my photos could be artificially inflated. If you thought I was ugly, you might think, unfairly, those same photos just lost their eroticism. But beyond that, why ask the question in the first place? Would you still care if you knew I was a guy? Or 50? Why should it matter what I look like? If you think I'm good, I'll still be good no matter what I look like. If you think I'm a hack, being beautiful wouldn't change a thing.

I'm not leaving erotica, I'm just expanding my repertoire. Shooting fashion is SO different from erotica, it's such a challenge, and I have so much to learn. It's an incredibly competitive field, and I have a way to go before I get any kind of notoriety or recognition (or skill?) But it's fun. I haven't felt this energized about photography in a long, long time. It feels....comfortable. No one cares what I look like, the threat of harassment is almost completely gone, and I get to experiment and challenge myself the way I should have a long time ago. Erotica just got too easy. I'll still shoot it, but for now, I want to feel like I'm working when, you know, I'm working.

The blog might stay, or it might go, I haven't decided. Comment, don't comment, whatever. In the meantime, I'm just going to shoot my tush off. I fly back to CA next week, and I already have four shoots planned.

IT'S UP!!!

Happy New Year!

As promised, the new website is up. The URL is still www.samanthawolov.com. I've kept the basic design since it kept everything nice and organized, but I've changed the categories, added new content, removed quite a bit of old content, updated my resumé and press pages (adding, among other things, my doll set for the March 2008 issue of German Cosmo), and added a link to my sexy new Etsy store.

1. I have NOT retired from erotica. I shot nothing but erotica for over three years, it got a little stale, and I wasn't working the best I could because it wasn't challenging enough. Simply put, it was time for me to move on and expand my repertoire. I'll still shoot it, but I'll be concentrating on fashion work for the foreseeable future.

2. I have a store on Etsy.com now. Most, but not all, of the images on my website are available through Etsy, but I'll gladly make custom prints. While I normally sell 11"x14" prints to collectors, I've decided to sell more user-friendly 8"x10 prints on Etsy. Both are available. The Etsy store can be found at samanthawolov.etsy.com.

One of the benefits of shooting fashion now is that I'll have lots of new work sooner. I'll be in DC until the 17th, and when I get back to SF, I have a few things lined up. At least three shoots, possibly a spread in a major local SF magazine, and, of course, Cosmo.

Thanks for being patient!