Better than Christmas*

*Even though I'm "of the tribe."

IT'S HERE!!!!!

The new MacBook Pros were unveiled this morning, and I ordered one.

It's arrival will add to the excitement over the next few weeks.

Cosmo/Tearsheet, Project Runway, Wesbite

1. Apparently, Barnes and Noble doesn't sell German Cosmo. Haven't checked with Borders or Juicy News, as I will be receiving a few copies directly from the editor. If you're stateside, try:

http://www.cosmopolitan.de/m,inhalt/

Then, just click on the curled page in the corner until you see kinky dolls. Those are mine.

2. Heather Riley, the glorious Managing Editor over at Box Magazine (box-mag.com) has informed me that those naughty flip books we published a year ago are part of a gift bag at a party thrown by Christian, one of the contestants/finalists on this season's "Project Runway." I really like Christian. There were some stand-outs this season (Jillian was creative, poised, and seemed to "come from good cloth" [har har], Chris March is 100% camp and 100% fabulous, and Sweet Pea really help her own towards the end), but Christian might be my favorite. Looking aside from the fact that we're both very young in relation to our peers/competition in our respective fields (but still holding our own), he's an AMAZING designer. Plus, he's just so damn adorable, which sounds a little weird given that I'm only two years older than him. So, if you're Christian, or someone who knows Christian enough to go to his party, and you found me through a dirty flipbook: Hi!

To the noobs, here's a quick summary so you don't have to pour over years of blog posts: I'm 23, I live in Berkeley with "The Boy" (whom I've been dating since we we re zygotes), I'm a photography autodidact, I've been shooting professionally since I was 19, most of that spent shooting people fucking. It served me well, got me a few book covers, a few awards, and a few fans, but I wanted something more challenging, so I switched to fashion photography a few months ago. My degree is in Art History with a concentration in feminist/erotic art history. I keep an archive of crazy emails people send me, and few people in the "blogosphere" (did I just lose my street cred?) know what I actually look like, other than being very tall. The website is in limbo right now, but I've posted my latest fashion work here for your convenience. If you read a little further down, you'll know I'll have about a billion new shots by mid-March. And that, in a nutshell, is me.

2. People who know me I'm in a predicament regarding my computer. My computer is OLD. A sexy Mac, but old nonetheless. Also running out of room and painfully slow. it's what I can't update my website with all the great, new, editorial-quality fashion work I've *ahem* been shooting. I mean, let's be honest, there's some real crap on my site. What to do....what to do...Rumor has it that the new MBPs will have new Montevina processors, but those won't get "released" until June, which means probably not available for sale until July/August in time for the "Back to School" rush. If I get a new computer now, it will still be much, much better than what I have now, but it could be better. Do I wait? Do I cave? Thoughts?

Je Suis "Busy and Bee-like"

Wow. Ok, this is why you won't be hearing from me for a while:

Feb. 27: Super-secret private erotic shoot. Yes, I still do them for private clients if the gig seems good.

Feb. 29: Alternative-process fashion shoot

Mar. 1: Probably a creepy, mildly morbid shoe shoot. My friend Kim has a secret knowledge of SFX makeup. :D

Mar. 2: Beauty shoot with live animals in the morning, possibly very colorful fashion shoot in the afternoon with my favorite local designer.

Mar 8: Probably on location shooting another series for the aforementioned designer.

Mar 9: Probably something vaguely kinky, something Newton-esque involving cool fashion and a horse.

Mar. 14-19. Mom and partner visit.

Mar 19-22: The Boy's parents visit.

Mar 22-28(?): Dan, a good friend The Boy and I have known since elementary school, visits.

Somewhere in there I'll try to squeeze in more animal-themed beauty shoots, a texture-rich beauty shoot, and I have access to some GREAT gardens, so I'm plotting something with those.

Website, Personal Update

I spent the weekend in the hospital (I'm OK), and one of my cats back home in DC has about 24 hours to live. I've been immersing myself in work as a distraction.

You may have noticed my website hasn't been updated in a while, or at least when I said I would. I've decided that I will organize the fashion work by series, with each row dedicated to one series, and a separate section within the page for "miscellaneous" fashion work. Not hard, but given I have many shoots planned for the next few weeks and a computer about to die (no jokes about cat vs. computer, please, I'm not taking bets), I figured it was best to wait until I not only had a new computer, but I finished all the other shoots. We're looking at about a month, probably. At least two shoots next week, possibly two that weekend, and maybe one or two the first week of March. Then two weeks of visitors.

And to the senders of the few emails I've gotten over the last few days: I shoot fashion now. No nude girls. GET OVER IT. In the event that I do get back to nude or erotic work, rest assured I won't be contacting you anytime soon.

If You're Near a Big-Box Bookstore

Go find the March issue of German Cosmo and turn to page 50.


:)

"Big-Box"= Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc. If you're in SF, try Juicy News.

I Can't Get No....Satisfaction...

I have creative "blue balls." I have all these ideas for editorial spreads and fashion shoots (five at last count), and no one to shoot for! Normally what I do is just bankroll the shoot myself. Costs aren't terrible (kit fee for hair/makeup, studio rental, shipping/taxes on clothing), but they still add up. Plus, five shoots?! Granted, three of those are with a designer whom I ADORE, so the clothing is already provided, but I either need a sugar daddy/momma, a recently deceased rich relative who has left me everything, or an agent who, even though they will take some of my money, will actually help me generate in the first place, because I'm obviously not doing something right. We're getting there, though....

For the fun part: the shoots! I can't give away too much, but here are the teasers:
1. Very avant-garde beauty shoot involving animals. Some live, some dead. I have access to a horse. Possibly multiple horses.

2. Two, possibly three shoots with my oh-so-favorite local designer. More very awesome avant-garde fashions to come.

3. An alternative-process fashion series. These will actually generate awesome prints, which I will later be selling in fairly small edition sizes.

4. Yet another fashion series which I can't really describe, other than there's an element of subdued sexiness and an emphasis on a common material.

I'm pulling farther and farther away from erotica. This is my calling. I'll still get the periodic hateful email damning me because I have ceased my production of free masturbation fodder, but I'm having a blast. Even if I can't make a dime from it. :)

Etsy Updates

I'm still looking at programs like Red Cart to help me sell prints, but in the meantime, I have to depend on Etsy. For the last month an a half, I was [attempting] to sell 8x10 prints, which always bothered me, but I thought the more "universal" size and lower price would yield more sales. I was very, very wrong. So, I've gone through and changed everything to reflect how I've always sold prints: 11"x14", $100, free shipping.

There are quite a few fashion shots up, as well as perennial favorites like "Cattus Interruptus" and "Untitled (Shower Shot)." You'll have to go through me directly for prints on my website that aren't on Etsy.

Anyway, if you feel like getting some cool art: samanthawolov.etsy.com.

Up Again

Site seems to be up again, but still without the updates. Working on it.

Meanwhile, I've been submitting proposals to magazines like crazy, plotting more, and generally trying to get paid doing what I love. Minor detail.

Man Down!

My server is having issues. The site is temporarily down. I've been on the phone with tech support for about 30 minutes now. Go look at pictures of kitties or something.