Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

visioluxus @ 2009-07-03T21:27:00

2009-07-04T04:27:21Z

Once in a while it's good to step out of one's comfort zone I guess. One thing I vowed never to shoot was a) a vampire with fangs and b) anything involving fake blood. As it happens I received a request to shoot exactly that as part of the cover art of a CD for the awesome Metal band Razer from Arizona. I love the model so I agreed to do it to see what we could come up with. Although I had to pause from time to time during the shoot because I was laughing at the silliness of it all this is my favorite image . The band chose a couple of other shots that weren't as dramatically "evil" and more sexy. The final image will be cropped and worked into the cover art.

See band's choice here

Ah, the things we do for money!

visioluxus @ 2009-06-22T14:07:00

2009-06-22T21:07:08Z

Goals

2009-06-16T23:50:39Z

One of my goals is to have 1000 images on file with Corbis (currently I have 417) as soon as possible. This should be a large enough selection to produce a regular part time income.

Using a crude mathematical calculation based on the fact that my editor selects approximately 16% of the images I submit I would have to shoot almost 3700 submittable images to reach my goal. Each photo shoot results in about 15 final images of which only 3 to 5 are sent for editor approval. Therefore I would have to complete 925 individual photo concepts. I probably average about 10 successful concepts a month since there are months where I don't shoot at all and some that are very busy and of course photo shoots that are utter crap. That would mean it would take me almost eight years to reach my goal. That is a very daunting number. I will be 50 years old before I reach that goal at my current rate.

Ugh.

This reminds me I must check my lottery ticket.

visioluxus @ 2009-06-13T11:11:00

2009-06-13T18:11:17Z

Yesterday was so lovely - the little one was with her grandmother so the hubby and I started the first day of Operation Tennis whereupon we are going to try and play tennis as often as we can to get some exercise together. I like to run which he does not and he loves to play basketball which I suck at so we are hoping tennis will be the glue that binds.

We then had a lovely lunch of mango and avocado and green onions with lime juice and fresh bread, cleaned our selves up pretty and headed downtown. We spent almost 2 hours at the library pouring over landscaping, cooking and gardening books and then moved on the Portland Art Museum to see the M.C. Escher exhibit. It is alway so wonderful to see the artist's sketches and plates. It was a great exhibit and included many pieces from concept to completion with the wood cuts and everything. It also had his "Creation" series from his college days that represents the first 7 days of creation and they were really amazing to see.

While admiring the beautiful printwork of Beth Van Hoesen in the basement gallery I told Phillip that if he wants me to start drawing again he should leave me daily love notes when he leaves for work with an idea or phrase on them and I will have to draw it before he comes home. We'll see how well that works out but it could be a fun exercise.

Then to balance out the day of health and high art we bought a dozen donuts for our dinner from Sesame Donuts and watched Jason Statham in "Death Race" which was AWESOME.

A good, good day.

visioluxus @ 2009-06-12T10:58:00

2009-06-12T17:58:05Z

Go see my husbands latest paper creation, a steampunk mech based on an old train. All paper, glue and paint, it stands about 11 inches tall. The really amazing thing to me (besides the knobs on the pipes) is that fact that he hand embossed the wood grain into the paper to make the barrel.

He has shots from all sides on Flickr, it's really amazing!

Study in Motion III

2009-06-09T21:37:32Z

Study in Motion III, originally uploaded by VisioLuxus.

Toads and Diamonds

2009-06-09T16:47:13Z

Toads and Diamonds, originally uploaded by VisioLuxus.

"This gift I make you," continued the fairy, "that with every word you speak, either a flower or a jewel will fall from your mouth."

-"Toads and Diamonds" by Charles Perrault

I always found this fairytale fascinatingly awful. Although the bad sister was punished with toads and snakes falling out of her mouth I can't imagine that flowers and jewels falling out of your mouth every time you open it is all that much better.

visioluxus @ 2009-06-08T10:33:00

2009-06-08T17:33:34Z

visioluxus @ 2009-06-07T17:12:00

2009-06-08T00:12:43Z

visioluxus @ 2009-06-03T23:30:00

2009-06-04T06:30:11Z

There will be lots more of these, they all turned out so beautifully. She stepped right out of a Rossetti painting.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-30T16:09:00

2009-05-30T23:09:07Z

I have recently signed with a local agent, Tryst Artist Representation who will be representing my botanical series as well as the "Forms in Nature" projection series as fine are pieces for use as decorative art. I am resistant to gallery shows which are for the most part fruitless in this town and am more interested in connecting with art buyers, collectors, interior decorators, boutique hotels and so forth. I love shooting floral subjects, love love love it. The natural world holds endless fascination for me.

Nothing is New

2009-05-29T15:27:00Z

I was asked recently if people ever copy my work and how I feel about that. I believe two things - "Nothing is New" and "Circumstances Can Never Be Duplicated".
I know there are oodles of photographers out there who shoot painted and textured nudes using the exact same materials I do and we are all unaware of eachother. I also know I will do something that someone else already shot a hundred times over (bunny mask, for example; people wrapped in fabric for another) but you can never ever duplicate the date, time, weather, mood the model was in, mood the photographer was in, how the fabric fell, how the water dripped, the position of the earth, the level of humidity - all those variables. You could even shoot with the same model and perhaps duplicate the lighting circumstances and camera equipment but the model will be a little older, the photographer is different and stars are in a new position.

This photographer's work is a perfect example. If you were to describe what I do on paper it would sound just like what he does. But we are nowhere close to eachother in final concept execution! I don't think I would do anything with worms though, I don't consider them very aesthetic.

I remember taking a random photo of the light refraction on the wall from a crystal door knob in my hallway. I thought it was quite beautiful and interesting and rather unique. Two months later I came across the same shot in a biography of Ruth Bernhard taken in the 1930's, and her shot was better.

Tentacles V

2009-05-28T15:34:37Z

New shoot, old concept.

Tentacles V, originally uploaded by VisioLuxus.

One of my personal favorites from the shoot.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-27T15:58:00

2009-05-27T22:58:18Z

Old idea, new interpretation. Modeling by the brave erikamoen

They're back!

2009-05-27T22:55:25Z

Thought I would give the octopus tentacles another go round. This time it was just the tentacles (24 of them!) and another brave model (erikamoen) and the skills of the octopus wrangler, also known as my husband. The idea this time was to decorate the model with tentacles as I would with beads or fabric. Unfortunately this limited the type of poses she could strike as the tentacles were very prone to go slithering off her body if the balance wasn't just right. Again the octopus was procured frozen at a Chinese grocery store settled among the duck heads, dried squid and fish balls.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-27T11:01:00

2009-05-27T18:01:09Z

Hee - I have a guest appearance in a comic by the talented and bendy Erika Moen! Check it out here! You can see my photo concepts in comic form too!
No seriously, check it out, her comic is brilliant and funny and touchingly honest.Go now.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-25T22:02:00

2009-05-26T05:02:53Z

visioluxus @ 2009-05-25T22:01:00

2009-05-26T05:01:50Z

Forms in Nature III

2009-05-21T20:45:30Z

Forms in Nature III, originally uploaded by VisioLuxus.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-20T20:07:00

2009-05-21T03:07:22Z

I felt the models skills needed to be honored here for being able to create different stories and moods with her body language, thus the many many bunny pictures. Plus I love all the images from this set. Click through to Flickr to see the rest.

Alice and the White Rabbit

2009-05-19T23:19:37Z

Dream Bunny

2009-05-19T18:03:40Z

Dream Bunny, originally uploaded by VisioLuxus.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-18T14:14:00

2009-05-18T21:14:38Z

My new baby, an air plant! I love it, I can't stop talking to it and carrying around.

visioluxus @ 2009-05-09T21:33:00

2009-05-10T04:33:09Z

OMG! Most awesome Mother's Day Gift from my mother to me. Watch the whole thing, it's funny to the end (for us moms anyway) and the running stats are the bottom are amusing as well. Barack Obama even gives me props!

Mother of the Year!

Send it to your mom!

visioluxus @ 2009-05-07T15:43:00

2009-05-07T22:43:37Z

My 9 year old daughter and her friends have discovered the genius that is Weird Al.
I'm so proud...