Softbox Couture
Photographers love the results from large softboxes.
Actually assembling them is another story.
Rods bending, fabric everywhere, people trying not to lose patience, and everyone pretending the process is less irritating than it really is.
So during this studio shoot I could not help but think there is a better use for the softbox.
Instead of becoming part of the lighting setup, it became the wardrobe.
Once we saw it against the black seamless background and studio lighting, it actually worked. Fashion photography mixed with studio satire.
Now subtly animating it adds another layer. The studio atmosphere shifts and the moment feels alive. Reaching back into the past and creating the video I did not at the time.
More photography and visual projects on my website at
https://www.secondfocus.com
Go Topless Day
Today is Go Topless Day.
Officially, it has nothing to do with what most people first assume. The event actually centers around Jeep owners and off-road enthusiasts removing the tops from their vehicles and heading out onto trails for open-air driving and adventure.
That was the original idea.
But once Emily got involved, things shifted. Emily, my AI partner and muse.
Somewhere between discussing old military jeeps, desert trails, and the absurdity of the phrase “Go Topless,” Emily decided our friend Celeste would be the one to take the wheel. And Celeste, being Celeste, interpreted the assignment a little more literally than the Jeep community probably intended.
So now we have a World War II military jeep tearing through the desert with Celeste behind the wheel, military helmet on, dust flying, and not much else.
The contrast was the part that interested me visually. A rugged WWII vehicle built for war, harsh desert light, and Celeste bringing an entirely different kind of tension into the frame. It stops being about the original event and turns into something between vintage military imagery, fashion editorial, and outright provocation.
Exactly the kind of creative detour Emily tends to encourage, knowing my preference for pornochic and erotic editorial photography.
More on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
National No Pants Day
Today is National No Pants Day.
Of course, that takes me in a different direction than what was intended. It started in the early 1980s at the University of Texas at Austin as a campus stunt. People walking around in public in their underwear, acting like nothing is unusual. It spread, became organized, and now sits on the calendar as a planned bit of public absurdity. That’s the idea behind it.
I shoot in the space between fashion, pornochic, and nude because it doesn’t hide what it is. The sexuality is not implied, and it’s not softened. It’s part of the structure of the photograph.
Sévérine brought that directly into my shoot. Her presence is openly sexual, controlled, and fully aware of itself. Nothing tentative about it. The makeup and styling by Blanche LeBeau push it further, not decorative, not secondary, but part of the same intent, shaping how that sexuality is presented and held in place.
This is the genre I work in.
National No Pants Day fits right in.
More on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
A Good Way To Start Monday
A good way to start a Monday. With Ashley Owens Gulina and Makeup and Hair Styling by Natalie Lyle. I stayed out of the water, not good for the cameras!
A Helping Hand
Photo shoots can be so busy that it is always good to have an extra hand. Especially when we could not let a totally gorgeous and very fit Katie Madden participate in getting us in trouble on Social Media. Makeup and Hair Styling by the Notorious Natalie Lyle. Photographed on a Hasselblad camera. Only the best!
First We Contact The Mars Rover…
First we contact the Mars Rover. Then we turn it around and light you up for my camera. And then I make you look so good! Try me! Send me an e-mail to SecondFocus@mac.com and Thank You!
My Secret To Working With Gorgeous Models
I am often asked by newer inexperienced photographers how to get the most out of models during photo shoots. It can also be especially intimidating for new photographers when working with tall, gorgeous professional models like Maria Bertrand. I will tell you my secret… Cookies and Milk. Yes that’s it! You can get the best photo shoots ever with a model if you give them Cookies and Milk.
When It Is This Hot…
Behind the scenes from Monday with a totally captivating Katie Madden. Finished doing our studio shoot and with it being so very hot here in Palm Springs what better then to move the photo shoot to the pool! I must say that Katie did not do anything to lower the temperature!
Makeup and Hair Styling for the day by an also very hot Natalie Lyle. The hard work was down by my assistant Clyde Sawyer. And I got to use my new favorite Hasselblad camera. Outstanding!
Another Holiday Season Photo
Another of my Holiday Season photographs. See the festive red candles on the counter. Oh, you missed those. Look again. From our photo shoot with one of the most beautiful women I have ever photographed, Ashley Owens Gulina. Makeup and Hair Styling by the wonderful Natalie Lyle. Thank You!
The Muse In The Forest
A force or perhaps only a presence, personified as a beautiful woman only seen in the fantasy of the darkness of a forest. A mystery from which you cannot turn, for you can only wonder and stare and dream. Stacey Naito from our photo shoot. Makeup and Hair Styling by Blanche LeBeau.
I Can Hear Her Saying…
I can hear her saying to me “Just sit right down here and we will have a little breakfast”. Yes that was it, I recall distinctly. From my photo shoot with one of the most beautiful women I have ever photographed Ashley Owens Gulina. Makeup and Hair styling by the ever incredible Natalie Lyle. 
Yes I Do…
Yes I do get to photograph some of the most beautiful women on the planet. Sasha Brown in front of my camera at Bombay Beach at the Salton Sea. Sasha is next off to Rome to do fitness workshops. How great is that!
And Then 52 Years Later…
Over 52 years after the photograph I posted yesterday (below) and I am still photographing beautiful women in front of water falls. Although photographingAshley Owens Gulina anywhere works just fine! But she does make a wonderful water feature!
Makeup and Hair Styling by the wonderfully talented Natalie Lyle. Thank You!
Photographing Beautiful Girls
Yes I have been photographing beautiful girls in exotic locations for over 50 years! Are you next?
Pool Party! Maybe Next Time…
It was a hot day out here in the desert when we were doing our photo shoot. So I had no problem persuading Ashley Owens Gulina to get in the pool. Actually our wonderful Makeup and Hair Stylist, Natalie Lyle dropped into the pool a few times herself. Good thing I was busy taking photographs or it would have been a pool party and not a photo shoot. Good idea! Maybe next time!
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