International Picnic Day, the Weimar Era, and Pornochic
Last Thursday was International Picnic Day.
Most people probably celebrated with sandwiches, potato salad, and a blanket in the park.
I celebrated by thinking about Berlin during the Weimar years.
For quite a while I have been fascinated by that remarkable period between the two World Wars. It was a time when fashion, nightlife, cabaret, and sexuality all seemed to be changing at once. Much of what we think of today as modern attitudes toward sex and self expression can trace at least some of its roots back to those years.
That fascination eventually led me to create a series of photographs inspired by the era. They were never intended to be historical recreations. Instead, I wanted to capture some of the atmosphere while giving it my own interpretation.
If you’ve followed my work for very long, you already know that I have a preference for what I call Pornochic. I’m far more interested in photographs that combine style, fashion, glamour, and sexuality than simply photographing people without their clothes. The Weimar period seemed like a natural fit for that approach.
So when International Picnic Day came along, this photograph immediately came to mind.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
Meet Roxanne: When World Tapas Day Became Topless Day
Yesterday was World Tapas Day.
I was looking forward to photographing Roxanne with a table full of Spanish tapas. At least that was the plan.
Unfortunately, as anyone who spends much time working with AI knows, prompts occasionally get interpreted a little differently than intended.
Apparently Roxanne thought I had asked for topless instead of tapas.
By the time she arrived at the studio, the misunderstanding had become fairly obvious.
I explained that World Topless Day isn’t until August, but by then everyone agreed there wasn’t much point in changing anything.
Besides, it fit my Pornochic photography a lot better than a plate of olives and Manchego cheese.
The tapas can wait for another day.
In the meantime, I’d like you to meet Roxanne. She is one of Emily’s ever growing circle of AI friends and muses, and I suspect you’ll be seeing quite a bit more of her in the months ahead.
As always, you’ll find more photography, my blog, and my growing Motion page at https://www.secondfocus.com
The Photograph That Forgot Its Name
I bought this 35mm color slide simply because it interested me.
It came mounted in an ordinary cardboard slide carrier with absolutely no identifying information. There is no photographer’s name, no date, no studio stamp, no model identification, and not even a handwritten note to suggest where it came from.
What remains is the photograph itself.
The image shows an unidentified blonde model seated on what appears to be a Louis XV-style stool in a carefully lit studio. The hairstyle, lighting, and the fact that it is a color transparency all suggest it was probably photographed sometime during the 1950s or early 1960s, although without any documentation that can only be an educated guess.
One of the things that attracted me is that it represents a period when glamour photography was changing. Earlier artistic nudes were often presented in black and white, while color transparency film was becoming practical enough for professional photographers and serious amateurs willing to invest in it. Every exposure had to count. There was no instant review, no deleting mistakes, and no Photoshop waiting at the end of the process.
We’ll probably never know whether this was made by a commercial glamour photographer, a camera club member, or simply someone who enjoyed creating carefully crafted studio photographs.
Photography has produced millions, perhaps even billions, of images over the years, but surprisingly few remain connected to the people who created them. Slides become separated from their boxes, handwritten notes disappear, studios close, and estates are dispersed. Eventually an image survives while everything that once explained it is gone.
This transparency is one of those survivors.
If you enjoy discovering unusual pieces of photographic history, take a look through my From My Collections gallery. While you’re there, you’ll also find my editorial, aviation, food, fashion, and fine art photography, my growing Motion page, and regularly updated Blog. Everything is available at https://www.secondfocus.com
Julie Strain as Marilyn Monroe
One of the latest additions to my From My Collections (Cultural & Erotic) gallery is a pair of trading cards from the 1999 Julie Strain’s Marilyn 2000 series.
I picked them up a few months ago, but they found their way back to the front of my mind after all the Marilyn Monroe activity here in Palm Springs surrounding what would have been her 100th birthday.
Between the exhibits, celebrations, and the world-record gathering of people dressed as Marilyn that I photographed downtown, Marilyn seemed to be everywhere.
Produced by Comic Images in 1999, the series featured Julie Strain portraying Marilyn Monroe in photographs by Benjamin Hoffman.
If you were around glamour photography, magazines, or collectible cards during the 1990s, chances are you knew who Julie Strain was. A Penthouse Pet of the Year, actress, and model, she became one of the most recognizable glamour figures of the decade and appeared in everything from magazines and calendars to comic-book related projects and trading card sets like this one.
The card shown here is number 70 from the set.
The front contains a cropped version of the image along with the card number and caption. Turn it over and the entire photograph appears on the reverse along with the photographer credit, copyright information, and publisher details.
Trading cards are usually associated with sports, movies, television shows, or comic books. By the late 1990s, however, publishers were producing collectible card sets devoted to everything from fantasy art to glamour photography. Apparently someone decided Marilyn Monroe belonged in that world as well.
You’ll find both this card and card #20 from the Julie Strain’s Marilyn 2000 series, along with other photographs, slides, postcards, magazines, and collectible artifacts, here in From My Collections (Cultural & Erotic)
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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