Statement

I really need to clear up a few points that often are misunderstood. I am not really a fetish photographer, when you see women in my layouts are decked out in leather, vinyl, and spikes, - it is because this is what they brought with them. I rarely add any accessories at all ….. I shoot what walked in the door.

These women are not “models” in the traditional sense, and most of these women are shooting nude for the first time. They are friends, friends of friends and mothers of friends - women we all know - they are their beauty.

Many women have walked away from my studio or show and wondered whether “Would he use me as a model?” Well the first criteria has just been met: willingness; the second is a genuine, honest, and unpretentious personality. I have yet to turn down a volunteer that meets these criteria.

Some women think that their flaws prevent them from being models — not true at all. I have yet to meet a model with no flaws at all, but black and white is very forgiving and makes what I call the first level of flaws disappear. Gone are the stretch marks, light scars, and cellulite. More major marks go away with a change in position or lighting that can be so subtle it isn’t apparent something is being hidden.

One of the most important things that I have learned in this pursuit is that no matter what your shape or size, there is someone out there that finds that shape the most beautiful thing on earth.

My subjects come from varied backgrounds and situations but normally share similar traits, most have power and are in charge of their lives (many men would accuse them of having "attitude problems"). Overall they have an attitude in which they are comfortable with who they are and either have or are in the process of accepting their bodies. Their shoots are an integral part of this, they get to see a new perspective of themselves without being criticized for what they may consider to be body flaws. This is the highlight of my work - helping to change perceptions.

In America we seem to have set a standard of beauty that is simply unattainable - our models are heavily coated in makeup, bodies as well as faces, surgically altered, and then digitally enhanced. The end product is a fantasy that will never appear before your eyes. My real work is creating a comfortable environment to allow their true personality and beauty to come out. Sessions with me are very low key, mostly it is a few hours of talk and a lot of laughter – this is about art – not sex. Everyone works at a level that they are comfortable with, as soon as any discomfort is visible the work starts to remove itself from the realm of art.

Some of my subjects have said that the experience has allowed them to see themselves more as they really are – a more factual mirror. What I see is always different than the image they perceive in the mirror.