interesting idea?

I got  response from my recent craigslist ad (https://greensboro.craigslist.org) from a guy who wanted some “artistic dick pics”. My first thought was, “Eh...I don’t know.” But I’ve thought a little about it, and it might be an interesting idea for a series. I could do a series with women as well, but I’m not aware of a catchy name that rhymes, or even just a clever-sounding, concise name. (Suggestions?)

I have trouble finding people to model for me, even clothed. So, I’m not sure if I could find several guys to do such a shoot.

What do you folks think? Is this an interesting idea? Feel free to comment here, or write me on facebook (if you know me) or email me: blacksheepphotog@gmail.com

our future first lady

As a photographer and as someone who has modeled a little (and taken a lot of self-portraits), AND as someone who has lost work and friends (in the arts!) because of the nature of some of my photography, I take it personally when people get “nude-shamed”. (Yes, I just made up that term.)

I haven't gone to any effort to view Melania Trump’s nude photos. This topic surfaced a while back, but apparently it’s having a post-election revival. I’ve seen two posts about it on facebook tonight. What I did see of her photos from past posts (and perhaps places like The Daily Show? – I don’t know, wherever), appeared to be a type of nude &/or implied nude photos that I'm not especially interested in: the stereotypically “sexy” young woman - “hot chick” - don’t you wish you could bang her - light porn sort of thing. There’s way too much of that in the world these days, and mostly, I’m not that interested.

Anyway...

If you think the act of posing nude is bad or shameful or necessarily naughty, something that no one ought to do, or at least no one respectable, here's what I say:
You desperately need to get over your Puritanical nonsense about the human body, and probably about sex. I hope you don't have children, because I can only assume you are passing on your damaging attitudes about perfectly normal, healthy, natural, human functions, and about the fact that we human beings have physical bodies. We do! We have bodies. Wonderful, horrible, fascinating, boring bodies. There's nothing wrong with having a body, nor with letting other people see it, if that’s what you want to do with it.

As a matter of fact, we as a “people” would probably be much better off if we became accustomed to seeing normal, non-hyper-sexualized human bodies. We’d end up much healthier. 

Gah!

The Church of Trump

During and after last night’s election debate (which I hesitate to call “presidential”), I’ve seen a lot of fact-checking, particularly of things that Trump said. 

I worry that fact-checking someone like Donald Trump will have little or no effect. Trump himself will just tell another lie and keep telling it until that lie becomes inconvenient. And his supporters seem to exhibit a sort of religious attitude toward him and whatever they think he said or did or didn’t do. 

Actual, verifiable facts don’t really matter when your attitude is “Trump said it, I believe it, that settles it.” The Trump-isms that complement the believers’ attitudes and hopes for ‘Murica, they quote and fetishize, while either ignoring or being ignorant of the inconsistencies and the morally problematic history. And anyone who is not one of the faithful is a tool of evil, trying to replace the Messiah-Trump with Lady-Satan (or, as she’s known in her human form, Hillary Clinton). 

For me, just like with religions, perhaps the saddest part is that not all Trump supporters are ignorant hillbilly-types whose critical thinking skills only extend as far as what to order from the value menu and who to vote for on American Idol. There are reasonably well-educated people who will twist and turn and do all manner of mental gymnastics to defend the idea that Trump can actually do any of the things he talks about doing as president, and making America great again. I think we should start calling these people “Trump apologists”. Just like with religious apologists, I am confused when otherwise intelligent people put so much effort into trying to craft an intellectual defense of something that is inherently anti-intellectual. 

Offended?

The word “offended” is quite popular these days. And it has an interesting dual use. 

So when we feel some hard-to-identify (or scary to identify?) unease about something, we can say we feel offended. This, of course, implies that something outside of ourselves has offended us and this other thing (person, etc.) is therefore offensive. And that’s a bad thing, right? Because people’s words or actions or beliefs aren’t supposed to be offensive. 

But, on the other hand, when another person gets offended by something that we believe or support, we can just call them out as being overly sensitive. “Oo, you’re offended by my horrific social and political beliefs.” We belittle others’ feeling of offense when we don’t share it. But when I feel offended, suddenly my sacred rights are being infringed upon. 

Okay, so here’s what I think people need to do. When you feel “offended” that is the time to stop and give the situation some thought. Ask yourself, “What am I actually feeling? What am I uncomfortable about? And (very importantly) WHY is this thing or person or whatever making me feel uncomfortable?” I know, I know, nobody wants to actually work on themselves. Nobody wants to question their own beliefs or even be aware of their own assumptions about the world. 

But just being offended and then angry because things haven’t changed the way you want them to isn’t making things better for anyone. It’s time we stop assuming we’re offended when we might be afraid or embarrassed or any number of other emotions. And it’s important to remember that nobody has a right to not be offended. 

Wake up, America!

I saw this photo earlier today: 

It got me thinking. And when I start thinking, I sometimes start wanting to rant. So, here we go. 

Maybe it’s time to start asking: who are our police? What is it about this job that attracts some people who seem to want to pull a gun and start shooting the moment they’re uncertain about a situation? 

Obviously there’s more to it than that. We have a very real problem of racism and violence. Comfortable white folk need to wake the fuck up and see what’s really happening here. This is a mixed race country that we live in. And we desperately need to stop hating the “other” part of ourselves. 

But! Maybe we need to NOT give a gun and the protection and “authority” of a badge with the assumption they’ll “do the right thing” to people who appear to have a tendency toward violence, aggression, a lack of self-control. Anybody who wants a job where they take on the responsibility of watching out for, investigating, hunting down, and/or punishing other people really should have ongoing training in de-escalation of potentially violent situations. And they should ABSOLUTELY be required to pass some stringent psychological tests before and during their employment. 

Sure there are plenty of decent cops out there who don’t go around murdering the people they’re supposed to be protecting and serving, but there are clearly way too many who are. These are not isolated incidents when they keep happening all over the country. When you look back at the records of these thugs in blue uniforms who acted in “self-defense” and murdered some person of color, why is it that you’ll often find prior complaints against them of excessive force, etc.? What the fuck is wrong with these people? And all the other assholes who protect and defend them when they murder people? 

Wake up, America! This is not okay.

"Sorry, but..."

Somebody made this comment this morning on a post by a friend of mine.

Now, I don’t really feel like starting a fight with someone I don’t know on my friend’s facebook post, but I feel compelled to comment on this.

So...

Dear stranger,
If you think that the thing you’re about to say (or type) may be a sexist (or racist or whatever) comment, and you feel the need to say “Sorry, but...” maybe you just shouldn’t make that comment? If you recognize that this might be offensive &/or demeaning to a large group of people, how about this: perhaps you might stop and ask yourself why you feel compelled to make the comment. Saying, “Sorry, but...blah-blah-blah...offensive thing,” doesn’t negate the offensive thing, nor absolve you of the offense. It just fools you into thinking you’re somehow a better person for recognizing your sexism (etc.) before indulging it. I’m not so sure that makes you a better person. In fact, it might make a worse person. I just don’t know.

I’m sure that I am similarly guilty of the same, “Sorry, but...” behavior. And perhaps this was just an innocent compliment. But then why the need to preface an innocent compliment with an apology? And while I don’t disagree with your comment, her attractiveness has nothing to do with the original post. If this were a post asking, “Hey, facebook friends, how does this outfit look on me?” then by all means, comment on how she looks. But this was not that post.

So, in review, if you know that you’re about to be offensive, maybe don’t. Instead perhaps spend some time working on yourself.

Okay, rant over. (For now.)

idea for a photo project

There are two photo projects I recently discovered.

The Nu Project is an ongoing project by a pair of photographers photographing volunteers (all women) around the world. And the Daily Portrait Berlin is a project where a Berliner photographs a person they don’t know, then the next day that model photographs a person they don’t know, etc. These projects are really cool, and they make me want to be involved in something similar. 

I don’t know of any such project locally, and I couldn’t find anything online. so I thought I’d try to start one. Since I have a really difficult time finding people willing to model for me, I thought I’d try taking myself out of the equation. Sort of. If I make it a submission kind of thing, then people do not have to commit to showing up for a photo, and also they would have a sense of choice and control of the images being used. 

I need to come up with a name for the project and a statement of purpose, start a page online somewhere, set up guidelines, and hope for submissions.

The purpose would be to say to the world, “Hey, I am a human, and, as such, I have a body. Having a body is not shameful nor is being nude. This is what my body happens to look like at this time, and that’s okay.” Or something like that. I need a name for this project that is interesting or catchy but that also concisely reflects that idea.

The guidelines would be something like:

     - decent quality artistic nudes or casual nudes of “ordinary people”

     - full-length or 3/4

     - may be individuals, couples or groups

     - please include a simple statement of permission by all people in the photo 
        and the photographer

     - photo size between 600 and 3000 pixels

     - no selfies; self-portraits are okay, but no arm’s length or mirror holding 
        your phone/camera photos

     - no close-ups of your genitalia or sexually explicit photos (that’s a totally 
        different sort of project) 

     - no overly edited, or obviously retouched photos

     - studio photos are okay, but the idea is simple, natural

I literally cannot do this alone. 

So, if anyone has suggestions or is interested in participating or in helping me get this thing going, please get in touch. 

Female Protagonist in Star Wars Trailer

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” 

When I watched this trailer, my honest reaction was something like, “Cool! I’m much more interested in this Star Wars movie based on the trailer than ‘The Force Awakens’.” 

But, apparently, the biggest reaction according to the internet is that a bunch of dudes are complaining about “another” female lead. 

. . . Some ‘Star Wars’ Bros Are Freaking Out 

I don’t get it, guys. I never had the thought, “Oh, no! Here’s a character who doesn’t have all the same body parts that I do.” Is that really a problem for you? “The Force Awakens” was not a movie about women taking power and how men suck. There was that hand-holding bit, but that’s about it. And I see nothing in the trailer to suggest that “Rogue One” is going to be about women taking power and how men suck. What I see is a scruffy, Han Solo-type who happens to be a women and who is surrounded by mostly men. 

Oh yeah, and there’s a scene with Mon Mothma. (Given the nature of her character, I’d be surprised if she plays a large role with a lot of screen time.)

I cannot help but think the only reason for this kind of “Damn it, not another female lead, enough already” reaction is that these guys with these thoughts see these characters as females and not as people. Or maybe as females first, and then hot or not hot, etc., then somewhere down the line as people. 

Guys, seriously, women are people. Just like Blacks and Jews and Little People and Albinos and Albanians and Soylent Green. Sorry, that list got a little ridiculous and probably undercuts the seriousness of this point. 

Guys, women are people, just like you. And there’s no reason that they can’t or shouldn’t be the hero or the protagonist or the leader or anything that you could be. Go meet some women – not just women who you’re hoping will have sex with you – and have conversations with them. Listen to them, and consider the words and ideas they are communicating for their own value. Evaluate their abilities and their actions, and then judge them as a human person. Do a lot of that, and then, go back and watch that “Rogue One” trailer again. And then apologize for your harmful, sexist comments.

Here goes!

I have been unfriended by many people on facebook. It’s not really surprising anymore, but it does still sting. So, knowing that feeling, I have not unfriended many people. But I will. In fact, I’m about to. I’ve been thinking about a couple of people for a while, thinking how I’m clearly not really friends with them now. And that was their decision. Honestly, it’s a little surprising that neither of these people unfriended me.

They are separate individuals who, at different times, had a bit of a... disagreement, or falling out maybe, with me. Both these people, when last we communicated, expressed a disinterest in trying to be friends or trying to talk or whatever. And in both cases it had to do with my photography.

I suspect the overwhelming majority of people who’ve unfriended me in the past few years did so because they were uncomfortable with my photographic endeavors. It saddens me, especially when people who work in the arts (or at least pursue some art form as a hobby) are that uncomfortable with someone else’s art. Then again, I’m sure there are people who’ve unfriended me because of religion/politics. 

Anyway... Yeah, I’m going to unfriend a couple of people. Here goes!

Les Revenants

The second season of this show - The Returned (Les Revenants) - is now on netflix, and I am re-watching the first season, as it's been a while. 

This is something I wrote about it a few years ago after watching the first season. 

The women in Les Revenants

I watched this show recently on netflix: The Returned (Les Revenants) It was very good. It’s about people in this little French town dealing with the return of dead loved ones. It is absolutely NOT your standard zombie-fighting story. It’s more about loss and letting go, or rather not letting go. I guess also there’s a fair helping of secrets and lies. It’s sort of moody and sad. Anyway, I really liked it. 

Something I really enjoyed about it is the way the women looked. I couldn’t help but notice that the female characters in the show were NOT presented in an especially “sexy” way. Their clothing and makeup and hair seem to not have been designed to make them look enticing. In fact, none of them wore much noticeable makeup. Some of them had wrinkles, some had dark circles under their eyes, some had moles or other “imperfections”…and they were beautiful. Well, of course they were all attractive. I mean, they’re actors in a TV show. But they weren’t all sexified. They looked like people. 

Even the love scenes (some of which even included actual nudity) did not seem to my eye and brain to be designed for enticement. Sure, they could’ve communicated that these people were having sex without having to show it. But it never seemed really gratuitous. It really was part of the story. It was very refreshing. 

Also, these female roles were generally not just someone’s wife or girlfriend or mother. I guess you could say they were “strong female characters”. But that’s not something that occurred to me while I was watching it. They were just people—people who had relationships and feelings and actions, and happened to be women. Gee, imagine that. 

I guess what I didn't actually say explicitly was that in most of the American TV shows and movies I watch, the women ARE "sexified". So even when they are not doing anything that's specifically sexual, it's almost as if they're still be presented as a sexual enticement - the way they're dressed and made up and the relationships. 

Or maybe it's just me. I don't know. Anybody care to comment? 

backsliding

I feel like I’m slipping into a depressed episode. Like “backsliding”. 

It seems a little odd that it’s happening now; usually when this happens I’m not doing much of anything, just a lot of time with nothing at all to do. These days I’ve got a couple of things going on, things that should distracting my mind from how I feel about life and everything. But it’s not. 

This isn’t good. I worry.