Edward and Charis

In January 1934 Edward Weston (at age 48) met Charis Wilson (19 at the time) and they were instantly drawn to each other, Charis began posing for Edward a couple of months later and by April 1934 they were working and living together. After their second photographic session Weston wrote "a new love came into my life … one which, I believe, will stand the test of time."  In her book "Edward Weston: Nudes" Charis wrote "For anyone interested in statistics – I wasn't – he was 48 years old and I had just turned 20. What was important to me was the sight of someone who quite evidently was twice as alive as anyone else in the room, and whose eyes most likely saw twice as much as anyone else's did."

Edward and Charis were married 5 years later, for the 11 years they were together Charis had a big hand in turning things around for Weston, Charis appears in almost half of his recorded nudes, she wrote the grant application that got Edward the Guggenheim award and she also penned articles for photography magazines that were attributed to him.

 

Edward and Charis spent much of 1937 and 1938 on an incredible road trip, with the money from the grant and an agreement to provide photos for AAA Westway magazine they took 17 trips covering just under 17,000 miles. In 1939 they were married and the pair published the book (Seeing California with Edward Weston) about their travels using Edward's photos and written by Charis, the book was a success and so together in 1940 they published a second one, (California and the West).

Edward & Charis would take another road trip together in 1941, 20,000 miles through 24 states in order to create illustrations for Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.   

 

Edward Weston and Charis Wilson discovered what would be a unique partnership, an artistic collaboration and emotional connection, I would guess their relationship was comfortable and rewarding on many levels. And although I cannot be sure, I do believe I have an idea just how he felt.

"Is love like art - something always ahead, never quite attained." ~Edward Weston

Harry & Eleanor

Harry Callahan met Eleanor Knapp on a blind date in 1933, both were working for Chrysler in Detroit. She was a 17 and he was a 21. They married three years later after he dropped out of college, mainly because he had missed being with her. All the photos in this blog were taken by Harry and not really representative of his work, I chose my favorites of his nudes.

For quite some time I have had a keen interest in photographic partnerships, particularly of some of the better known pairs of photographer and Muse. Not all were married of course but all seemed to spend a great deal of time together and created many memorable pieces of work.

Harry and Eleanor were married 63 years and he began photographing in earnest around 1938, of all the varying subjects he would work with in his lifetime, Eleanor would be his favorite. For about 50 years he photographed her both clothed and unclothed, inside and outside, in various places and different situations.

Eleanor once said of Harry during an interview, “He just liked to take the pictures of me. In every pose. Rain or shine. And whatever I was doing. If I was doing the dishes or if I was half asleep. And he knew that I never, never said no. I was always there for him. Because I knew that Harry would only do the right thing.” (The photograph below is Eleanor and their daughter Barbara).

Regarding Eleanor. "For most of their early life she earned more money as an office assistant than he did as a teacher. But even after the 1970s, when he became [a well known photographer and] had offers from many other models, he seldom photographed anyone but her."

Callahan experimented, he explored, he took pictures of what he saw, he was innovative and did quite a bit of work in color. Many of his works were reflections, multiple exposure, large and small format film, motion blur, etc. He photographed everything from street scenes, buildings and store windows to landscapes, nudes and abstracts, what I find probably most fascinating for me though, was not only his devotion to photography, but also his devotion to his Muse. 

"The mystery isn't in the technique, it's in each of us." ~Harry Callahan

Making Memories

"Kodak sells film, but they don't advertise film. They advertise memories." - Theodore Levitt

Dripping Wet

A couple of times recently chatting with Felicity we got to talking about the memories we made while out on our adventures, things like searching for ice cream, I don't know if you're familiar with Trona, CA but if you're looking for ice cream, good luck! Or the time we ran into the Border Patrol at the Salton Sea, or briefly got stuck on the side of a very steep road in the San Bernardino mountains, then there was getting locked out of our room in Palm Desert, driving 12 miles into Arizona searching for a nonexistent Starbucks, or trying to shoot on main street in a ghost town when out of nowhere a dozen tourists show up. Things happen! And memories are made.

Hands

Does it seem that most memories are made by two or more people? I mean unless it's something truly dramatic I think we tend to remember what we did with our friends, but those times we are alone are some we'd rather forget, more or less. And does it seem we tend to remember the bad moments, or anxious ones, I like to think I remember them all, but often I've discovered it's the unexpected that stays with us.

Inappropriate

I want to share a memory from my first day with Felicity, and it didn't involve law enforcement, drama or tragedy, surprisingly, in fact it was quite unexpected and one I will not forget. We had left near 4am and drove a couple of hours in the dark headed for the high desert, I have no idea what she could have been thinking having barely met me for the first time 8 hours earlier picking her up at the airport. But here we were to make the most of the morning light, shooting, driving, talking and getting to know each other.

Know The Words

About 11am or so we were west bound on the 58 heading toward Kramer Junction to take the 395 up to Trona, we had taken a detour to Harper Lake but the place has been devastated by construction so we didn't stop. I wanted to get fuel knowing we'd be coming all the way back to Victorville for the night, so I pulled into a station at the junction. It was near midday and pretty warm out, Felicity had her camera in hand and was shooting some of the desert scenery, I pulled up and got out to put in gas. While the pump was running I walked back and opened the door, and for an instant I just froze, she was occupied by something she had shot and was looking intently at her camera. The camera bag was in her lap along with a pair of jeans, a bottle of Coke and of water crowding the seat beside her, topless but wearing an old skirt pulled up to her ribs, she just looked at me and smiled, practically laughing. She looked so at home, a look that kinda said 'been there done that', which was obviously impossible, but there I was, and at a total loss for words.    

With Wings

Something happened and I can't explain it, to this day I don't what it was but in that moment I felt something incredibly strong, something that brought me home. I reached into the back seat and grabbed my camera in order to take a couple of pictures of her, she smiled at first but her attention went right back to her camera and what she had photographed. I finished filling the tank and we were back on the road, it wasn't until several days later and after she'd left that I thought back about that moment, and I came across the photos I'd taken. I still can't quite get over how at home she looked, with all that stuff piled up around her, it appeared as though we'd been doing this for years.

Sweet Shores

3 days flew by, chasing the sun and shooting pictures and we were in our element, but before we knew, or wanted it to happen the time grew short and we had to head back to civilization, she had a flight to catch and the rest of her journey through the states to return to, but we managed to make a few more memories and captured them in pictures. Before I met Felicity I believed everything was about the image, the photograph and the feeling of the desert, but as we hugged each other good-bye at the airport I started to realize that this photo shoot was different somehow, I felt we had done well, we had beautiful photos and we both had fun, but this time it wasn't just about the images, it was about the memories, memories and the connection we made out in the middle of the southern California desert.

Missing The Time We Had

"The hardest thing about the road not taken is that you never know where it might have led." ~Lisa Wingate, A Month of Summer

2013 Calendar

Fly Again

2013 Calendar

With Wings

Felicity visited southern California in July & September in order to shoot with me in the desert, we had a great time and we created some amazing images, We have chosen a few of our favorites to share in a new 2013 over-sized calendar! Clicking on any image in the blog will take you to it.

Take It Back

Feast For Me

Proceeds from the sale of these calendars will go right back into making more pictures, we are anxious to go out and shoot more. You could help us tremendously by purchasing a calendar or prints, and we would be ever so grateful. 

Sands

"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened." ~Albert Camus

Partnerships

Collaborators, partners, couples, mates, significant others, friends, lovers and spouses, at one time or another, yesterday, today and tomorrow, there are photographers & models, artists & Muse and for that matter husbands & wives working together in art nude photography.

Window To My World

And why should this be any different than say, basket weaving? When people meet, become close and are passionate about what they love to do and stay together, it seems like a win win situation to me.

Thinking Of You Forever

Someone once asked me, "do you mean to tell me you take these women out to the desert and all you do is photograph them?" Well, yeah, that's what we do, what we create, the reason we go out there, the question reeks of chauvinism though, don't you think? Perhaps nude photography is different in this one respect, people are more apt to presume.

Want You

I happened upon a comment by Andrew Chambers that led me to the book, "The Model Wife" by Arthur Ollman in which he outlines the lives of some of the more famous photographers who's Muse also happened to be their wife. I haven't read the book but the idea struck me a long time ago, it seemed completely logical that when two people shared the same aesthetic and desire, it would show in their work, I would bet.

In All The World

And sometimes, if you are really lucky, you may find someone who is the yin to your yang, shadow & light, someone that steps in front of your camera and into your life, be it photographer or model, whom you connect on a deeper level. We can read about those who found this relationship and I for one have always envied them, it would seem however, that I have been blessed very recently with a similar fate. And I am very happy to say that the images on the blog today are those I did with a very special woman in my life, very special.

Slave To The Clock

"I am not a painter, nor an artist. Therefore I can see straight, and that may be my undoing." ~Alfred Stieglitz

Making Plans

I wonder how many times we make future plans in one lifetime, have you made plans that never worked out? I have certainly made my share.

My Back To The Door

The marriage that ends in divorce is a failed plan, business plans fail by the thousands, lunch plans fall through, that plan to lose weight, quit smoking, visit some exotic place... plans for the future are subject to change, like dreams & wishes I suppose.

Fly Again

And then sometimes a plan comes together, in spite of our best efforts or perhaps because of them the stars align, the weather is favorable, the light cooperates and somehow the best case scenario plays itself out. After all what else can we do but try?

Turn My Back On Time

I worked with Felicity for 3 days at the end of July, the first time we met face to face and what turned out to be what I could call 'perfect timing', although I wouldn't have predicted it based on the last minute schedule changes and several other issues that seemed to crop up. Nevertheless we got together for a southern California desert road trip that did indeed live up to our expectations, and exceed them actually.

Reaction

So much so that we pretty much immediately began making more plans, delaying her return home she purchased plane tickets and I chose new locations. Those 60 some odd hours we spent together in July simply were not enough, we had more to say. much more.

Shadows Of Another Story

Felicity returned to California at the end of August for 18 days and another plan came together, we did 3 more road trips and pushed ourselves to take our work further. Building on our mutual respect, our love of photography and pursuing our own style we were determined to continue creating together.

Untitled

So now you might guess where this is leading, and although it isn't easy when Felicity and I reside 8,775 miles apart, or, to be more accurate on opposite sides of the planet! It's complicated, but in spite of the distance we are making plans, future plans, because we enjoy working together and this is how we feel about our work together. And I have a theory about plans, I believe if you want something bad enough, everything is possible.

Framing The Shot

"...photographs open doors into the past but they also allow a look into the future." ~Sally Mann

Felicity in Trona

When Felicity came to shoot in the desert with me one of the places we visited was the Trona Pinnacles.

Foreign Lands

Interesting geological formations in Searles Valley, just over the mountains to the west of Death Valley, and being out here toward the end of July it was a warm day.

More To Come

In 3 days of shooting we visited Lucerne Valley, Trona, Joshua Tree NP, Indio and the Salton Sea, after the trip and very much to my surprise, this was the place she liked best.

Wind In My Hair

We've even considered coming back her when she returns, and we probably would if this was any closer to our planned route on the next road trip.

Distant Flower

So maybe next year we will return, most likely to do an early morning sunrise out here.

How Could This Be Real

This is a tough environment, the rock looks similar to coral, you have to be quite careful where you step.

Welcome To The Dream

This last photo is more of a candid shot as Felicity was climbing up one of the large hills, a great day in a quite unusual place.

Untitled

"It seems so utterly naive that landscape - not that of the pictorial school - is not considered of "social significance" when it has a far more important bearing on the human race of a given locale than excrescences called cities." ~Edward Weston,