Physically Challenged

(Snapped on 7/18/10)

Right soooo...while digesting all that had happened over the course of my breakthrough morning at Old Chapel, I experienced a minor epiphany. It dawned on me that I might could do more with my pics. than simply pigeonhole them as cheesecake-exclusive. Although I knew it would behoove me to maintain some element of smut (to spare my viewers from the dreaded "ho-hum" syndrome) I was eager to raise the bar for myself by summoning physical attributes which lately I'd let go kinda dormant: agility, nimbleness and strength. The idea of marrying a more physical facet to my sexually-infused standard fare - did have a nice sort of ring to it...

It also now seemed to be somewhat imperative that I address the whole "what to wear" issue. Back when my photo shoots took place in and around my house only, I enjoyed the luxury of being as naked as I pleased. But in venturing out into the real world to shoot, I'd have to choose clothing that was at once - sexy, functional and appropriate for public consumption...Hmmm...things were getting complicated, and required more thought...and I was diggin' having to coordinate it all.

Following the cemetery shoot, I had a couple of hours until I had to cease with the nonsense, and go back to being a mom. And 2 hours, I reasoned - was more than ample time - to begin delving into my growing wish list of possible "10 second stunts". 

I made a pit stop at home after leaving Old Chapel, at which time I called a friend who lives nearby on this fabulous farm - rife with tractors and horses and old buildings and fences - to see if she'd be so kind as to let me to shoot there last minute...Luckily, she did not have a problem with me taking pics. at her place (of myself in varying states of undress). It worked out especially well, since she and her family had made plans to be gone for the day. 

Nice! I had inadvertently put off having to worry too much, about the necessity to cover up (this time, at least). I stuck with the status quo - and gathered a melange of skimpy clothes along with props, and sundry items - after which I didn't tarry and beat feet up the street to the farm to get started.

I ended up staging, I dunno - five different scenarios? Wearing everything from my birthday suit, to the maximum allowable coverage - per #HNT criteria and the blistering heat...(as exemplified in the outfit above)

The umbrella pics., were the result of my second, more successful (although not nearly as successful as I would've liked it to have been) stab at implied tightrope-waking. When I'd tried the time before (on my studio porch railing) I took an impressive spill on my first (and only) attempt, and consequently tabled the concept...until the traumatic incident was well behind me. 

This umbrella shoot was tough for obvious reasons, plus it was hotter'n hell and my injured knee killed but - I remember feeling like it had been totally worth it, when I got what I believed was a really cool shot. 

Tragically though, when I downloaded the pics. - I realized that the exposure had come out all wrong...bummer. Honestly, I have yet to effectively tweak any in this series, to the point where they don't make me feel sorta queasy...I'm ok with the composition of these pics. (for the most part) but there's something about their color and texture that does funny things to my tummy...

(Snapped on 7/29/10)

When I got the idea to "freeze frame" a dive, I knew it would have to be at a pool other than the one where I have a membership, since there isn't a diving board at our club. I called my ex and asked if he'd be cool with me taking the kids to the country club where he's a member (and there's a diving board) promising to sign in as the "nanny" so he wouldn't have to pay a guest fee...and he was like, "Yeah, whatever - that's fine"...YIP!

Standing in line waiting for my turn on the diving board, I mulled over my options and came up with a game plan...I asked my kids and a few of their friends - to hold my spot so I could go to my camera, set the timer, click the button, scurry back, reclaim my place in line, dash to the end of the board, count down the remaining warning beeps and then do whatever dive I was trying at the time.  

The kids' roles in this gig was indispensable, I literally could not have done it without them...but on my end, my God...I thought I might NEVER get the timing right! I consistently jumped either too late or too soon...grrrrr...It seemed impossible to catch myself at the crux of the dive. Not to mention, all those random other kids who kept getting in line, were totally grinding my gears! Couldn't they see I was doing something important? Jeez...the nerve of them trying to have some fun... 

Anyway, after like 30 attempts, negligible results, and a few expletives issued forth Tourette's style, some mom who'd seen me struggling - offered to help. She asked, "Do you just want me to take the picture?" I said, "No, you're so nice - but I can't have any help...it's a personal challenge to get my pictures myself...thanks though, I appreciate the offer" 

I've heard from a friend that my antics that day, ruffled the feathers of some of the gossipy hens by the pool...and I have to say - if getting a picture like the one directly above - comes with a price-tag of bored housewives clucking? That's a mighty small price, and I'm definitely willing to pay it...

(Snapped on 8/17/10)

For whatever reason, getting an imminent belly-flop on "film", was not nearly as difficult as freezing a backflip in time. I had to race halfway around the pool and launch myself towards the water, only two or three times before ending up with this goofy pic.. Yeah, it ain't pretty - but it was satisfactory enough for me to feel good about calling it quits...which was a huge relief, because unlike backflips - belly-flops actually hurt...

Oh the Paddy pics....*sigh*...this is still one of my favorite shoots to date...

A friend of mine "J" - remarked on my 10 sec. timer album on Facebook one day, and at the end of her message she said something to the effect of, "If you ever want to take pictures with a horse, let me know!" I responded immediately and we made plans to do a shoot, the very next week.

Enter dear, sweet, gentle giant Paddy - J's beloved fox hunting horse...

As I'm sure you can imagine, this was a terribly tricky shoot (think - 1000 lb. animal with a mind of his own, morbidly afraid of horse flies, stumbling through a riverbed lined with booby traps, and tempted by a big box of treats on the shore) I won't even go into the details of how I got from the camera, to up on Paddy's back in 10 seconds - what I will say is this - that despite snapping the fewest pics. ever in a shoot, the ratio of good over bad was astounding. (Not to mention, I had such a BLAST!)

Because I was "borrowing" a prized, respected, and dearly loved animal - it was entirely necessary that I have help with this shoot, not just to ensure my own safety, but to monitor Paddy's welfare, as well. The clear choice as official "animal handler", was J - the human who knows Paddy best. J brought a friend along (not knowing how many hands we might need) and like J, she was an absolute peach. Both women quickly picked up on, and honored my unyielding refusal to let them do anything with my camera...Despite my obstinance (and all things considered) this shoot went as smoothly as any of us ever could've dreamed - particularly when taking into account the level of difficulty and the component of unpredictability...

While choosing the photo which would accompany the Paddy portion of the post, I came across a video clip that I'd unintentionally shot that day, after accidentally setting the cam to video mode...oops...

I included it to demonstrate how physically demanding and grueling - this whole endeavor was on, not me so much, but on my friend J! The whole shoot was a learning curve, and as we experimented with different methods of keeping Paddy stationary until I could mount and get into pose, J was repeatedly dunked and nearly trampled, while I paraded around the like some sort of princess...(Sorry...and THANKS, J! I owe ya' BIG!)

(Snapped on 8/02/10)

There are three photos outta the whole lot that I really really like...and this ^ photo tops the list as one of my favorites...ever...It totally belies all the chaos that took place - before, whilst and after the shutter clicked...

(Snapped on 9/21/10)

The photo above, is the product of a second day of hurling myself off of this bridge. After the first shoot, I could not believe how flogged my body was...I could barely even walk the next day. But besides my legs being sore, my back had never been that stiff before. I had no idea how out of shape I had gotten, nor how physically demanding it is to jump off of a bridge and land down below, what - 30 or 40 times in a row? And after all that, I was rewarded with a crappy bunch of pictures (see example below).

I liked the premise however, and decided to give it another go. The second time though, I placed the camera down below (rather than up on the bridge where it had previously been) and the difference was remarkable. I much preferred the ominous denouement achieved from positioning the camera at that vantage point.

Seems bridge-jumping might be a legitimate form of conditioning, cuz I didn't ache at all after the second shoot. But I'll tell you what does ache - my brain - that's what...I had no intention of writing this much about these pics....