Arwen Bikini Boudoir
I remember the first time I ever saw Jenn. Although I didn’t know her name then. She was in the base gym in Whidbey Island, Washington. She had short black hair and a face full of piercings. I was confused, she was too old to be an officers kid.
Was she married to a military guy? That was probably it. She always reminded me of the elf Arwen out of Tolkiens “lord of the Rings” trilogy. Which for some odd reason I should be a fan of, but I never got into it. Personally I was always more into Frank Herbert’s “Dune“.
Now Jenn didn’t look like Arwen out of the movie. She just reminded of what Arwen from the books might have looked like. Anyway, that’s enough about Arwen and Tolkien.
Now when I first saw Jenn this had to be back in 2007 or 2008. Oni Studio had just started out, and in fact we had only done one or two photoshoots. I wasn’t single then and Oni Studio was a brain child of the two of us.
Whidbey Island was beautiful, but it didn’t offer much in the way entertainment. Especially to a married guy and girl used to a much bigger city. We racked our brains for a hobby that we could do indoors during the long winter months.
I think that’s how Oni Studio was born. Much like Dimmu Borgir, in the cold waste. Jenn was one of the first “high profile” models we ever shot. The first shoot we did with her garnered a lot of attention leading to quite a few paid shoots. The second shoot we did with her, set in a local gym lead to getting one of our first magazine publications.
This shoot with Jenn continues on with the natural light techniques that I began with Chary last week.
I’m glad Petra Herrmann’s work inspired me to try out some natural light work. However I don’t know if I’ll do much of it in the future. I have found a few things I’m not too happy with. The biggest thing is the lack of sharpness. True, I could shoot on a higher ISO, and I did bump it up a bit. It’s a pet peeve of mine to shoot on high ISO though. I also used my Manfrotto tripod, which makes shooting a bit slow.
With the Alienbees and Photoflex you get complete control of the light. Sharpness is almost never a problem either. I’m planning on getting a Photoflex background stand soon, so be expecting some great new material!
That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, Pinterest, and Model Mayhem!
San Francisco
A few months ago I had to travel to San Francisco for work.
I had never been there and was pretty excited to go. I had heard all kinds of things about the place. Now I am not a fan of hippies. I knew San Francisco was the epicenter of the hippie movement back in the sixties. I found the nomadic unwashed nature of the hippies extremely distasteful. Peace and love my ass. How unmetal can you get!?
The music too, bleah!!! Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead suck beyond all comprehension.
With all these complaints why would I choose to write about it? Because there was a dark side to San Francisco I was eager to explore. Alcatraz? Nah, too touristy.
San Francisco was the setting of one of the most famous serial killers of all time. The Zodiak. This serial killer operated in San Francisco in the 1960’s and despite one of the most massive manhunts in Police history he was never caught. I ended up searching San Francisco from high to low but never found the Zodiak.
San Francisco was also home to Anton Lavey who started the Church of Satan in the 1960’s. Anton Lavey (or Ragnar Redbeard) wrote one of my favorite passages of all time. “Hate your enemies with a whole heart, and if a man smite you on one cheek, SMASH him on the other!; smite him hip and thigh, for self-preservation is the highest law!” Happy positive words! Before you get your panties in a twist I’m not a member of the Church of Satan. Although I would love to be neighbors with them.
I started my journey to find out this cities dark secrets in the Fishermans Wharf district. Nothin weird here. Just lots of bars. Also, people walking their dogs and homeless people. I don’t look down on the homeless, i’ve been down on my luck before and know just how easy it is to fall into despair.
Wait a minute; wasn’t “Big Trouble in Little China” set here? Maybe ole Jack Burton could give me a tour!
The first night I walked for what seemed like forever. Bar after bar. I think five hours into my walk I could have been picked up for public intox.
Finally I wondered into what I thought was the last bar of the night. Sitting to my right was one of those gorgeous blondes you see in magazines. Hey, why not buy her a drink. Fast forward and we leave together for one of the greatest nights ever. I really have to stress that things like this never happen to me. A lot of people see the models I work with and assume I’m some type of Hugh Heffner. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I’m more likely to go to Barnes and Noble than I would a bar.
When it was all said and done, I enjoyed my trip to San Francisco. I made a lot of great memories and met some great people. Also, I got the greatest kitchen knife and dinner plates from Sur La Table, hells yes!
That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, Pinterest, and Model Mayhem!
Vampire Goddess
For as long as I can remember I’ve had a thing with vampires. I think my first vampire film was “Lost Boys” and to this day it’s still one of my favorites.
I think the vampire genre took a huge hit with Interview with a Vampire. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse Twilight turned one of my childhood heroes into a sparkling atrocity more geared for female fifth graders than a serious lurking horror for all of humanity.
Why am I talking about vampires?
Because the star of this entry, Chary, was the embodiment of the perfect vampire. She was old world, poised and strangely, had one of the most alluring mysterious scents about her. She was like an other worldly ethereal creature. At the risk of making myself seem creepy, I could smell her two hours after she left. I have no other way to describe the experience other than wonderful!
Speaking of wonderful, if you’re a lady looking for some great Pinup inspired outfits, check out Pinup Culture in Escondido, CA!
I woke up one early Sunday morning and saw a post on my Facebook newsfeed from fellow photographer Neil Van Niekerk who had written his own entry on a Boudoir photographer by the name of Petra Herrmann.
Petra recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. Neil was showcasing her photography not only to promote her, but to let people know about the gofundme campaign. Which would help her with her medical bills.
The entry itself highlighted five of the top selling images Petra takes and how to take your own.
I decided to take Petra up on this challenge and put an ad out on Facebook.
If you click on the link to Petra’s work you’ll be able to compare and contrast the images Chary and I shot.
Did you all know Chary likes Cannibal Corpse?
Now I usually work exclusively with Alienbee strobes and Photoflex modifiers. This was one of the few shoots I’ve done in a long time that relied on natural light.
That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, and Model Mayhem!
Physics of Sexy
Physics. How did I come up with the title for this? Well the models name is Elena, and she isn’t a physics professor.
For some odd reason while I was shooting her I was fixated on just how Dark Energy was increasing the expansion of the universe.
I think its become an unhealthy obsession. But then again, once you learn the fate of the universe is to eventually die in a big freeze it would tend to weigh heavily on any sane individual.
On to more mundane conversation. Elena was the first major shoot i’ve had since returning to San Diego. I’ve had an extended business trip down in South America.
I wasn’t just in South America. Ever heard of Mississippi? Yes, I was there as well. Whatever you do, stay out of that place!
I actually have to be fair. Mississippi had one saving grace. A place called Canes. Best fried chicken I think I’ve ever ate. Just to illustrate how good it was, I don’t even eat fried chicken!
Back to Elena. She was super nice, and she even brought along a helpful assistant who tried to keep her focused on the shoot. As you can see we failed. 
I didn’t have a plan for the lighting on this shoot. I hadn’t had a shoot in six months and just decided to wing it.
I decided to bring out my alienbees. I did much of the shoot using a beauty dish as the key light.
Fortunately Elena saved the shoot with her immaculate posing!
That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, and Model Mayhem!
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