The Pool House, pt. 3

Here’s the link to the images: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7MlCEoEDaftRTFxVU5heDVLNkk

THE POOL HOUSE

Back in 2011, people will still losing their homes left and right, including many people I knew well. It was a sad and tragic turn of events that affected the whole nation, though it also provided me with ample new locations to shoot nude models in, though temporarily.

At the time I was shooting with Erin Von Beck a lot, the feisty faux-redheaded stage director and lighting technician I had met the year before. She was loud and outspoken, never afraid to tell you her opinion or at least why yours was wrong. But she was also well-meaning, volunteered, and worked for the betterment of society and humanity. She cared deeply about equality for women and gays, yet also felt empowered enough to shed her clothes for the sake of art. Basically, she did what she wanted when she wanted.

A friend had recently lost his home, but hadn’t fully moved out yet. The house wasn’t empty, though his back little garage/pool house was, and he said I could shoot there one weekend before he was fully gone. With the opportunity, I called Erin, picked her up that morning, stopped to get her some donuts, and we headed over.

My friend had left the back gate open, so we slid in and scoped out the place, figuring out what to do with it. There really wasn’t much allure or ambiance, but at least it was a different locale.

Without any other ideas, she just stripped naked and began moving around the place, so I just started clicking away. She had been up all night working on a project, and frankly I wasn’t inspired as much as I was lonely, so we just hung out and talked. I clicked the shutter as we gossiped and vented about people and life and love, and I realized that at that point in my life, the only meaningful conversations I was having was when I had a camera in my hand. I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but I found it sad nonetheless.

After shooting inside with the window light, I moved outside, keeping her on the other side of the sliding glass door. I liked playing with the reflection of the glass, and the colors of the warm, sunny, California summer day made the images feel like a classic 1960s Beach Boy-styled shoot. And of course, she looked extraordinary, wouldn’t you agree?

Finally, after an hour of hanging out, I figured we should call it quits when she suggested she take a few outside in the sun. Though her pale skin wasn’t suited for it, she said she could handle it for a few minutes, so I had her sit on the burning hot concrete. Surprisingly, she didn’t mind too much, and we continued to shoot a few implied nudes for her to be able to post to Instagram and Facebook.

It was a bit of a wasted morning, but I still like several of these images, even now, years later. It’s interesting to see images like these, taken in the same kind of funk I am currently in. Say what you will about the failing quality of these or other images, but at least I try to work through the doldrums. The work might not always be great, but I strive to always keep making work until things start clicking again.  What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you have tricks for overcoming a lack of inspiration?

Do you like Erin’s images? Leave your comments in the box below or in my DMs, your feedback is important to me. Thank you again for continuing to support me and my work, I can’t tell you just how much it means to me.

Here’s that link again: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7MlCEoEDaftRTFxVU5heDVLNkk