Digital Desire Studio News - 05-30-2008

From my earliest days of being involved in photography I can remember how often I experienced photographers as being smug, conceited and arrogant.

This wasn’t easy in my early days. Having competed with fellow ‘shutter bugs’ at the University of Colorado, later Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara and then professionally once my career began, I was constantly subjected to that ‘my shit don’t stink’ attitude.

Naturally I was elated when I met successful talented lensmen who gave me the time of day and carried about their business with humility-- but that breed was often far and few between.

Now, several decades later I’m hoping I’m not that guy I used to hold with so much disdain. Shooting scantily clad girls for roughly 25 years now I’m afraid sometimes I feel like my experience and evolution
in this arena holds court over all others. This is not a good, healthy place to reside I suppose. My eyes are so often disappointed with the work that I see.

Obviously there are many, many talented photographers on the planet and I’m certain a lot of them are pointing their Canons and Nikons at the prettiest girls they can find.
But where are they?

Two of them I know work for us—Charles Lightfoot and Mark Lit--both former assistants of mine and both very artistic guys with a complete passion for photography. I’m constantly in awe of the images those two guys create. But on a grander scale I’ve tried multiple times to find photographers abroad to shoot their local hotties for us. The big hurdle is getting the quality of images and video that we expect with every shoot we do ourselves. Seems easy but its not!

On so many occasions I’ve had foreign photographers inquire by e-mail, send me test shots of slammin girls and somehow bait me into up front money for their shoot that they promise will be every bit as good as what we do. Not.

So here I go back to the smugness. Don’t even get me started. I wonder when I begin talking about their photos if I’m not just a crabby old guy. But damn, the lighting, the poses, the variety, the connection with the models, the overall photo quality—all of this just ain't there. Damn.

The frustrating part is that we really do want to shoot these foreign girls--girls from Eastern Europe, Brazil, Thailand—yummy, what a bunch of tasty treats. Ever since 9/11 its become very, very hard to get these exotic treats into the U.S. And furthermore with the estupido (that’s stupid in Spanish) 2257 law makes its even more difficult to shoot these foreign delights.

I have sent Charles to Prague and Budapest several times but it’s so much harder shooting out of our infrastructure here—Charles does get some great images but he’s very limited with locations and lighting away from our compound.

In the meantime I’ve solicited about 5 photographers from abroad and still (do I sound smug) haven’t got one set that I like. So, if any of you have a suggestion of a great (and I mean great and I won’t go softly on this) photographer who is working in some distant exotic land with ravishing young ladies at his disposal PLEASE let me know—I’ve got work for him.

Meanwhile I’ll continue to enjoy the fine work of Mark and Charles –two great photographers who I know I can count on!
Peace

js

Charles Lightfoot immortalizing Nikol



Mark Lit captures Brea Bennets softer side



Charles in Prague freezing Peach in time



Mark takes a picture of Jenna in vibrant color



Mark creating art from afternoon sunlight and Renee



Mark captures Sandra Shines sexual drama



The Artists-

Mark Lit



Charles Lightfoot