© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Ella Rose

I’ve been trying to pick some of my favorite images from my Mexican festival that I like the best. It’s really hard to choose what one’s will be “the one” when you work with such amazing models. Every image just seems like it’s just as good as the other. Trimming is tough. I might not be done for quite some time. In a normal situation I may shoot once or twice a month, so I have ample time to digest each shoot. The festival I put on is like one or two shoots per day for 8 days. So that’s like 6 months crammed into a week. Is 20 OK? 30? 10? Are there rules? I have my own rules I place upon myself, but sometimes I wonder if I’m being hard enough on myself. I’m sure every photographer does. If you click on “full screen” you can see them bigger, but they may get pixelated due to the fact I never put large files on the web. Prints are ALWAYS so much prettier.

Zoe Fest X 2011 was held in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
figuremodels.org/festx

Behind the scenes footage courtesy of Michael Marlborough. michaelmarlborough.com

It was 100 degrees on the Southern Tip of Baja at the end of the day on October 24, 2011.

Zoe Fest is a yearly fine art nude artist retreat held in different areas of the globe. 2009 and 2010 were held in Australia. From 2002-2008 we were in different areas of the United States. This was it’s 10th year, hence the “X.”

Models: Carlotta Champagne, Sara Liz, Anne Duffy, Tara Liggett, Claudine, St. Merrique, Anoush Anou, Ella Rose, Brooke Lynne, Samantha Grace, Stephanie Anne, Meghan Claire, Keira Grant, Rebecca Lawrence and Candace Nirvana.

You do funny things when you hold a camera sometimes to get certain angles. I know I’m weird.

First video by me.

Thanks to Michael Marlborough for filming the behind the scenes action!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

And an image from the shoot.

15 Mexico © 2011 Zoe Wiseman

Love working with Jessamyne!

trying out a new sort of studio set up and my new lensbaby! the composer pro rocks!

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Jessamyne

I just had one of the most awesome adventures in Mexico at the artist retreat I put on once a year, Zoe Fest. It was the 10th annual get together of models and photographers from my websites, ARTnudes Network and Communityzoe.com. You can follow our group blog at http://www.figuremodels.org/festx and check out all the great work everyone created while we were all together.

I’ll write more about that subject soon. Just wanted to share a few images I created. I’m 1/2 way through all my processing, cataloging, scanning and editing. I can’t believe it! Definitely check out the group blog. It’s really awesome seeing what a group of photographers and models who are passionate about figure photography can do when they all get together. I love these people!

more soon…

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Candace Nirvana

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: St. Merrique

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: St. Merrique

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Carlotta Champagne

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Brooke Lynne

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Stephanie Anne

© 2011 Zoe Wiseman - model: Ella Rose

Zinn is zen to work with. Click on “full screen” for a better view.

Rollei’s, Lensbabies and film OH MY!

There’s been quite a lull in artists pushing back against agendas that harm society. In music, visual arts and movies we’ve been inundated with pretty things, superficial interactions and depravity. Reality TV with nincompoops and Hiltonesque chihuahua’s yapping in doggy purses about high heels and getting drunk in limos. Is this what art has stooped to? I realize that most artists aren’t making money so they sell out to corporations who pay them to create pseudo art for them, but we have a problem in our society and I think it’s high time for artists to start protesting through their medium. Throughout history it’s been the artists who have stepped up and brought attention to crises. There are a few still willing to stick their necks out who could care less about offending the corporations they hope to court, but they are few and far between and even fewer who are actually paying attention to what is going on. Too many are paying attention to themselves. An artist’s work is supposed to be a window to view the world through.

This past week has been pretty intense. Finally the media is paying attention to the famine in Somalia. Standard & Poors downgraded the United States’ credit rating. Rioting in England. A re-call election in Wisconsin. Syria setting it’s military against it’s own citizens. And where are the artists? Most of them are preparing for Burning Man or stuck so far up their own asses or too afraid to comment on current events for fear people will stop buying their work, or they couldn’t care less or they are too damn scared about what their peers will say. What peers? We set our own stages. Our homeless population is rising. People are going to be hurting even more when Republicans try to cut off unemployment benefits and they’ve taken a vacation until September instead of working their asses off to try and put this country back to work. Say what you will about Will & Kate, but they are the only “political” figures in recent history to high tail it down to Los Angeles’ skid row to pay a visit to impoverished children and families in our country. If Miss Hilton and her stupid chihuahua’s or the Kardashian’s  had any sense of decency they would do weekly penance helping people who have lost everything due to our political strifes. Yet, everyone blames Obama. Sure, leaders are partly to blame, they always are, but for the love of the fairy tale being in the sky… artists’s get off your asses! If you don’t…. you’re just a shallow egotistical fame whore who doesn’t know when their spotlight has dimmed. Art should offend, get in your face, and cause all those who would take what is yours to shun you. I shoot nudes… you should see my hate mail. big deal. Where are the Joni Mitchel’s? More Matt Damon, less Paris Hilton… please.

And yes, I shoot nudes. What does that say for women, their ferocity and their independence? Their strength and our society? I have my own societal reasons for what I photograph. Job after job of being sexually harassed, hired sometimes not because of my abilities but because of how I looked, bet on by co-workers on who could score with me first. Touched the wrong way and looked down upon if I pulled away. You won’t find sex in my work, unless that’s all you can see. When minorities, women, children and different political factions are harassed, intimidated and shunned or ignored you will start seeing uprisings. London riots, Wisconsin re-calls, 1969, Rodney King, Arab Springs, etc and so forth.

Be responsible. Vote. Care. Help. Show. Teach. Console. Step into another’s shoes. And yeah, stick out your neck once in awhile and write stupid blog posts like this one. Come out from your shells.

This post was inspired by Alec Empire who wrote this today: http://www.eyho-blog.com/2011/08/09/london-riots-august-by-alec-empire/ Please read what he has to say.

And then, enjoy a new photograph I made with Zinn Star.

Shedding Apathy - model: Zinn Star - © 2011 Zoe Wiseman

Am I the only photographer who still has any Polaroid Type 85 left? I think I might be. It makes me sad.

Today I had a great shoot with Zinn Star. We worked mostly with my Rollei but broke off for a few minutes to waste away a package of Polaroid Type 85 that I had never put in the fridge for storage. I think the last pack I was able to purchase was in 2006. I’ve been storing refrigerators full of it but wanted to see what a package would do that hadn’t been stored appropriately. I kind of like it a lot.

These are, of course, solarized. A technique of peeling the polaroid apart before it’s fully exposed (about 10 seconds) and then holding the negative up to the sun so it tweaks the chemicals to make the shadows do really amazing things. They become lighter in spots on the negative, where as the shadows on the positive stay completely black. But what happened with the expired film was the brownish erosion at the top and bottom. To me it looks a bit like out of focus vines or leaves trying to take over a scene as if an abandoned building would attract the same.

Sadly, positive/negatives films are being overrun by the environment. The chemicals are getting old and rotting the films like they would old wooden floorboards of a house. I’m glad I have a lot of it left still… this makes me want to preserve it even more. I know those photographers who still have their positive/negative polaroid films feel the same. This is magical to us. We aren’t really into the other Polaroid Types…. they don’t have actual negatives. So I raise a toast to all the photographers out there moaning through each pack of film knowing that you can’t hoard it, you have to shoot it, and the day it’s completely gone will certainly be upon all of us.

model: Zinn Star

model: Zinn Star

Sometimes you miss something… Enjoy a photo.

© 2010 Zoe Wiseman model: Meghan

Just a couple images from my last shoot with Stephanie Anne, all shot with my trusted Rollei and Ilford Panf 50. Love this film. Enjoy the shadows.

Ok – and one iPhone photo.

Stephanie Anne with Coral Leaf

Please check out this really cool new online magazine in PDF format! PHmagazine. They’ve featured some of my nudes in Issue #7 of Audrey DeLuxe, Carlotta Champagne, Candace Nirvana, Madame Bink, Rei, Sara Liz and Rebecca Lawrence. Most of the work was all shot in Australia in 2009 and 2010 and some in California. It’s nice to have new work published. I’ve included screen shots here, but you can go to their website and download the PDF file. Read it on your iPhone or iPad by sending it to iBooks or you can just read the PDF normally without sending it to iBooks… I need an app called iZoe or something. They don’t like nudes though! Come on Apple! jeesh. Make sure you check out all the previous issues too, there are some really amazing photographers featured in the past issues. Great Street Photography, landscapes, nudes, portraits… lovely stuff. You’ll like it!

I apologize for my seemingly lackluster blogging lately. I’m so busy! At the moment I’m working on getting rid of the Flash portfolio in the photography section. Flash is just over and I’ve found a way, thanks to the plug-in developers for WordPress, to display my photography in a way which works on all the gadgets, iPhone, iPad, Android and and and … there’s too many gadgets to pay attention to these days. I am so thankful to be rid of Flash though! It’s such a boat anchor these days. I’m almost done formatting all the images for display so as soon as I’m done coding I’ll let you all know about the new gallery feature.

Alabama! Man oh man. I hope all of you are fairing decently after all this destruction. It always feels so helpless to not be able to do much except send money to the Red Cross or other local/national charities. I hope all of you reading this have bucked up a few dollars or more to help out those who suffered the brunt of the tornados. Growing up in Indiana I am all too familiar with the storms. There’s hardly any warning, you never know when it’s going to hit or what it is going to hit. And when it’s hitting all it sounds like is a train running through your ears. Scary.

And President Obama… Nice one yesterday. Flawless. And before I met my husband I dated a Navy Seal, he was hot – those abs! So… thanks to those Navy Seals who all did their jobs with pin point accuracy. Imagine my hand moving slowly to my forehead in salute, that’s what I’m doing! Today is a good day to exhale!