This was my first Shibari shoot. I didn’t even know what Shibari was a few months ago, but the images I saw were beautiful that I had to try to capture it myself. Click here to see the final images from this shoot.Â
We did three different ties on this shoot. Each tie took about 20 minutes to do. I had some time to kill so I grabbed a wide angle zoom lens (17-35mm) that I had just bought and decided to play with it. I just wandered around and captured Ahna, who is a master at this and who also happens to be one of my favorite models, and Destiny, an incredibly talented model who I love working with.
I didn’t intend to keep any of these shots. I just wanted to experiment with this new lens from a compositional standpoint, trying different angles and looking at the distortion in the image with different types of framing. So I didn’t really take the time to set an exposure or to even take any care with focus.Â
But I love the imperfection in these. They are simply snapshots that clearly capture the unique personalities of these two women and the relationship they experience in this first time encounter. It’s an odd mix of technical and procedural elements with a real feeling of intimacy and ease.Â
This studio that I rented for this shoot has this wall of head shots. The people in the frames on the wall seem to each have their own reaction to what’s happening in front of their eyes: Some look judgey, some look engaged, and some just avert their eyes. I like this shot in particular.Â
It was a real delight getting to work with these talented artists. A big thanks to Rick Cummings for the use of his studio and for gripping for me. It’s always nice to have someone do the dirty work for me so I can relax behind the camera.
Here is a set of behind the scenes images shot on my new wide angle zoom. They are completely unedited and straight out of the camera. Click to enlarge an image and go through a slideshow.
