Listening to Voices

People's voices get into your head whether you want them to or not.  I got an email from someone the other day asking, "Do you ever take pictures of women with their clothes on?"  Of course.  Sure I do.  Most women aren't naked most of the time.  And so I post a picture of a clothed woman today.  This is Mingh again, a happy girl looking for a photo of her boyfriend on her phone.  I think that I remember, though, that the preceding question of that email was, "Why do you take pictures of naked women?"  Maybe not.  If not, though, it seems to be inherent in the other question.  In truth, I didn't intend to do so much of it, but once the project got started, I became intrigued.  And it takes so much time to keep the studio, shoot, process, and post-process the film that I don't have time to do much else other than go to the job that pays the bills.  And having the studio, I feel the need to go there to use it.  And so way leads to way.

I have every intention of ending this project soon, and some of you may like the next one much better because it will be about clothing.  Uniforms, to be precise.  And I will enjoy it as much as I do this one.  But I guess I had better hurry up and do it soon.

The first step toward that project is now complete.  I overpaid for a lens I wanted for the series just to make certain I got it.  I had tried to get the lens on the cheap several times on eBay and lost, so I made certain in the auction that ended two days ago.  I now own (though I do not yet have possession of) a 1940s era Kodak Aero Ektar 7" lens with the adaptor plate for my 1940s era 4x5 Speed Graphic camera.  Click here to see what the outfit will look like when everything is finished .

I think I should have waited to announce this, though, and asked for contributions to help me buy the lens that might keep me from turning into a pornographer.  Sure, I may feign an innocence about it all, but we know that for both the old (religious) and new (ideological) fundamentalists, there is something erotic in nakedness and nudity.  I won't argue.  It doesn't matter to me one way or another.  There is a sliding scale and I like it all.

I can't resist posting another photo of Mingh the other way, though.  I like the photograph and all that is says and doesn't about power, seduction, exploitation, desire, narrative, ad infinitum.