I was just lacing up my shoes today and it gave me a moment to pause and create this category. This one’s for those moments in life you just wonder, “What the f?” Anyway, I was getting dressed this morning, and I was lacing up my sneakers…and they had a knot in them. It just made me think…I can craft ties like this…
What an INTENSE armbind on Sasha Fae!!
…but I can’t even keep a knot from forming in my shoelaces?! 😉
Best t-shirt for Bondage folk
This is a pic I took of my best “shooting shirt”. This is the logo on a t-shirt I found not too long ago…fits the TucsonTied world just fine…lol. I try to have this shirt clean and on me every time I shoot. 😉
Figured I’d go REALLY behind the scenes with all of you and show you what the “set” (meaning, my apartment…lol) for TucsonTied looks like when I’m not shooting. How did I set up my lighting…what kind of camera do I use…what other kind of tech do I use…where do I edit my pics…all this and more will be soon answered!!
Let’s begin with:
My Living room…
My Living Room. Many a model has sat bound and gagged on that couch…and many a model has slept over on the bed that’s inside that couch (it’s a sleeper sofa), most notably Vivian Ireene Pierce (remind me to tell you all that story sometime…lol). That’s how I keep the place when I’m not shooting. Another view…
More of the Living Room…
That case in the center of the shot leaves the premises when I put the place into “shoot mode”…y’all don’t need to see my geeky “Heroclix” collection (http://www.wizkidsgames.com/heroclix/ go here to learn more about my hobby…).
Now, you might wonder how I light the place when I shoot. I’ll bet you think I’m using expensive lighting set-ups that costs thousands of buckage…nah.
Just simple “shop” lighting…
See that…hanging from the ceiling? No? Here’s another look…
Better View…
That’s just simple “shop lighting” that I bought at WAL-MART, kids…for about $9.99 a pop. I have 4 of them placed at strategic spots along the room…the above is the first one, here’s the rest…
#2…
#2 is just outside my kitchen; #3:
#3
#3 is right outside the bathroom. The three of them together light the main room of the apartment perfectly. #4:
#4…
#4 is on the wall just to the right of my couch. The 4 of these all working together make the apartment perfect for shooting. How did I find this out? TRIAL & ERROR, BIG-TIME…lol. I worked at this for MONTHS until I finally found a set-up which makes the pics shine. Oooooo…check this out:
Pic Wall of Fame!!
I keep up some of my favorite non-bondage shots in between shoots…top left we have a b&w Nikki Sebastian; top center, Kimberly Marvel; top right, TucsonTied model Angel; bottom row, Kobe Lee. And yuppers, you saw that right…
Auto-GRAPHED, biotches!! (lol)
I did have Kimberly sign that shot the last time I saw her. I honestly think that’s my all-time fave non-bondage shot…
Now, let’s see the “nerve center” of TucsonTied…
The TucsonTied “Nerve Center”
My bedroom, where all the post-processing of all the material happens. I rarely shoot in here anymore…too much of a bother trying to find proper angles, create good composition and such. That’s my current computer set-up…from there, I edit my stuff using Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (and yes, I know version 7 is out…I usually upgrade my version of Elements every other release…I’ll get the new one when they make version 8). Videos get edited on my laptop…
My sweet laptop…
(Sorry for the lighting flash…no lighting set-up in the bedroom, so I was using flash photography for the bedroom shots…) That’s my sweet Toshiba lappy. She was cutting edge when I bought her…in 2006, so it’s likely a piece of crap now (lol); but it does everything I need. My cameras and stuff…
Camera’s and such…
In the center of the pic are my two Sony CyberShot cameras and my Sony Hi-8 vidcam. Also all 2 years old…but still doing amazingly in the making of the pics and vids.
Laptop editing center…
That’s a look at my laptop editing center…it’s just off to the right of my desktop computer. I can have a still pic update going on my desktop and do editing on my laptop all at the same time and just a chair’s short ride (meaning, less than a foot) away from each other. Very cool! Finally…
Bag o’ GOODIES…damsels watch out!!!
My ropebag and the brown rope I’ve been using on so many of my latest shoots. That rope looks lonely…I need to find a damsel to use it all on. Maybe Stacie Snow can help…??? 🙂
That’s all for now…hope you enjoyed this little walkthru of the TucsonTied “Set”. I hope to one day do a tie for you step-by-step and show you the “TucsonTied way” to tie a damsel…
Later, gang!
Tolstoy
Me, working with Pantera Noelle
I frikking LOVE this shot!! Me, photographing the model (Pantera), and her image on the screen of my camera! TOO COOL!!
Look for this category to give you pics of the “Behind The Scenes” stuff here at TucsonTied…me with the models, the tech involved in making the site happen…stuff like that. For now, tho, here’s a link to a site that reviewed my camera…informative reading: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_h5-review/
This cheerleader could no longer cheer…with that tight brown rope holding her tight and that white bandanna in her mouth… Kimberly Marvel
Kimberly Marvel made for a fan-frikkin-tastic cheerleader, realizing one of the best known bondage fantasies out there. She and I always create bondage magic (she truly brings out the best in me), have a look at the site… (Entry Page To TucsonTied.com)
This is the latest set up at Tucson Tied…
Ah, Magenta…TucsonTied’s first true “local star”. Native to Tucson, Magenta answered my ad in a local paper to pose for bondage shots for me. When her shots hit the net, I had photographers all OVER the country asking if they could work with her… Her limited budget kept her from traveling, so she wound up working only with yours truly. She’s fully retired from the bondage biz now…I miss that gal.
One of my better writings from another place…seems relevant to be placed here; enjoy!
Piracy
You see the forum board and are amazed….files of bondage pics from a site you love and it’s all there for the grabbing. All you have to do is go to RapidShare and download the pics…there’s no harm in doing this right? Victimless crime…nobody gets hurt.
Bullshit.
Who gets hurt? Mainly the models and producers who’s pics your essentially stealing.
When folks like me put together a paysite…well, it’s called a “paysite” for a reason…ever wonder what you’re paying for? Well, the site needs a “home”…somewhere on the net where they won’t bother you about the content you’re puting up. There’s a lot of costs there as well…the posting of the pics, web design, bandwith…you name it. Promotion is involved with that as well…sure, you could have the slamminest bondage website out there, but if no one knows about it, you’re not gonna sell a dang thing. OK, then there’s the legal aspects of it…you need somebody to take care of your paperwork in case the Goverment comes knocking on your door needing clarification about the new model you just put up on the site.
I could go into a lot more costs on my end, but let’s focus in on just one…the models. Ever wonder about those lovely ladies you see all bound and gagged up on my site and others like it…why they do it and all? One reason is the pay…it pays well to be a bondage model…and incidentally, they are the most professional people I’ve ever worked with…they EARN every red cent I pay them. Now mind you, I’m not slamming anyone about pay or rates and…all the models I’ve worked with have charged me FAIRLY…the rate I pay is good, but still doesn’t come close to defraying their expenses (travel, accomadations, rental cars, food…and that barely scratches the surface), but it is a lot of money. How then do I make that money to pay them with? When people go to my site, become a member, and pay that monthly entrance fee…that money goes DIRECTLY back into the site and allows me to hire models and work with them…or maybe get a new lighting set up to make the pics clearer…or maybe get a slammin’ pair of shoes that’d make the model’s legs/feet look so hot…;-) You get the point.
It works something like this:
Producer hires Model and they have a photoshoot
Model gets paid
Producer puts pics on his site
Members join the site, buying in
Site costs are defrayed
Producer gets paid what’s left over
Producer takes money, hires Model and they have a photoshoot.
When Piracy becomes involved, the cycle changes a bit…
Producer hires Model and they have a photoshoot
Model gets paid
Producer puts pics on his site
Pirated pics show up on the net for free, and people don’t join website
No revenue goes into the site, so none comes out
Producer doesn’t get paid, so he can’t afford to hire Models
Models go unpaid and find work elsewhere
SITE SHUTS DOWN
A bit over-simplified and with the “terror” aspect amped up a little (lol), but you get the idea.
Let me say this, fans…
PIRACY SUCKS…JUST DON’T DO IT.
‘Nuff said.
This is gonna seem small and insignificant…but later on in this entry it’ll all make sense.
I have only one “pet peeve” when it comes to where I live…how it’s spelled. I think I put it best on my FetLife profile…
“It’s a Pet Peeve of mine…if you message me, it’s TuCSonTied, not TuSCon. “Tuscon” sounds too close to Tuscany…and I don’t live in Italy…lol. ;-)”
You would not BELIEVE how many people make that mistake…it gets hilarious sometimes. This is in-sig-nificent, and I know it, but it does get on my nerves sometimes. I know, I know…there’s far worse things to be fretting about in the world…why does this bug me? Here’s the misspelling in action…try clicking this link….
Didn’t get my site, did ya? (LOL) Now, try this one…
Now THAT got ya someplace, didn’t it? 🙂 I always find this amusing about myself…I have a literal TON of problems in life (like we all do), and for some reason, the switching of a “c” and an “s” is enough to warrant me ranting about it…lol. Funny what makes us all tick, no?
😉
Tolstoy
Stacie’s up next in the TucsonTied “rotation”…she and I are gonna be shooting on June 4th, and once it’s over, I’ll be posting a pic over at the “Sample Photos” area. She’s a true winnah, gang…you’re gonna LOVE her!
The Beginning…
An explosion…louder than anyone has ever heard. Cosmic gases swirl and mesh, eventually taking shape and form…a new blue ball of life emerges! Slowly but surely, water surrounds the blue ball, giving birth to life which rises from the seas, walking up onto land….
WAITAMINNUTE…that’s TOO far back!! (lol) OK, let’s try this again…
Hiya! I’m your host “Tolstoy” Tony, the ropemaster/photographer behind TucsonTied. A bit about your ropeguy: 44, been into ropes and roping for literally all my life. I’m a Gemini…which explains the “dual” nature that shows up in the work. I think I can truly say it all began with those “Detective” Magazines that were plentiful at the newsstand in my youth. My Mom was a HUGE “True Crime” fan (which, now that I think about it, explains my Cable TV viewing habits…you can find me watching shows like “Snapped”, “True Evil”, “The New Detectives”, etc. all the time…), and as soon as those mags hit the stand, she bought them.
Ah, those were the days…every week a new mag with a bound lady on the cover was out for full viewing…too fun. The bondage wasn’t the greatest out there…but this was DECADES before the internet (we’re talking the 70’s here, folks…), this was just about the most we bondage fans had. Well, that and comic books (look up the cover to Spider-Woman #6…a TRUE CLASSIC, folks!)…and an occasional scene on TV and the movies…yah, it was out there, just fewer and harder to find.
Time goes by…and I go thru the whole nine yards of being a bondage fan before the internet; meaning magazines and mail-order VHS cassettes. After years of being both son and nurse to my ailing mother, she succumbs to complications from diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, and I find myself alone. Time to hit the internet. 😉
My first computer, like all of ours, I imagine, was a Windows 98 piece of total crap…but at least it got me online. Suddenly, I could have all the bondage I pleased…all it took was “Google” (or a competant search engine) and a little imagination. My first real find was Natasha Flade…rowr! Hot and sexy brunette…but I didn’t stay with her long…I found RopExpert, and that changed literally everything.
True, I was a current fan and somewhat frequent shopper at good ol’ Harmony Concepts, buying mostly Jon Woods material (Jon continues to be a “muse” for me to this day), but when I found RopExpert, everything changed. This was some good shit, here! Ladies in high heels and stockings…”secretary” garb, and lots and lots of rope. Also created a curiousity in me…why the heck would these babes let him DO that to them (lol)? RE’s style was speaking directly to me…and I had found a home.
His site was also connected to a network of sites…the SweeTies “Family” of sites. I liked that…”Family”. They were producers that had similar and still diverse visions of bondage…from Ropey’s “lotsa rope” stuff thru nudes and extreme positions, artwork and all good things inbetween…I was in Heaven! They also had a Forum Board where all their producers and fans would gather to talk about upcoming sets, bondage, and to some degree, life in general. It was a total blast, and under the moniker of “Bondman39”, I go to know the behind the scenes people at SweeTies pretty well…and one in particular.
The “Badman” from NaughtyTies (http://naughtyties.com/) . He and I got along pretty well…I credit him for two things: getting me started as a bondage photographer, and introducing me to FetishCon (http://fetishcon.com/). Imagine it, dear fans…an entire convention full of lovely bondage models just waiting to be tied and have their picture taken…again, Heaven.
That pretty much sums it up…went to FetCon 2006, took a BUNCH o’ pretty pictures, needed a place to market them at, my friends at SweeTies came a’knockin’, wondering if they could help…website achieved. TucsonTied was born.
Oh, and the “Tolstoy” in “Tolstoy” Tony? That nickname was given to me by my bud, the Badman…mainly because I type out so very long e-mails, forum board posts and such.
Like this one.
Welcome to my world!
More to come… Tolstoy