Pantera.

WOW.  We met thru a model/photographer networking website and talked a bit.   Have to say I was really impressed with her from the get go…I booked a shoot with her without even thinking twice.  Our conversations there were enough to let me know I was dealing with a total professional.

She didn’t disappoint.  Soon as she arrived, we set about working…she and I seem to do this a lot.  I like her sense of style so much that I usually wind up shooting her in whatever she’s wearing when she arrives…

Pantera Noelle

That’s the first set that went up of her…practically the first shot I took of her…lol.  I met her during my “pink rope days” (I was using colored ropes, and less stringent bondage back then), and we had a LOT of fun and had a great shoot!  She was a little quiet (trust was being built up and such), but I was totally impressed with her, and we shot some fantastic stuff…

Green Rope. Feh.  Pantera Noelle in Bondage

I’m a sucker for gorgeous brunettes with cute feet…lol.  I might as well mention that I have a “minor” in foot fetish (I describe my fetishes in the way most describe their education…a Major in “Bondage”, and a minor in “foot fetish”…lol), and Pantera definitely has one of the cutest pair out there.  She’s a total package tho…one very cute and sexy lady.

Anyhow…our first shoot went well.  we had some fun and really lensed out some really great stuff.  I was thankful to know her and chomping at the bit for our next shoot.  In the meantime, she was shooting with another photographer and told him about me…one of the greatest favors that anyone’s ever done for me.

She was also a regular featured model with Dave Annis.  Saying that means something, as the man is one of the tightest  (if not the tightest) ropeworkers out there…so that definitely reflects on her…she can take some heavy binding.  Anyway…she and Dave had a shoot on my birthday (which was about a month after my first shoot with her), and she told him about me…he called me, and the rest, as they say, is history.  This meeting caused a revolution in how I do what I do…the pink rope is all but gone, I’m using true lighting now instead fo flash photography, and I’m tying the models tighter than I EVER thought I would or could.  It’s still me doing the work, but compare the above pics to this one…

LOOKIT all that ROPE!! Pantera Noelle in Bondage

Or this…

SHEESH!! HEAVY Rope Bondage on Pantera Noelle

Yuppers, quite a change, no?  And definitely one for the better…I’m having more fun than I could’ve imagined, and the quality of both the rigging and the look of the photos and video has increased hundredfold.   And I owe it all to this very lovely lady…if I haven’t said it lately, Pantera…THANK YOU!!!

The three of us (Pantera, Dave and I) have become very close friends…you know you’re in good friendship with someone if you wind up together at a Denny’s at 3 in the  morning…lol.  We’ve “bonded” (OUCH!!  BAD pun!!) as photographer and model…she’s not just a model to me; I consider her a close friend as well.

Me and Pantera Noelle, mid-tie

Tolstoy

Somehow…I just knew.  I don’t know how, but I just KNEW.

Stacie and I met casually enough…a mutual friend (Kimberly Marvel…learn more here: http://kimberlymarvel.blogspot.com/ ) was about to shoot with a friend of mine (Chuck, the Monk of Mayhem…you can find some of his work here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monkofmayhemphotography/ ) at my place, and Kimberly brought Stacie along for the ride (and to meet me for possible future shoots, I suppose).   I was flabbergasted…not only was she undeniably cute as all get out, but her personality just ROCKED!  She’s definitely got one of the funnier personalities of the models I know with a great sense of humor.  She stayed for a while…got an idea of what it was all about…and as she left, told me to give her a call when I was ready for a shoot.

Time passes.  I have some other shoots with some other models…finally, it comes to Stacie’s turn.  I love first shoots with new models…we’re learning about each other and what we can both bring to the table…and Stacie brought a LOT:

Stacie Snow in “secretary” bondage

I think that’s the pic that got the most reaction….and rightfully so.  Actually, it’s been ages since I had a first shoot with a “new-to-me” model that caused such a firestorm of reaction from the fans (Shannon was the last time).

The shoot went well…but I think Stacie and I really “clicked” when I did the first elbow tie.  I asked her to put her back to me so I could see how close her elbows would get.  She kinda sighed and said, “They don’t touch,” in an almost defeated kinda way.   “Well…let’s try and see what comes of it…we’ll be careful,” I replied.  I tied the ropes off and was amazed…her first try at it and they were less than an inch from touching…any model can tell you how amazing that is.   After making sure that she’d be ok in the position, I took this shot:

Elbows allllllllmost together!  Stacie Snow

I took it mainly to show her how well she was doing, but liked it so much, it wound up being added to the pic update when I finally sent it into the site.  She was AMAZED when I showed her this…it really shows in this “Behind The Scenes” shot of me showing her the above pic…

The caption says it all…

Check the surprised look on her face…she really didn’t think that she could do the pose, and here she was doing it, succeeding at it, and going far with it!  I could tell that she was happy with herself and how the shoot was going…and that I had found a real gem!

The rest of the shoot went off without a hitch…she did some AMAZING work with me…some of the best stuff I’d ever lensed.  It’s rare that I want to shoot models back to back (meaning, book them for another shoot before shooting with someone else in between), but I did with Stacie.  Don’t know what it is…her sparkling personality, wit, charm…or that she just ties up so dang well…

OMG!!! Stacie Snow in TIGHT TucsonTied Bondage

It’s rare that someone inspires me to do this kinda caliber of work…Stacie definitely qualifies as a “muse” in my shooting career…and somebody that I hope to be shooting with for a long, long time!!

Tolstoy