Anne
……….I was shooting for Met-Art.com for a while. The models had to be young and naturally beautiful. On one of my many sojourns to Amsterdam, Anne stopped by the apartment to be cast for a Met shoot.
As soon as she disrobed I thought for sure she was perfect for the shoot I had in mind. Test photos are very helpful for making more definitive creative decisions down the road.
Alejandra Guererro: Los Angeles, March 12th, 2010
Self Portrait With Nancy, 1974
…..It was a beautiful spring day in Lancaster County. I had just finished up classes for the day and called my girlfriend Nancy to see if she would take a drive with me to visit one of my professors at his house, to pick up a painting he gave to me for being such a good student. Gordon Wise headed the Art department at Millersville University, a small state teachers college tucked away, just outside the city limits of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His home was located in Mt Gretna, a beautiful area with rolling hills, lots of trees and plenty of farmland.
It took us about forty five minutes to drive from MSU campus to his place. Even if it had taken longer I wouldn’t have cared because I was driving my first car, a 1967 Camaro that I simply adored. When Nancy and I ascended the long hilly driveway, the first thing we noticed was the contemporary architecture of the home. There were enormous plate glass windows installed floor to ceiling along the first floor of the home so that Mr. Wise could enjoy the magnificent natural landscape that seduced him in to building his home in that area of Lancaster County. I stopped the car immediately and thought; wouldn’t this make an interesting picture? The glass became a mirror of our image.
We proceeded to get out of the vehicle to walk towards the front entrance. Nancy followed and then paused next to a tree to fix her dress. We were being playful in the car and she wanted to look perfectly respectable when I introduced her to the noted professor. I raised my camera to take a picture of our refection when she spontaneously hugged the tree pretending it was me………TW
Jackie Strain
……..It started off as a rather inauspicious day. I was just finishing up having breakfast with my mother at her home in Elkins Park. At 89 years of age she, can’t get around like she used to, so she has a nurses aide visit her at home to take care of some of her needs a few hours a week. Mother mentioned at breakfast that she was expecting a new aide in just a few minutes, and she wanted me to meet her.
Moments later as I was clearing the breakfast table, there was a knock at the door, enter a young attractive woman dressed in a nurses uniform ready to tend to mother’s needs. This is how I met Jackie Strain. Ms. Strain was aware that I am a photographer and mentioned with discretion that she moonlighted as a model in between her full time nursing job and was particularly interested in my work. Needless to say she didn’t mention any of this to mother.
She contacted the studio to arrange a meeting after work one day to discuss her modeling interests.
Nursing was fine, it paid the bills, but Jackie expressed a yearning for something more exciting in her young life. The thought of nude modeling exhilarated her and would be a way to release her hidden desire to celebrate and exhibit her youthful body.
She expressed immediate interest in working together, which resulted in the creation of a number of memorable pictures…….
TW