I have the Leica 8.5cm F1.5 lens from 1932, only produced for the German Military (used at the Munich Olympics in 1936 then not 'seen' again until after the war when E. Leitz put it back into production in the Early 1950s. This is the lens all the other lens makers model their 85mm fast lens on.

This lens from the early 1930s worked on the early Leica range finder cameras (IIIa, IIIb, and IIIc) and focused perfectly wide open (the f1.5 making is but 1/3 of a stop from the more traditional 1.4 lens designation). In modern digital gear I could find no digital camera that could track the lens wide open untill the Sony 7a body. I now use the lens to do images. To give you a sense of the critical quality of the lens (and to the Leica pre M series cameras), shooting wide open the lens will close focus on the iris of the eye and the eyelashes will begin to just slip slightly out of focus.

The image shown here is with the 8.5CM lens from 1933, in a Leica IIIc body using Tri-X in Germany in 1968 of a fellow class amte Lexi, hand held at f 2.8 in natural light.

Lexi, 1968, high school, Tri-X film with the Leica Summarex 8.5cm f1.5 lens on a Leica IIIc.


Leica, Leica Summarex 8.5cm f1.5 lens (1933).

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Your welcome. I'm not sure why, but it is appreciated.

As I have said so many times, I'm dyslexic. You are probably not aware of the thing called The Americans with Disabilities Act, and well, who cares really. I don't really care about all that, you see I know that I get up to a different universe from many of the world population. I use the 'spell check' and it is only so capable of pointing to general errors. And those errors I honestly don't even know are there most of the time.

Not that any of you would know, but because so many think I'm totally nuts, I really do not live in the world you all live in. In Eastern teaching, like as in what the Buda taught there is 'thing' called samsara, which is the primary source of the world problems for the human race (as the Buda taught, and the others like Mohamed and Jesus) but I'm the odd duck. Simply stated I lack internal dialogue. That is the part in your waking state here people talk to themselves incessantly. I don't have this. How weird is this? I write with a type writer and I do not think the words. Meditation puts me to sleep.

To finish I have been involved with representatives from His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and they have wondered what it is with me. I just tell them, no internal dialogue, and after a moment they make space between themselves and me. Then they seem moved to regain their composure and say, "How?" I can only say, "I was born this way, I know no other state."

I hope you mean "Back doing work?" my friend.

Winter in the building can be rough as back 100 plus years ago the idea of insulation was another layer of clothing. It's is cute to hear people tell me, you heat the kitchen with the stove? Yes, and all the 'gas' leaks are of no concern as the building is only barley 'sealed'. Not like modern buildings. So I busy myself with all types of fun things, mostly staying warm and watching old films.

How old is the building Tim? There was this guy Teddy Roosevelt, put together a group of guys called the Rough Riders who trained in San Antonio TX. Well, his tent was were my garden is now. He formed the guys off the rail head up the road (Mission Road) and the first coal driven electrical plant was in it's second year of construction. The guy who owned the property where my building is had bough the property out past what is now Roosevelt Ave. But San Antonio was still three years away from firing up the electrical plant. So he built his buildings the last six months while the electrical plant was being completed.

She is The BEST!

And now, some meditations on a hobby horse.

P.S. This is the fourth horsy into the studio! Shout out to Ms. KAT (Kitty Cochrane). She keeps bringing fun new things to the studio, then returns to model with another photographer making images (don't ask why, the way things are). BUT, the new hobby horse is one of the new items. Of course I did modifications. This always giggles her fancy and she tries out the new items.

Well, I don't quite understand this, but she is some how taking care of the properties where she lives, so, she is bringing a large bag of lingerie this time and can I have hangers and a stand to hang them on? "Is the Pope Catholic? Was my answer. New Tuesday mid day is new arrival lingerie time for the studio.

Yes, two reposts and one new image (Tim and the back story).

Kat from several years ago.

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Kat chained up in the Cedar Closet, her chain, she took it back home but loves all the chain at the studio.

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VADA with the new Hobby Horse, vary naughty!

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Thank you, here is another from this afternoon. When she returns from South America there will be more, and in the mean time I am going to get more things set up to make more images.

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So, this has taken some time to create. The environment took time to get set up. Old props and some new. This is a new shooting environment for my studio. Think old hose with an attic. This is a corner of the attic. Real spider webs, a bit of dirt and not so 'clean' environment, all intentional. The Cedar Closet is onsite from this cove space. This will be a great way to add new fun clutter that many don't like, and that is fine. I've never been one for the 'empty' cloth and paper backgrounds. I'm also not hot on the 'green screen' thing as well. I'm more of a motion pictre or theater set style environment.

VADA will be back from medical duty at the end of this month so a lot more images to make but loads of time to get all the weird props out and set up.

Sorry in advance, it's how I roll.

VADA in the musty attic.

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For the bread lovers, at the large grocery chain named HEB if you look in the frozen food area of this and other large grocery stores you can find loafs of bread marked as Ezekiel brand (also in the dry cereal section). These products are baked (created) in the manner described in the Bible for preparing bred (and cereal), thus the name 'Ezekiel'. The bread is extremely dense and loaded with food value content. A sandwich made from the two slices of Ezekiel bread and your favorite filler are a meal in them selves. I never got bread from the bread isle, and now I don't get bread from the normal bakery any more. This bread is so dense and delicious like the way grandmother use to bake really great dense bread.

You all have herd the science guy on the internet. Microwaves are always on or off (at rest), so when you use them they are always on. The cooking part is that wuring thing at the top that goes on and off (you can hear it turning on and off) so, that spinning bladed deflector directs the stream of microwaves that are shooting straight out to be deflected DOWN into the chamber below. Most of all that which is in the middle of the microwave oven is getting little to none of the energy, while out at the outer edges is getting most all the action. That is why if you have a small item placing it at the outer edges of the rotating carousel gets heated the most and you find directions telling you to stir the center part into the outer contents of the container, to 'mix' the heated parts with the still cold portions.

Or, you can understand that butter can be kept at normal room temperature and not spoil or melt but is soft and needs not be refrigerated. But then this goes hand in hand with mayonnaise and spoiling. Mayonnaise has a critical spoiling temperature range of 67.5F to 69.8F, above and below that it will not spoil.

Every bough mayonnaise in a small or large grocery store that was refrigerated? It is not necessary. In collage we never refrigerated the large jar of mayonnaise and never ever had a problem. Of course we never, ever used that other garbage, that has lemon added to keep from spoiling because if it comes in contact with most any metal it develops a toxin interacting with metals, that will make you vary sick or kill you. Miracle my back side!

While we are at this, I was visiting the home-kitchen of a world renown cook, he wanted me to jack ass off and go by cellery for the next day as the two large cluster stocks had gone limp. I was stunned and rather amused. I cut the two clusters off at the base and fanned out the individual shards and placed them in a large tall container of water (great time to rinse the soil that ends up on the individual stalks. You can leave them in water for half a day and they suck up the water and turn crispy again. They will last for four days if you change the water at two days, OR, put them in the fridge and they are good for a week to ten days.

And finally, this I discover by accident and like the cellar it make sense if you understand how a fridge works (hint, it desiccates things). Fresh from the grocery store I remove the cover from mushrooms, and especially the fold over lid for strawberries and discard them. You will double or treble the refrigerated life of both because they breath the desiccating cool air in the fridge. AND never use steel on mushrooms, this is troll food, you tear it into smaller pieces, buying mushrooms that have been sliced by steel blades limits the mushrooms life and destroys it's natural quality and flavor.

Ok, last one. If you keep/grow roses you should encourage the bush to maintain it ball like quality. Every two years dig up the bush and place bananas peels or fresh or rotted banana in the bottom of the hole and replace the rose bush and loosely place soil around the bush. The rose bush craves potassium and that is what come from bananas.
IF you can get the long banana stock that bananas grow on, take these and place them close to your home and every few days move them out towards you fence line. Fleas are attracted to the rotting stalk but the stock is easily penetrated by this vermin, but once in they can not escape. Natural flee control!

Any knowledgeable business person knows what credit cards are great leverage tools for business. I was taught this by a dear friend a relator. He went to a furniture store with his girl and picked out all new furniture for the new house. After selecting all the items he asked to speak to the owner. He explained with a rool of America Green Backs in his hand and in the other a top of the line credit card. The owners choice, BUT, Bob wanted a 15% discount on the total bill and that the owner would forgo the tax and delivery charges if he took cash, but Bob would understand if the owner wanted the credit card. The owner took the cash over the credit card.

The credit card company takes a cut for processing the transaction, the delivery on a large amount of inventory is expected and the tax can be 'handled' by the owner in house. Knowing when and how to use a credit card is important and most people have no clue as to how to use a credit card and when. Good business people know when and how to use cash and when to use a credit card. There is reason why the US economy still has cash as a form of doing business.

No flies, no maggots. Outside cleaner than a hospital operating room, inside there are no cleaner environment on earth. Great source of food/protein in nature that humans nad many other animals can consume raw or cooked. Can clean a wound better than a surgeon, destroying by consuming decaying flesh while never touching health tissues.

The best is when women and children exclaim EHHHHH!!!

You may be right about that. There is a huge influx of people to Texas. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the reduced cost of living to people here in Texas. It does not mean that there are not idiots running things here in the state of Texas, at least on certain large scale issues.

Some perfect examples would be fluoridating the water in San Antonio, that is, after the local population said they did not want fluoridation of the water from the Edwards Aquifer, twice in a voter referendums. Like messing with our water was some how needed. Keeping in mind that any water being pumped up out of the aquifer fell as rain water between 100 to 10,000 years ago.

Or the University of Texas taking over the old Southwest Craft Center and making it into an extension of the University of Texas instead of the public accessible continuing education institution that it had been for well on 50 years, (keeping in mind that the Regents of the University felt it no longer need any continuing education by the University system back 35 years ago), like the University does not have enough University buildings in San Antonio, with dozens of buildings sit idle in the down town are, and the South Side of San Antonio.

The single most importation change that has occurred in Texas in two generations is how the women of Texas are taking control of the money in Texas, as they have found that men should basically not be trusted to govern the people of the State, and so transferring the power of the purse to women only, and this is beginning to spread through the entire nation. I truly believe that women will finally get our great nation back on track and move at least the south into a better direction than the men ever have.

But, well, now I'm finished and will go silent less this turn into this going into the attic to be lost.

Just an observation, and I do the wisdom in this man's post, the year of the 'state capitol' building of Alaska being 1931. In 1931 the State of Alaska was not a state in the union of the United States of America. It was just after the event called WW II that Alaska and Hawaii were joined to the US. The US and the Soviet Union began the Cold War as it was stated.

Now having a territory bought from the Soviet Union was one thing, but the Soviet dare not attack the US even if it was a new state. And having the Imperial Japanese Nation attacking our non-state of Hawaii was not such a great thing either. You should always keep an eye on the ball as to history. Like the Fascist State of Italy under Mousseline with it's dictator handing the Papacy independence to international Status to the Catholics.

The Alaskan independent and practical interagency of a State choosing to take an existing building and making it their capitol building is brilliant and not to be scoffed at. Besides, it's their States Right to show who and what they as a State among the other 49 and I for one applaud them.

By the way, Austin Texas is hard enough to get around in but to run THE major road through the State Capitol shows their poor choice for city planning, so typical of the idiots who run the Great State of Texas.

But that above is all true, But it does not answer the question, "How do you get women to model nude with/for you?

The simple answer is that I have a great reputation as a human being. This is half the secret to this question. Get it straight, it is never going to be easy to gain the trust of any women, men have a mostly suspect reputation, even basically bad ones among women. Plain and simple.

So women don't trust men, but they do trust other women. If among a group of women the conversation turns to being naughty or the desire for photographs to be made and they speak with another woman who knows me, well case closed, that women will contact me. It really is your reputation that opens the door.

Once you make contact, you must be in a certain state. This goes past reputation. What I do on here is exactly what I do with women. First I treat them to the great truths, but in women's terms. This is mostly impossible for men to understand, but women get it immediately. Facts, like the fact that all mothers train their children (all of them, boys and girls alike) to believe that they are dressed if they have their shoes on. Its a proven fact, it is psychology and most people 'know' this intuitively, but they never real get around to using it to their advantage with other people.

So our woman is there with clothes on. I get their shoes size (I've gotten vary good at knowing a woman's shoe size) and then knowing how women's shoes work. ALL American women dig shoes/boots. Watch them light up when a stand ten feet tall is in front of them with all manner of shoes/boots. Open toed, you can fudge on a half even a full size 'too small' depending on the elevation of the heel. Stripper shoes, platforms, in other words Bad Girl shoes, oh they all want to try them on and imagine being slutty. And then I tell them how to walk in them. I'm the girl friend that they always wanted.

This goes to one of the great secrets about all women, it is called by women "Pretty, pretty princess". Most any intelligent woman has gone through this rite of passage as a young girl. They all do it. Some call it dress up. Putting on too much make up and some rather risky outfits. Bettie Page dressed up in night and day wear but not much more than stockings and gloves. In my studio there are all of the outrageous items. Loads of stockings to go with the shoes/boots. Even semi transparent dresses. I'm well known to remove the lining from a dress to make it naughty. Now a days, collars and wrist and ankle gear for bondage. Harnesses. Kool items like Velcro One and steel shiny rings and double ended clips to attach with.

I know, you think I'm off on some fantasy world, I'm not, few women will read this (if they do they are nodding their heads say, "YES!"). No, I'm writing this to an audience of mostly men. This is the basic stuff of working with women do naughty/nude images. I use to 'teach' this to participants, mostly it went no where, but a few actual got it. So most of the 'doing' nude photography has to do with psychology. There are no short cuts or ways around the reality of your subject. You must learn to understand what makes them tick. Funny thing is this is the root of most problems between men and women. I just began talking and listing to what they tell you. And brother, they are quite subtle about it. They are just not men, they rarely actual come out and say things, they speak softly and they often speak through gestures.

Last part is the tricky one. The male gaze. This part is difficult because you think you 'know' but again, until you get how the feminine mind works you will never pull it together. Take the BIG page from the female book, it is about delay, you know, what people call foreplay. Never state the obvious, always follow her lead until she gives you the go ahead to lead, and then take the position of complete indifference. Women are all about delay. But at some magic point you need to take the single to take control. This has nothing to do with "Being Professional" Honestly I'm never sure what that is exactly.

Never be quiet and never get caught up in guy things. It is psychology, it is about a collaboration, so collaborate, but collaborate as a girl does. As a woman removes clothing I put new articles of clothing on her. But as I do I steer the clothing a certain direction. The whole time I am engaging her in a running dialogue. An example would be to do some Bettie Page style images. Pull out some medium fishnet stockings BUT, first explain that fishnets for some reason never work in photographs, so WE have stockings, medium to light toned stockings because the light contours the leg and defines the shape of the muscles by showing how the leg appears with healthy form (it actually does in fact and with shoes and higher heals even when not standing with weight on the muscles the legs look longer and more trim! Do some images of her putting on stockings and the shoes (you got her OUT of her shoes, psychology here, she is off her protected game by 30 to 40%, psychology, but she now gains back a sense of control, she is dressed, She is no longer nude, she is fully clothed, she no longer nude.

But now she has to remove her shoes and put on the fishnets, nude again, vulnerable, give her more personal space and let her ask for you to come help to see if this looks correct, psychology again. Change the shoes to some platforms, much more sexy looking, sort of bag girl looking. Again and again psychology. Put on more clothes, some opera length gloves, maybe lace ones from Halloween (I'm always looking for items as props, spices up the session), doesn't have to work, we are in the digital age, shoot some frames, use the card. NEVER EVER say lets not do this isn't working, shut the hell up, take the image, after all, this is Pretty, Pretty Princess time!

Focus on her facial expressions, surprise, scolding, "Your not Worth!", You caught me! You caught me and I'm being naughty! And I like it! Then add gestures. Turn her back on you, now cover your ass, give her a big fan, now a small fan, looking over her shoulder being coy, now disapproving, then light hearted.

Last, never get into the three subjects, her nose, her ass and her boobs. These are things to avoid unless you are ready to really go all in, and then you may not be able to recover the situation.