Art Silva Nudes

So! Back in the fall of ‘09 I pretty much put down my camera gear for a while so I could spend my little bit of working income on upgrading my home network gear to Macs, something that I have been wanting to do for a long time and the whole freekin Windows experience (10 years worth) had finally came to a boil and hit my last nerve.

Well now the closet tech geek in me was unleashed, once I received my brand new macbook pro the flood gates opened. The local Apple store has become my candy shop and now I am stuck in this aesthetic and technological vortex where I have to simplify my home workspace/flow with all their amazing products… Then there is the new software updates I need (want!)

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…”Hi my name is Art and I am a Mac-aholic”…

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The costs have practically kept me from being able to hire models, so on I pressed with this computer adventure.

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Well this whole adventure on top of the “day job” is taking up most of my time, has me building new desks, reconfiguring my physical and virtual workspace, buying accessories (nothing that I don’t need though) and basically being preoccupied with my geekness… I have not touched my photoshop [windows] since late November (still trying to exchange my platform license, any tips?) and in the time away from shooting I feel uninspired to pick up my camera.

I really do have a desire to get started on my new artistic nude projects and going back to using medium format film but the energy has not fully manifested my creativity yet.

The last time this happened I ended up not shooing for 10 years but there was a lot more to blame then like dropping out of Brooks after a week with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope my focus gets back on track very soon, I need inspiration more than ever! At least it’s good to know that the art lover in me will always be there to pull me out when it’s time.

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image from my latest photoshoot way back in november in the mojave desert

It’s been a long time since my last post. Life has taken over my art in the last 5 months but now begins a new year and a new focus.

Slowly I will get back to shooting but more focused on content. Diving head first into creating fine nude art is something my heart tells me I should persue more intently.

It has always been the passion that drives my photography and sometimes I find myself meandering to other avenues of my photographic work only to see my nude art practice suffer because of the time I spend away from it.

So I will be checking out all your images and missed updates here on the ArtNudes Network for inspiration more regularly and hopefully I will have brand new creations to post very soon.

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This is a story you have to read to believe. A flickr contact I have who does illustration portraits for the Wall Street Journal has a thief and a copyright violator in Spain who is making nice a living out of her hard work among others.
Please read, especially all you artist out there:

http://hedcuts.blogspot.com/2009/10/jose-maria-cano-is-con-artist-he-uses.html

Please read!

As technology gets faster easier and less time consuming, I have a deep desire to do the oposite as well.

Case in point; A month and a half ago I decided to stop booking models for projects and saving my pennies determined to re-do my whole computer system, (yes PC to OSX) about to unload my dell and allll the things attached to it and purchasing a new Macbook pro and matching cinema display and peripherals. Simplifying and upgrading my workspace is something that is long over due. While that is dominating my thoughts and short term goals lately, I have been also playing with the thought to go back to basics. I have this deep desire to shoot medium format again as I have my eye on a used Hasselblad 50o c/m at the local Samys as well as dusting off my old Nikons in my closet. This also means that I have to restock on new tanks, reels, chemicals, trays as well as review my long forgotten processing techniques. I know that all this are different tools of the trade but there is a certain romance in going back to the foundations of art and it’s tools and getting your hands dirty, then again the new stuff is pretty cool too 

So now I am being pulled in two directions in order to satisfy the artist and the geek in me. which will come first? the Mac set up or the 500 c/m?… stay tuned and to my models out there hopefully there will be a that Hassy between you and me the next time we meet  

It was easier when I shot film, the quantity was less to choose from when building portfolios. I feel I spent the whole weekend re inventing and selecting my artistic nude and glamour portfolios with no results yet. I still am  partial to my old film work but want to keep my selection fresh and up to date. Ugggh what to do, what to do?!

Since I went digital 4 or so years ago the number of images shot through the roof because of ease and instant results… with film, the quantity and quality ratio is alot different, at least for me. The attention to detail and composition “in the camera” was more critical and time consuming and lets not forget the processing fun, ohhh the wonderful smell of developer…  I envy anyone who still have their darkrooms and film tanks, I miss mine!

It’s that time of year where I feel I need a change, and it usually means my work; both day job as well as my photo or artwork.
As much as I would love to make my passion a source of income, it is the type of work I am NOT inspired by that tends to be the practical career choice. Art nudes at my level are not what I would call a primary or even a second source of income.
Although it would be a perfect world if I can support my passion with its own results, it is the sheer reality that dictates how much from my “day job” I can put towards my photography and lately it has been close to zero.

That makes it hard to hire quality models and travel to great locations. Kind of a double whammy!

But that is why we call it “passion”, the desire to do what we love no matter what even if it does not support us in practical ways but instead it defines our souls and supports our mind. I guess in the long run that is what really matters.

Maybe it’s just time to revamp my portfolios and galleries… but then again procrastination tends to get in the way, uggh! 

A little late in posting a grand return, oh well.

Feeling a bit out of practice in the art of art nudes lately, I thought that by posting a piece I did a year ago, it would inspire me to get the juices flowing again. The desire is back but the mind is taking a nap.

Kat at Knapps Castle,  Santa Barbara

It’s been a month since my last entry and it’s a little late in the evening to think of any clever spewings. I’ll post something in the morning… after my coffee and muffin 

Note to self; first visit to the beach of the season, especially to the nudie beach I gotta sunblock some parts, haha.
I know better but a friend and I went to the nude beach to even out her tan lines for modeling and I figured that two hours was not a big deal… stupid me, I have not layed out all year and I know that the first exposure is always the worse. Now I can barely sit down at my desk unless I sit VERY still… oooh ouch!!!

Speaking of things burned, this is a shot of Vassanta from my last shoot at a hot spot close to where one of our 3 wildfires started. I thought the charred manzanita tree and soil would contrast well with Vassanta’s skin tone and her poses.

It sucks sometimes being an art photographer. Especially in these times of uncertain economic blah blah blah. Not to take anything away from the models who are fighting to find work [I feel for all of you], but when photography is a passion and not at all a source of income where I make my living working at a $15 an hour job the opporitinities to work with quality models are far few in between. Unlike the last couple of years  where time was the deciding factor in hiring models, now its budget. I have passed up sooo so many offers from traveling models, many who I have worked with in the past who I know will give me the best images, and I feel bad when I have to reply with a “I can not book you at this time”  because I know for many of them THIS is their income and it breaks my heart.

I have done many local TFs to stay in practice but for the elite models who come around from time to time, I feel I am loosing out on something special when I pass on their offers. This is something that has been eating away at me for sometime now and I apologize for the outpour of self pitty. I am not looking for sympathy but more like answers, answers to where my work is at the moment and what I can do to continue supporting all the great models I am connected with.

I know many photographers are in the same boat as me and that is why I posted this. Maybe I can get inspiration from other’s exper