1226km. Totally worth it 😀

Although in fairness I’m pretty sure my day job didn’t suck this bad before I left for Somerset..

Thanks for a mad few days,

Merlin

Completely agree.

Isn’t Ariel the RE dressmaker now? If so I’m thinking we need a set of RE slavegirl (uniforms?) both formal and otherwise?

What are the design considerations? From experience I’d say such outfits need to be removeable without unrestraining the wearer, what else?

R

😯 ooh that shot of Fi in the pool kinda stopped me in my tracks.

Not sure why exactly, but I keep going back to it. Nice work.

Merlin

Seasonal greetings to you too,

nice to see you back here.

M

p.s. yes, very very shy… 😛

😆

yay-I’m not going crazy after all!

I was driving last night thinking “if he *meant* to edit out the restraints sequence then surely he would have also cut the putting-restraints-on-table shot as well..” as this would be a pointless shot that does not lead anywhere.

Like it Hywel, how about you Hasler? improvement? 🙂

Also have to laugh at the look on on Fi’s face as Amy is led away, brilliant detail.

Cheers

M

😀 yay! Happy Birthday Restrained Elegance!

omg has it *really* been that long?! (err, am I really getting that old..)

I feel very privileged to have been able to participate in a small way and looking at the previews above I can see no reason RE shouldn’t have many more years of success to come ➡ ➡ ➡

Keep up the good work guys,

Rich

FUCKSOCKS!

😀

I was at the time and still am completey impressed by the total randomness of it. Genius.

Occasionally its a worry the mic(s) are picking up crew giggles, this was definately one of those times for me! and now realise that I should have put the cam on autofocus for panning shot of Fi, sorry Hywel 😥

M

ok, it took a few weeks but I’ve come up with a 10th Birthday Celebration suggestion. Can’t decide how viable it is so I’m going to float it here and hope someone has an opinion.

Boundcon recently ran in Munich(?), that in itself could pass without much notice at RE and neither Hywel or crew are “scene people”, however, assuming it runs again next year then its timing is pretty good for RE’s 10th birthday.. This must of been at the back of my mind as a looked at the Tutorial preview shots posted on the forum.. 💡

IF RE were to take out a decent size exhibit at the next Boundcon, how about creating a shooting space right there on the floor, a couple of pole mounted backdrops on stands and maybe similar side screens, leave space behind for storage and model space, maybe put a couple of tables accross the front and decent (small) shooting space is created. Obviously need a few strobes on stands and maybe boom mount and I’m fearful of the overhead sodium? lamps but I reckon its doable. In terms of purpose of this space I’m wondering how much interest there would be in running tutorials right there, in the middle of the convention floor 😮 Obviously the usual full day shoot would have to be cut down to 2 half day shoots to give people chance to see the Con. When not running tutorials the space could be used for doing professional shoots for RE with the multitude of pro models attending the Con as this would be a missed opportunity otherwise and either way it would be interesting for members and non-members alike to see an RE bondage shoot in the flesh and thus good publicity for the site? The cost of the show would only be comparible with any other RE location shoot and would produce lots of interesting sets and boost the profile of RE within the industry.

Anyone think this is a good idea? anyone interesting in actually shooting a 3? hour studio tutorial there? would the promotors allow this in principle or does it clash with their photography policy? and has this been done before?

Thoughs?

M

not funny. really not funny.

for years i’ve done the 6+ hours drive to the studio and back and then 4 weeks after i move to rotterdam you shoot in a studio that is, by my reckoning, 275m from my house.

275 meters!!!!

😥 😥 😥

Hi Doc,

thanks for the query. I’m sure Hywel’s buried so if you’ll accept the opinion of the junior photog around here I’ll try to help..

1/ “Most other sites” – you’ll need to be more specific before I can daw any reliable comparison there. “Most other sites” don’t do 90 updates per month, very few burn more bandwidth than RE. It would be MUCH easier to turn out 30 BIG updates a month instead, I’d imagine the boss would jump at that option but would others like to see that?

2/ In terms of tech quality I read it as Hywel is raising the two extremes of our shooting. Very few shots are shot at either but all are between these. Infact they get worse, I’ve handheld at 1/50th outdoors. The point is that if I examined these 1/50th shots at full uncompressed size then probably only half of them would make the grade as hair moves, eyes blink, models fidget, grass waves and I have badly shaky hands. When viewed at a smaller size then probably 75% are acceptable. So generally speaking the faster you shoot the easier it is to get sharp shots and you get better images more of the time. Win. In a studio you can happily shoot at 1/125 and usually be fine but if you’ve got the light available you may as well use it because, as said above, if you can get 1/250th you’ll get shots that much sharper – more of the time. Also get more “bang” out of colours of scenery, shine from steel etc which can give the images a higher visual impact.

Granted, unusual for me to shoot at f16 in a studio but the pro’s sometimes do in the quest for skintone and shadow detail (I believe). I’ll have to leave the tech explaination to Hywel for this one..

We shoot (usually) on quality prime lenses, f16 would not introduce any noticeable lens effects. Maybe a budget zoom would but thats why we avoid them.

Yep 1/400th is the other end of the spectrum to mentioned above. A pro camera such as Hywels Hashisbad will happily sync at 1/500 as it uses a posh leaf shutter thingy which always opens fully at any speed. Ironically I *think* cheapo compacts do too as they have purely electronic shutters. I’m not an expert but reasons for using these very fast sync speeds include..

– freezing motion (hair flicks / moving water etc)
– balancing bright sunlight (fill flash). As a flash is typically 1/1000th ish you utilise more of its power and less of the ambient (sun) light with a faster sync.
– depth of field flexibility for arty shots
– longer flash range (err, I think..)
– longer flash battery life
– faster flash cycle time

Now I think about this, I can’t think of any negative things about fast sync speeds. Lol – I’m sure there is some.. anyone??

Hope that helps, apologies if any of the above is rubbish – corrections welcomed, pls remember I’m just an amateur 😕

Cheers

M

@sheep wrote:

I wonder how long it will be before my brain actually believes I was there, and that is wasn’t just a dream!

LOL I remember that well! A very surreal experience indeed, it was probably worse in the big old studio as you found yourself walking between very recogniseable sets/props which were somehow very different to how you imagined.. 🙂

Glad the day went so well (again) all previews are stunning. I’m loving the low key strappado (anyone got time to desaturate this?) find myself wishing there was a diffused uplight on Ariels face, just a little tho, or less light in the whole scene (retDSC_3176.jpg). This of course this highlights a common issue.. you just can’t always do that as you’ve got a set of 30+ to shoot instead of 1 perfect image, I’d imagine thats one of the many things the guys shooting on the day are realising now.

It down hill all the way now Sheep.. pretty soon that 5Dmk2 won’t seem that expensive anymore.. that spare room would make a great little studio… 😀

Arrrr, Ariel with a fringe again – reminds me of when she first appreared on RE which are still some fav sets..

M

I used to have some Clejuso No. 12 which went tiny as standard and were generally very good 😉

Juvanile(sp?) cuffs used to be made widely but are now out of favour politically and probably not produced, although “American” are not in business anymore their “JN-105” would be perfect if you can find them somewhere.

Good luck

M

Thats not a bad question..

I’ve also wondered about their hallowed status, but then I’m not really a big fan of rope at the best of times so I thought it was just me..

Couple of observations tho, firstly it is obviously about the most immobilising tie you can quickly rig. If you consider bondage as sub punishment/humiliation/discipline training then placing the sub ontop of a small coffee table has served me well in the past as she can’t even roll.. toe wiggling is about the limit 😉 Thats gotta be worth something.

Bondage for me has mostly been about drawn out foreplay and with a female sub if the top rolls her onto her side (feet away) then the best bits of her anatomy kinda just present themselves in a very appealing and useful way and there’s nothing she can do about it mmMMmm . Sex is definately possible (with untied knees and crossed ankles) but a bit clumsy and requires the top to have sufficient body strength to manhandle the bottom into position, potentially a bit painful for everyone. Err, I’d imagine.. 😳

Gimme a boxtie & frogtie anyday.

M

Yikes, get well soon Ariel. Normally, I’d be surprised if someone says they’d got injured on a trapeze… 🙄 Crazy lady..

I confess I used to think you’d be the perfect Domme, you’ve kinda got the stature for it somehow. But now having met you a few times I now have to laugh at the very idea. Saying that, infact perhaps because of that I’m often impressed by your Domme perfomances, recent Hareem vid for example. I suspect many people don’t realise that there’s a good amount of acting going on there 🙂

For my penneth the best performances come from people playing characters common to their own character in some way so in this instance I voted for “temporary domme” but generally I’d go “sexual sadist” if there’s a Domme/Dom who is completely comfortable in the role.

The two I can’t stand are;

1 – “apologetic Domme/Dom” who is like an “unwilling/unable temporary Domme”
and
2 – “shouty Domme/Dom” who is a amateur giving the D/s world a bad name. If you’re not in control of yourself you’re surely not in control of anyone else..

IE 7 problems… hahah you should all know better than upgrade anything Microsoft until you absolutely have to.. 😆

M

P.S. arrr, what does that say about poor Sammie?! Ironically you’re probably the Domme she’s least scared of 😆

..looks rubbish, glad I couldn’t make it..

no no, noooo, no no I had a *great* time driving 1500 miles through France to a big stupid wedding. Standing around all day in a wool mix suit in 34 deg c heat, we had a buffet and everything.. I mean why would I want to go to a bondage shoot in a castle when I could be staying in a caravan/oven with a load of people pretending to like each other..

sniff.. 😥 🙁

ok, maybe a bit jealous..

M