I like your idea of using the pole as part of a hogtie, Lurker. I think that could work really well.

One of the reasons for getting this pole, was the availability of fittings that can be used with it. There is an extensive range of corners, t-joints, cross joints, flange fixings etc, that can be combined with different pole lengths to create any structure that will be interesting to use for tying the models too.

I had a thought about adding in a simple cross piece to the pole, about half way up forming a horizontal cross bar. The model would lay down on the floor, on her back, with her legs spread apart and ankles raised up and attached to the ends of the horizontal cross piece. This would make quite a good foot torture/tickling position. Her hands would be locked together, but the position alone would be quite immobilising by itself. It may be worth considering as a video with Ariel perhaps?

Cheers,
Steve

Hello,

That’s an interesting observation to make about the very limited number of shots taken from behind. I agree there aren’t that many!

There is absolutely no policy whatsoever about not taking shots of the models back, and it’s definitely not a conscious decision made during any shoot.

In addition to Kate’s comments, which I totally agree with (especially the bit about creating beautiful pictures), the only conclusion I can come up with from my perspective is I rarely give direction during the shoot. We work with full time professional models that shoot on a daily basis. They too want the images to be the very best they can be and they all know what poses work well for them. So I tend to let the models work through their individual posing repertoire and only inject a little direction if I feel something may not be working quite right and frame each shot on the merits of the pose to hopefully produce an appealing image.

Now I’m certainly not using that as an excuse, nor blaming the models in anyway whatsoever for not getting shots from behind as the shoot is conducted under the direction of the photographer. So I think consciously adding a little direction to shoot from the back would be a very good thing to aid the variety of shots in the set.

Cheers,
Steve

That’s so sweet, Ariel. Thank you for your very kind words. I feel incredibly humbled.

Everyone has a significant part to play on these location shoots to make them successful and I’m just very grateful to have been given the opportunity to take part.

This was definitely the most challenging trip I’ve been on for R.E. We had all tried to prepare ourselves for it as much as possible before hand, but the weather was always the big unknown factor.

Ariel and Katy’s dedication to working outdoor art nude in bondage under tricky weather conditions is nothing short of inspirational. I have the utmost respect for their work and what they achieved. They made the trip a sheer delight to be part of and it was such a lot of fun so I thank you both for that.

Hywel’s vision of shooting outdoor bondage in the Arctic Circle where the sun never sets in the summer was remarkable. I can’t think of any other bondage site/producer who would even contemplate such an adventure to create real artistic and unique material. Thank you, Hywel, for the shoot of a lifetime! What a trip to remember!

It’s kind of hard to sum up, but I’ve never had so many cups of tea, cakes and chocolate, laughter and fun, bondage and photography, changeable weather every 20mins, Ariel & Katy’s dancing and literature discussions and absolutely no darkness what so ever, all in 1 week! 🙂

I hope we have produced some sets that everyone can enjoy.

Cheers,
Steve

Hi Jeff,

Hope your PC is working ok now and sorry to hear about your knee, that can be pretty painful. Congratulations on your new job too, hope that all works out well. 🙂

I agree, June does look like it’ll be a cracking month!

Wow, it was nearly a year ago when we shot Sabrina, Paige and Ariel on that long dining room table. It’s not often you have a chance to tie up 3 gorgeous girls in the same set like that. Ah, happy days!

Cheers,
Steve

I think it’s great you now have a blog, Hywel. Plus I’m even more pleased you’re shooting for fun too!

Kate, you have made me very happy! I’ve only tried landscapes a few times, and on each occasion I had the tripod with me. Having read various magazines on the subject, it seemed using a tripod was pretty much the law! I had no success at all for the same reasons both you and Hywel have described…. I really like your raindrops photo!

Nice shot, Sheep! Painting with light is tricky; you did well to get it. Yep, definitely need a tripod for that.

I’ve posted 2 pics below, and both of them should have required a tripod. I’m delighted to say I never used one! The first shot I took on a beach in Cornwall. It was a horrific stormy day, raining and very windy. This was shot hand held whilst trying to hold a silly plastic sheet over the camera to protect it. I probably used up the whole memory card with all my attempts. Hooray for digital cameras! But this has been heavily over sharpened in photoshop.

The second is Hong Kong. Shooting at night in low light with long shutter speeds was horrid, but I sort of managed without a tripod, even though it’s not properly sharp and a bit grainy due to the high ISO.

So I’m glad to share the opinion tripods have there place, but they are a lot of hassle and you can do without them! 🙂

Steve

Hi Sheep,

Glad you had a fab time at the tutorial! These sample pics look terrific! 🙂

It sure is very surreal. It took me about a week to get over the tutorial I attended and to get my head around the fact that I was actually there with Hywel and Ariel shooting bondage. There’s nothing quite like it!

Yep, from now on the credit card will take a hammering and there will be a never ending wish list of shiny new kit to buy. I’m sure we can all vouch for the fact it really is never ending!

Your underground venue sounds interesting! Mirrored columns? Cool….Sounds like a lot of potential. 🙂

Oh yes, Ariel in 3D is breathtaking…. 🙂

Steve

Good luck with the tutorial today! Hope everyone has a fab time. It’s a real insight to see how the R.E. photographic sets are produced. I’m sure it’ll be a day to remember for all those who attend.

Steve

Hello,

Sorry for not joining in, but I had a few problems too. I managed to get connected a couple of times at the start and then the session just froze up as soon as the chat screen window appeared. But that may be due to me having a dodgy internet connection or something.

Hope it all went well though 🙂

Steve

Hi Joaco,

I definitely like to see the ladies wearing ball gags, I’m a fan of that. I remember Sophia saying she had to wear a large ball gag for a very long time during a video shoot once (not for RE, it was for somebody else).

Ha! Yeah right Ms Hunter…. Not talkative!!!!….. Personally I’d say that deserves 20 lashes! 🙂 I do recall a lot of chatting coming from your good self at the barn shoot.

Steve

Hi all,

It was a pretty full on, busy 2 days filming this lot, but such a lot of fun! What a mixture of shooting indoors, outdoors, in the evening, out in public and with the gorgeous Sammie and Ariel! It was awesome! 🙂

Quite a learning curve using the 5D Mk2, but the results look amazing, especially the evening footage. I love the shallow depth of field and the sheer glossy feel you can get with this.

I must admit, when I purchased this camera, I knew it had the video function, but it seemed like a bit of a gimmick. I thought it was something I would never use. How wrong was I! I wish it did have more functionality for video, but with some careful thought and use, it does produce great results.

Thanks for sharing the magic lantern web page cl.reply. It does look pretty cool and those extra features will help a lot. Lets hope their version for the 7D is released soon. I really wish Canon, with all the video know how, would release a decent firmware upgrade to incorporate these features.

Interest thought Jeff, shooting under moonlight! That would be different! I may try that to see how it looks if we get a clear night 🙂

Outdoor bondage is cool (but a little un-nervy when people pass by walking their dogs!). It takes a real professional like Sammie, to have the confidence and ability to shoot outdoor bondage in public. She is a superstar and gave a brilliant performance bringing this story to life.

Thank you Sam, Ariel and Hywel for all your hard work!

I’ve watched this trailer loads of times now, but really can’t wait to see the final versions up on the site! I hope there is something for everyone to enjoy in this film.

Cheers
Steve

Hi Cinder666,

Welcome to the forum! I’m afraid Honey doesn’t like gags. We always respect the models personal limits, so I don’t think we’ll be seeing her wearing one. Sorry. Glad you liked the set though.

Steve

Hi Heino and Strings,

I’m a big fan of the single glove too! Yeah, we did have Sam tightly strapped into it for the music video and she looked gorgeous wearing it! I’ll certainly continue to use it when shooting other models in the future 🙂

Steve

Hi,

Yes, you’re absolutely right. It is a padlock that’s been cut and fitted in to be part of the cuff. Once locked, they are extremely secure, but you do need the right size for the model, as they are non-adjustable. I know Hywel has them custom made in a couple of sizes to fit models wrists, ankles and necks for the collar.

Steve

Hi PhiThinker,

I’m with you on the strappado position, as that’s a firm favourite of mine too. I like the fact it’s very restrictive, even with just the minimal amount of rope!

The majority of the images seen on R.E. were taken with a Canon 5D. Only recently has this changed with Hywel purchasing a very nice Hasselblad (which I’m extremely envious of!). Please don’t think you need to spend lots of money on a camera to achieve most of these results, as that’s not the case at all. The greatest step forward is simply taking your camera of automatic mode and switching it to manual allowing full control over what you’re shooting. Having a DSLR certainly helps, but expensive cameras do not automatically mean your images will look 10 times better. Far from it. As Hywel has already described above, the most important part in this type of photography, especially the more contrasting shots, is your light source and understanding how to use it.

The shot of Sophia in the pool swinging her head back has an element of luck involved. I had to point the camera slightly off centre to the right behind Sophia’s head because when she flicked backwards, her head would have moved out of shot as it happens so quickly. So you’re anticipating where her head will be during the motion. This means you can keep the camera still and not have to try and follow her head movement. Then when she flicks backwards, all you can do is watch her hair and click when you think it’s in the right position to take the shot. Fortunately, in this case, it worked! 🙂

Cheers,
Steve

Ah, thank you for your kind words Jeff. It’s always lovely to hear appreciation and I hope all these sets plus all the unseen footage will be to everyone’s liking as much as possible.

It was great to have the chance to experiment more on this trip with the lighting to create different effects and different styles of photography. Especially with the evening / night shooting which was all a very steep learning curve! I’ve never had to balance the suns natural brightness with that of outdoor flash heads before! It certainly kept us on our toes, especially when the sun dipped down and the light depleted. It’s a far cry from working in the studio! All credit to Hywel for his expertise and ability to produce these amazing effects. It was a lot of fun to shoot at the time, but it wasn’t until we all huddled around the computer every night to review the day’s work that we could really see whether or not everything had gone to plan. Fortunately, for the most part, it did and I’m sure the whole team are very proud of the results.

Plus of course it’s rare to have the opportunity to tie up several girls in one set, so it was lovely to make the most of that too!

Steve 🙂