Day 3 of the New Era.
Remember when I said that this year was going to be about making
difficult decisions and changes in my life. Well, time to start.
Really, this isn't as bad as it looks.
I hope.
Artists
Day 2 of the New Era
So, I was wondering if I had a day 2 in me. I had insomnia last night. (pretty common for me). I was tired, so I tried to go to sleep at 12:30. It didn't go so well. I was up til 4:30. I've been doing a lot of reconsidering my life options lately. Details I don't particularly want to go into publicly jus yet. In any case, basically I came up with nothing... I simply managed to not sleep and get myself nice and tired. Which means I woke up tired. Which means I didn't really have much creativity in me. So I was thinking, huh... this is going to be pretty lame right from the start.
But luckily, it didn't so much matter so much. Its snowing pretty hard for the first time this winter. The bad news is that's going to mean shoveling. The good news, well, it gave me something representative of my day. Old man winter it is.
Sometimes it's nice when you don't have to actually think about anything. Here's to being able to come up with a day 3.
Day 1 of the New Era Once upon a time, I saw a photo by a man named Stephen Poff who was attempting to take a self-portrait every day for an entire year. It inspired me to do the same. Mostly, I just loved the challenge of it. Stephen had admitted that he'd even missed a few days and I wanted to see if I could do it, non-stop, rain or shine, sick or well, I wanted to see if I could pull it off. To keep me honest, I created a little group on a website called Flickr to publish my photos to. I figured that if maybe a dozen or so people were watching that I'd feel bad if I skipped a day and that would get me through the whole year.
I maybe underestimated the nature of vanity in the human spirit just a tad.
I began my first project a little over five years ago with a simple photo in the shadows of the balcony of the hotel I happened to be staying in that night. I continued the project for not only a year, but four. Four straight years without missing a single shot. Taking a photo and writing a diary entry every single day. I even wrote a book about it. Eventually, I just kind of got tired of it. I was burned out. I didn't want to see myself anymore. I had nothing more to say about myself. I needed a break. So after four years, and 1461 straight photos, I simply stopped. I didn't announce it. I didn't tell anyone. I just stopped and faded into the background.
The 365 Days project is honestly one of the proudest accomplishments of my life. Through that flickr group, one I initially would have been thrilled if 50 people followed, I inspired over 21,000 all over the world to to try the same journey. Suddenly I had my own little cult. I had a podcast (with Stephen), I'd written a book, I'd been interviewed by newspapers and radio shows. I never really regretted walking away from it. I figured the testament just stood for itself. But I did miss it on occasion. I still do. I miss sharing my art, my thoughts, my words and my life. And most of all, I miss sharing in the lives of others. Every single day of the project, I got to read about someone who says that the project changed their lives. That they grew as a person. That they learned something about themselves. I've always been very proud of that. I've thought about coming back from time to time, but never pulled the trigger.
I often said, back in the early days, that a photographer named Sarah Bloom is 365's proudest success story. Sarah was a shy woman with very little photographic experience who became attracted to the project in the first year. Watching her first year was amazing. From photo to photo, you could literally see her grow as an artist, from simple snapshots to some of the most innovative work I've ever seen. I don't think I'm out of line by saying Sarah would be the first person to tell you that 365 Days changed her life. She eventually walked away from the project after a few years as well. But by the time she had, she'd become one of my all time favorite photographers; a respected published artist, with gallery shows full of truly provocative work. She also became a friend.
I had been considering coming back this year, and then I saw a tweet from Sarah saying she was trying the project once again as well. Much like Stephen inspired me to take a shot the first time, Sarah made me want to try it this time. I walked into my studio, set up a light and my tripod and went to work.
Maybe I'm back. Maybe I'm not. I simply don't know if I have another year of this stuff left in me. But I know I have at least one day in me. And we'll see if I have a day in me tomorrow. I already know I'm capable of doing the project. This time it isn't about proving that to myself. It's also not about proving it to anyone else. I've done that before too. In fact, the main reason I stuck around for four years last time around was that I didn't want to let people down. I felt like I had to be the leader of the group. I felt like I had to be there. Maybe that's why I left. Maybe I just didn't want the responsibility anymore. I dunno. I didn't really intend this particular entry to be this deep.
Or maybe I did. See, there's a lot of things I've been wanting to change about my life lately. So this is my journey of self discovery. This is my chance to jump in and do it the way everyone else does. Take a photo. List my thoughts. Learn about myself. Let see where it takes me. Maybe I make 365 days. Maybe I don't. The open ended journey is the whole point of it, right?
Of course, the world is likely to end this year, so i won't make the whole thing anyway, but that's beyond my control. . . . . . . . And somehow... I don't mind.
It's been forever since I've had a chance to put up a new Zivity set up or write about it here.. I started a new job at the end of January and it's had me far busier than I expected. On top of that I had to speak at a conference in Los Angeles (the one that I did that wrestling survey for) and preparing for that damn near drove me crazy. I'm pretty sure I've pulled out most of my hair, and what's left is probably gray.
In any case, that's over now. I did the talk a couple days ago and I've just spent the last couple of days enjoying the town. And as I sit here in my hotel room editing a Zivity set (of course) and getting ready for bed so I can fly back home tomorrow, I was surprised to get mail that my latest set had gone live.
I shot "My Favorite Chair" with AmandaBeth just because we thought that it'd be an awesome lingerie set and then we got lucky and the Playboy contest came up and it was just all kismet. I think it's quite elegant and beautiful and a different look and style for both me and her, so please check it out and let us know what you think. We're both pretty excited about this one. (more NSFW photos after the break)
If you don't have a Zivity account and want one (so you can check out the rest of the set), let me know by either commenting here or emailing me at mav@elseworld.com and I'll send you a preview account invite which will get you one free month.
-Mav
Continue reading Zivity Preview: My Favorite Chair.
Last night all of twitter was abuzz with news of the Supermoon. I decided I had to go out and take a picture of it. Turns out it pretty much looks like... well... the moon. I really need to get a 800mm lens.
Ah well.
So life has been changing for me. I got a new job, cut most of my hair off, and recently became single.. Which means (yay for you) i'll be spending a bit more time with my puter ;-) I have faith that all of these things will be for the better. I've realized that being single was something I had to get used to. I get nervous when I'm getting ready to go out. It's crazy, I know. I get cabin fever ridiculously easily. I'm never happy where I am. Well, not never.. I'm gonna take some time to travel, try to model more, and hopefully meet cool, new people. First stop: New Orleans, La! I'm leaving this Friday! I've never been before so hoping for some new experiences. Here I go!
Ok, ready for a break from talk about photography and near death experiences? How about some scholarly work?
I've been selected to speak at the Comparative Drama Conference in Los Angeles in March on a panel about Professional Wrestling and Drama/Theatre. I'm currently writing the paper I intend to present.
So here's where I need your help.
This is a survey to find out what a viewer's response is to certain wrestling moves. You don't have to be a wrestling fan. In fact, hopefully, I'll have as many people who hate wrestling as who love it, thus making the data more diverse. The video to the right is just over five minutes long and the survey shouldn't take more than ten minutes to complete tops. Please watch it and answer the survey below. Fair warning, there is some blood in it, so it might not be completely worksafe depending on where you are. I need a wide variety of responses here to get accurate data, so I'd love it if you'd help me out whether you're a wrestling fan or even if you hate it. Just copy the survey below and post your answers as a comment on this blog (you can log in with a Facebook account, or create an account on this website by clicking the sign-in link, or comment anonymously. Anonymous comments won't show up until I approve them later) or email them to me at mav+cdcpaper@elseworld.com, whichever is easier, or depending on whether you want your answers published here or not.
If you wouldn't mind, please repost and get your friends to fill out the survey as well. Thank you very much for your help on this and let me know if you have any questions.
Survey
Demographics
Please list the following questions about yourself:
Gender:
Age:
How much of a professional wrestling fan are you? (1 - I hate wrestling, 2 - I don't care about wrestling, 3 - I used to like wrestling, 4 - I like professional wrestling, 5 - I am/was a professional wrestler)
Roughly how many years have you been a wrestling fan? (list 0 if you're not a wrestling fan)
The Moves
For each move in the video, rate on a scale of 1-5 (1 being least and 5 being most) whether you find the move to be believable/realistic, difficult to perform, dangerous to perform safely, harmful to the victim, exciting to watch:
Move 1 (Sitdown Backbreaker)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 2 (Stone Cold Stunner)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 3 (Springboard Kick)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 4 (Hulking Up)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 5 (Frog Splash)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 6 (Crossface)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 7 (
Corkscrew Moonsault
)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 8 (More Cowbell)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 9 (Styles Clash)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 10 (People's Elbow)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 11 (Dudley Death Drop)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 12 (Asai Corkscrew Moonsault)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 13 (Barbwire 2x4)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 14 (Boston Crab)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Move 15 (Tombstone Piledriver)
Believability (1 - unrealistic, 5 - very believable):
Difficulty (1 - easy to do, 5 - hard to do):
Danger (1 - not dangerous, 5 - very dangerous):
Harmful (1 - harmless, 5 - potentially deadly):
Excitement (1 - boring, 5 - amazing):
Extra Notes
If any move stood out to you as particularly exciting, stupid, painful or otherwise made a lasting impression, please let me know. Similarly, if you have any other comments, feel free to add them as well.
First of all, for those who didn't see the last post, I was in a car wreck last week. I'm a little shaken up but
mostly ok, and my mechanic thinks my car is savable, so that's the good
news. But a lot of you sent me well wishes, so for that I want to thank
you again. For those of you who didn't hear about it, or anyone who
wants to read more and see pictures, I posted the whole thing here.Anyway, now on to the fun stuff!
My latest set with Sarah went live on Zivity the other day. This is something I'd been looking forward to. Sarah called me the day before I was driving out to visit her and said "hey, I have an idea for a shoot wearing some of my belly dancing gear. Do you have a sword you can bring out here with you?" Well of course I do!
One of the great things about working with Sarah is that we've shot together so many times that we're just in tune with each other. So she was in one room getting dressed and putting on makeup and I was in the other room setting up the set. And of course, they matched up perfectly.
And the outfit is really hot, the second she walked out, before we'd shot a single image, I knew what I wanted to call the set. Ten points to whoever can figure out what the title means.
Anyway, we'd love to know what you think of the set, so check out "The Last Hyrkanian." Comments are always appreciaticed.
http://www.zivity.com/photographers/chrismaverick/photosets/70
Continue reading Zivity Preview: The Last Hyrkanian.
I hate Pittsburgh winters. Sigh...So I was in a car wreck today. I mentioned it on my twitter page, but here are details in case anyone is wondering. The roads were getting bad, so Steph (my fiancee) asked me if I could pick her up from work. I said fine and after wandering around my house for a while to find my wallet (cuz I'm awful about putting it in the same place) left. The roads were not great, but they weren't awful and they had salted my road (one of the worst two on the commute), and I have 4 wheel drive so I figured good, I'll be ok.
I got to the other crappy road. It's a hill after a bridge over some train tracks. I got to the end of the bridge and looked down and the road had some snow but didn't look awful. I figured I'd go really slow and turned my wheel to the left to start. I didn't even get a chance to take my foot off the brake. My car just took off sliding down the hill.
Brakes: no effect.
Steering wheel: no effect.
Started picking up speed and knew it was going to be bad. The road turns dramatically to the right half way down and I had no way to turn or even slow down. I hit a railing, go through it and straight into a brick wall. Three seconds later, my airbag decided to deploy. Ummm, yay for safety.
So I curse out loud to myself for a few seconds, and then get out of the car happy to be alive. I get my cellphone and my wallet out of my pocket to begin calling cops, insurance, tow truck, etc. Before I can, a couple walking down the road stops to see if I'm ok. While I'm telling them I'm fine, a tow-truck pulls up. I'm amazed that they could have been there that quickly but he tells me he happened to be driving by at the bottom of the hill. As he's talking to me, a policeman comes walking up the hill (he couldn't get his cop car up the hill). He tells me one of the people in the houses had called 911 and he happened to be close. So I'm doing my police report and talking to the cop when another cop gets there, and my regular mechanic, comes walking up. I wasn't far from home, you see, and when he heard about a wreck he walked over to check on people. So he immediately recognizes me and my car tells me he's glad I'm ok and asks if I want the car towed to his shop. Wonderful. Things are at least starting to be ok. And then then one of the cops says something like "Oh my god, we better get out of the way." We all look up the hill and there's another car hurtling towards us out of control. So we all go off the side of the road and the second car comes down, hits the back and side of my car, damaging it further and also hits the wall next to me. Now my police report has turned into from a one car wreck to a two car wreck. (the cop informs me that if he hadn't actually hit me, that'd still be a one car wreck, but because there was contact they have to count it as two).
The cop and tow truck driver then tell us that it sucks, because they just repaved this road, and there's been a bunch of wrecks on it. If they hadn't repaved it, the potholes used to basically stop anyone who skidded down. Yeah, umm... that makes me feel better. On a good note, having a brick wall to run into stopped me from careening over the side of the hill, so that's good.
So I walked down and met Steph (who had to drive herself) at the bottom of hill and then we went and got some dinner. After eating we drove home, stopping by my mechanic (it's on the way) just as they were finally getting my truck there. My mechanic thinks it looks much worse than it is, and says he's pretty sure the engine is fine, and he can fix everything else, but it's all in the hands of the insurance adjuster now. They have to decide whether it's totaled or not and then we'll see what happens next.
But anyway, at least I'm not hurt or dead. But I was just saying that I wanted more stuff to write about here than just photography. This is the last time I ask for that.
And oh yeah... FUCK!!!!
So Zivity is running a Pajamas contest. I've done a couple sets for it already. But I need to point out a couple things first. First of all, I love pajamas and lingerie. So much so that I have
a pajama party every year on my birthday. But second, (and maybe the reason I love PJs so much as well) because it shows so much personality and individuality. For most glamour work, we use some sort of lingerie, but for this contest, all three submissions I've done are completely different. Each girl is sexy in her own unique way. For Sarah, we showed her watching cartoons in her oversized T-shirt (zivity.com/photographers/chrismaverick/photosets/67). For Kat it was lounging in a bed of leaves in a little silk nightie (zivity.com/photographers/chrismaverick/photosets/62). Completely different but gorgeous either way.
And now I have my newest set with my newest Zivity model, Jade, (or as she's known there, Harajukubarbie). The funny thing about lingerie is that most women don't really sleep in elaborate teddies and garter belts. Most women I know just flop down in bed in whatever they have on at worst or at best strip down naked and go to sleep, waking up wearing nothing but the morning sun.
I wanted to present that idea and asked Jade to help me with it. We shot this in her actual bedroom soon after she actually woke up.
I love this set. It shows that sexy is simple and natural. Romantic and fun. Please help me welcome my newest model to zivity and let us both know what you think. There are more photos after the break, and you can see the entire set on Zivity here:
http://www.zivity.com/photographers/chrismaverick/photosets/69
Continue reading Zivity Preview: Sun Salutations.
