Early Work – Page 2

Light Table: Early Digital Nudes

Early Digital Nudes

At the turn of the century like many photographers at that time I started working with a digital camera. My assistant turned me on to one of the first, a Nikon Coolpix. I think it had about 5 megapixels and was best used for posting images on the internet or for making small exhibition prints.

I was shooting for Penthouse, Playboy and other adult magazines as well as mixing those shoots in with fashion and editorial assignments for Vibe, New York Magazine, and other mainstream publications. Editors started to require freelance photographers to start shooting with the new format. So I started to test shoot models with the new camera before taking on any big assignments.

I put the call out for a new face. I was introduced to this beautiful blond who will go by the name of Norma Rae Jean.

“Norma Rae was very much the Rockwellian version of the girl next door; a gorgeous blue eyed blond with full lips, hips and a nice size bosom.”

This is how I recall the way she was described to me by one of her friends, an adult model, who I knew and previously photographed. Our mutual friend arranged for us to meet at a nightclub where Norma Rae worked as a receptionist in center city Philadelphia. I always like to see for myself before making a commitment to photograph anyone new and it also takes the edge off whenever I work intimately with the new subject. Norma Rae had already shot for Playboy just a few months earlier so she was comfortable modeling nude.

A few days after our initial meeting, I arrived at Norma Rae’s apartment. As I recall, it was a high rise around 17th and Chestnut. Her place was filled with natural light and a few modernist pieces of furniture were sprinkled here and there presented a cozy minimalist atmosphere. The photos for this article were recently re-edited. Several are published for the first time.

To access additional articles by Tony Ward, click here: https://tonyward.com/studio-news-first-annual-friends-of-tony-ward-studio-luncheon/

Bob Shell: Good Enough

fashion photography by the legend Tony Ward — Photo: Tony Ward. Model photographed with Canon 100D. Copyright 2022.

Good Enough

A friend wrote me with a technical photography question. He wanted to know if a raw file from a native 6 megapixel sensor would have better quality than a file from a larger sensor converted to a 6 megapixel JPEG image. I answered in part:

On the photography question, simple answer — I don’t know.

My late friend Fred Picker, one of the finest photographers I’ve known used to get a lot of ‘what happens if I do this?’ questions.

He had a big rubber stamp made. It said, “TRY IT!” He’d stamp it on the letter in red ink and mail it back.

Without being able to actually take Fred’s advice, I’d guess the raw file would be better. My Canon EOS 10D was only 6 megapixels, but I was able to make great 13 X 17 prints suitable for gallery sale from it. Seems to me these cameras with massive pixel counts mostly serve to fill up storage space on your computer system unless you’re shooting for Times Square billboards.. I had very good results upsizing my files with Genuine Fractals software. I believe I heard they were bought by Adobe and folded into Photoshop.

Like anything else, it all depends on what you’re doing with the photo. The last book I did before being convicted was ‘The Complete Idiots Guide: Massage Illustrated.’ I shot a couple hundred photos for the book illustrating massage techniques with a couple of models. The book measures about 8 X 10 inches. The biggest photo is about half page size. I shot it all with the Canon EOS10D, 6 megapixel. Shot all as high quality JPEG. Converted to B&W and tweaked contrast a bit in Photoshop. A camera with higher pixel count — bigger files — would have just slowed down the workflow.

I’d done three books before for Penguin, the world’s largest publisher, so they trusted me to deliver quality on time.

My agent called me, “Can you write a book on massage therapy for Penguin, shoot all the photos, and create a one-hour DVD to go with the book?”

“Sure, I’ll write/photograph anything for them!” was my answer.

That was some project! I needed a Certified Massage Therapist as coauthor for credibility. My old friend and former model Viictoria Jordan Stone was one, so I hired her to be my coauthor on the book. I had to shoot the still photos and video for the DVD at the same time due to budget limitations; I could only afford the two models, both of whom were professional massage therapists, for one day. Very hectic day!

The folks at Penguin in NYC liked my work, had me do four books for them until my conviction shut my life down. I’d probably have done a dozen by now. Anyway, high pixel count would have actually been in the way for those books. No photo was run full page.

Back in the late ’80s I was up in Maine with a group of photographers at Acadia National Park. Beautiful place! I noticed that George Lepp, a very prominent wildlife photographer, was shooting with the cheaper Canon 100 – 200 zoom. We were talking and I asked him why he wasn’t using the L-Series version, which was much better optically. He said, “I use it because it’s good enough.” I took George’s comment to heart. Most of my photos were made with cheaper lenses, Canon’s lower priced versions, Vivitar (made by Cosina), Sigma. I tested them, and if they were ‘good enough,’ I used them.

Most amateur photographers get equipment obsessed, forget that all that really matters in the end is if the final image is ‘good enough.’

About The Author: Bob Shell is a professional photographer, author, former editor in chief of Shutterbug Magazine and veteran contributor to this blog. He is currently serving a 35 year sentence for involuntary manslaughter for the death of Marion Franklin, one of his former models. He is serving the 13th year of his sentence at Pocahontas State Correctional Facility, Virginia. To read additional articles by Bob Shell related to UFO’s, click here: https://tonyward.com/the-passing-of-a-true-genius/

Like Father Like Son and The Magic Garden

Isaiah Zagar voyeur — Voyeur. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2022

Like Father Like Son and The Magic Garden

During the summer of 1996 I produced my first couples test shoot for Penthouse Magazine. At the time I was looking around my neighborhood for a place to shoot and became intrigued by this place called The Magic Garden. It was founded by artisans Julia and Isaiah Zagar. We were friends from the neighborhood of Bella Vista where we raised our kids and enjoyed the artistic flavor of South street where the Zagar’s envisioned a dream of a creating an utopic art space that would attract visitors from around the world. Eventually their dream came true. Little by little over a period of years Isaiah, an artist and well known mosaic specialist worked on the creation of the space with assistants that he assigned to assist with various aspects of the project under his supervision.

One day, after having breakfast with Isaiah at the 4th Street Deli, he invited me over to see the progress he was making. I asked if I could take some erotic pictures of a couple that I had cast for an editorial for Penthouse Magazine. He jumped at the idea. Isaiah mentioned that although his father, Asher Zagar ( lived on the premises at the time) was a Playboy fan, surely wouldn’t mind witnessing the photo shoot that was to take place at his home by Playboy’s biggest competitor. The father and son were so intrigued by my work that they decided to join in on the production. I first photographed Isaiah and the couple with a my Hasselblad camera. I directed Isaiah while nude to descend down a flight of steps while acting like a voyeur. I don’t think he was acting.

Asher Zagar looks on while couple performs sex act — Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2022

In the second image, I switched over to my Nikon and photographed his dad casually seated on an outdoor terrace while reading a book with the couple making love next to him. This particular photograph was published in the book of Tableau Vivants, Editions Stemmle, Zurich 2001. To see more photos from the tableaux vivants series, click here: https://tonyward.com/portfolios/tableaux-vivants-1994-1996/

It is know wonder why these days the Philadelphia tourist bureau has listed The Magic Garden as a destination while traveling through the city of brotherly love.

To access additional articles by Tony Ward, click here: https://tonyward.com/studio-news-first-annual-friends-of-tony-ward-studio-luncheon/

Keith Murray: In Honor of Black History Month

Rap star Keith Murray photographed for Vibe Magazine in 1994 by Tony Ward — Keith Murray. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2022

Keith Murray: In Honor of Black History Month

When I received the call from George Pitts, picture editor for Vibe magazine in the Fall of 1994, I didn’t know who Keith Murray was. Most of the public didn’t know either until he released his first album, The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World. Pitts hired me to photograph the 20 year old rapper because I was known for making dramatic portraits of people from various walks of life. The editor told me this young man was about to “blow up” because the rumors swirling at Jive Records the rappers label leaked that they had a mega hit on their hands. That turned out to be true and the Vibe editor responded well when he received the pictures.

I arrived at Murray’s modest home in Central Islip, located on the South Shore of Long Island on a cold damp day. At first we took a few shots around the outside of his house but he was all bundled up wearing a black down coat with jeans and a skullcap. I couldn’t get the type of shot George Pitts was expecting of me by the way he was styled for shooting outdoors. The expectation at the time was that I was creating provocative portraits. There was nothing provocative in my mind about taking a picture of Keith Murray wearing a down coat, so he suggested we take a ride over to his recording studio instead.

Once we arrived there his enthusiasm for the shoot grew and he was comfortable enough with me that I suggested he remove the coat and his lumberjack shirt for more of a provocative effect. Keith was quite eager to oblige revealing a fit physique. After I took a few frames I knew I had the shot so I made sure to cover it in color and black and white. This is the first time that the color version has ever been published.

To access additional articles by Tony Ward, click here:https://tonyward.com/1980-my-first-trip-to-london/

Bob Shell: New Music?

Nude topless blues singer — Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2022

New Music?

Do you listen to new music? If so, you’re in the minority, apparently. A study by MRC Data found that 70% of those surveyed only listen to old music. Why would that be, do you suppose? Could it be that those of us in older generations who say ‘classic rock,’ meaning music from the ’60s and ’70s, is just better than what’s being put out today, are right?

Listen to music on the radio and most stations play older music. The big recording companies like Universal and Sony don’t court new music, they put their money into buying up the catalogs of aging pop and rock stars.
Considering all this, it’s no surprise that viewership of the 2021 Grammy Awards fell by more than 50%. That’s even more significant when you factor in that most people were stuck at home without much to do. Why didn’t they watch? I’d guess they just didn’t like the music.

Also, at a time when logic would make you think it would increase, downloading of new music declined last year for the first time ever.
When your product isn’t selling, it’s time to re-evaluate what you’re making, be it music or anything else.

Am I saying that new music is universally bad? Of course not. There are artists making very good music today, but it’s hard to find their needles in the haystack of junk. I often browse through the new releases on the music download service we have here, and sometimes I find pearls among the pebbles. But not often.

Unfortunately, our music service no longer offers artists’ biographies, so when I find something good, I can’t find out anything about the artist. I used to keep up with music and artists by reading Rolling Stone, but when it was sold and the new owners jacked the price up to fifty dollars a year, I just couldn’t afford it anymore. That’s a shame, because I’d read it since it was a newsprint tabloid in the 1960s.

One newer artist I stumbled on when I was browsing is Elise Davis, whose very personal and unique songs really speak to me. But I found her after months of searching through dross.

Even the young people I know listen to older music. I was talking to one young man recently, and he told me his favorite music was by George Harrison.

“Oh, yes,” I told him, “his solo work after The Beatles broke up.”
He looked at me wide eyed. “George Harrison was one of The Beatles?!”
Ah, the wisdom of youth!

Editor’s Note: If you like Bob Shell’s blog posts, you’re sure to like his new book, COSMIC DANCE by Bob Shell (ISBN: 9781799224747, $ 12.95 book, $ 5.99 eBook) available now on Amazon.com . The book, his 26th, is a collection of essays written over the last twelve years in prison, none published anywhere before. It is subtitled, “A biologist’s reflections on space, time, reality, evolution, and the nature of consciousness,” which describes it pretty well. You can read a sample section and reviews on Amazon.com. Here’s the link: https://tonyward.com/thealien-autopsy-film/
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