10's

comic girl 119, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

Yesterday, I got kicked off a flicrk group I moderated called "She's A 10". The reason, "Because the other moderators thought that none of your postings were 10's"
Wait, what?
Really? None of the moderators thought any model I shoot was a 10? Are you going to tell me straight to my face and say that r3dh3ad here is not a 10? Or Katya? Or Kattaly? I know beauty is subjective, but come on!
So, I got kicked off for that supposed reason. I wasn't banned, just have to post 10's.
Personaly, I think it was because I took such a hard stand against porno pictures. I'm sure quite a few moderators were the ones posting.
Well, forget it. As NONE of my models are 10's according to them, I don't see how I will ever meet their BS ideal. Sorry, I don't think being able to do porn makes you a 10.
Besides, I have 203 other groups who love my pictures, and I own 7 of my own.
Good luck on keeping the porn off your group. I will post my photos with people who appreciate true beauty.

Fans

kattaly 238, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

Photographers love fans.
Sure, we take photos for the love, but we rely on fans for the validation. It's the fans that tell us how much they love our photo. When compliments, or suggestions, come from another photog, especially one you admire, it's very gratifying.
I hold no illusions that 99% of my work has a strong sexual content. Be it something demure or a hot chick with a gun, my pictures are full of beautiful women in sexy poses, most of the time in very revealing outfits.
So, because of this, my work does attract some rather liberated people. 95% are quiet, appreciative people who find what I do appealing, for what ever reason. Some comment, most just add me as a "friend" and add some photos to their favorites list.

Then there are the....well let's call them degenerates.

At least once a month, I have to block someone who is just plain crass or rude. Someone who thinks that they can act like a delplorable human being saying gross sexual or disparaging remarks. Sadly, it's the bad ones who leave a bigger impression than the good ones.

So, I love fans, I appreciate constructive remarks, and am greatful for anyone who likes my work to wants to add it to a gallery.

However, if you are nasty, don't bother me and we will get along fine.

Last Photo

kelley 289, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

You can relax. This is not my last photo.
Just about every day, I post 6 to 8 photos. Most of the time, the last photo in the group is the least popular.
It's a shame, because they are not always the worst photo. Sometimes they are the best one. Flickr can be a bit weird in the order it uploads photos.
What makes it all the more puzzling is that when I post photos into a group, it goes last to first. So, while this photo is the last on the stream, it's the first in the group.
As I post this entry into my blog, the picture has only 9 views. The pic of Katya and Jaine in lingerie has 36. I'm sure you can guess why the latter is more popular.

AGENT

AGENT, a set on Flickr.

ADVERSARY, like The Firm, is always up to something. You need AGENT, a no nonsense operative who has the skillz and ability to stop the toughest ADVERSARY.
Sounds like a great idea for a comic, no?

DVJ Photography Magazine

mag0, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

Hi all,
Most of you are too young to remember when photomags were all over the place. They had little to do with technique, and everything to do with pin-up and glamour.
I have always loved these classic style magazines (I even have a few), so I decided one day to create my own DVJ Photography mag. Even though this started as a lark, I really like how this turned out. I may even consider going to maccloud and printing off a couple of issues.
Please click on the picture, and take a look at the retro style of this series.

Beautiful Nudes

Beautiful Nudes, a set on Flickr.

Nudity.
It has always been there. In painting, statues, and most assuredly, photography. I'm sure after the first family photo was taken, the first nude portrait was photographed almost immediately.
Nude photos exist in a gray area. On the one hand, it can be an artistic expression of beauty and celebration of the human body. On the other, it can be a rather crass display of "T&A" and shots so nasty that make you wonder if everyone in the world is a deviant.
I like to think my photos fall into the former. I work very hard to ensure that the photos are tasteful, showcasing the beauty of the model. Any that approach crass, I won't phost.
I just discovered that I have over 90 nude and semi-nude photos from the past few years on my flickr page. Due to settings, you only can see two of my nudes here, only cause they don't show anything.
I invite people to come and enjoy the beauty of women. I do warn though, ANYONE WHO POSTS A SEXUAL OR HURTFUL COMMENT ABOUT THE MODEL WILL BE BLOCKED FROM MY FLICKR. I will not let some jerk ruin it for those who appreciate beauty.

Via Flickr:
A set of nudes and semi-nudes I have taken over the years.
This is a celebration of the human body, not a place to get your nekkid fix.
ANY RUDE OR SEXUAL COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED AND YOU WILL BE BLOCKED.

Experiments

gangster 223, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

There is always something to learn with photography. Things like composition, lighting, framing, angles.
Yet, while improving your skills behind the camera is important, just as important is what you learn behind your desk. If your lucky, or can afford it, you have Photoshop, and all the joy it brings. If you are like me, you have a decent photoeditor that does most of what you want, but do you know everything it can do?
Once in a while, I get away from basic editing (fixing shadows or adjusting color) and strech myself. I push myself to see what my editor can do. Then, I see if I can recreate whatI just did.
This photo and several others is me trying to emulate the editing of some photos from photog's I admire. If I didn't quite get there, but I liked what I saw, I kept it. You may thing it's great, or post some snarky comment about what I did wrong. My response is, this is an experiment. It's all about learning.

DVJ Photo's photostream

DVJ Photo's photostream on Flickr.

After such a great shoot, I went a little Kattaly happy. So, I currently have 18 photos of this lovely woman.
Be warned, some of the photos are nudes, so if your offended, don't look.

Meet Kattaly

kattaly 030, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

Meet Kattaly,
She is a new model I met through Model Mayhem.
This shoot was a rather short notice affair (only had about two days to get everything together). Good thing about Kattaly, is she was able to bring plenty of great things with her. Also, she was ready for just about anything, as her pictures will show.
It's refreshing to work with models like her. Friendly, fun, and willing to go the extra mile.

Cowards

Thanks to some pathetic ass, my account has been tagged as moderate, pending a review.

Per flickr:
A good rule of thumb is, bare breasts and bottoms are "moderate." Full frontal nudity is "restricted.”

Any pictures meeting these criteria were tagged as moderate. My basic setting is moderate. You will not find a nipple anywhere in my photo stream. No vagina shots either and no cock.

So as far as I can see, the only reason why flickr froze my account at moderate is that I got turned in.

Who, they won't say. What photos supposedly violated the rules, I don't know that either. I had to guess. I won’t know if I was right until flickr either lifts the restriction, or deletes my account.

So, I got turned in by either someone who is jealous of who I get to shoot, or it's someone I blocked for making gross sexual contents about the models.

Whoever did this, UP YOURS!!!

I firmly expect that the restriction will be lifted. This is the second time this has happened, and I beat it last time. This is annoying, but you will not stop me.

I'm not asking for sympathy, nor am I accusing flickr of censorship. I am just pissed at whoever did not have the guts to email me and tell me what offended them.

UP YOURS AND ALL!