Perhaps.

But this person, in their own words, shared what I often have trouble articulating re. my photography protocol. I'm taking the risk to publish these words:

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David Rolins Opening: Then AND Now.


Last Night I went with my lover to see David Rolin's Then and Now retrospective. David is a human, and beautiful one. He's 69 years young, lived through the sixties when he was too old to be a hippy and too young to be a square. He saw the genesis of punk as a man grown man under the mantle of the dubious wisdom of midlife, all while I was a stripling youth too angry for ideals.

He told me he had no formal training, no education in photography. Its clear he had curiosity and passion- and maybe our real life's work requires only this, and not the trappings of achievement, degrees, publication, recognition ( or notoriety). Perhaps all we need is to be in love with what we are doing, and to do what we love. Perhaps the greatest fortune is knowing what we truly love and can be loved through.

David started this hobby of photography as a man interested in spatial relationships; in his early work the landscape of vast interiors gained his lens, warehouses, urban enclosures. At some point in the late 1980's he had the chance to work with a model. Never having embraced this opportunity, he placed her in a vast space, something he was comfortable photographing, and her presence was only slightly more incidental. In that particular image I was drawn to the texture of the wood floors more than the nude woman- somehow, despite her presence, they were what spoke loudest to me from that frame.

Still, somehow, something of the models presence stuck: perhaps the vast interior of the warehouse where she sat in a single chair became more empty with the presence of her single, nude person: a naked woman with Christmas lights glittering between her legs like the half asleep promise of a ecstasy unknown…and in that feeling of emptiness, without a catastrophe, without a flaring moment of illumination, his work began to change.

The transition was smooth if not seamless. Evolving through his years, one thing remained consistent: models would be free to do their own thing. David does not tell a model to "stand this way, wear these things, take them off this way". Instead, he says "Know your boundaries and respect mine so I can respect yours. Then let US collaborate and see what shows up…" If you were inclined to be photographed by David, and wanted to know what his boundaries are, I would suggest you ask him.

Looking at his work, hundreds of prints spanning 30 years or more, I saw few of the boundaries we might expect – neither inhibition or subtlety is failed in this retrospection of his work. Yet the boundaries are present and clear- In my own words I could sum them up, though perhaps at the risk of assumption. I would say "Be honest. Be fearless. Move from love and passion, and don't divide them." That is what I HEARD, though As I said, im simply proposing- you'd still be best to ask him if your sincere about being photographed.

I've wanted to work with David for some time, but in my own 'slow to realization' trend I've not made real the opportunity to put my own honest, fearless passionate love under the benign scrutiny of his lens. I've been distracted, and despite making motion towards engaging in a shoot, I've found circumstance and obligation have precluded the commitment. Many of my friends and some of my playmates have worked with him. After having met him, looked at hundreds of his photographs from the most innocent to explicit, I am not merely planning to put my ropes and other BDSM images in the scope of his camera, but I'm bragging him up.

And now its on my list. Im going to gather a small group of rope loving people, and tie them with delight. Im going to ask him to shoot the moments. And im going to be incredibly honored to be a part of his lifework, the creation of images of intensity and intimacy which beg us all to ask ourselves "am I squeezing every bit of joy into this moment which I am capable of?" I expect that much from my submissives, myself, and my partners in art. So let it be known: last night was one of the best art show openings I have ever been to. And I look forward to more!