Smaragd's Photos

Back in February and March of 2007 I did a series of four different shoots with a gorgeous, sexy, smart, funny and unforgettable model. At the time she made it very clear that she was serious about becoming a professional model. I tried to give her some good shots to show around to get started. Little did I know where she was going to wind up! Just after our last shoot -- the one with the very popular boxing photo of her -- she went to California during spring break. I didn't hear from her for a while, and then she sent a message to all her friends saying she had made the "controversial" decision to stay in California for the time being. We stayed in touch, but I had no idea what she was doing and I didn't intrude and ask. But she would sometimes allude to the "controversy" and that a lot of people in Washington State apparently did not support her. Then one day she posted new professional photos on one of her social networking profiles. I looked up the photographer, and found that my sweet model and friend was now a rapidly-rising porn star now working under the screen name "Tori Black." Yoinks! Where others didn't support her, I immediately did. What does it matter what she does? And what is wrong with sexuality? No, don't post your reply below; I will delete it. There is no argument: there is nothing whatsoever wrong with sexuality, nor with the career path she has chosen. For more than a year she did fairly typical adult movies with typically silly premises -- the tennis player who gets "tutored", the nanny who gets a "bonus", the naughty school girl who gets "punished", you get the idea. The first movies were obviously super low-budget, but some of the latest ones appeared to be a bit more elaborate. But now she has truly arrived. She is the Penthouse Pet of the Month for December, and is on the cover. Making the cover and centerfold of either of the "big two" (Playboy or Penthouse) means you've arrived in the industry. It's a big achievement. I'm proud of you, Tori. You did good. I'm lucky to have done four shoots with you when you were just starting out, and I'm glad to have helped you at the very beginning of it all. For all the fans of Tori who haven't seen the shots before, here are some photos from the four shoots i did with her before she got into the industry, when she was just starting out: TORI BLACK shoots by Dave Ward Photography, February-March 2007

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Tori on the public dock in the Fairhaven area of Bellingham, Washington.

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My first shoot with Mariya. We started out in my studio, then went to a church just down the road to shoot in front of their heavy wooden doors, and finally went across town to end the shoot in our local cemetery. Mariya is a strong collaborator in that she had a good idea of what she wanted from the shoot. But she was also receptive to my own ideas and input. I really believe working with a model should, ideally, be an equal creative partnership. This shoot was a perfect example of that -- an even combination of her ideas and mine, the synergy of two creative streams coming together.

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Thinking about becoming a "Suicide Girl"? Think again! Sign up to be a model with Suicide Girls and you've just shut the door on other opportunities. SG requires you to sign an exclusivity agreement which forbids you from doing modeling work anywhere else that they decide to consider a "competitor" for as long as you are an active Suicide Girl plus two years. If you want to become a Suicide Girl, you are probably young. How long will you be an active Suicide Girl? How old will you be when you decide you want to advance your modeling career further than SG can take you? Add two years to that, and that's how old you will be before you can work for any "competitor." Now, remember how extremely geared modeling is toward youth. By the time you are free of the exclusivity and non-competition agreement, years of your youth are gone forever. Think about it. Sign on with Suicide Girls and you've just committed career suicide. Worse, read about the case of Suicide Girl Apnea and her photographer Lithium Picnic (Philip Warner). Sign on with Suicide Girls and you're going nowhere. And if you try to make something more of yourself, SG will do everything they can to ruin your life. Do you still want to become a Career-Suicide Girl? Really?

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Miranda plays "sexy Eskimo" in the studio. She arrived with her own wonderful costume, while I provided snow and other props. We wound up with a fun and quite wintery shoot, despite it being mid-October. Shooting with costumes and a theme is always fun, and this one was especially so.

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"Always in my thoughts you are
Always in my dreams you are
I got your voice on tape, I got your spirit in a photograph
Always out of reach you are

Cold inside my arms you are
Simple like a child you are
I remember when you took my hand and led me through the rain
Down inside my soul you are..." —Porcupine Tree

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Another from the wonderful shoot with Sarah in Fairhaven on Monday.

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"I met a lady in the meads, Full beautiful—a faery’s child, Her hair was long, her foot was light, And her eyes were wild." from "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by John Keats (1795–1821)

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Miss Cat is a member of the Northwest Pinups 4 Troops.

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This shoot was my first with Elly. I had a clearer vision of how the shots should look than I've ever had going into a shoot. I also did more preparation than I've done for a shoot, including acquiring the props. This session is a big step in the direction I want to move -- toward shoots that are more conceptual, involve more props and costumes, and that involve more planning and work for a more sophisticated result. A big, warm thank you to Elly, who was fabulous, funny, and beautiful.

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Larissa Vanity is a rising model in Northwest Washington. She has strong presence, an equally strong personality, and is both a total knockout and a true professional. Although I've been aware of her for well over a year, this was my first shoot with her. Although it was raining — a downpour at times — she never balked, and even embraced the rain with enthusiasm.

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The moon. Experimental photograph shooting through my old mid-1980s, 4.5-inch diameter Seikanon reflector telescope.

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"Wonder Twin Powers -- Activate!" Yesderday after work I drove down to Mount Vernon to meet and shoot with Dana. She's the first model I've worked with that I met through Model Mayhem. Dana was great fun to talk with, explore with, and -- of course -- shoot with. I'm already greatly looking forward to the next one with her.

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Photo shoot with Dana. It had been a couple months since I'd seen her. I was a little concerned beforehand about whether that length of time might be a setback, but we just clicked right back to where we were before. The shoot went beautifully, and I think the results came out great. Pretty cool necklace, huh?

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Sarah at Hovander Homestead Park. This is one of those shots that I look at and can hardly believe that I took that photo. I'm so happy with this one. View it larger. Thank you to Sarah for a beautiful ending to my week of vacation from my "real job", which I spent largely doing photo shoots. On Friday, I did a shoot with Dana. After several days without shooting, I did a shoot with Aiden on Thursday, Orpheus Faust on Friday, Aleah on Saturday, and then Sarah today. I've only posted a few photos from the shoot with Dana, and only one each from the four consecutive shoots. So keep checking back, as I'll be posting lots of photos from the shoots with Dana, Aiden, Faust, Aleah and Sarah during the coming week. Now that the photos are taken, I can hardly wait to process and post them!

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Thinking about becoming a "Suicide Girl"? Think again! Sign up to be a model with Suicide Girls and you've just shut the door on other opportunities. SG requires you to sign an exclusivity agreement which forbids you from doing modeling work anywhere else that they decide to consider a "competitor" for as long as you are an active Suicide Girl plus two years. If you want to become a Suicide Girl, you are probably young. How long will you be an active Suicide Girl? How old will you be when you decide you want to advance your modeling career further than SG can take you? Add two years to that, and that's how old you will be before you can work for any "competitor." Now, remember how extremely geared modeling is toward youth. By the time you are free of the exclusivity and non-competition agreement, years of your youth are gone forever. Think about it. Sign on with Suicide Girls and you've just committed career suicide. Worse, read about the case of Suicide Girl Apnea and her photographer Lithium Picnic (Philip Warner). Sign on with Suicide Girls and you're going nowhere. And if you try to make something more of yourself, SG will do everything they can to ruin your life. Do you still want to become a Career-Suicide Girl? Really?

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