I met Wendy in October 2007 through a mutual friend and asked her to model for me on one of my desert photo shoots. She did and the resulting images are still some of the most visited in my online galleries.
I soon learned she is also a very gifted photographer and I very much admire her unique ability to photograph bodyscapes. Along with her work on deviantART moderating the Artistic Nude Gallery, she owns DM Gremlin Studios in Long Beach, California.
She hosts a monthly open house for photographers and models, of which I’m a regular, and she also hosts workshops at the studio with Lisa Berczel (Battledress Paint-n-Body) and Adam Chilson.
Wendy is a joy to collaborate with and it is my honor and pleasure to feature her here on Univers d’Artistes.
How did you first become involved in artistic nude photography ?I was invited into the world of Artistic Nude photography by my partner, the late
D. M. Gremlin.
Gremlin was a deeply dedicated fine art photographer, and I am thankful that after his untimely death in 2007, I was able to re-open the
studio that he founded, and have continued to operate it on a full time basis since then.
Shortly after
Gremlin’s passing, I met
Adam Chilson, another extraordinary photographer, who took me under his wing and became a friend and mentor to me.
There’s really no way to describe my photography or my heritage in the art form without mention of these two artists and the values that they have instilled in me.
"Red Cross"Art Model
NevaehLlehIs there an aspect of artistic nude photography that you find most rewarding ?I find boundless inspiration in the unending possibilities of line and form in the human body, both male and female.
My roots as a photographer originate with
Gremlin and his explorations into minimalism, abstract form, and bodyscape in the figure nude.
I think that the aesthetic of the figure nude will always be at the heart of my style, even though I am taking great joy in expanding my explorations into areas of fetish, fashion, fantasy, and portraiture.
You mention D.M. Gremlin and Adam Chilson as important influences in your work, would you like to say a bit more about how they have influenced you ?By the time of his death,
Gremlin had moved away from digital and was almost exclusively a black and white film photographer.
Adam Chilson has his roots in film photography, and though he shoots entirely digital now, still does his work through the lens, without the use of retouching or digital post-editing. Given this common value of my two most direct artistic mentors, it’s no wonder that I myself also strive for the standard of “in camera” photography, whether I’m shooting digital or film.
Is there anything else you would like to share regarding your beautiful work ?I’m very conscious of the process of a shoot as collaboration between a model and photographer – sometimes even into the extreme quantum and metaphysical levels of the interactions in the moment that go into creating that one frame of an image.
My drive to create the images is self-sustaining. I shoot for the love of it, and I imagine I’ll stop if it ever stops being that way.
But after the process of creation, there’s another distinct kind of joy in sharing the finished works, and the stories of their creation, with others who want to view and through that means take part in them.
D. M. Gremlin Productions is proud to present an exclusive series of
workshops with master photographer
Adam Chilson.
Adam is known for his command of precisely controlled lighting and set crafting to create boundary-shattering glamour, fetish, and fantasy photography without the use of digital editing or composite work.
Workshops in the series :
May 31, 2009 : "Back in Blacklight" - Blacklight Bodypaint and Photography.
June 28, 2009 : Themed Studio Workshop.
July 26, 2009 : Fine Art Nude-Intro/Intermediate Lighting with featured Model Brooke Lynne.
TBA Aug 2009 : Outdoor Location workshop/shoot.
Wendy Levin - "Minimist : Pair"
