Just finished another few days shooting with Sarah Ellis. That however is just the good news; the better news is that in about two weeks we are traveling back the East Coast to shoot with Sarah again (and a few other people) at what should the height of the Fall color.

To coin a phrase: It doesn't get any better than this. Good times does not even begin to describe it....

I have nothing to add to what Conundra has posted here: [link]

Please do read it.

C. Owen Johnson
[link]

As you may have noticed, we haven't been around much for the past few weeks, hence the lack of new images. But upon posting new images last night, I noticed the DA has added some buttons to allow a link to any image (marked mature or not) to be posted to Twitter, Facebook, Diggit and some other place.

I did not see, upon posting, an option to disable this feature.

I have my own opinions about this but I would like to solict your views. Please sound off in the comments.

Thank you.

C. Owen Johnson
[link]

If you are an artist, either traditional or photo manipulator (or both) and would be interested in using some of our work as a basis for your art, we are interested in having you do so!

Here's the deal: we will make selected images available to you and you let us post the finished artwork in our blog at X-muse.net, with all proper credits and links back to you. If your favorite image is not among those we select, just ask! We may be able to make it available. (We can't release every image we have for this purpose because we share copyright with the models and need their permission.)

What's the catch? Your work must be good enough for X-muse. So if you are interested, send us a note or leave a comment below. We'll check out your work and if it measures up, we'll send you a note with information about the images.

If you would like us to feature your existing artwork in our blog, let us know that too. We'd be happy to post a small-sized image with links back to you, if we feel the piece merits it.

So hit us with your best shot!

C. Owen Johnson
[link]

My friend and I have this on-going debate: she likes on-line communities and thinks them useful and I'm dubious of them and worry they dilute and distort the power and joy of human interaction.

Ladies first: My friend considers that on-line communities -- what we called 'virtual' back in the day -- are unparalleled in their power to bring people together, to organize efforts, to maintain contacts with old or distant friends, to find new opportunities, and when needed, help.

My take: Virtual communities reduce people to avatars, emotions to emoticons, and aid to our fellows to posting a snuzzle gif in someone's blog.

Now, we are both, to some extent, right. The debate centers on the extent to which we are right. And right in the middle of this cordial and heretofore rather academic debate, reality intervenes and bites, and bites hard.

Some of you may be familiar with a DA member, Vispir: [link] . Others may not; if you are one of these please familiarize yourself with her situation, but allow me first to give you a précis: Vispir is a young woman with a life-threatening illness, currently thousands of miles from her family with few resources and no health insurance.

There is nothing virtual about Vispir's situation: this is not some cathartic and conveniently forgotten made-for-the-masses tear-jerker about the poor cancer-stricken girl who teaches her jaded friends about the meaning of life before going to a beatific end while the credits roll and the commercials start.

This is about constant fear, near-constant pain, isolation from your family, being betrayed in your moment of greatest need by the one person you should always be able to count on; about vomiting blood at three in the morning.

There is nothing simple or tidy or beatific about this. Good wishes will not pay for doctors and blaming "The System" or referring this problem to the semi-mythical "Upstairs" will not help.

We are The System. This is not above anyone's pay grade. This is Reality and all the snuzzle gifs in the world will not solve it.

Vispir needs proper medical treatment and that costs money that she does not have. (Read her journals as to why.) Hence this fundraiser for her.

It is simple: you may visit her DA page and donate through the instructions there, or you may go to X-muse.net [link] and purchase a membership, which will cost you as little as $5. All the revenue X-Muse generates during July and August (and possibly longer) is going to straight to Vispir to pay her medical bills. (Proofs to be furnished on request.)

That’s the deal. If you want to help and want to see X-muse but would rather not sign up, I'll give a month's membership to anyone who furnishes me with proof of a donation to Vispir of $10 or more.

So how about it? Am I right or is my friend right? Is there more to this virtual place than emoticons and avatars and lots of virtual good wishes? Can we bring people together and organize to help (and possibly save the life of) a beautiful young woman with two children?

It's up to you.

C. Owen Johnson
[link]