Journal

Lori is an artist and business owner who reached out to me for a floral shibari session, and wanted to try something that she had never done before.

This was a rather minimalist shibari boudoir photography session with my client M at my studio in Los Angeles. It was a rare cloudy day, and I wanted to convey a sense of softness in the ties and in the color. She went through a lot since the last time we had worked together, and had come out through the other side happier and healthier. I felt honored to document this new stage of her life and her newfound feeling of freedom and confidence in herself.

I had shot a virtual photo shoot with Cam during the COVID lockdowns. So naturally, I was ecstatic when she reached out about doing a floral shibari boudoir session for herself.

I recently spent a few Autumn weeks in Japan with my girlfriend, and while I was there I had an opportunity to refresh my art practice. In Zen Buddhism there’s a concept called “Shoshin", beginner’s mind..

"My photoshoot experience with Shane was so wonderful! Shane’s ability to bring forth a creative space that was fun and natural impressed me, as I tend to be a little shy in front of the camera and I was definitely unsure how to pose... During our session, I felt I could easily lean into my personality, and he captures it in his photos effortlessly.”

Like many women I work with, A is normally is the one at the top of control in her professional life, and she was looking forward to an opportunity to experience something different. In this case, an expression of finding release and freedom through sensuality.

A reached out to me about doing a session because her birthday was coming up, and though she had achieved a successful corporate career, she had never really dabbled in making art. So, we planned out a delightful shibari boudoir session. Read how it turned out.

For all my skill in helping others gain confidence in front of the camera, when it comes to myself, I feel like I need as much help as anyone else. Each of these photos took several outtakes, deep breaths, and giving myself permission to be seen, in a vulnerable way.

This was another shibari session at twilight with A, who I’ve worked with before. My goal with this session was to capture the feeling of the experience of tying or being tied.

This is from a minimalist Shibari session I did with Maddie at my studio in Los Angeles. If you are reminded of the way the light strikes a crescent moon, then I am glad.

‘On the empty mountains no one can be seen,
But human voices are heard to resound.
The reflected sunlight pierces the deep forest
And falls again upon the mossy ground.’

A collaboration with Kelton Ching and Vivian Lee, inspired by Peking Opera and Southeast Asian mythology .

When Anastasia reached out to me about doing a photo session, she expressed a particular interest in the shibari aspect of it. I had done similar work with a friend of hers, and she was eager to try it out. When I’m tying for a photo session, I typically do a handful of looks, starting with a classic torso box-tie with the arms behind the back, and this Diamond or Tortoise-shell dress type of pattern that is easily adaptable for a variety of looks such as over clothes or with a matching leg-tie. Towards the end of the session, I typically either do asymmetrical freeform tying without any predetermined pattern, or improvise something based on the client’s request.

This is a recent shibari session I did with Sarah, our first time working together. The goal was to make work that was elegant and sensual, and explore the mystery of how the ethereal aspect of our souls/personality intertwines with the flesh and blood nature of being human.

Vivian is an actress and model in Los Angeles, and she’s starting a journey in photography as well. We decided a walk around my old stomping grounds in Culver City would be a fun experience to shoot together and give her an opportunity to take pictures around an art deco former factory.

SHIBARI 縛り is the Japanese style of rope bondage, which is both an art form as well as a BDSM activity, and is derived from historical methods of tying up prisoners. For me, shibari is a mode of kinesthetic communication between two people. But what does that mean?

Jessica and I have worked together several times now, and each time I have learned something new. This time, I tried techniques I had gleaned from sources documenting a traditional Japanese martial art’s style of binding with rope.

Paloma and I met while I was working on a photo project in Havana, and we did a session on one of my last days there. Our location was a lovely mansion turned hotel, located on a hill with an excellent rooftop view of the entire city.

Rock and Hawk, a poem.

Shibari is a mysterious thing. How can the sensation of being restricted give the feeling of freedom?

Maybe it only seems like a paradox from that perspective. Lao Tzu describes the Tao, the Way, as one of yielding and “returning.” Letting things flow, like water running down a mountain into a valley. Perhaps rope bondage is simply a guide to that space of acceptance and letting go, which is a feeling that our culture tries to avoid at all costs. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it is neither. It is also possible that the appearance of conflict arises simply because our minds, overwrought with puritanical doctrine, want an explanation deeper than “touch feels good,” as if that wasn’t profound enough.

This is a question that I’ve been hesitant to approach, because for a long time I wasn’t sure.
It took me over ten years of photography before I started to find my voice and figure out what it was I had been trying to say all along, and likewise shibari has taken some time, about ten years off and on. Most of my realizations have come after I found my voice through the art of photography, and started to find parallels.

This boudoir session with Tiffany took place just as winter was starting to end in Los Angeles, though it may look like summer to folks elsewhere in the world. The session itself was effortless, I truly believe that when photographer and subject are in sync, soulful photographs are as natural as sunshine.

This is kind of a special one.

New shibari work with Svetlana. We had an interesting discussion about sensuality and how it is perceived, which got me thinking about who the intended audience is for a given artwork, as opposed to simply a viewer.

Nathalie and I decided to do another virtual session, since travel is still limited and she’s currently living in Europe. I woke up early in the morning here in Los Angeles to catch the late afternoon in her time zone (nobody said being a photographer was easy). As the shoot went on, Nathalie became more confident in herself and got into her groove, barely needing any direction from me.