Friday Night Nudes… These are a few of the final shots I took on the Weston Estate and a nearby forest in Big Sur, during a workshop with Ed Weston’s grandson, Kim.  I highly recommend the experience to everyone - pro and amateur, male and female, film and digital :)

I had so much fun shooting this whole series of Weston-inspired Nudes!  And I hope you enjoyed them too…

Here’s an opportunity to win a free print - for all of my awesome blog readers who continue to come back and leave some love :)  I’d love to hear which picture is your favorite from this series -  Nudes No. 1, Nudes No. 2, Nudes No. 3, Nudes No. 4, and Nudes No. 5.

Let me know in the comments below by next Friday, Oct. 2nd, and I will select someone at random for a free 8×10 print of your favorite image :)

xoxo,

Christa

**Updated to add** The snake is REAL, and it’s a 9 foot Albino Burmese Python weighing 25 pounds.  It feels like it’s way heavier though - I held it (albeit not while I was naked!).  Find out more info about Eugene the snake by clicking here.

Nudes black, christa, meola, Nudes, Photography, weston, white, Women, workshop

Driving by, you just might miss “Jack’s Polished Act”… a tiny shack floating in the middle of a busy and enormous car wash parking lot on Pico and Beverly Glen in Los Angeles.  The shop consists of just two chairs on top of a big drawer full of tools, and the owner ain’t Jack… his name’s Billy.

Billy started shining shoes at 9 years old on a street corner in Oklahoma. Billy knew exactly what Boot Black was when I mentioned my Boot Black project to him, and he agreed that it’s an interesting profession rich in history that would make for a great photo book.  Then Billy educated me a bit: he said you can call him a Boot Black or a Shine Man, but if he were still shining shoes at a barbershop, then you’d call him a Porter.  Sometimes he’s also referred to as a Dye Man.

Two customers came for a shine the few minutes I was there.  Billy works fast, and he used old socks for shine cloths.

Apparently a shoe shine today at Jack’s Polished Act will set you back six bucks.

After his last shine, we sat down to take a break and share some shoe-shining stories.  He told me about his family of 7 kids and 14 grandkids - one son was a photographer but sadly passed away.  We talked about the old days, the hot weather, the kindness of people, and staying active into your older years.  All the while, the nearby car wash employee’s are watching us and yelling at him: “don’t break the camera!”

As I was leaving, Billy said “you’re very kind.”  I said that I would be back, wearing my boots…

…and expecting a great shine and good stories :)

xoxo,

Christa

Boot Black black, boot, christa, man, meola, Photography, shine, shoe, shoemaker, shoeshiners