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Quinn Sanguine & Megan Ayn
Video members now have access to:
- vlog with the story behind this photoset of Quinn Sanguine and Megan Ayn in Tacoma Washington
- 34 image complete photoset
- 16.5 minutes of BTS video
First Look members now have access to:
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everything above
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58 image complete photoset of me in a Nashville TN park taken by Bashing Bagpipes
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Quinn Sanguine & Megan Ayn
CAPTION FOR VIDEO ABOVE:
Hello! So this week I am sharing a photoset that I took of my friends Quinn and Megan when I was in Tacoma Washington. It’s funny because I’ve been friends with Quinn for a long time and I’ve met them a few times prior to my trip out there. Quinn used to live in the Boston area and did a couple of trips along the east coast and I was able to hang out with them during that time. Then they moved across the country, they did a cross country tour at the same time they were moving across the country. They moved to Tacoma a year or two ago, no longer than that, a couple years ago now. Wow, time is wild yall! Quinn moved to Tacoma and offered to host me while I was in the area so I stayed with them for I think it was close to a week, it was like at least 4 or 5 days. I had been talking to Megan about shooting with her because we’ve followed each other on IG for a while. Come to find out, Quinn and Megan lived like 5-10 minutes away from each other and they hadn’t met yet. It was awesome, Quinn and I went to Megan’s house and hung out and took photos of each other, it was a great time. That day when we were shooting I was feeling kinda weird, I think I wasn’t quite as inspired because we were indoors instead of outside, and I didn’t think I had the film that I needed in order to get the proper exposure inside the house. I had a lot of fast film/lower ISO film, and it wasn’t going to be enough light for me to take photos, but then I found ONE roll of film that was 1600 ISO that I had, and that was just enough to take photos. I was really excited that I was actually able to take photos, because I thought I wasn’t going to be able to because I didn’t have the right film for the space that we were in. I found that one roll and that was was very helpful and I’m thankful that I was able to photograph them when I was there. I already shared the photos that Megan took of me and Quinn, and these are the photos that I took of Quinn and Megan.
What’s going on with me this week… today’s Thursday, I usually do my prep for the weekend on Thursdays, and today is the full moon. I’m not feeling as energetically and emotionally effected by this moon as I usually do, and it’s kinda odd to me because I remember having a Scorpio moon, I think it was last year, and that was really intense for me, and this Scorpio moon isn’t really? Which I find pretty interesting. I don’t know, I’m feeling a little bit less stuck, I know I’ve been talking about feeling stuck the last couple of weeks. I’m feeling a little less stuck in terms of creative and goals and life stuff. I’ve started to plan some online opportunities with a couple of other artists and I’m really excited to share that with you coming up soon.
Actually I’ll go ahead and tell you, Lior Allay and Roarie Yum and I are doing live videos on IG next week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, talking about vulnerability. On Monday the 18th we’ll be hosting an online event/discussion between us and the people who are a part of the event. We’re going to do a live video chat type of thing. We haven’t quite, as of today, come up with a specific name/wording about what we’re going to do but I know that we’re going to go more in depth about vulnerability in art and speak to what that means for us, if nudity is a part of that for us and why, and how to create spaces where we allow other people to be vulnerable. I’m very excited about that, so keep an eye out on mine, Lior’s, and Roarie’s IGs for more info about that coming up soon. I’ll send info to my mailing list when we have more promotional materials ready. I’m pretty excited about it, I’ve been feeling like not really ready or willing to do a lot of creative stuff recently, and I’ve tried really hard to not beat myself up about it because it’s expected of me from myself and my community. I feel thankful that I have the opportunities that I do in order to not have to constantly create in order to make a living. I have a backlog of all of the things I’ve created last summer to get me through this slump time, but now that I’m in collaboration with Roarie and Lior, I’m starting to get more excited about art again. Even if I’m not actively creating right now, which I still haven’t been creating, just having the conversations around art has been really wonderful for me and healing in a way, just thinking about it more and being in a mindset where I’m more receptive to creativity and art has felt really nice. I’m excited to go through these discussions with them over the next couple of weeks and share our knowledge with yall. I’ll link to my instagram, Lior’s instagram, and Roarie’s instagram in the caption of this video to make it easy for you to click and see what kind of things we’re doing online. (Click here for my IG, click here for Roarie’s IG, click here for Lior’s IG)
Do you hear that hawk?! *looking around above me* I think it’s pretty wonderful and magickal that when I’m out here making videos for yall there’s some kind of bird that is talking to me. Last week it was hummingbirds and this week it’s a hawk. Hawks are really magickal and powerful and I connect with them a lot already just because I know that there are some that have nests somewhere around my neighborhood, somewhere near my house. They’re here a lot, I see them a lot and hear them a lot. I think that’s pretty magickal. I’m trying to not be too distracted.
So… that’s pretty much the only thing that’s new with me, the vulnerability in art talks that I’ll be doing with Lior and Roarie. Keep an eye out if you want to participate, we’re going to do a really affordable online discussion through video chat. I also just heard an owl! But it’s like… noon! Anyway! The discussion we’ll be hosting, the instagram lives will be free. There’s that owl again! So those will be Monday Wednesday Friday next week for free, and then the online video discussion group video thing we’re doing will be on Monday the 18th and that will be donation based with a $5 minimum. Donate whatever you’re able based on the value you get out of our talk. We’re going to be splitting the funds from that between the 3 of us. I’m really excited, I think it’ll be a really great discussion. I think vulnerability is something that most people skirt around or avoid when they’re creating art. They focus on making things that are beautiful or aesthetically pleasing, but not necessarily have any emotion or vulnerability behind them. I think it’s going to be a really wonderful discussion to bring vulnerability to light and emphasize the importance of it in art. I mean, I personally get the most out of art when there’s some kind of message behind it, or I can tell that someone has a lot of emotion and is sharing that with us through their art, that’s really vulnerable to me, being your true self and not thinking or worrying about what other people think about you or what their expectations are. I invite you to join us for that. I’ll share links whenever I have them, we’re still gathering info and working together to figure out how to make it the best event possible. I’m really excited, I love working with them, they’re amazing humans. I look up to them both, and I’ve been lucky enough to create with both of them more than once and I love it!
Thank you so much for following my journey of… whatever this is. I just want to be the person that past me needed, and hopefully that person is someone that you need too, or someone that you at least get some kind of value out of. I don’t want to just have empty, pretty things. I want to share with yall deeply and in meaningful ways, and I want to help educate people and I want to help heal people and I can’t do that without being vulnerable myself. I appreciate yall being a part of this with me. I love you so much, thank you for loving me!
Video members:
click here to view the full photoset of Quinn Sanguine and Megan Ayn in Tacoma Washington
click here to view the BTS videoFirst Look members:
click here to view the photoset of me in a Nashville TN park taken by Bashing Bagpipes -
With Quinn Sanguine by Megan Ayn
Photo members now have access to:
- blog post with the story behind this photoset with Quinn Sanguine by Megan Ayn in Tacoma Washington
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50 image complete photoset
Video members now have access to:
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everything above
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24 minutes of BTS video
First Look members now have access to:
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everything above
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69 image complete photoset of me taken by Mandy Darling in Olympia Washington
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With Quinn Sanguine by Megan Ayn
This week’s photoset and BTS video release is from my time with Quinn Sanguine (they/them pronouns) and Megan Ayn (she/her pronouns) in Tacoma Washington during my cross country road trip last summer. I have another set on the way that I took of Quinn and Megan! I stayed with Quinn for almost a week while I was out there, and it was so wonderful to catch up with them again. We originally met a few years ago when they were traveling up and down the east coast before their move to the PNW. You might remember them from previous photosets when they were using a different name (here here here and here if you wanna check those out!). We kept in touch online while they did their own cross country road trip which was also their move from the east coast to the west coast. It was so wonderful to spend time with them again, I consider them a really close friend even if we spend weeks without contacting each other… as soon as we are together it’s as if no time has passed.
I had been wanting to meet Megan for a long time, I knew of her through social media and it was wonderful to finally meet in person! She lives just minutes away from Quinn, and before we were setting up the shoot they had no idea they were so close to each other! Megan is such a kind person and has a great upbeat personality, it was a treat to be able to spend the day with both her and Quinn. I was exhausted and low on energy that day… I almost didn’t shoot any film because there was almost not enough light, but I’m glad I found the one roll of 1600 ISO film that I brought with me. Those photos are coming soon!
CURRENTLY: I’ve been reading a lot over the last few weeks, probably more than I have in the last few years combined. As a kid I used to read allllll the time, but then once I became an adult and was working full time and married… I just didn’t take time to myself to read anymore. I didn’t really realize how much I missed it until I started reading consistently again over the winter.
I recently bought FOUR books by Charles Eisenstein, who has opened up my world and mind to so much more than I ever thought possible. He is the reason I consider myself an ecosexual. Before reading his essay The Ecosexual Awakening I had never even heard of ecosexuality, and now it’s a major part of my life. The label ecosexual gave me the space to be able to fill in and understand a lot of aspects of myself that I didn’t have words for before.
I just finished his book The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible and I just started Climate – A New Story and wow he basically speaks directly to my heart, and it’s everything I’ve been looking for. Have you ever read a book that shifted your perspective so much that something changed inside you? That after reading it, you’re a different person than you were before? That’s Charles Eisenstein’s work for me. After being in despair looking for something to hold on to, something that didn’t crush my heart, something that felt TRUE and REAL and TANGIBLE, his words are giving me hope for humanity and the future of the planet.
If nothing else, I highly recommend watching some of his videos on youtube.
I’m not affiliated with him in any way (though if I was that would be amazing), I just love everything of his that I’ve come into contact with and I hope that his message reaches as many people as possible.
Thank you so much for reading this far, for your continuous support of me, and for your love. I appreciate each and every one of you so much. I literally could not do this without you. Thank you. <3
Photo members: click here to view the full photoset with Quinn Sanguine by Megan Ayn in Tacoma Washington
Video members: click here to view the BTS video
First Look members: click here to view the photoset of me taken by Mandy Darling in Olympia Washington -
Portraitmami & Rhivnnun on a Stormy Hillside
When Rhivnnun visited Charlotte last year they stayed with Portraitmami and the three of us met up for a creative day of photographing each other! We are all primarily photographers but we all model occasionally so we took turns shooting each other at Portraitmami’s apartment and ventured out to this grassy hillside off of a main road to take these photos. The sky was brilliantly stormy and we even got rained on at the end of the shoot but it was so worth it because of the fantastic light and dramatic sky! We even saw a wild turkey in the field nearby! haha
CURRENTLY: I’ve been taking aerial yoga classes, not to be confused with aerial silks because they’re totally different things, but I LOVE any chance to be in silks! I absolutely live for swinging, being upside down, and playing in silks, and aerial yoga has been a great alternative to aerial silks, which I miss a lot but it’s more expensive and further away from home. Now I REALLY want to convince my dad to let me rig up some silks in our living room or something. He’s not super into the idea but of course I’m super into it… hopefully I can convince him that it’s a worthwhile thing to do and it shouldn’t be in the way because we can just drape them into the upstairs hallway when I’m not using them! I have this somewhat thought out already, if you couldn’t already tell haha =]
I’ve been working really hard on finally going through my self portraits from this past summer. I took over 20 different sets and I didn’t touch them at all for so long because it was more important to me to get photos back to other models first. Plus I was kinda overwhelmed and needed to get to a place where I was mentally and emotionally ready to go through them all instead of just forcing myself to do it when it wasn’t the time yet. Well, I’ve officially organized ALL of them and I’m in the process of editing them! YAY! Most of them I won’t even edit because even though they’re digital (WHAT?! WEIRD, I KNOW RIGHT?!) I’m really happy with how they came out without needing to edit them. Some of them really do need edits though, such as the Cave Entrance set I took at Colorado National Monument because the light kept changing. In case you’re wondering, I shot all digital self portraits this past summer because of time and where I was. In National Parks and other public places, as you could imagine, I needed to be really quick with the amount of time I spent nude (sadly). It takes me about 2 minutes to take 50 digital self portraits. It takes at LEAST a half an hour to shoot a 36 exposure roll of film. This is why I shot digital self portraits this summer: time/speed/ease. I’m really excited to start sharing them with you soon!
Video editing is next on my list of backlogged content to go through. I’m really looking forward to being fully caught up! I’m getting closer all the time!
Photo members: click here to view the full photoset of Portraitmami & Rhivnnun on a grassy hillside before a thunderstorm
Video members: click here to view the BTS videos
First Look members: click here to view the photoset of Quinn Sanguine & Megan Ayn & click here to view the BTS video -
Portraitmami & Rhivnnun on a Stormy Hillside
Photo members now have access to:
- blog post with the story behind this photoset of Portraitmami & Rhivnnun on a grassy hillside before a thunderstorm
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25 image complete photoset
Video members now have access to:
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everything above
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9+ minutes of BTS video
- 21 cell phone videos
- 9 BTS photos
First Look members now have access to:
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everything above
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34 image complete photoset of Quinn Sanguine & Megan Ayn
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16.5 minutes of BTS video
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Doubles with Singingsiren44
Photo members now have access to:
- blog post with the story behind this film double exposure photoset of Singingsiren44 in the Rocky Mountains
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37 image complete photoset
Video members now have access to:
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everything above
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8+ minutes of BTS video
- 30 minute nude yoga video for this month
First Look members now have access to:
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everything above
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50 image complete photoset with Quinn Sanguine by Megan Ayn in Tacoma Washington
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24 minutes of BTS video
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Doubles with Singingsiren44
I met Singingsiren44 through Instagram and met up with them in person in Denver Colorado during the first part of my cross country road trip this past summer. They were so generous and offered for me to stay for a couple of days in their apartment and during one of those days we took a day trip to the Rocky Mountains to spend some time in nature and take some photos. They drove til we found a spot off of the road that seemed like it would be a good place to explore, and it just so happened to be mountainous woods next to a river! We spent the better part of a morning and early afternoon there relaxing, talking, taking photos, and exploring the woods. I shot two rolls of them, this double exposure roll (doubled with the woods we were in!) and a regular roll, and we even made a creator interview video! I’ll be releasing that sometime soon. I shot most of the roll of just them, and then at the end of the roll I took some self portraits with them!
CURRENTLY: After the first of the year I’ve started going back on Instagram VERY sparingly, basically just to check my messages and look at only certain people’s pages to see what new stuff they’ve been sharing. Once I get the notification that I’ve been on there for an hour I shut it off and don’t go back on for at LEAST a day or more. I’m much happier with these stricter boundaries for social media, I want it to work for me, not me working for it. I still have some more figuring out to do in terms of finding out what boundaries work for me so that I can both be productive and share my work but also not spend much time on it. I still haven’t posted anything, and that’s okay.
Recently I’ve been making a few videos that are different from the videos I typically make, and I want to continue making videos of all kinds. Mostly for my website and youtube, even though I can’t share anything nude on youtube… it’s just this massive platform and I want people to be able to find me on there. Youtube is the second most used search engine in the world after Google, so it would be silly if I made videos and didn’t use it. You can subscribe to my channel here! I have 3 videos on there so far but I’ll be adding more, don’t worry. =]
I’m still in hibernation, and probably will be through February at least. I don’t plan on shooting or traveling until March or later. Yes, I have enough content that I’m still working on from 2019 that I don’t need to start shooting again for a while and also keep up with sharing new content with yall every week! It’s been really extremely nice to slow down and not have the stress of feeling like I’m constantly going and doing and accomplishing and and and…
If you have a chance to slow down, I highly recommend it. Especially during the winter when a lot of nature is also hibernating. It’s the natural time of the year to slow down and go within, so why not follow the cycles of nature? You are part of nature, after all. <3Photo members: click here to view the full double exposure photoset of Singingsiren44 in the Rocky Mountains
Video members: click here to view the BTS video & click here to view the nude yoga video for this month
First Look members: click here to view the photoset with Quinn Sanguine by Megan Ayn in Tacoma Washington & click here to view the BTS video