Smelling of Salt Air . . .

There's nothing more grand than the Pacific Ocean. Don't argue with me *s

So I've been mostly off line, for a few months, because who in their right mind wants to spend a California summer indoors? (Okay, so I left late, and that's all the more reason to never be inside *s)

Who've I been photographing for the Claiming Masculinity Project?

No one. Heh.

I determined, week one, that sun and surf are far more important than deadlines. Bad girl, I know. But hello, back me on this one: have you seen live beauties surfing out here? 'Nuff said, mm hmm. And hell no, I ain't takin' my camera into the sand . . .

Meanwhile, during the heat and in between the waves, I photographed femmes. Get over it. Femmes need love, too *s

Catch up with my Figure Study and Portraiture Gallery, for new photos, with more to come.

Now that it's getting a bit milder in temperature, I did take the time to revamp the Open Call for the Claiming Masculinity Project (thanks for the nudge, Dre), which led me over here, feeling guilty for not having updated anything.

Speaking of Big Daddy Dre, he'd like all you fine femmes to know that he's started a dating site for trans men who are looking for love and sociability with those who fancy them. Mm hmm. Check it, get connected *s

Okay, so, grant cycle time approaching yet again, then back to the lens . . .

Peace and love to all,

~Emmanuela

Who's Happening

Welcome to Claiming Masculinity newest participant Linus, a transplanted Canadian technogeek who loves his cigars *s Linus is also vegan, and there are some wonderful shots of his hands surrounding a bowl of vibrant Spring fruits, for those interested in food porn *s

A new session with the magnificently muscular Dre has also been added to the current roundup of portfolios.

New participants are seeking spots for the coming weeks. I'll keep everyone posted.


~Emmanuela

First Year of Project

It's been a year, now, since we came together to begin the Claiming Masculinity Project.

There have been nine unique participants, over the last twelve months. Several have met with me to have multiple sessions.

Over Memorial Day Weekend this year, I had the opportunity to work with the handsome Big Daddy Dre once more. His new photos are awaiting his approval, and will be ready for public view soon.

This weekend, I'll finally have the chance to photograph Linus, tech guru of butch-femme.com. We're thrilled to welcome him to the project.

PJ Whitt kindly graced my lens in May, too. Look for new photos of her in the Portfolio Three of the project gallery. Nude butch! *s

I've also taken the rare moments to do some femme shoots. The lovely Ilysse is featured in a first session in my Figure Studies and Portraiture galleries, with more photos ready to be processed and uploaded.

Ilysse is also a fantastic photographer: look for her vision of me, in the "Ilysse Shoots Emmanuela" section of my Self-Portraits page.

Please bear in mind that internet graphics are going to display differently on various monitors.

Okay, so I don't have a lot of time to blog, but that doesn't mean I'm not keeping busy.

Additional work for both the Claiming Masculinity Project and with new femmes to be added soon.

Thank you all for your continued interest and support.


~Emmanuela

Upcoming

All photographs from previous sessions have now been processed.

This means I'll be open for scheduling, sometime in the coming months.

First, there is the grant cycle: I must write and submit grants by their deadlines, so I have travel and equipment funding.

It's also worth mentioning that I've completed the second round of interviews for a new career position, and may be relocating in the near future. Working full-time outside photography and editing will certainly change my availability for sessions . . . but the Claiming Masculinity project will definitely continue.

More updates, as I have further information.

Thank you all for your continued support.

~Emmanuela

Two New Portfolios Now Online

Our youngest participant, 18-year-old university student Meg, is now portrayed in a first session of both color and black and white photographs.

Meg's kindness and generosity of spirit shine through her photos. The portfolio title, "The Sun Never Sets on Being a Bad-Ass" is a joke about how Meg loves to wear her aviator sunglasses at night, just cuz they look cool. When someone asked her about that, the portfolio title was her response. I love it *s

Most recently up on the Claiming Masculinity galleries are portraits of handsome author TJ Fleming. Be sure to take the time to read TJ's statement; it's one of the best personal narratives I've read on this topic.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have contributed to the Five Dollar Freedom fund. We're making it happen!

~Emmanuela

Updates 2008

Recent Press

An editor at Gay Lifestyles Monthly solicited an article from me about the Claiming Masculinity Project. While I've not been successful, as of this writing, in getting the kind people over there to correct the names meant to be attached to the second set of images, the general responses from readers have been positive.

Special shouts out to TJ Fleming and Renair Amin, both of whom read drafts of the article, and helped me determine how to shape the work.

To all project participants: thank you for engaging in a discussion of the article.


Good News for Project Continuation

A kind and wise butch over at butch-femme.com, Linus, helped me through the quagmire that has been my slow as molasses computer. I've had tremendous difficulty processing the hoards of photos I take for the project. Linus offered several excellent suggestions . . . as a result of mulling over the advice, I am now the Very Proud Owner of a new iMac (woo!).

My gratitude to Linus, who will be joining the Claiming Masculinity Project in the very near future *s


A Note to Shuggita and All Femmes

Of course I still do sessions with femmes *s Please feel free to contact me, if you'd like to be photographed for my Femme Gallery.


And Congratulations to PJ Whitt

Our Claiming Masculinity project director, herself a fine butch photographer, now has her own gallery, on the Dust Jacket site. Check out The Photography of PJ Whitt.


Final Words

Thanks to everyone for your continued interest and support of this project. I'll be deep in the grant cycle, for the coming weeks, while processing the photos from the last three sessions. Check back for updates.

Peace and love,

~Emmanuela