I spent my first White Christmas and New Years 2013 in Sweden. It was so wonderful to spend it with Dmitri Reyer and his family as well as chill and escape the concrete jungle of Tokyo, where I had been for the last 6 weeks. During that time, we also worked together and shot loads, as Dmitri discovered a new interest: Shibari! Whilst in Japan, he had an introductory lesson from a French shibari artist and decided it would be good to practice it on me and produce some amazing photos. And we did!
During the trip in Sweden we had at least
four fruitful sessions for the bondage shoots. Over time, Dmitri got more confident and was getting the
knack quickly though we need to practice more. I am, in fact, having so much fun being his guinea pig as
well as his muse, so am happy to help him. Traumatised by the damaged nerve I succumbed to in 2011, though,
we are being extra careful and avoiding any “crazy” stuff like suspension and
inversions. It is more about
showcasing the beauty of the female form in rope bondage we’re after rather
than the physical effect rope bondage has on the female. As such we were aiming to create
something refined, artistic and even subtle whilst combining it with something
as raw and edgy as shibari bondage.
Dmitri had this ingenious idea of using the family piano as a prop. The intention was to produce a piece called “Piano Lesson” in which we were hoping to involve another model as a dominatrix-style teacher, whereas I was to be the pupil all tied up in front of the piano. Unfortunately this other model became unavailable so we proceeded to do this solo. The image turned out just as wonderful! I was tied to the chair with my arms bound to the back and both legs to the chair legs with the chest harness tied to the piano pedals. To give this image a more classical feel, I was in nothing but my black holdups and stiletto heels. Then Dmitri processed this image in a 1920’s retro-style mood. Posted on his Facebook page we were chuffed to notice that within 24 hours we received a record nearly-60 likes!
Another living room shoot we did involved
some hanging on ropes. I had my
hands tied together which was then suspended on a loop nailed to the
ceiling. Then my left knee was to
be bent and the ankle suspended to the ceiling as well, whilst showing off the
ultra-high stilletos. To add some
interesting effect, my hair got tied with some rope and suspended as well! Captured from the profile view, it
produced a sexy yet stunning high-fashion style image as I was wearing nothing
but a collar, black suspenders, stockings and heels!
Much of the bondage shoots, though, was
spent in the basement storage area. It was spread out over a few evenings, each
lasting a few hours. After 11pm or
so nobody visits it so we can afford to sneak in for some nude bondage shots. The
area was rather confined but created the right sort of cold and solitary
atmosphere: painted grey concrete floor, white walls and wooden doors. During
the first few shoots I donned a latex head mask breathable only through the
nose. Not recommended for the
claustophobic but it was certainly worth it! The images turned out tremendously dramatic with all the
ropework which was simple yet restraining. With Dmitri capturing the images in various angles, namely
from the top upwards, the result was quite edgy and striking especially with
the stiletto shoes. In fact, the
aim here was to combine fetish with “high fashion” which I think we achieved
successfully.
We also worked on creating portraits using
the fetish theme. This time, it
involved me wearing nothing but a black leather collar that inscribed “SLAVE”
in metal with small chains around the collar loops and wrapping my wrists
together hence restricting my movement.
I am supposed to look ecstatic with my eyes closed looking sensually
feminine. I would definitely like
to develop this idea more in the future by maybe using a blindfold and having
red lipstick on.
I always enjoy working with Dmitri. Though rather new to fetish
photography, I love that he constantly thinks of ideas and concepts whilst coming
up with something new. We look
forward to shooting more once back in Tokyo. The storage room in my Tokyo apartment is definitely a
must. Can’t wait to shoot
more!