As much as I love being the photographer, it’s definitely fun to be the model once in a while! Last fall I had the pleasure of being photographed by erotic photo legend Charles Gatewood.
I met Charles nearly 20 years ago while in college and covering the Folsom Street Fair for a school assignment. He noticed me stalking people with my eyes and could tell I was a photographer. He showed me some of his photos that were on display, and at the time I was rather shocked by the content. Although he offered me the opportunity to work with him, at that point I was in no way ready to work with an erotic photographer; attending the Folsom Street Fair was already stepping outside my comfort zone and putting me in an environment that was shocking to me! Over the years I remembered his name. Every once in a while I would look him up, see his erotic books and make sure he was still around.
Fast forward to the present. I became Mistress J and one night, while poking around on the Internet, I decided to send an email to the great man himself. I was extremely excited he answered me the next day! Charles is a sweet man who has led a very interesting life. He is very open to sharing his experiences, and is always looking for more adventures.
After emailing back and forth and meeting in person, I made it up to Charles’ beautiful apartment with a fabulous view of the bay. He lives on the 3rd floor, and when you enter you see three huge canvases of his iconic black and white images, including a few of rock legends Bob Dylan (one of my favorites – it was thrilling to hear his story of photographing him in the early days!) and Rod Stewart, in addition to those of a more graphic nature. Charles Gatewood’s collection of work is a timeline of our culture.
After a long chat, we did my photo session. Charles loves natural light; he has a large sliding glass door he uses in addition to a white backdrop and a cream colored chair, which really made my red outfit pop. It reminded me again that I love being in front of the camera as much as I like being behind it.
It was a lot of fun being photographed by a famous photographer. I recognize the gift I was given and will always remember the experience. A big thank you to Charles for taking the time to share your stories and talent with me!