'I really love the rich velvet in contrast with the model's skin.'
Texture and color, depth and richness have become a recurring them in photographer Daniel Allen's work. Whether it be the lush green's of Mount Rainier, or the vibrant whites and reds in a model's condo. But.. when it comes to deep color, lavish fabric and richness, not sure you can beat of a velvety classic red love seat.
I love exploring visually recurring themes, concepts, poses and locations that many photographers incorporate within their work. While some artist repeat due to necessity, others use recurring visuals sparked by a creative fascination with a specific look or item, in Daniel's case, the red love seat. It is also a great way for an artist to explore the ways different models physically interact and utilize with a prop or piece of furniture.
I remember when I featured StudioMGPhotography and Mike Tossy's work with the orange couch. Mark stumbled upon the piece of furniture while exploring an old abandoned house. I was not only fascinated by the images, and how the models posed, but also the couch's history, and it came to be left in the old house, abandoned and unwanted, except for the artist's, and nude male models, who found ways to erotically recycle the couch with new purpose.
The red love seat featured in these photos isn't a part of Daniel Allen's living space, but is located in one of the Washington photographers favorite local studios to rent in downtown Tacoma. The images that first drew me to the series were the two shots below of our model clearly embracing the Gothic, Vampire layer vibe to the couch and surrounding space. I had originally asked Daniel about featuring the shots over Halloween, but after seeing more from the series, including a few shots with mini Christmas tree's, I realized the images were shot over a longer period of time at different times of the year.
'I really love the rich velvet in contrast with the model's skin, but also am really fond of where it is located in the spacious area. To the left, large windows that over look downtown Tacoma that can offer superb natural lighting or a lush backdrop of buildings if I use strobes. To the right, a gorgeous brick wall and fanciful painted black steel beams offer an industrial spin to contrast with the vintage look of the velvet chair. No matter the angle, this love seat has continued to produce some really great shots--so much, in fact, that I'd love to keep building on this collection and eventually do a calendar or a gallery series of the images.'
Daniel is hoping to build on this series over the coming years with many different models who find creative ways to pose and use the luxurious lounge. Daniel himself had an unplanned turn as a model posing on the love seat. Daniel was waiting, along with fellow photographer and friend Jim from Studio1x, whose work I featured yesterday, for a model to show for their scheduled joint shoot. The results of Daniel's shoot are currently hidden away, but like the sex tapes and nude images of the rich of famous, they are often revealed in time....
