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Dave
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Hymns

5 min read
Lately I've been hearing this gem in my head. The words are by one of my very favourite poets: William Blake with a musical setting by the wonderful Sir Hubert Parry:

And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land

This version sung by Charlotte Church is marvelous: youtu.be/nqAJMU8yNZM

"The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. The nakedness of woman is the work of God."

"Man has no body distinct from his soul; for that called body is a portion of the soul discern'd by the five senses, the chief inlets of the soul in this age."
William Blake (1757 - 1827)

Testimonial 1
"I think one of the wonderful things about David's work is that he truly appreciates the honest beauty of a woman, without the gloss and pretense that so many photographers hide their subjects in. By letting ME shine through and not a photoshop filter, he is demonstrating his trust in something that goes beyond glam. He is showing Life. These are images that make you want to crawl into them, reach out and touch, caress, smile and love with. That of course, is just MY opinion.. : ) " ~Betcee May

Testimonial 2
"David LeBeck's beautifully alluring figure photography masters the qualities of something so powerfully and mysteriously attractive and fascinating that he redefines erotica on an even deeper intimate level. LeBeck draws you in on such a private and personal relationship with the models that he shoots, that you feel as though you are experiencing something so private, so tender that you are flooded with comfort, warmth, relaxation, and even familiarities with someone you probably will never meet. You know these moments, these intimacies, these encounters. LeBeck's intimate correspondences disarm you and draw you in." STUDIO583ART

"We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125th of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given, and motion is stopped..."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

My Web Sites:

Landscapes, portraits and such
Fine art and erotic nudes
Associations


Special Friends and Muses!







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Recently I lost an old friend to cancer. It was a recurrence of the breast cancer she's suffered from years earlier.


She was "cured" back in 1994, but a period of extreme stress in her life weakened her enough for the lurking malignancy to re assert itself attacking her spine last year. She and I hadn't seen each other much since I left Seattle in 1988, but she was always a person I made a point of seeing whenever I visited.

I did get to spend a few days with her last spring. We wandered about the coffee shops and restaurants of her first hill neighborhood. Talked non-stop as we always have. She was the same as I had always known her. Towering intellect but gentle. Smart but wise. Still with a needle to puncture the fatuous though :-)

I'm profoundly saddened by the loss of this brilliant woman. Such a varied life, A world traveler with no money. Multi lingual. Profoundly curious. Too young. To much left to do. She had just finished a master's degree in Acupuncture at The University of Washington when this stressful period interrupted her and brought her cancer back.

Her courage was amazing. She never flagged. She was always cheerful. She saw her own death as part of Life and was looking forward to the next phase. Her ashes will be spread on the early fall snows of the cascade mountains so she can, as she herself said, "melt back into the earth". I hope someday before too long to hike that wilderness. As beautiful as it is, it will be even more so because of the presence of her beautiful spirit.

I hope I can be half as brave when my time comes.

"The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. The nakedness of woman is the work of God."

"Man has no body distinct from his soul; for that called body is a portion of the soul discern'd by the five senses, the chief inlets of the soul in this age."
William Blake (1757 - 1827)

Testimonial 1
"I think one of the wonderful things about David's work is that he truly appreciates the honest beauty of a woman, without the gloss and pretense that so many photographers hide their subjects in. By letting ME shine through and not a photoshop filter, he is demonstrating his trust in something that goes beyond glam. He is showing Life. These are images that make you want to crawl into them, reach out and touch, caress, smile and love with. That of course, is just MY opinion.. : ) " ~Betcee May

Testimonial 2
"David LeBeck's beautifully alluring figure photography masters the qualities of something so powerfully and mysteriously attractive and fascinating that he redefines erotica on an even deeper intimate level. LeBeck draws you in on such a private and personal relationship with the models that he shoots, that you feel as though you are experiencing something so private, so tender that you are flooded with comfort, warmth, relaxation, and even familiarities with someone you probably will never meet. You know these moments, these intimacies, these encounters. LeBeck's intimate correspondences disarm you and draw you in." STUDIO583ART

"We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125th of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given, and motion is stopped..."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

My Web Sites:

Landscapes, portraits and such
Fine art and erotic nudes
Associations


Special Friends and Muses!







Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

Gear obsession

7 min read
From The Luminous Landscape: www.luminous-landscape.com/ess…

I thought I should share.

Once Upon a Time....

Once upon a time there was a young career photographer. He was talented, but he didn't have much money.

Nevertheless, because it was the mid-'60's and he was reacting to his depression/war era parents, he thought that money wasn't important — art always came first.

Consequently while as his peers, who were developing their careers alongside his, bought Nikon Fs, M series Leicas and Hasselblads, our hero had to satisfy himself using Pentax and Minoltas along with inexpensive third-party lenses from Tamron, Tokina and the like. He reveled in the simplicity of his ways.

And, our hero succeeded. His photographs, made with cheap cameras on even cheaper lenses were widely published in major magazines, his better work was collected by major galleries and national institutions, and he was able to make a decent living as a freelance photojournalist.

Meanwhile his colleagues and competitors continued to tease and distress him about his not using "the best".

Then the illness struck. He started to believe that they might be right. As quickly as he could he started to buy top rated cameras and lenses. Nikons, Leicas, Contax, Hasselblads — all the top brands. His family's life-style suffered as he plowed more and more money into the finest camera bodies and lenses available. Finally his career as well as his personal life were in jeopardy as his spending exceeded his financial abilities.

Years later he reviewed this period of his life. With hindsight he saw how in fact his best work from that time of his life was done when he was poor and using so-called "amateur equipment". There was a freshness and a clarity of vision that became veiled by the later obsession with lines/mm, titanium bodies, exotic lens elements and the like.

Today he can afford to buy whatever equipment he wishes — and he does, and enjoys every one of them. But, he always remembers the lesson that difficult period of his life taught him.

From The Luminous Landscape: www.luminous-landscape.com/ess…




Fortunately I avoided this trap. I have gone into debt for computers, but I use them until I just can't stand them or repairing them is more than an upgrade to a newer used computer. What I was profligate with was modeling fees. There is an up side to that. Eventually as I got better because I spent money on excellent models like Betcee May, and I learned my craft faster because of her, I started to find models who wanted to pose for me for free, or wanted to trade time for lodging, etc. I'll never be that guy that they clamor to pose for. I don't want to be.

"The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. The nakedness of woman is the work of God."

"Man has no body distinct from his soul; for that called body is a portion of the soul discern'd by the five senses, the chief inlets of the soul in this age."
William Blake (1757 - 1827)

Testimonial 1
"I think one of the wonderful things about David's work is that he truly appreciates the honest beauty of a woman, without the gloss and pretense that so many photographers hide their subjects in. By letting ME shine through and not a photoshop filter, he is demonstrating his trust in something that goes beyond glam. He is showing Life. These are images that make you want to crawl into them, reach out and touch, caress, smile and love with. That of course, is just MY opinion.. : ) " ~Betcee May

Testimonial 2
"David LeBeck's beautifully alluring figure photography masters the qualities of something so powerfully and mysteriously attractive and fascinating that he redefines erotica on an even deeper intimate level. LeBeck draws you in on such a private and personal relationship with the models that he shoots, that you feel as though you are experiencing something so private, so tender that you are flooded with comfort, warmth, relaxation, and even familiarities with someone you probably will never meet. You know these moments, these intimacies, these encounters. LeBeck's intimate correspondences disarm you and draw you in." STUDIO583ART

"We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125th of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given, and motion is stopped..."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

My Web Sites:

Landscapes, portraits and such
Fine art and erotic nudes
Associations


Special Friends and Muses!







Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

No more Skype!

4 min read
Now that it's been bought by the Great Satan. They're sure to ruin it like they did MapBlast Remember them???? and with their track record they'll be certain to try to squeeze and intimidate smaller companies. Where the hell has the FTC been these past 20 years?????

"The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. The nakedness of woman is the work of God."

"Man has no body distinct from his soul; for that called body is a portion of the soul discern'd by the five senses, the chief inlets of the soul in this age."
William Blake (1757 - 1827)

Testimonial 1
"I think one of the wonderful things about David's work is that he truly appreciates the honest beauty of a woman, without the gloss and pretense that so many photographers hide their subjects in. By letting ME shine through and not a photoshop filter, he is demonstrating his trust in something that goes beyond glam. He is showing Life. These are images that make you want to crawl into them, reach out and touch, caress, smile and love with. That of course, is just MY opinion.. : ) " ~Betcee May

Testimonial 2
"David LeBeck's beautifully alluring figure photography masters the qualities of something so powerfully and mysteriously attractive and fascinating that he redefines erotica on an even deeper intimate level. LeBeck draws you in on such a private and personal relationship with the models that he shoots, that you feel as though you are experiencing something so private, so tender that you are flooded with comfort, warmth, relaxation, and even familiarities with someone you probably will never meet. You know these moments, these intimacies, these encounters. LeBeck's intimate correspondences disarm you and draw you in." STUDIO583ART

"We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125th of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given, and motion is stopped..."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

My Web Sites:

Landscapes, portraits and such
Fine art and erotic nudes
Associations


Special Friends and Muses!







Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Well another of my photos of the lovely Betcee May has made the transition into art. This time by the hand of the amazing Joe Jusko It will appear on the cover of "Warlord of Mars Deja Thoris #5 geek-news.mtv.com/2011/04/26/m…



"The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. The nakedness of woman is the work of God."

"Man has no body distinct from his soul; for that called body is a portion of the soul discern'd by the five senses, the chief inlets of the soul in this age."
William Blake (1757 - 1827)

Testimonial 1
"I think one of the wonderful things about David's work is that he truly appreciates the honest beauty of a woman, without the gloss and pretense that so many photographers hide their subjects in. By letting ME shine through and not a photoshop filter, he is demonstrating his trust in something that goes beyond glam. He is showing Life. These are images that make you want to crawl into them, reach out and touch, caress, smile and love with. That of course, is just MY opinion.. : ) " ~Betcee May

Testimonial 2
"David LeBeck's beautifully alluring figure photography masters the qualities of something so powerfully and mysteriously attractive and fascinating that he redefines erotica on an even deeper intimate level. LeBeck draws you in on such a private and personal relationship with the models that he shoots, that you feel as though you are experiencing something so private, so tender that you are flooded with comfort, warmth, relaxation, and even familiarities with someone you probably will never meet. You know these moments, these intimacies, these encounters. LeBeck's intimate correspondences disarm you and draw you in." STUDIO583ART

"We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125th of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given, and motion is stopped..."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

My Web Sites:

Landscapes, portraits and such
Fine art and erotic nudes
Associations


Special Friends and Muses!







Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
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