markvelasquez

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 17

She was clearly liking them.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 16

Eventually they ladies came to our last fruit, the humble yet plump grape. First up was Michaela...

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 15

Before we had started, Michaela had professed to loving peaches, and she didn’t disappoint.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 14

They were both pretty messy at this point, but insisted on continuing.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 13

Things seemed to be going very well, so then the ladies decided to try out some larger fruit, starting with some peaches.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 12

And Kialey definitely made the most of it.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 11

But since the honey had originally been Kialey's idea, she was eager for her turn.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 10

...Michaela really enjoy herself.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 9

And judging from the look of things...

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 8

Now it was Michaela's turn to try out some honey.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 7

But that didn’t stop her from wanting more.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 6

Clearly, Kialey made much more of a mess.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 5

Next it was Kialey’s turn to be fed.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 4

…which Michaela clearly enjoyed. 

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 3

Once that was out of the way, in came the fruit. It all started innocently enough, with a few simple maraschino cherries. First it was Kialey’s turn to feed Michaela…

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 2

In the beginning, since they had never met before, they took a few minutes to get acquainted with each other.

FRUIT SALAD, Pt. 1

Sometimes I get an idea, or half an idea, and ask some women I work with if they would like to make the idea come to life. Thankfully, I rarely get a negative response to my ideas.

Such was the case with Michaela and Kialey, who accepted my invitation of coming over to my house, getting naked, and playing with honey and a wide variety of fruit.

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Intimate Portrait # 41

June (maybe July?), 2010:

HER: "What are we doing tonight?"

ME: "I was thinking of trying that new Thai place downtown."

HER: "Is that all? I thought you'd have some grand, shocking plan that I'd hate and have to be coerced for several minutes into doing."

ME: "Um...I could take you to the beach and toss you into the freezing ocean?"

HER: "Eh, you're not even trying."

ME: "Ok, come over at 7 and we'll go buy you a special vibrator then come ...

Appreciation

After several friends encouraged me to do so, I'm finally sharing this very kind Instagram post from my dear friend and talented model Erika. I try to always be as helpful and supportive as possible to the women I work with, most of whom become my close friends. I advise them through money issues, moments of losing faith in themselves and society, sickness and distress, fights with their significant others, and so much more. Maybe people think I live a charmed life taking photos of beautiful women, but it's definitely a lot more difficult than ...

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 12

Finally, with my next shoot soon approaching, I had to start packing up my things. I asked her to finally stop speaking with her British accent because, of everything I had seen and shot of her that morning, the accent was the sexiest and most irresistible aspect that I couldn't get over. She gave me a big hug and we parted as new friends, and we started a texting relationship that continues to this day. 

Scroll through my archives to see the second, more famous shoot with McKenzie, taken in a pool near LAX. And stay tuned for our ne...

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 11

Eventually, the only spot we hadn't shot in was her little window box area, a brightly lit but compositionally limiting area. once again, she made the location sing, and my camera couldn't stop clicking away and her perfect shape as she made eye contact, boring into my soul.

As an actress, she had spent some time in England and had an excellent fake-British accent. "Oh, I can keep it going forever," she admitted with a smile, then proceeded to tell me how she had met a guy at a bar one night while faking her accent, and after the sex was ...

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 10

"All I have is black stuff," she said laughing, whenever I'd ask if she had anything white and flowy to put on. Then put on anything, I told her, I know you'll look great in anything. And of course, she did.

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 9

Her place was tiny and fairly unforgiving when it came to a limitation of angles, so I began experimenting with double exposures. This is one of my favorites, taken against a wall in her cramped kitchen using only window light.

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 8

"This is kinda hot," she said confidently, and I think I told her that she could wear a burlap sack and make it look good.

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 7

We unfortunately quickly ran out of outfits for her to try, since most things I liked in her wardrobe had been worn for her other recent shoots. Thankfully I had brought up a few special items that I was planning on shooting with the afternoon model. Seeing how special McKenzie was, I knew I shouldn't waste the opportunity.

The one-piece body suit, which I think I had paid $7 for, fit her like a glove, and we were both very pleased with how well it looked on her.

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 6

Though not stick-thin like so many other aspiring starlets, McKenzie was in great shape, hearkening back to an earlier time when women were allowed to have curves in all the right places. 

"Do you work out a lot?" I asked innocently, something I usually inquire about becasue all women have a different regiment. Her response was something I'll never forget.

"No way, I'm too lazy for that." She blurted out. "The only exercise I ever really get is sex... so I guess you could say I work out pretty often."

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 5

Soon she was telling me all her dirt, and I watched as this sexy, confident woman slowly peeled away her outer shield to show her soft, delicate vulnerabilities. As an actress working in LA, she had learned to have a tough skin, to do her best to not be taken advantage of, and thus learned to keep her emotional distance most of the time. She had a small but fervent list of B-list celebrities that had tried their best to find their way into her underoos, and a few had succeeded. But again, she had no regrets.

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 4

I thought at this point in my career I was immune to the powers of such a beautiful woman, but with McKenzie I was immediately sucked in, and I'm sure she knew it. She was more than aware that men became fools around her shape and looks, admitting that on very rare occasions she used that to her advantage, and was not shy at all about acknowledging it. She was of course in a tumultuous relationship at the time with a guy who was bad for her, finally professing "but the sex is sooooo good," which was the first time all morning she had truly let ...

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 3

Don't get me wrong, now that I've been shooting with models for over a decade, many of whom I've never met until the day we are set to shoot, I've learned how to adapt quickly and turn strangers into relaxed, intimate friends. But McKenzie was different. No matter what topic we discussed, she was both completely upfront and surprisingly honest with her answers, yet always seemed to be holding things back, like a jungle cat pacing around it's prey, debating when to strike. 

The Day I Met McKenzie Eckels, Pt. 2

Sensual, mysterious, and unintentionally seductive, McKenzie greeted me at her old ram-shackled, Hollywood apartment in such a casual, relaxed manner that I was unsure of what her personality would be like. She was polite, honest, and answered every question I had with direct and unedited sincerity. She is the kind of woman that is intimidating to most men, and I'll be the first to admit: I was intimidated.