Tag: Photograph

Disconcerted

Writing my last post about BDSM professionals and switching made me think of my first domme – Lady Lydia McLane. That’s not because she was a switch. As far as I know, she was a stone cold top in private life. However, as a professionally hot and kinky person, she did do a bunch of modelling work in all sorts of roles. For example, kink.com has some scenes she shot for House of Gord. I’m therefore periodically disconcerted to stumble across an image of her in a sub role. Given how I knew her, it’s always pretty odd to see.

I was disconcerted in an entirely different way when I spotted the .gif below of Lydia on tumblr. My first thought was – “Is that me?” It’s not, but given I got spanked and caned exactly that way on that couch multiple times, it did give me pause for a moment. This was filmed in the entrance room to her Seattle Dungeon. I have so many happy memories of sitting on that couch and doing either pre-scene discussion or decompressing after an amazing session. Now it has all gone – razed the ground and replaced by condos. Such is life.

While this isn’t me, there a bunch of my scenes with Lydia documented in the early days of this blog. For example, here, here and here.

Kinky Career Arc

Delphine (of the Bay Area) has shared an interesting overview of her career in kink and sex work via this blog post. She started as a bondage model with Insex, which I’d imagine was a real trial by fire. From there she transitioned to the domme role and ultimately added full service work into the mix. Her latest evolution, and what seems to be the trigger for the post, is exploring bondage as a submissive again. Not as a replacement for her domme work, but as an adjunct to it.

It’s pretty rare to see people who domme professionally also talk about switching. I suspect there’s a fear it might impact their primary line of work. Or that they’ll have to deal with clients wanting to top them. One exception to this who comes to mind is another Bay Area domme – Elise Graves. She creates a lot of material as both top and bottom for her Bondage Liberation site. Bondage does seem to have a special appeal that brings out the switch in people. I’ve zero desire to ever be a top,  but I could imagine getting into rigging and rope if I had a partner who desired it.

This is a shot of Delphine from her website. If you’re in the Bay Area and would like her to tie you up, check out her site here.

Keeping It Real

One final medical themed post to finish off this short series of them. The last couple of posts were very much fantasy based, where this image depicts a far more realistic medical scene. It’s from Doctor Jill who plays out of The Cellar in Antwerp.

I think one of the fun things about medical scenes is how varied you can make them. You can go for over-the-top medical fantasies that are clearly very sexual, or you can shoot for something that looks straight out of a regular hospital. Doctor Jill clearly tends to the latter category, as you can see from some of the medical scenes on her site. While I personally lean to the more fantasy medical play, I do love seeing the skill and detail applied in scenes like this.

Capturing a Fantasy

I continue to be disappointed with most AI imagery. I had naively hoped that it’d help bring the twisted imaginations of kinky folk to virtual life. Instead it seems to be flooding the world with crappier versions of existing content. It’s actually making it harder to find the genuinely new and original stuff.

However, there is the occasional exception. For example, I think VelvetLash at DeviantArt has been doing some interesting things. Based on his multi-part story ‘The Affair‘ he’s clearly got a kink for heavy medical themed bondage. That shows up in a bunch of his generated images – like this or this or the one below. I’m not sure how much is AI generated vs AI modified vs Photoshop, but it is fun to see something a little different to the usual AI poses.

You can see the original full size version of this here.

Yearning

I would normally think it impossible to emote through a black leather straitjacket and a full face leather hood. And yet, this gentleman seems to be doing exactly that. There’s a sense of yearning and adoration to his pose. Who can blame him when in proximity to such a lovely domme?

I had a hunt around but couldn’t track down an attribution for this image. If you know the photographer or the people featured then let me know via a comment and I’ll update the post.

Anxious To Please

If you’re interested in artistic exploration of BDSM scenes then you might want to check out a new photo book ‘Anxious To Please’ by Ottilie Landmark. Dazed has some images and an article on its creation here.

Acting as a voyeur, Landmark had permission to shoot her subjects from a unique perspective. “Being invited into those intimate moments and just observing has felt really humbling,” she notes. “You’re in these vulnerable spaces, but you’re also not fully part of it, which creates a unique kind of connection.” Although there’s a loose plan beforehand, there’s a freedom to adjust and play throughout the process.

I think the book title is a particularly well chosen one for the subject matter. If it sounds like your kind of thing, there’s a Fundraiser for it which’ll get you a copy. The image below is from the book and one of several shared in the Dazed article.

Soft Core

If you’re looking for something to read this summer, then maybe check out Soft Core by Brittany Newell. It tells the story of a newbie dominatrix looking for her missing boyfriend, surrounded by a curious cast of characters in the stranger parts of San Francisco. You can read a review of it here.

I’ve not read it yet, but I mention it here as it’s written by a professional domme based in SF. This interview with her sparked my interest. Seems like someone worth watching.

Not sure where this image is from, but seems like a fun way to read a book for all concerned.

Met ’25

It was the Meta Gala bash last week. Normally the outfits there are incredible but not particularly aligned with this blogs typical content. However, the theme this year was “Tailored For You”.  That meant it leant into a lot more sleek tailoring that I think I can justify posting.

My absolute favorite was Zendaya’s Louis Vuitton outfit, shown below. There’s something special about a woman in a beautifully tailored suit. Anna Sawai had a strikingly similar Dior outfit and looked equally amazing. Kim Kardashian went for a leather corset and skirt combo that would have been at home in any kink event. She would need a retinue of slaves to carry the train around, but I’m sure she’d have had plenty of volunteers.

Oddly enough, the last time I featured the Meta Gala – back in 2018 – that also involved Zendaya. Her outfit that time was very different to this look, but equally impressive.

Plura

I’ve heard of a lot of unusual activities taking place in a dungeon space but never a ‘sound bath’. Apparently this is a ‘a meditative practice where participants are exposed to resonant sounds, like those from singing bowls, gongs, or other instruments, to create a sense of relaxation and deep relaxation.’ It’s a regular thing at LAs Dungeon East.

I gained this new information via this mashable article on Plura. That’s a new dating/meet-up/event app for people into polyamorous, kinky and generally non-traditional relationships. I’ve covered similar apps before – I think the last was FeelId – but they’ve never quite broken through to the mainstream. Hopefully, Plura will have better luck.

Mentioning Dungeon East does give me an excuse to feature it’s fabulous owner – Justine Cross. This is from her Bluesky account and is obviously shot in the aforementioned Dungeon.

Rocking Horse #2

Continuing the theme of kinky rocking horses, here’s one created by Nighty. The combination of the high quality costume and the custom made wooden base is an effective one.

I particularly like the addition of the torso support piece here. Not only does that give more fasten points for bondage but I’d imagine it allows you to relax more into the pose, particularly if someone is sitting on your back.  One thing that I think is important in objectification is being able to relax into it. An object just exists. It doesn’t have to constantly work to remain the object. This set-up seems like it’d achieve it better than most.