Tag: Photograph

Monochrome

Apologies for the lack of recent posts. Last week was a crazy busy one at work, which left me zero energy and time for blogging. Hopefully, normal service should now be resumed.

My last post on black and white outfits got me thinking about monochrome porn photographs. Sometimes the images started out that way, but more often than not it’s manipulation of a color image after the fact. You can find an lot of tumblr content like this – for example. Why is it such a popular style?

Part of the answer is that it obviously makes the image less porny and more arty. Mainstream black and white photography is often by artists, so it’s an easy manipulation to do to create that connection. Fashion advertisements occasionally use the same trick.

However, that doesn’t really answer why it’s such a popular thing to do. My guess is that color images feel like depictions of reality, where monochrome is more distanced and abstract, which makes fantasy projection easier. A detailed color image captures the world as it was, making me simply a distant observer. A monochrome image is more dreamlike, allowing me to imagine being part of the story.

Here’s a story I’d happily be part of. I’m not sure of the original source. I found it via tumblr.

Black and White

My last post was about the use of strong colors in the outfits of female politicians and how that’s failed to penetrate the kink scene. That got me thinking about the opposite case: Why is monochrome so sexy?

There’s the obvious trope of black leather in kink, but it’s more than just that. Combinations of black and white crop up all the time. I’m partial to them myself. Is it the severity of the contrast? The seriousness they imply? The sterility?

I wonder if part of the story is practicality leading to fetishization. If you’re buying different kinky pieces to combine into different outfits, then colors complicate things. You have to worry about clashing and coordination. Monochrome is flexible and works in all situations. Dommes therefore bias to it, which leads subs to fetishize the look, which encourages still more monochromic looks. A colorless feedback loop.

I believe this is from the horror film American Mary.

The Uniform of Power

Miss Pearl posed an interesting question in a recent Bluesky post.

It’s very odd that people fetishize all sorts of things, but for dommes I don’t see a lot of people craving the color blocking powerful female politicians and modern royalty do.

It’s an established aesthetic, by this point.

I’d not really thought about it before, but she raises a good point. That is a very established aesthetic, as any quick image search will show. For example, this shot of Congresswomen from 2015 and the image at the top of this article.  But I’ve never seen it referenced or used much in a kinky context.

Is it too recent a trend? Most kinks take hold in a formative years, so perhaps kinksters in coming years will be craving bright red pantsuits. Or maybe political power is too diffuse and abstract to fetishize easily? Law making is messy even at the best of times, and we’re a long from those right now. Perhaps it’s down to how power is acquired. Politicians have to campaign and compromise to get it, which is healthy for society but not sexy.

Some might suggest that it’s because men fetishize the fantasy of women in power, but not the reality. They want it on their terms, not hers. But I’d never be so cynical.

This is Jane Grey, a London based pro-domme, showing off a suit in a particularly bright block of color. It’s probably a bit too daring for a politician, but looks fabulous on Mistress Jane. You can find more at her profession site and on instagram.

Femdom Decadence

If you’re in Southern California in March, enjoy play parties and have disposable income, then you might want to check out the Femdom Decadence Party. It describes itself as a ‘full day femdom immersion and play party in Joshua Tree’ and runs on March 22nd.

On the plus side, the Mistress line-up is a veritable Who’s-Who of LA pro-dommes. I can’t speak for the quality of the party or every domme, but I have had fabulous past sessions with attendees Mistress Damiana Chi, Mistress Inga Larsson, Mistress Kiko Rope and Mistress Lucy Khan.

On the negative side, it is $2,000 for the day per submissive. Which is a decent chunk of change. However, a multi-hour session with any top pro-domme these days can be a thousand dollars or more. So, in that context, it might be seen as bit of a bargain, given the location and dommes involved. Check out their website if it sounds like your kind of thing.

This is the elegant Mistress Kiko Rope, one of the attendees. You can see more at her website here.

All Scratched Up

I was a happy bunny last night. Ms Savannah Sly is in town for a short visit and was kind enough to spare a couple of hours to beat me up. I now have a lovely collection of scratch marks all across my chest and stomach. It looks like I lost an argument with a claw happy pussycat.

This was my first session of 2025 and I can only hope that any subsequent ones are equally as fun. There was needles in the nipples, electricity on the genitals and metal rods in the urethra. The scratch marks were created by these Fearsome Fingers from Scott Paul designs. They don’t look particularly scary, but they’re very sharp and create really intense sensations. Savannah dragging them across delicate areas like my inner thigh or breastbone really grabbed my attention. If you like prickly sensations without that degree of intensity, I’d also recommend his Finger Pin Wheel. That was a lot more interesting than a Wartenberg wheel, but didn’t invoke quite the same amount of owie, owie, owie as the fingers did!

This shot of Savannah wasn’t taken last night – it’s from her Bluesky feed – but I did get to enjoy a very similar view of her gleeful expression. It’s always so much fun to play with her.

Chair

The famous ‘Chair’ by Allen Jones from 1969 has inspired a fair number of imitators over the years. Some from the transgressive art world and some from the kink community.  I could swear I’ve featured other examples in the past, but I guess they must have been lost in the big blog wipeout a few years back.

This particularly example is credited (by labstrakt) to Anna Malygon, Natalia Guzman (creative director) and Walker Bunting (photographer). Given the composition and style, I’d guess it comes from the art/fashion world rather than the kink world. I can’t locate the original source, but you can see more example from what was obviously a series here and here.

Kinky Vacations

Apparently, according to this article, you can find kinky vacation rentals on Airbnb and VRBO. There’s not like a drop down BDSM menu or anything, but they’re findable and not actively being suppressed. Given how puritanical many companies are these days, I’m a little bit surprised.

Of course, not everyone is happy to find a bunch of bondage gear in their rental property. It’s not something you want to be surprised by, particularly if the cleanliness is questionable. However, for kinksters planning a getaway, maybe check out the rental property listings? Could be a good way to try out some BDSM furniture without needing to explain what that strange new ‘exercise’ equipment is in your spare room.

This image of ladies enjoying a vacation comes courtesy of Harper Chase. She was a pro-domme based in NYC, but appears to have retired.

You want me to do what now?

This image made me laugh. I stumbled across it via the Assertive Ladies tumblr and immediately recognized the source as Mistress Iris. Most of her images are stunning and have been featured here with some regularity. While here she remains as elegant as ever, his expression seems like a mixture of confusion and shock. Does he not know how this kind of scene works? Or has he spotted something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of her shoe?

You can find more from Mistress Iris at her site and instagram.

Fish Tank Alternative

Wealthy fish fanciers often display their hobby via aquariums integrated into the walls of their home. If you find that idea intriguing but a little dull, may I suggest the integrated doggy cage? It makes for a striking feature in any library or study and a great conversation piece when you have guests over. Animals to put inside it might be a little hard to source than your average guppy, but you can always adopt from your local dungeon.

The cage here is available for rent as part of the BDSM loft in Berlin. However, I’m not sure who the domme is. If you can help with that attribution, then please let me know via a comment.

Updated: Thanks to Sardax I believe the domme featured is Claudia Hon.

Preferring the Journey to the Destination

Slate has an advice column featuring a man who loves flirting, teasing, sexual tension and foreplay, but doesn’t enjoy the sex at the end of it all. The advice they give is reasonable, but seems to miss out on the obvious kinks that might align with his preferences. Tease and denial is definitely a thing, which coupled with some light flirty femdom, might be right up his alley. Lots of kinky activities puts the focus on the foreplay and less on the big-O.

One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve aged is that my preference has shifted from the goal of the destination to the joy of the journey. I wouldn’t go as far as the letter writer and say the ending isn’t worth it, but the principal pleasure is in extending the buildup and playing with the dynamics of arousal. There’s so much more than can be done and enjoyed in that headspace.

I believe this is Kanishka Sangabo Dias and Rahansa Sanuthi, two models from Sri Lanka.