Bound by David Lawrence had a huge influence on my decision to take up bondage photography because his rope was the focus of his images and not just the women who were tied up. Sure the models he chose were hot, sexy, and obviously enjoyed being tied up, but it was the rope that was the star. His compositions elevated shibari styled rope bondage imagery to fine art status, which I hadn't seen before: the contrast of rough-looking hemp rope against silky soft skin, textures both opposing yet perfectly matched in the dramatic black and white medium, women posed and held in positions that were as imposing as they were erotic. It's not that others weren't doing it, they just weren't doing it like him. Still there was something more in his images which resonated deeply within me and influenced me to pick up a camera and start chronicalling my rope endevors.
The curious thing about applying rope bondage is it affects the rigger as well as the rigged. I primarily use hemp and jute (jute for harnesses, hemp for suspension) for my tying. I've found the natural fibered ropes hold knots better, stretch less, and look much better when photographed than synthetics. An interesting side benefit of using the natural fibered rope is the sense of my energy flow that can be percieved in them. I've found when I connect with a model, the images reflect the process of their trust and surrender to the rope as well as my reaction to the connection we've made. I start looking at the model's body as a landscape to capture in passionate detail as well as their reaction to letting go in the rope and flying off within their bonds and they sometimes feel as if they're held aloft by my hands as opposed to rope...or so I'm told. I catch a contact buzz from shooting and rigging all the time, however doing both requires me to remain grounded and coherent to ensure the model's safety and comfort in the rope while I'm composing and taking images. Time can fly once the process starts and before we know it, they've been up a good 8-10 minutes. Which says a bit about how quickly and deeply one can be drawn in by rope. It's when I bring them down safe and sound that I'll start to float off.
The camera captures the process of the model's journey (and to a lesser extent the photographer's reaction) from before the rope goes on, the rope securing their hands, arms, feet, legs, breasts, their "flight" during suspension, and their subsequent "landing" where they're brought back down to the ground and the rope removed to display their new marks. For the model it can be an overwhelming experience which sometimes moves them to tears because being tied up requires trust and surrender. Trust in the rigger and their skills and surrender to the rope which will hold them. This requires letting go of one's control, which can be deceptively difficult. The result is a joy ride for those who already enjoy surrender for its own sake, a catharsis for those who are new to rope bondage or suspension, new to the concept of letting go of control or all of the above. So when tears flow, it can be for joy, for the intensity of the experience, or, for just a moment, they were in flight, liberated from the surly bonds of gravity.
I have been in rope once, as a model for Midori, and experienced the rope "high" for myself. Once rigged into place, I realized I no longer needed to hold myself in position. The rope held me and that's when I found myself floating off; my physicality was secured which allowed my mind to wander off without concern for holding myself, as much of an out-of-body experience as possible. I didn't find the experience particularly pleasurable nor was it cathartic for me, but experiencing surrender to rope and the feeling of liberation through bondage was akin to a spiritual awakening; an epiphany. Rope bondage can be another conduit through which one can engage on a journey inward/outward, or it can be a means by which one can practice active surrender through which deepening of trust can occur.
It is with this in mind that I will place rope on someone, ask them to place their trust in my hands, take them off the ground and capture it with my camera. I want my images to reflect my experience in rope, the model's surrender, their realization of liberation through bondage, and, if I'm really fortunate, their journey of spiriatuality through rope suspension.
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