photo Tuesday (and how)

(OKAY, IT'S THURSDAY. Naughty.)

If you learn nothing else today, you will learn (if you didn't know already) how amazing open-work stockings look on fat girls.

Volup 2 is a new magazine from ex-pat American plus-sized model and photographer, Velvet d'Amour. As far as I can tell she had a hand in photographing and styling almost every shoot in all 300+ pages of Volup 2, which she describes as:

A bilingual English/French online quarterly magazine showcasing diverse beauty, with an emphasis on curvy women, and exploring the generosity of Mind, Body and Spirit.

D'Amour became famous when she was a 2006 Gaultier runway model and her continuing interest in fashion shows. That is, Volup 2 is a fashion mag--sort of. Fashion, clothes, bodies, makeup, locales. Femmey femme.

I really enjoyed seeing the eye of a fashion photographer brought to bear on fat bodies, and how fat bodies wear clothes, without the usual need to sculpt them with perspective into vague, largish constructions supporting acceptably unfat faces. Her camera is really looking at these plump--fat--thick--bodies. She really wants so know how they look in the clothes they're wearing. It's fun. I don't totally know how I feel about the naked black dude in one of the shoots, but in general I really loved this mag. Nice to see older women and a woman in a wheelchair, too. Often NSFW in delicious ways.

photo Tuesday - NSFW

The bottom pic has been making the rounds on Tumblr, which led me to look at the artist's website. There's some other interesting stuff on it. This is not a whole-hearted endorsement, btw--the dick-worshipping pic on the front page right now is kind of hilarious, and you could argue that the bottom pic is problematic--but still--interesting.

photo Tuesday

Model and photographer Velvet d'Amour.

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Rosie Mercado. The highest-profile more-than-plump plus-size model I know of. So exciting to see her in the public eye. Girl can work a blue dress.

photo Tuesday

the most expensive fat lady in the world getting settled

hally hoppidays! (photo Tuesday)

photo Tuesday

What can I say, I'm in the mood for a green alien.

photo Tuesday

photo Tuesday

mural in Orgosolo, Sardinia

photo Tuesday

photo Tuesday

Edward Steichen, In Memoriam, New York

photo Tuesday - Wilhelmine von Sylt!

It took me a while to figure out what this image was--I've seen it often with no identification attached--but it turns out it's a fountain in Westerland, the northern-most town on Sylt, itself the northern-most island off of Germany, in the Frisian Islands. Wilhelmine von Sylt--Wilhelmina from Sylt. The sculpture was created in 1980 by a local artist Ursula Hensel-Krüger (now deceased, I think) and is something of a central landmark in the tourist town. I don't know why she's wearing a hat, but I think she's hella cute. The artist said at Wilhelmine's unveiling:

Let us take a look around. How terribly serious we all are, how closed and embittered are our faces. I would like to give people their joy back. This round, buxom creature, who is at one with herself and with everything, smiles at you. Smile with her, you should, and you can!

thanks to HB for help with the translation! Oh, doth my German decay...

photo Tuesday - NSFW

Today it's Jan Saudek. So much to like.

photo Tuesday

Here, a few links to and samples of work from New Orleans-based photographer Saddi Khali, whose name I see more and more often. From his vision statement:

Black people need 2 see images of ourselves w/ humanity. women beautiful regardless of size, shape or complexion. men strong, sensitive & loving. parents & children caring & happy. couples in love in warm intimate moments. us as lovers, sensual & sexy but not nasty even when we’re nasty. this is not 2 say that other folks don’t need 2 see themselves in certain ways. but, i don’t know those ways.

This link is to a (Not-entirely-SFW) Facebook gallery of his work.

photo Tuesday

pretty pretty

photo Tuesday

photo Tuesday

Photograph of Heather Graham by David LaChapelle.