Catalina loves Melvin Moten, Jr. (An interview with the fetish photographer behind Erocrush.com)

So it occurred to me that I am an idiot. I have the most amazing, interesting friends any girl could have - I should write about them! So I have sent out questions to my friends January Seraph, Mz. Berlin, Satine Phoenix, Ms. Nikki Nefarious, and Melvin Moten, Jr. Melvin is the first to respond, so Melvin goes first (in case you wondered how I picked.)

Melvin Moten, Jr. is a rigger and fetish photographer. His website, Erocrush, has been featured on my blog before. I fell in love with his work the first time I saw it! Real women. Melvin’s models are gorgeous, real women of all ages, ethnicities, sizes and looks.

I am currently writing the foreward to Melvin’s new book, as well as helping to decide on content. It’s so exciting to be a part of someone else’s project, and I am honored.

So here are my questions and Melvin’s answers. I hope you get a better idea of who Melvin is.

1. How did we meet?
I’m not totally sure how we met, but I think you emailed me, asking to use some of my images on your blog, which of course I was flattered and pleased about. It’s always fun for me to see how my work is viewed by a different audience than my usual and your audience didn’t let me down with a variety of opinions about the images you chose. I need to find that blog entry and bookmark it!

2. In your photos, do you do the rigging yourself?
I do the rigging in about 90% of my images — which is why it’s always so bad! Every now and then I find a really good rigger to do the work for me, which always makes things better. I’m planning my annual trip to Tampa for FetishCon ‘08 where I hope to have all the rigging done by people who know what they’re doing!

3. Do you know your models personally or how do you find them? Do you seek out a particular “type”?
There are so many interesting stories as to how I find people to work with…Some of them find me, sometimes I find and approach them and sometimes we literally stumble onto each other. For the last couple of years the most reliable way I’ve found subjects is through the ModelMayhem website. It’s an excellent source of talent on both sides of the lens.

I don’t really have a “type” that I look for…The only thing I’m really looking for is a person who is comfortable enough in their own skin to be able to trust what I’m trying to show and become a part of that vision. I never get over how many people fit that description!

4. Are you involved in the BDSM community? If so, how so? (are you a dom/sub/switch/lifestyle/24-7/etc.) What is your sexual orientation? Are you in a relationship currently?
I’d love to find a local BDSM community to be part of, but I live in a rather conservative town and the community is pretty far underground. I always joke that I know more about the scenes in Ohio and Michigan than I do in the city where I live and work. I hate to label myself, but if necessary I would refer to myself as a heterosexual submissive with a bicurious streak. I’m currently in a long-distance relationship with a female switch on the west coast.

5. Where is your work displayed/published/exhibited?
The easiest place to find my work is my website, www.erocrush.com. I don’t update it nearly as much as I should, but I try to keep a nice selection of images there. I also post new work regularly on Deviantart.com, where my screename is “Kentsoul”. If anyone reading this would like to find me on ModelMayhem, my member number is 2081.

I have a series of self-published books as well. Information on them can be found in the “shop” section of my website.

6. Do you make a living from your work? If so, what did you do before you made a living from your work?
Sadly, my work dosen’t even pay for itself, let alone support me. I don’t really mind that though, as not shooting for money empowers me to do exactly as I please artistically at all times. If I were running a paysite or something like that, I’d probably have to limit the types of people I work with as well as the subject matter that I shoot.

7. What are the first three bookmarks in your list in IE or Firefox?
The First three tags on my Firefox page are my Netflix Queue, my ModelMayhem page and my Google Reader blog feed.

8. Mac or PC?
Mac

9. What is your favorite cereal?
Right now I’m very fond of Captain Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch.

10. Do you feel any responsibility as a photographer for society’s perception of beauty?
I’m sure it sounds selfish, but the only thing I feel responsible for is the purity of my vision and living up to the trust my subjects place in my ability to create images that are honest and representative of both our personae. I’m afraid society is on it’s own.

11. Do you charge a fee or do you pay models? How does that work?
I work exclusively on a TF* or “trade” basis. Neither the model or I charge or receive money. The images [and rights to use them] are the only commodity that changes hands. Well occasionally someone buys lunch for the other, but that’s about it.

12. Do you have one single favorite photo?
I Can’t say I have a favorite image, but I would say the images that best articulates what I want to say currently is this one:

http://web.mac.com/melvinmoten/iWeb/erocrush/one_files/Yes-sir-42779457.jpg

13. Do you like Coldplay?
I’m very fond of the song “Speed of Sound”, but other than than I don’t know a lot of their material.

14. Do you direct your models or do they usually have ideas and poses and concepts planned out?
I try to achieve a 50/50 split between what i direct and what the model does during a shoot. Sometimes what results is a bit more the model and sometimes it’s a bit more my direction, but my hope is always an even balance.

I never make extensive plans for what I’m going to do. More often than not I come up with a sensation or an emotion I want to discuss in the images and we take it from there.

15. Do the pictures that you take represent your interests and fetishes or do you take them with an audience in mind?
I consider every image I make a “self-portrait”. My interests and desires are always present. A friend once told me that any lover I had could look at my work and know what would give me the most pleasure and I think that’s a very accurate statement.

36 Responses to “Catalina loves Melvin Moten, Jr. (An interview with the fetish photographer behind Erocrush.com)”

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