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Emma joined us in Oakland last year for our three-day photo project. This is the second set of image we shot there, in front of a bank of beautiful stained glass windows. What a house! This setting was a perfect counterpoint to Emma's intense and challenging rope work. She's a creative top and this set proved it to me beyond a doubt. The way she worked the ropes into an ever-tightening tie made my body sing with each cinch she did. Every now and then she would elicit a gasp from me and I could hear her giggle a little -- and I'd do the same mentally because I knew we were both feeling the same satisfaction with the way the tie was turning out. We were connected through the rope.

I find it interesting to be able to explore rope with people beyond an initial connection. I'm fortunate enough to have found people that are able to to that with me; Emma is one such person. This set was a natural part of the evolution our play at Leather Retreat a few years ago. It was a treat to experience more of what Emma brings to a rope scene: her precision, her intuition, her care and her love of the art. She enjoys injecting more and more physical tension into her ties and I enjoy the increasing constriction that creates.

I've decided to post all of Michele's picks of this set because it's one of the best illustrations of a bondage sequence we've shot. This is part one of the set; I'll post part two next time, so that you can see the end result of the tie. Michele really captured the flow of the tie and the way both Emma and I fell deeper and deeper into the scene. It was really less like a photo shoot and than anything else we shot that weekend and I was happy to share it with Emma.

 

In 2004 we went to San Francisco to hang out do some shooting with Midori. We found an amazing location and took advantage of the heavy equipment and metalwork that were installed there. Just recently we returned to the scene of the crime and shot in an abandoned warehouse there. Being there brought back memories of this shoot so I figured now was a good time to post this set.

As I've stated before, my connection with Midori is much less play-oriented than it is with any of my other rope tops. Our connection is in the love of the art and of expressing our creativity though rope. Midori's bondage often affords me the opportunity to just play around in the rope -- to dangle to my heart's content or to experience the physical sensations of my body in the rope. She steps away and watches me play around. She'll then step back in, inspired by how I've moved in her rope, to add to the tie and thereby the experience.

It's fun and it's great knowing that I'm in the hands of someone who is not only an experienced top but someone who has taught me so much about rope bondage instruction as well. She is my friend, my teacher and a fellow artist. I will always tip my hat to her in appreciation.