The edge.

"You live on the edge"

I was told in no uncertain terms

"Which edge ?"

"Your limits"

"The ones that you come close to and will draw you in ... over the edge into your fall"

* * *

Not living on any edge.

Every day I pushed the walls confining me away.

Then the walls became one.

I pushed one wall further away.

Day by day, night after night.

The wall has shrunk to a non existing line far beyond the horizon.

Two lifetimes later.

There are no confinements left.

There's only an ever expanding Universe.

I will reach that ever expanding Edge

And float over the fall

To push that wall.

* * *

Amara in Red Shades

Can't believe ...

... it is over a year since I've posted here.

What a year.

Since I started pretty much non-stop travel in late 2009, I logged almost 300,000 miles in the air. 22 ferry rides between Singapore and Indonesia or Hong Kong and mainland China.

I blogged about some of those trips.

Well over a hundred taxi rides and then there are the other rides on ricksha, bicycle, motorbike, rowboat, canoe, bi-plane, Cessna, helicopter, steam train, high speed train and bullet train ... all in 18 months and most of the time with camera since my friend Margeaux urged me to keep photographing what's going on around me while away from home.

I have worn-out shoes to prove the many miles I walked ... hiked ... trotted. They brought home dust from other continents.

I've spend over 100 nights in about 15 different hotels and 35 rooms. Plenty of shot material for a book about my "jet-setting" hotel life and splendid scenery.

Not. Jet-setting that is.

The book is an idea I mull over though as I've stayed in some beautiful gory places.

On the long plane rides home or away from home, I've written about some of the stories whose ideas are captured and hidden in this playground blog.

The horizon is getting more and more shape. In my world the horizon is not a gently arched curve fading far away.

Not.

And will never be.

All those days traveling for business also opens up the door for connection with the various cultures I pass through. An opportunity to meet new people. Make new friends. Experience new lovers. Observe what makes people work.

Leave minimal footprint and maximize the impression while expressing my emotional range and need for connection.

Eye to Eye

Neuron to Neuron

Skin to Skin

Soul to Soul

That's the essence in my world. In no particular order.

Being away has a downside.

My house and studio are in an extended remodeling phase.

I don't get to shoot the women I love as often.

I don't get to make new local friends as often.

It is hard to stay in touch with my children who are now traveling on their own and are

themselves spread over the globe.

It is hard to keep a relationship going as I'm ... well ... gone most of the time

Yet ... in spite of all these lapses in continuity, there were so many wonderful things happening around me at "home"

I'm still in a fabulous technology career where I positively impact the lives of people worldwide and that career is the enabler for many things I truly enjoy and share.

In spite of all the travel, I did connect with wonderful friends and experienced new relationships that have confirmed that I'm foremost an innovator, a creator, an artist unwilling to compromise in that passion.

I did get to shoot with old friends and discover new friends with a shared love for photography and all things beautiful

My best friend married and brought another wonderful friend in my life. I got to shoot the wedding.

Emotional.

Priceless.

I did come across old souls from previous lifetimes. Likeminded brains. Parallel experiences in different universe.

Im lucky.

I'm blessed.

I'm happy.

* * *

Why write about this now on July 26, 2011 while I should be in bed ?

I made a new local model friend a couple of months ago.

She brought chocolate to the shoot. Big points for this.

And cookies covered in Belgian chocolate. Even more points for this.

She wrote me recently:

"Rudi ... I'm going through your blog every day, so you better update it soon, or else I'm stuck with nothing "

So here Frosan, this is for you.

* * *

The image below was shot in Februari 2011 around 6am while en-route to Boston on a red-eye. Altitude 2,000 feet. The sun was just peering through a slit in the clouds and I noticed this shaft of orange light over the water turning my direction as the plane was banking

The seatbelt sign was already on for landing. My camera was in the overhead compartment. I was in an exit row and the stewardess was sitting across from me.

What to do ?

I unbuckled. Stood up, opened the overhead bin and quickly yanked

my camera out of my backpack over the protest of the stewardess. Closed the bin while my fingers are snapping the camera to the ON position.

On my way to my chair I looked her in the eye and she silenced. She turned her head away from me and stared the other direction.

I took two shots before buckling up. Timing was perfect. The beam of light appeared to float just below my window.

We landed without further incident. I apologized on my way out. It didn't register.

The final composite art work print size is 18" H x 43" W.

It's a shame blog posting doesn't do this type of images any good. Color range and detail are exquisite.

The composite image was created out of the two out-of-camera images below taken with a couple of seconds in between.

A woman ...

One of my distant pen-lovers somewhere in this world sent me following truth:

A woman needs a man who takes good care of her,

A man who can make her laugh out loud,

A man who makes her feel as if she’s the most important woman in the world to him

A man who takes her breath away

A man who stimulates her mind

And it’s important that these five men never meet each other!

Being a man, this reads also very true as:

A man needs a woman who takes good care of him,

A woman who can make him laugh out loud,

A woman who makes him feel as if he's the most important man in the world to her,

A woman who takes his breath away

A woman who stimulates his mind

And it's equally important that these five women never meet each other !

* * *

How does one roll 5 women into one and ensure they never meet each other ?

* * *

These two women do take my breath away ... this was shot in December 2009 and is part of a book being laid out for print.

I've worked multiple times with Sarah and Natalia.

Looking forward creating more with these talented models.

Pulau Galang Baru

Sunday, May 30, 2010

I hired a driver for a full day for about $55. This is definitely my favorite way of traveling around in Indonesia. I got a great recommendation for a driver and he didn't disappoint. Ropik showed up in an SUV which was very comfortable on some of the bumpy no-roads on the islands.

Goal for the day was to drive all the way to Pulau Galang Baru, the last island connected to Batam through the 7 Barelang bridges.

I have been many times at the first Barelang bridge, the most imposing one. I've never driven all the way over all seven to see where this leads to.

On my way we stopped at Kampung Vietnam to take a look at the Vietnamese refugee camp. I had read about it online ... I could undeniably feel the suffering still hanging around on this hot day many years after the closing of the camp.

Once we made our way to Palau (Island) Galang Baru, we were rewarded with with amazing views of tropical islands in an environment were time stood still for many years.

Everywhere I went I heard girls yell "bule bule ... photo ... photo ... please take picture ..." (bule = westerner) ... No greater delight for these young women to know someone snapped their picture with their girlfriends ... big smiles guaranteed ;-) No need to worry about leaving an email address for them to get the image ... all that's required is to know someone spend time taking their picture and will have a souvenir from them forever.

At this time in the year, sun is only guaranteed in the morning. As soon as it turns around 2:00 pm, the clouds change dramatically into thunderclouds with torrents of rain falling down. It doesn't last long but one has to take precautions. Not too difficult when one travels in car but it's a totally different story for the locals on their motorbikes and scooters.

Two of the images I shot that day show clearly rain drenching down in buckets at the horizon. We only got wet on our way back to Batam. Rather than hanging out on a tropical beach waiting for a nice sunset, I decided to go visit Tanjung Uma ... a place I'll write more about when I have time to process the images.

Those who have been following my travels know that this is my fourth trip in about 5 months to this area of the world.

I've been in Indonesia before. In 1999 to 2001 I spend quote a few weeks in Bali paradise working special effects for an amusement park. Although a perfect introduction to the beauty of Indonesia, it didn't prepare me for the beauty of the Riau Islands comprising Batam. Most of these islands are sparsely populated and as of today, I'm constantly taken by the genuine happiness of these people whatever their living circumstances are.

More images from my recent Indonesia travels to Batam can be found in my Travel Images folder on Facebook.

So far I've not been able to find any shells on any of the beaches I visited. Who took them all ?

Batam in May

This is my fourth business trip to Singapore and Batam, Indonesia this year. It's the end of May and it's a lot warmer and definitely more humid this time.

The trip to Singapore was uneventful, one does get used to these long haul flights. On my way to the ferry though things changed a bit.

The taxi driver didn't feel I needed my head for the rest of the trip and he slammed his trunk shut while I was still pulling luggage out of it.

I ended up making the trip on the ferry with a bloodied head. Not a pretty sight. Starbucks napkins was all there was at hand to stop the bleeding a bit.

Once in Batam I had a nurse take a look at it ... my head that is, not the napkins. She glued the cut shut and counted 7 scars in total on my head ... 7 stories to tell.

Today I ended up in yet another thunderstorm on my way to Barelang bridge. Just trying to get some images from fishermen villages or what's left of it. It's quite a sight to see the locals making their way through treacherous terrain on their motorbikes and scooters. As usual, it's quite common to see 3-5 family members on one bike and a little thunderstorm is not going to stop at least some of them. There are shelters left and right for bikers to ride the rain out if they like so ... not sure what's worse though ... getting soaked at a "shelter" or continue driving.

Once on my way the drenching stopped close to my destination. Got some good shots but then I slipped big time on some concrete blocks covered with algae slurry down at the water's edge. My camera got wacked around breaking my fall a bit. My glasses ended up in the water. Some scrapes and a slightly bruised ego ... sure ... but I continued shooting ... of course. At least I didn't loose my Blackberry this time like in all my other "water" accidents.

The locals watching me providing the entertainment of their afternoon found it all "lucu" (funny) and I did get quite a few request to shoot their pictures ... lol ... I didn't get the orange red sunset shots I had hoped for but what I got was well worth the effort. Tomorrow is another day to take a stab at a perfect sunset.

The shells ...

I woke up this morning and against the bright sun peering through the veiled curtains I saw an island floating on an ocean of rattan ... I closed my eyes again as I wanted to go back to the state of slumber and experience this dream again ...

I slowly open my eyes and through my lashes this sight appears again ... I hesitate to open a bit more ... afraid this was going to disappear ... an ocean of rattan with a bright white sky and an island ... two islands ... no ... make that three islands ... three white sand humps on an ocean of rattan ... different size ... different shapes ... all preciously shimmering in the light ...

Where was I ? ... where did this sudden surrender to peace and quiet come from ? ... oceans of rattan don't make any noise ... it was quiet ... ear deafening silence ...

Now I remembered my dream ... it was as in a faint memory coming back ... the silhouette on the beach ... a silhouette walking on the beach in the the darkness of pre-dawn ...

I pause my thoughts and pain my memory ... it all turns dark ...

* * *

The orange glow of the sun is lighting up the water and a silhouette is taking form ... the first rays light up my vision and I see a flowing dress ... a goddess floating over the sand ... tall ... mysterious ... golden skin lit by a rising sun .. the head is framed with long wavy hair ... hiding the face ...

Turn ... turn ... turn ... I whisper in my dream ... alas ... the appearance can't hear me in the deafening silence of my dream ocean ... I walk closer to the scene ... a goddess arm stretches graciously our to me and an elegant hand opens up ... I see three shells ...

Three shells fall out this mysterious hand ... I catch them and hold these little treasures tight ... I turn my head towards the apparition but all I can see is a soul silhouette disappearing in the darkness of the sun ...

"Wait ... wait ... wait" ... I yell ... I scream ...

I pause as no sound is escaping my voice ...

What is ? ... the dark turns slowly to light and I don't have a shadow ... I'm reduced to my soul ...

But wait ... the shells ....

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes and through my lashes I see three islands ... foggy this time ... out of focus ... the bright sunlight is blinding ... slowly I open a bit more ... my vision adjust and I see the ocean of rattan ... the white beaches of the islands ...

The islands slowly disappear in the distance and they get smaller and smaller until each island is reduced to a shell ...

One shell ... two shells ... three shells ... all different ... all beautifully shimmering on my rattan nightstand ...

I close my eyes again and I'm overcome with a warm feeling ... My soul is blessed by three little shells that travelled in a mysterious way to the beach in the dawn of a dream ... dropped from the hands of a beach goddess ...

* * *

Images in this post are from a shoot with Nettie R. Harris ... we worked together almost a year ago ... extremely talented art model .. more images of this shoot later.

Travel images from Batam, Indonesia

It has been a while since my last post ... I don't seem to snap out of this busy spell fixing technology problems.

This images here were all shot on a sunny February Sunday afternoon while sight seeing in Batam.

The sunken boat can be found close to a fisherman village in the neighborhood of Bengkong Laut.

There are still people living in the old fisherman town ... I spend about an hour around noon snapping images around the town ... the lighting was brutal though.

I hired a cab driver for the day and he drove me to the old town on Nongsa beach. That's where I found the pier and a couple of boats. There were quite a few boats available to go visit the neighboring islands (Pulau Putri) with pristine white sand beaches.

I spend the late afternoon on the beach close to the "industrial" park on Nongsa beach. There were plenty of treasures to be found there.

Boats in all sizes, shapes and states and the light changes around the evening were quite dramatic.

I collected sufficient images to fill a coffee table book with the catch of that day ... maybe one day ...

Can't wait to go back there ... it's a different world ... different pace ... ;-)

More images soon ... time to put a travel gallery up on my Facebook page ... ;-) ... soon ...

Travel ...

My travel schedule is still hectic ... been in Singapore and Batam a second time in January/February and I'm ready for my next trip to Asia in March. In between there's the occasional domestic business travel ... Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando ...

All by all a great opportunity to discover new places, meet new people and get a deeper insight in local cultures and habits ... oh ... yes ... let's not forget the culinary aspects ... ;-) ... Indonesian food is a pure delight ;-)

I'm always on the go with a camera so I do have an opportunity to snap some travel images ... Above some shots from my first ferry ride between Singapore and Batam on December 23, 2009.

Whole families travel on a bike ... 4, 5 and even 6 people on a single bike ... dangerous ... yes ... but there seems to be some order in all the biker chaos ... all in all traffic moves smoothly ...

Holidays 2009

It has been a while since my last post ... as so often, the holidays are getting the best of us ... if we like it or not ...

First there's the never ending remodel of my studio that is taking a toll on my time ... there's still so much to do ... at least my subterranean termites are under control after removing my hardwood floor in the studio and kitchen ... trying to decide what my next floor covering will be ...

Then there's the travel ... both domestically and internationally ...

I'm writing this from Batam, Indonesia where I'm involved in a project launch for an exciting new product for a major consumer electronics OEM. I find myself shuttling between Singapore and Batam quite often ... it is only an hour ferry ride between these two vastly different worlds ... there's no way to describe this, you have to experience this to get the full space ...

Travel with its inevitable people watching is always a time to reflect for me ... there's so much distance in between locations giving me sufficient time to space out in appreciation for all I've got ...

My thoughts revolve around friends and those people around me that know how to live the unconditionality of true friendship ... true love ... total acceptance ... the no-need-to-change-you love ... the friends that are solely there for a no-expectation journey and know how to keep any destiny desire at bay ... The friends that only need a sentence to understand where you are in life and likewise know to express their space in 160 characters or less ... the friends that love to love ...

Thoughts and love also go out to those who only briefly touched my life but made a profound impression yielding immense growth regardless of the pain any perception imparted on our lives ... it is after all all about growth for the next connection, the next love, the next romance ...

Yes ... it is a season for thanks ... although I like to think that every day is a reason for thanks ...

I've been photographing a bit less the last couple of months because of travel and the need to catch up on editing and retouching images ...

The long evenings in business hotels have giving me some opportunity to retouch work for a couple of publications ... I've also laid out a few books I'm self publishing @ blurb.com in 2010 ...

Back to the grind with a smile on my face ... just having witnessed a colliding space and time continuum ...

* * *

Images from different photo opportunities ...

Halloween 2009 ...

A rather magical time ...

A mysterious voicemail ...

A soft commanding voice ...

A full moon ...

A daring adventure in a world of Mystery ...

A Woman in the mountains ...

An invitation collide ...

An unexpected spectacle of mythical proportions ...

... the Beloved Lady of the Universe ...

* * *

The images below are out-takes from the November 1, 2009 lingerie shoot for LuLa Lu

Model Heather Hartel

MUA Lauren Warner

NYC

It was years since I've been in NYC ... last week I had an opportunity to spend 4 days in the big apple and it was well worth the travel and expenses ...

The first funny thing is that the city looked much smaller than I remembered ... weird experience though ... felt for a second like I was first time in a place since childhood ...

I've always loved the atnosphere, the hustle and bustle, the everything is possible attitude ... and yes ... there's always life ... and you can get food at any time of the day ...

Last week was about connecting and reconnecting with friends ... some of whom I've never seen other than "on-line" ... ;-)

Central Park on a sunny day is still an experience that can't be missed ...

For those who think that NY is all about business ... well ... think again ... I got to experience to be around two marvelous kids with a super set of parents ... it made me soft for a while and I couldn't help but remembering growing up with loving parents ... and how I miss them both ...

Parents ... remember your kids have only one childhood ...

Shot about 4,000 images on the trip ... more about those later ...

While I was in the city one of my on-line friends I've never met wrote me this:

"I just wanted to say thanks for your occasional words of wisdom. Because of something you wrote yesterday, I got in touch with my grandfather (who has been reaching out to me) - I haven't spoken with him since I was a toddler.

Sometimes people need a slight prompting to forgive, or to remember important things, and I wanted to let you know that your posting gave me a little nudge. Thanks. :)"

Needless to say that this made my day even more ...

Continued ...

The ride.

"Your ride is there ..."

I interrupt my conversation and slowly turn around towards the conference room window ... I peer through the blinds and see the silver convertible top down cornering into the parking lot ... it is my ride ...

I chuckle ... you know ... it feels funny when you see your car drive around without yourself in it ... so used of driving it myself ... ;-) ... I seldom let anyone drive my car ... and ... you're early ...

I excuse myself from the meeting and walk to the side exit door ... by the time I hit the bright sunlight, you've circled the parking lot ... you're looking for me ... you don't know which door I'm exiting ... you're scanning 900 feet of building ...

You finally see me and you throw both hands high up in the air while driving over the speed bump and you're waving at me ... crazy ... but it gets a big smile on my face and can't help thinking that the whole building is watching you ...

I cross the parking lot your direction and you intercept me in the middle ... you're beaming ... you get out of the car ... grey cap ... white satin top with ruffles ... Rock & Republic jeans ... Betsey Johnson heels ... blonde hair spilling from underneath the cap, bouncing with each step, flowing in the wind ...

We hug ... we kiss ... the building cringes ...

You try to hand me the keys ... I give you the keys back ... you look at me in disbelief ... but you're happy you get to drive some more ... you like the car ... you love the way it makes you feel ... I take the passenger seat and you take off ...

I can feel the building rubbernecking till we're out of sight ..

We talk during the ride about the day, the stuff we've done, the stuff we still need to do ... then ... quiet ... we look at each other while you navigate traffic ... we smile ... we don't need to talk ... we know ...

The sun is out and I'm watching to my right as we're approaching the long bridge over the bay ... it's a beautiful day ... little wind flowing through the hair ... perfect blue skies ... blue water ... no choppiness ... no fog, no marine layer ... no nothing to spoil the moment ...

I turn towards you and you're not wearing the grey cap any longer ... you're sporting my brown leather aviator hat ... straps loose dangling and bouncing up and down with the turbulent air from the ride and you're bobbing your head up and down, singing silently along ... you look at me with those beaming blue eyes ... your blonde hair flowing wildly underneath the cap ... your laugh shattering the silence ... we both laugh ... pure bliss ...

I put my chrome and black leather aviator goggles on and we laugh some more ... you're more gorgeous than ever and you're elated exuberance makes this a wonderful moment ... instinctively I grab my camera but it is not there ... such a shame ... a unique moment in so many ways ... gone for ever

You read my mind ... "we can do this again and you can shoot it" ... you grab my left hand and pull it onto your lap and hold it there ... tightly clutched ... I close my eyes and savor the moment burning this image forever in my mind ... you're bobbing your head on the tune of track 10 ... we both love that track ...

For seven eternal miles we are one thought ... one soul ... one love ...

You corner sharp left when we reach the end of the bridge and let my hand go as the car demands all your attention ... we smile ... we're quiet until we continue with the rest of our day ...

I unmistakably know this one of a kind experience is gone ... there is no return to perfection ... there's no need to ...

* * *

When I wake up out of the darkness every day, that image is the first reality I see ... I feel the warmth of the sun ... the wind through my hair ... the exhilaration of that one moment lasting seven miles ... I dread the emptiness in my heart ... then I listen to track 10 ...

The yellow rose is all dried up by now ... beautifully muted colors ... but standing firm ... just the way you wanted it to dry ... you couldn't bear to see this memory go limb that last morning we ever talked at home ... we cried ... we connected ... we knew ...

To be continued ...

Waves ...

Last weekend brought me back to Los Angeles visiting friends and family ...

I was guest in this picture-perfect coziest hide-out perched high above the Pacific Coast Highway ...

Talking all day about life, love, friendship, art, wants, needs, expectations, catching up on what's important on this journey while listening to the crashing waves of the ocean and seeing the light change throughout the day ...

A walk on the beach ... watching the sun set ... harvest full moon ... the quietness of it all ...

Wine, cheese, gourmet olives ... chocolates ... it doesn't get more perfect then this ... sleep was sound ... dreams were sweet ... waking up ... well ... the waves were still there ... so was the perfect company ...

One of the most livable places I've stayed ... no care in the world ... escapism at its best ... this also reminded me how much I miss the ocean, the fresh salty air ... one day though I'll have my own nest high above the ocean ... my own red barn ...

* * *

Fortune cookie wisdom ... your kindness is surely to be repaid ...

When your don't care who gets the credit, there's no limit on how high you can fly ...

Boston ...

Traveling this week ... during the day in training and in charge of content management for a sizable web site overhaul ... all other hours are dedicated to editing and retouching images for my second photo book

A couple of teaser images are included in this post ... the whole concept was photo-journalistic with the models having the option to "pause" at any time ...

I shot this a little over a year ago, mulled the retouch/edit process over for a while and finally got the impetus to get this going ... all lighting is natural ... no make-up for a very natural look ... yes, I did change my mind about the all B&W approach ... ;-) .. the retouching process runs from B&W to a variety of color processes ...

* * *

I was cleaning out my wallet of receipts today and came across two forgotten fortune cookie notes I picked up in early September ... I keep those religiously as I'm constantly working on improving my Chinese vocabulary ... ;-)

Your career will soon be enhanced by a new friend ...

A beautiful person is with you, confide your problems ...

Variations on a theme ?

Time for real coffee ... continued ...

Insomnia ...

Just having one of those nights where I can't sleep because my brain is running haywire ... thousand thoughts going through my mind with no resolution ... seemingly no progress ... no actionable items ... just emotionally piecing together the disconnects from recent stressful events ..

Even my visiting cat knows something needs fixing ... she's always outside ... roaming around in the backyard ... she loves the backyard, so much more room than the studio from my ex ;-) ... but this night, she's in the kitchen, office ... wherever I go ... maybe it's because of me or maybe it's because there was a skunk passing by a couple of hours ago ... who knows ... for now, I'm happy with the company ...

Been working al day yesterday on editing and retouching my second book ... I photographed the concept a little over a year ago and I've been mulling my options over on and off ... going for a photojournalist B&W approach... that's how it was shot, that's how it still feels after all this time ... hope to publish this book before December ...

Insomnia also means that I have opportunity to do some more editing ...
I shot Jillian Ann and HDC (Grant) last Friday in the Voodoo Lounge in San Jose ...
I enjoyed the music, the atmosphere and just see everyone passionately go all out ...

It was good to see Jillian again, our next shoot is long overdue ... I posted the images from this event to my Facebook account ... yes ... I'm on Facebook ... ;-)

* * *

Looking through the Facebook shatter I come across this quote ... I'm pretty sure it was left for me ... coincidence ? ... synchronicity ? ... who knows ... all that matters is that someone cares enought to put it out there for all to read ...

When people can walk away from you ... let them walk.

Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left ...

(T.D.Jakes)

We have read this quote before ... We may have heard the quote before ... this is just a timely reminder ...

I do know one thing for sure ... I do have a very bright future ... time for real coffee ...

* * *

Images from last Friday's photography in the Voodoo Lounge, San Jose. The wire image detail was shot in an art gallery in La Jolla, CA in 2008. ,,,

The Red Knight - Part 1a

I'm repeating part of an earlier blog post to ensure an easier follow up connection with an upcoming personal story

* * *

The Willy Vandersteen strip series "De Rode Ridder" or "The Red Knight" with over 200 albums published between 1959 and today has a serious impact on my life ...

Johan (John) , the Red Knight, is the main character in these strip albums. His character embodies the chivalric ideal ... brave to the point of intrepid ... loyal and of course, an expert swordsman ...

In most of the albums he's a traveling knight fighting all sorts of evil threatening peaceful communities ... his travel have brought him all over the world ... Egypt, South America, Atlantis (!) , China etc. ... even outer space figured as a background for a couple of stories ...

Chronologically the stories are placed from the 6th century to the 16th century, thus covering a wide range of historical events. King Arthur, Crusades, Battle of the Golden Spurs and 15-16th centurylife in Flanders.

These strips always featured gorgeous damsels in distress in need of rescue ... and were pretty much the sexiest books I got my hands on in elementary school ... lol ...

Relationships are purely platonic in line with the ideals of chivalric duties.

The Red Knight however is in love with Galaxa, the Faerie of Light. She can only appear for a few brief moments in Johan's world. Together however they fight evil and injustice in the hope to be joined together in a future ...

There is also considerable romantic tension suggested between the Red Knight and Demonia, the henchwoman from Bahaal, the Prince of Darkness.

Other recurring women in the strip are Morning Star and Isjtar, both loyal colleague faeries from Galaxia, always ready to give a lending hand when Galaxia is weakened in battles with Demonia.

As such these strips have appeal for both teenagers and adults alike ...

The women in this strip series do not follow the stereotypes of the historical background.

These woman are all emancipated, independent, love their personal freedom and all have important responsibilities to fulfill in the story.

Although The Red Knight often has to rescue damsels in distress, they are all strong women.

The Red Knight's unobtainable love for Galaxia is often the driver for his actions and needless to say that all plots have a happy ending.

* * *

The Red Knight is looking for a damsel that is not in distress ...

... but what would the Red Knight do with a damsel that is not in distress ? ...

* * *

Images from the August 30 shoot with Sarah Ellis and Kayla, make-up and hair,

Lauren Warner