Jessalyn Dean

Broken Home /  by Rebecca Tillett

I love urban exploration; exploring abandoned man-made locations. A week or two ago, my friend Jessalyn and I had made a plan to explore and shoot in some abandoned homes out in the middle of nowhere north of Denver but I hadn't known yet what exactly I was going to do there. I really opt out of doing much straight fashion photography anymore because I quite simply don't get much satisfaction out of it. It's boring. A few minutes of brainstorming and this idea occurred to me; falling down, broken home with a broken person inside.

Read More

Process Undress /  by Rebecca Tillett

A friend and commenter on this lovely blog of mine recently asked to see a before and after example of one of my recent refurbished images and I am happily obliging. Time must be changing me because this is something I would have never previously been really comfortable doing. This is most definitely because I consider the image straight out of my camera unfinished work and have always felt the original impression and opinion of the finished image would then be compromised. Quite like seeing a "making-of" special on a good movie. As interesting as I find them I also believe they kind of ruin the magic of the movie itself. I also don't like the prospect of having to defend my raw images to "REAL" pompous photographers who take every opportunity to tell every poor soul who'll listen that their work is "straight out of the camera" and "has not been touched by Photoshop at all" in a simultaneous effort to put themselves on a pedestal and insult those of us who use and enjoy Photoshop like film photographers of the past used and enjoyed darkrooms.

Read More

Party Pooper /  by Rebecca Tillett

I've been re-visiting many old series' these days for the purpose of re-editing. It's really pretty fun and in the end I almost feel like I have brand new images. Sometimes, it's impossible for me to be satisfied with much of my older work. It's bland, boring and has been seen a thousand times. I really need to learn to appreciate and respect my past, I think. Anyway, this is, of course, Jessalyn, who seems to be thriving in Australia, by the way. She has a blog documenting her "secondment" over there which can be both interesting and amusing at times.

Read More

Hints of Red and What I Love /  by Rebecca Tillett

I've always loved the texture of tattooed skin and the contrast of fabric on skin but especially tattooed skin. I've also always loved a large depth of field but I tend to love my wide-angle lens more which is why this shot and this series look absolutely nothing like most of my work. When I began shooting nude(ish) photography about 12 years ago, close-up more abstract shots were my forte. When I transitioned from film to digital my tastes widened, literally, and I decided I much preferred to capture scenes to just body parts.

Read More

Run and Tell That /  by Rebecca Tillett

I spent the day with Jessalyn, quite a fabulous (but semi-retired) model and one of my dear friends. I have the kind of relationship with her that I yearn and hope for with every model I photograph. To clarify: most of my "models" are originally friends simply because I shoot much better photos with people I'm close to and am comfortable with so I tend to reach out to them first when I need a subject (even if they've never modeled or are inexperienced). On a more infrequent basis, my models began as models and became friends and this is the case with Jessie.

Read More