HWS REDUX?

  The concept for huntingwithsupermodels the blog, came about after actually taking a model hunting. French supermodel Morgane Dubled was visiting her boyfriend at the time, Josh Druckman, in Woodridge and Josh told me Morgane wanted to go hunting. I called up my brother Bird and asked if he wanted to join me in taking a Victoria Secret model hunting? This was way back in 2007, when it was still considered acceptably harmless for a couple of “older” men to show enthusiasm at the prospect of dragging a long legged French model through the deer woods. She didn’t last long. “Sacre bleu—I think my toes are frozen.” Morgane pouted and groaned. She was a good sport in those fancy boots, but about an hour into the afternoon’s sit, she got up, stomped her pretty feet, lit a cigarette and headed back to the car. As Morgane listened to the radio, cranked up the heater and lit another smoke, three deer walked by the car. Bird and I never saw a deer.

    Now, before you think Bird and I are just leering old duffers, let me say Morgane is very good company. She probably should’ve been a doctor, but the curse of her beauty thrust her in a different direction. All the models I know are smart, funny and interesting. Maybe I’m just lucky, but the cliche of the air headed, dimwitted mannequin just doesn’t hold water in my experience. The wonderful absurdity of being in a position to guide a fashion model through the Catskill woods was not lost on Bird or me. I think I came up with title “hunting with supermodels” that night. The idea would be to write on anything I wanted (like today) but punctuate the blog with photos of “supermodels.” The term is generic. Just so happened I knew three photographers, George Holz, Richard Kern and Marianna Rothen who specialized in photographing beautiful women—in various states of undress. Emulating old school magazines of my father’s day like, TRUE, ARGOSY and even PLAYBOY I would write and keep the readership coming back for more with the pictures of naked women. How times have changed.

    The #MeToo era has everyone reevaluating what it means to objectify women. Trump’s boastful confiding of his “pussy grabbing” to Billy Bush (and the world) was a watershed moment. Instead of being publicly vilified he was elected President. A year later we got Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement. By 2019 serial pedophile Jeffery Epstein was dead by suicide in his cell in the Tombs. #MeToo was in full effect. To be honest, I didn’t stop posting HWS because of any reason other than being too busy writing www.fancestor.blogspot.com. But when I finished (F)ancestor I decided not to go back. Even though I was friends with the models and photographers I used in HWS, and there was no question of exploitation on anyone’s part, I felt uneasy using pretty girls to get people to read my writing. At least I think they were reading.

    

     Aside from Morgane, I count myself lucky to have a couple of very close friends, Marianna Rothen and Hollie Witchey, who just happen to be drop dead gorgeous models. Marianna is also a  talented photographer and Hollie’s shoppe Witchey Handmade Apothecary is a centerpiece of the Mountain dale experiment. Would I like them as much if they were ugly? Probably not. We all key in on symmetry. And these women are nothing if not symmetrical. They had me at hello. I’m as shallow as the next guy and a sucker for a pretty face. But that only goes so far. These two have deep souls and great personalities. We’ve remained friends for over 12 years. 

    My audience for my blogs is small and not just male. There's always room to boost readership. I’m all for the groundswell that #MeToo unleashed. Scumbags like Weinstein, Epstein and Trump should be held to account and punished accordingly. But, in it’s wake there also has been collateral damage caused by overzealous accusations. Even R. Kern felt the #MeToo sting thrown at him (unjustifiably so) by an disgruntled ex. Photographers (men and women) who specialize in the nude are especially vulnerable to unwarranted attack. I could easily go back to objectifying women on HWS, with probably no consequences whatsoever. I have reevaluated my work and I did not find anything untoward. Maybe it is time to get back to my roots and once again exploit the sly smile of a supermodel in the name of art.