Ezekiel Woods

Perhaps I'm delusional, but I still think of my work as an artistic endeavor rather than a pornographic one. I mean, I know it tends to be outside most people's definition of art, but hopefully it's a bit deeper, more human and more intelligent than most people's definition of porn. I'll spare you the full-blown philosophy spiel - partly because I'm well aware that I could convince myself that I do it as a geometry exercise if I wanted to, and partly because if I were to launch into a philosophy rant, I’d still be typing tomorrow afternoon - but as far as my general intentions, I’m fairly certain they're not pornographic.

When I hear a photographer say, "The nude is not about sexuality. It's all about the juxtaposition of the soft human body against the backdrop of a hard, cold world." I immediately think "This guy's a dangerous lunatic" and run away screaming.
Humans are sexual beings - if we weren't, evolution would've weeded us out long ago.
I like bodies and the people in them.
These photographs are about sex.
Sex is an amazing thing. When it really works well, it’s almost a religious thing - intense in a way that nothing else can be. That's what I look for in these photographs - something - some facet - of the equation that creates that intensity and can be seen with the eye.
These images are not tame. Some are polished and theatrical, some, more raw. Some are loaded with dark humor, and some are a bit more inward and quiet, but there aren't many that would be considered delicate. They are about sexuality and different people’s interpretations of it.
The women in these photographs are not mannequins. In many cases, the images are shot in their own homes, in - and out of - their own clothes, wielding their own props, and with their own music blaring in the background. Other shoots were a bit more structured around ideas born in my own brain, but created for the person acting them out, if that makes any sense. The point is, these are real, living, breathing human beings with their own minds and their own ideas.

All of these images are shot on film. Lighting, exposure, and film manipulation/abuse produce most of the effects here. I do very little if anything to these images in post-production.

I spent about ten years working as custom color printer. For those who don’t know, there is no safelight for color paper. In a color darkroom, you’re in the dark. That’s ten hours a day more or less with nothing to do but think about photographs and the processes that make them happen. Some days you think about how to make photographs perfect. Some days you think about how to make them beautifully imperfect. Some days you think about what you would look like if your facial features were arranged differently, but that’s another discussion altogether. Anyway, my point is those 'beautifully imperfect' days. At some point, book-perfect photographs started to get a little boring - maybe it was just the books I was looking at, I don’t know. Everything I saw out there at the time looked like slight variations of a very old and worn idea. I wanted to do something new, something that jumped off the page and grabbed me, something that would not only push the boundaries of art, but jump up and down on them, get down and shimmy. These images are the result...

-w-

Ezekiel Woods has been shooting full-time since the fall of 1999. Making a living as a freelance photographer in the rural Shenandoah Valley requires a certain amount of versatility. His clients include small, local publications, colleges and universities who use his images in their catalogues and alumni magazines, fashion and advertising work, commercial stills, and location portraiture. He also does a fair amount of press kit work for dancers, actors, authors and musicians, CD and book covers, and most anything else that strikes his interest ...or pays the rent.

- Ezekiel Woods, 2007




**A Young Ezekiel Woods in Memphis TN, 1973**

GENERAL INFORMATION, ETC.

  Being something of a starving artist, I only work TFCD. But, unlike many shooters, I actually deliver on my end of a TFCD arrangement.

  All of my artistic work - the work you see here - is nude work. It's very much a part of the philosophical basis for the work as a whole - it is what it is. Please be aware of that and factor it into any thoughts or decisions about working with me.

  I always prefer to photograph a model in her own space - usually her home or that of a friend, though I have, in the past, shot in bars, shops, warehouses, cheap neon motels, etc that the model had access to through friends or business acquaintances. However, I'm well aware that not everyone has access to a place that's suitable for a shoot, in which case I have a rotating list of locations in this area that have been made available to me for use in shooting.
Please give this some thought to locations when contacting me as this is pretty crucial in the initial planning of a shoot.

  I do require a standard model release and a copy of your state-issued photo ID, showing date of birth.
I will be glad to e-mail you a copy of the model release in advance of our shoot, at your request.
Some of these images may be published. I do not however sell my images to paysites or to any publications that might present my work or the model's in a less-than-desirable light.

  I do not allow "escorts" at my shoots. This would include managers and friends, your husband, mother, boyfriend, children, cousin, next-door neighbor or pets.
Shooting with film is expensive - I can't afford unnecessary distractions. You may swear up and down that your escort will be helpful and quiet and stay out of the way and all of that, but if it has a pulse, it's a distraction.
I do understand safety concerns, however. Feel free to contact any of the models I've worked with in the past for references if you'd like. I'm sure all would be glad to address any questions or concerns you may have.

  Any thoughts, questions, concerns, bits of wisdom, scathing humor, gushing praise, cash donations or other words of great import, please feel free to e-mail me directly at: EzekielWoods@gmail.com

And please take the time to check out more of my artistic work at www.EzekielWoods.com or use the link at the top of this page - Bus Stop Brides and Bicycle Thieves.

Thanks, and may Your Favorite Generic Deity bless you.
-w-