Venezuela in my sights

I love photography.  I especially love photographs of people.  One thing I would never do is edit someone else’s photography to make it fit my version of aesthetically pleasing.  As a photographer (albeit merely a hobbyist), I would be angry if someone edited or cropped one of my photos and I think it’s rude to alter photos submitted to BME, beyond the watermark we add, so finding photos that grab me, as is, is always wonderful.  The photos that I post are, for the most part, ones that are sent to me in a file of photo submissions to choose from and include any information that was also sent in when the person submitted them to BME.  Sadly, that often doesn’t include full credit to the artist or even give the name of the person submitting it but I include whatever information there is every time. I know in a previous post I was brought to task for not crediting an artist but if it’s not included in the submission, I have no way of knowing. So, dear reader, if you’re submitting photos to BME, please when possible, include all of that information because inquiring minds want to know (and it’s nice to give credit where credit is due)!

When I saw the following photo, which was submitted to the scalpelled lip section of BME, I knew I had to post it.  The only name I see as a credit is xemaxtomax and I can’t quite tell if that’s who submitted it, or who gets the credit for the scalpelled lip.  Either way, Venezuela is looking mighty lovely.

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The symmetry of these piercings is really quite beautiful.  There’s another great shot of this handsome boy after the jump.

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Modified zombies like it a little rough

Go to any zombie crawl, zombie prom or other zombie event and count the people without body mods, they are few and far between. Amongst the undead, us modified folks are not the minority, we are in fact the majority.  The same statement holds true at BD/SM events. So it should be no surprise to see a cute couple of modified zombies playing a little rough together right?

Here’s  a perfect example from Joli and her date Noah from the Philly Zombie Prom.

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For two more pics showing off the gentler, more sensitive parts of the night, keep on keeping on.

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From The Vault: Male Breast Implants

There is an age old debate on BME as to whether or not breast implants fall into the same category of body modification as the mods more frequently covered on BME. The point that is usually argued is that breast implants are done to fit into societies ideals, whereas tattoos and piercings are more or a rebellion to those same ideals. Of course, since those original arguments were made tattoos and piercings have become a major part of mainstream society. Whether it be the extremely common piercings or the tattoo imagery that is now printed on everything from t-shirts to high end purses, our subculture is quickly being integrated into mainstream culture.

Well these pictures certainly qualify as body modification, by any sense of the definition. A masculine appearing man getting breast implants, now that is going against societies norm! Well unless you do it for money.

These pictures were submitted in 2004 by IAM:manybodiedman (who no longer appears to be on IAM).

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For 2 more shots of these implants, keep on keeping on.

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When worlds collide

During my year long stint living in Las Vegas I met Cheyne. Of all the tattooed people I have met over the years, he has has one of the more interesting tattoo. His torso is an amazing Japanese style body suit, and his extremities are a collection of randomness, including lots of pop culture tributes. Of his pop culture tattoos, my favorite is this Harry Potter portrait by our mutual friend Mike Demasi.

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To see more of Cheyne’s work, including several pieces most teenage girls would be proud to have, keep on keeping on.

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Chest and back by Dana Helmuth.

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Twilight tribute by Miles Larsen of Dandyland Tattoo San Antonio, TX.

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A little more Twilight love by  Josh Petty.

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Love letter to Lady Gaga

Cheyne is currently  in route to California, hence why I can’t get a hold of him to find the artist name who did the Lady Gaga letter. He is seeking piercing work in the Bay area, so if anyone knows of any shops hiring shoot him a message.

BME Girls Calendar 01/15/10

For those of you interested in seeing the first batch of girls who submitted their pictures for  possible use in the upcoming BME Girls Calendar, keep on reading. If this isn’t your thing, come back later for other types of modblog post.

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The girls are featured as I randomly pull them from my email box. Pictures are submitted by the girls themselves. If a girl is chosen for the calendar, we will have new high end photos taken specifically for that.

If you want to see one of these ladies in the upcoming BME Girls Calendar, email [email protected] and put the girl of your choosing’s name as the subject. For full details check below the pictures.

Shireen

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Heirophantress

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Rach Rach

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About being a featured girl: This event is open to all BME Girls age 18 and over. Girls of all shapes, sizes and race are encouraged to submit pictures. Contestants can be dressed or nude, but nothing too pornographic will be featured. Pictures need to be of decent quality, lest the readers condemn me to hell for posting webcam shots. Agreeing to be involved is consenting to be featured in the calendar, if you are selected for it. If you want to suggest someone, feel free to do so. I will contact them and see if they are interested, but no one will be featured without their explicit approval. To submit pictures, please email them to [email protected] Make sure to include your IAM: name (or real name) in your email.

About voting: Votes will be tallied by emailing [email protected], just make the subject “Vote (insert name of girl you choose)” and your vote will be tallied.  Votes will be anonymous, there is no reason for anyone to know who voted for whom and how many votes each girl got. This isn’t about competition, it’s about a fun, interactive way to get the readers involved in the selection process.

About Commenting: I am enforcing a strict ZERO TOLERANCE policy for negative comments about the girls. They are being kind enough to share themselves with us and to help BME make a calendar, they should not have to fear public ridicule. Negative comments will be deleted, if we have a repeat offender, all of their future modblog comments will be sent to moderation. This isn’t about censorship, it’s about common courtesy and respect.

Check back next Friday for the next installment of the BME Girls Calendar feature. I will be back posting other features to modblog Monday, I hope to see you then.

Transitions

This impressive feat of rigging is a 4 point knee suspension that transitions into  a 2 point chest suspension. It was done by some of the ROP Brooklyn guys; Brian, George and Cere. Pictures by Candace.

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Speaking of Rites of Passage, Cere and some other ROP guys have headed west to help with Meg’s event the LA BME Fundraiser, a suspension event to help raise money for BME, that is taking place tomorrow. If you are interested in going check out the events page or message Meg.

For one more pic from this transitional suspension, keep on keeping on.

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A reflection of the mind

In the IAM: Learning Piercings forum the question was brought up by Meg:

What is the most challenging piercing procedure you guys have done to date, and why?

It took me a minute to think through them all and then it dawned upon me, that by far, the most difficult piercings I had ever performed were the few uvula piercings I did back in the day. Are these piercings a good idea? Absolutely not. But after hearing Jon Cobb’s explanation, I was drawn into the concept of this piercing and did a few.

There had [to be] the fundamental drive for getting it in the first place. If it’s a stupid human trick, I’ll leave that to Letterman. I was driven to have the uvula because it reflected the mind. When you put a pair of forceps on a uvula, it feels like you’ve grabbed the center of the mass of the inside of your head — if you cough up a piece of rice and it sits in the back of your sinus passage, you understand that spot. Psychologically, it feels like you’re getting the center of your head pierced. That is so live, so real, and the risk inherant only added to the psychological imperative, and I was just driven to have it. Again, not a rational action, but that’s not the point. The technical aspects were just a necessity, but of course I tweaked and got into that. But it was never the motivation. It was never enough. Do you need it? Is it supposed to be there? Yes, then we’re going for it.

Jon Cobb- 1997

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While, I no longer do these piercings piercing  Sara & Erki from La Mosca Tattoo & Piercing, Mataro ( Barcelona)  do and they were kind enough to submit this image to BME.

Liberation

My new friend, Anthony, is a  young body piercer and talented guitar player from Pittsburgh, PA. When I asked him what inspired him to get pretty extensive  facial work at such a young age (19) this was his response:

I decided to take the step of tattooing my face after a lot of thought. It ended with the result that no job, person, parent, or social stigma should be allowed to have higher authority over my own body then I do. The everyday battle for control over your own body is unimaginable. It seems to be able to modify yourself in any way you must first endure a showering of opinions, discouragement and pressure. So to break free from that is something to be said for anybody who modifies themselves.

Before getting it done I looked deep inside myself and meditated on the decision for a long while before iI knew that it was right. Since the day it was done I have felt like it should have been there all along, and I have never felt more spiritually in tune with myself.

Its a liberating experience, I recommend it to anyone!

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Facial work by  Neil Reitan in Spring Lake Park, MN.

For 2 more pics of Anthony’s facial work including what could very well be Modblog’s goofiest facial expression of 2010, keep on keeping on.

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