This is where 11 wonderful, creative, beautiful images from one of my favorite photo shoots with one of my best friends and (former) models should be displayed.

I have, however, been requested to remove all of the art I have created with her from the ‘Internet’. I am abiding by the request, in protest, because I wish no bad blood with anyone.

However, this highlights a growing problem in art and photography that we, photographers, face. The ‘second guessing’ problem or the ‘erase all my regrets’ mentality. I would describe it as the belief that you can go back and pretend you didn’t do things (that you were fine with, even proud of, at the time) and have them deleted from the world – virtual and otherwise. Often times this desire to remove a past isn’t even the desire of the model, but of their family, new spouse, new bf or gf, new social or political group or other outside and often temporary force. But we, artists and photographers, are expected to consent to these often misguided and eventually regretted requests.

So here I am, frantically removing all traces of the wonderful art I created with this person, art that I know she is really proud of. In a million years I would not have guessed this particular model would have made this request as she was one of my dearest confidants and we had discussed this very situation at length many times and she (seemed) to agree that it was unfair to artists and photographers to be expected to do this. I suppose I misunderstood her or underestimated the power that others exert over people we think we know.

The images were some of my best, btw.