Kinky Machine Well here we are again folks. Obviously my last review did not suck as much as I thought it did. When Crow emailed me with the request to review the following site, I was in complete rapture. It is not everyday that you get to do a review of someone's work that you personally hold in such high esteem. OK, well that little bit is over, so here we go folks. I would just like to apologise for what may at times become my over eager review of this site. The website in question is none other than http://www.kinkymachine.com, the online showcase for the photographic talents of Lee Higgs. I first became aware of Lee's work through the BME/Art section. This section is probably one of the hidden treasures of the BME site. Located in the BME/News section, Art contains some of the best photographers, painters, jewellers and digital artists working in the body modification fields. Lee's work first appealed to me for a very personal reason. For many years now I have been exploring the use of infrared film, in particular color infrared, and its interaction with the human flesh. I have spent much time working on what I have called 'sub dermal' imagery -- that is photographing through the outer skin layers of a person, and targeting the vein structures that lie beneath. For this I was led to a very specialised type of film, that being color infrared. Notoriously hard to work with, and very touchy to handle, it produces some pretty wicked results if treated right. So back to the chase... Lee's work, on first glance, looked very strange, almost otherworld-like. Through the use of color i/r film, and whatever secret combination of filtration and lighting, Lee has managed to create for the viewer a complete experience. Not only are the images produced visually engaging on a content level, but they are also very easy to look at. Upon first entering kinkymachine.com, the viewer is greeted by a very stylish splash page. Clicking the enter button (who wouldn't!), the viewer is transported to the world of Kinky Machine. Easy to read fonts, coupled with a very impressive image map/site directory structure makes it very easy to find your way around. For the purpose of the review I will be confining my comments to the non-pay sections of the website (I am a student after all), but I am assured that there are many good reasons in there to part with $19.95 a month. I, alas, will be waiting a while for that to happen. Back to the review (sorry bout that guys). With a strong emphasis on fetish photography, Lee's work takes the viewer into a world many would only dream of entering. And I feel that the sense of dreaming is accentuated by the combination of the film stock used and the wide angle lens, which causes some very attractive visual distortion. Split up into 4 main galleries, the site lets the viewer open individual images in pop-up windows. I find this a very good way of drawing attention and focus to the piece at hand, and along with that the fact that the thumbnail images are but mere crops of the larger images, makes the viewer want to open them up to see what they are missing out on (or at least I did). Of particular interest to the body modification enthusiast is Gallery Two. The images contained within maintain the feel of the overall site, but we get a chance to see a glimpse of what some would call 'normal' photography, that is the use of standard films, both b&w and color. With a section dedicated to print sales, Lee has set up what I must say is a very impressive looking online folio and business. I have no real idea whether it is at all profitable (I was going to do a sort of interview, but ran out of time) but will endeavour to find out. The last point I wish to make in regards to this site is that since its first incarnation (or at least the first one I saw) both the imagery and the overall navigation/layout of the site has kept on evolving. This is one of the most critical things when it comes to web design. There is nothing worse than going to a site which has not been updated or overhauled in a long time (yes, I am rebuilding mine). There is constant evolution of Kinky Machine, and the recent release of Lee's photo book "Generation Fetish" . I have not as yet seen this book, but as I stated before when I get some cash... It contains 368 pages, and 330 images, making well worth the purchase price of $37.95 US (free plug....). The only downside to the review was the apparent death of the video section. I was very interested to see the work of Lee on moving imagery, but alas the net gods were not shining, and I was greeting by a stack of 'file not found' errors and the like. The best thing about the fault is that is was the only thing I could fault in the site. Overall, kinkymachine.com is a brilliant example of an online portfolio and should be on everyone's check-back list. I must admit that I go there on average once a week. Yes. I know, but the art is such a source of both inspiration and techniques that I consider it a must see. |
Vanishing Tattoo
Have you ever wondered about the origins of the tattoo? Vanishingtattoo.com takes you on one man's adventure across the world to find the origin of the tribal tattoo. Find out if there are any 'real' tattoos left as you follow the voyage of the "Indiana Jones" of tattooing. Travel with Vancouver tattoo artist Thomas Lockhart as he journies
to remote locations such as Borneo, Samoa, Tahiti and more. Along the way
you will be exposed to old masters of the tattoo craft and you can view over
This is a very enjoyable site. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry and you won't want to stop until you have viewed each section. Well, it may not make you cry, but you will be glued to you chair as Lockhart recounts his experiences of the places he has been and the people he has met. Vanishingtattoo.com takes you on a voyage unlike another body modification site. It will educate you and entrance you. Though the tattoo may be only skin deep, its significance can run as deep as the soul. -Thomas Lockhart  Images courtesy of Vanishing Tattoo |
twenty facinating body art and tattoo photo galleries. If all that isn't
reason enough to go to vanishingtattoo.com then go try their tattoo trivia
quizzes, or view their web's biggest list of celebrity tattoos.