Nylon + Duct Tape + Angelique = Tasty Strict Bondage

Like smooth and shiny damsels? Try nylon encasement!

In my early days of shooting I learned a valuable lesson: get a model naked early and film that material as soon as possible. Is this because I like naked girls? No, although I love naked girls. Is this because I'm a huge pervert? No, although I am a huge pervert. Is this because I enjoy the idea of just meeting a model and having her stripped down and helpless on my carpet? I plead the fifth on that one.

Models today almost never bail on a shoot or even a position. There are so many people who will accept being made into a human pretzel, that will endure having their mouths stuffed to overflowing, that don't even blink an eye when the magic wand turns on and turns into an erotic jack-hammer that the field of competition is very level. This wasn't always the case. There was a time when I would send out 25 emails and hope for one model to accept my oh-so-strange offer of tying them up and filming it. Many of these girls had never experienced bondage and if they had it fell far short of the tightness I put them through. The number of shoots I had end early or even after the first set far outnumbered getting all the material I had pain-painstakingly planned for in the days before the shoot. Don't feel sorry for me. I knew full well that most girls could not or would not deal with the Ted Michaels experience. I took the risk willingly because compromise on strict bondage is like negotiation with a hand grenade. I have no interest in it and the result is something blowing up in my face.

The answer came out of pure economics. I learned that many models could not deal with my bondage. I knew I would not compromise on my restraint. I accepted that some would leave early. This is a good place to add that my rate included partial or full nudity. I was shooting a lot but getting no nude work from my collaborators. The answer was simple. Open the door, greet the model politely, explain the shoot and then tell her to put on the birthday suit. In those days this usually resulted in a little surprise because after all getting tied and gagged by a complete stranger but having him see you nude after knowing him five minutes was another. They always stopped worrying about the awkwardness though when the ropes started going on. Funny how your elbows touching for the first time totally takes your mind off of sitting naked in a strange man's living room.

The first time I worked with Angelique she wasn't shy about being nude. She was already an accomplished fine art model. It seemed natural to get her nude right away and then cover her with nylon and duct tape. I haven't done the position in a long time, but I called it the hogtie trainer then. Model's like to cheat on hogties by grabbing the ropes with their hands. The trainer taught them to endure a hogtie without their hands to take away any strain. Models will also dip their head down when tired prevent those wonderful face shots. The trainer holds their head high for everyone to see. Oddly I chose to blindfold Angelique because showing her gag works just as well. We really need to do this one again. I wonder if she will agree?

Image courtesy of Mummified and Vibed with Angelique Kithos. Available at http://www.clips4sale.com/38048/3814980.

It Takes Two to Tangle

It takes two to tangle!

Sometimes I finish a set and think to myself, "Did that just really happen?" One of the fun aspects of shooting damsel in distress for me is that it can be highly organic. You plan what you want, tell the models the general idea of where things will go and then you go for it. All those plans tend to go out the door when a model is kicking you in the back with a high heel and the other model is trying to hit you in the face. The gags get cinched a little deeper and the ropes get pulled a little tighter.

I am not for one second trying to say that you are mean to the girls. I'm saying that you really do feel a need to get them tied up before you lose an eye! They keep doing things to you that drives you to make things even more secure in order to get them to stop. I recently shot a video with Nyxon and Ludella Hahn where that happened. Nyxon was taken down first and fought me tooth and nail. Ludella was next and as she was being restrained Nyxon was kicking me and hitting me while Ludella tried to work free Nyxon's knots. I really felt I needed to do a great job or they'd get loose or at least make me see stars.

After long minutes of constant fighting against me I finally had them both bound hand and foot and face down on the floor. I knew that they'd get themselves loose and pondered where to go next. The original position was supposed to be both of them on the floor sitting next to each other and making pathetic whining noises. Then I distinctly heard one of the girls sputter through her gag, "wait until he goes and we'll untie each other."

That sealed the deal. After being kicked, scratched and having to fight for every rope I got onto each girl I knew what had to be done. I wrapped gauzed tightly around their already gagged faces to make that type of talk more limited and then made some magic. I hogtied both of them but together in a way where one's ankles went to the others elbows. It was tight, kept them away from the knots and made every movement by one agony for the other. It was an absolutely wonderful final position born totally out of my competetive need to make sure that the wily Ludella and escape-artist Nyxon did not escape my ropes. And they didn't!

Image courtesy of Tightly Tangled Twosome with Nyxon & Ludella Hahn.

Bitgags make for great drooling!

When I was working with Natalie Minx I heard her on the phone say something like, "mostly ballgags." This was soon followed by, "I guess nobody buys clips with bitgags." The very next set I decided to use a bitgag because I don't find that to be true. I use a healthy mix of gags focusing on ballgags, layered gags and bitgags. I don't find a huge difference between the three which leads me to believe there are fans of all of them.

For me the gag should compliment the strengths of the damsel as well as be a challenge. Ballgags are an obvious challenge because they fill up the mouth and distort the lips. They look like a pain to deal with. Layered gags are a challenge just because they are. They compress your face, make you hot and soak you in your own drool. They're just not comfortable and make for a great damsel feel.

The reason I think a bitgag is just as challenging is that my bitgags are pliable like a ball but cylindrical instead of spherical. They sit in the mouth and can curve to allow them to be strapped in just as tightly as a ballgag. This lets them pinch deeply into the cheeks. Even better there is no way the damsel can stop from drooling. Natalie has a wonderful face, beautiful lips and drools like crazy. Why would I not bitgag her?

Courtesty of Ravishing Redhead Ready for Rope!

Natalie Minx Learns the Ropes

I had the great pleasure of working with Natalie Minx for two days while she was in the area. I had actually dialoged with her a couple times through email over the last three years but to no avail. Either she was in the area while I was traveling or I was available and she was on the West coast. Such is the way with these things. Timing can be a very cruel mistress.

When she contacted me again this time it was for a period smack in the middle of my most busy shooting schedule in the last five years. What was I to do? I said they hell with it is what I did. I threw caution to the wind and made the time. You can tell I was pleased with her modeling abilities because one day of shooting turned into more shooting the next day. When you like the material you are generating you take advantage of the time you have available.

The first position we did was jacked to say the least. It featured a massive panty gag with tight taping and a mile of rope that resulted in a chair tie that became a vicious hogtie. I was sold at that point but after the next position being just as stringent with both restraint and gag I was officially hooked as a Natalie Minx fan. The rest of the two days were filled with punishing gags, intricate positions, super-heroines in distress and some of the most sensual and realistic struggling I've ever seen. When Natalie kept re-iterating that this was the toughest bondage she's endured in a very long time I knew we had some great material. Even better she is an absolutely lovely person to talk to. Angelique and I highly enjoyed finally getting the chance to work with her and get to know her a little bit.

The first release with Natalie is called Ravishing Redhead Ready for Rope. It was actually the last scene shot on day one and features a glam restraint that progresses into a difficult standing tie and finally a rigid strappado. If you want the definition of strict bondage take everything you think and push it aside for a moment. Doing one set with someone that is just plain strict is one thing. Doing a FULL DAY of sets with them and ending it with a strict strappado ... that is strict bondage!

Please tie me up!

I really think too much about what I'm going to say sometimes, especially in this blog. It's really not as hard as I make it. I tie people up for a living ... write about that. See, that was easy. I've always been that way when it comes to writing though. Over-analysis lead to paralysis, and I really over-analyze anything written. They hell with that, let's talk about tying people up!

The rest of the year is pretty much petal-to-the-metal when it comes to shooting. I have customs, shoots, drawings, DVDs and everything else bondage coming out of my ears. And I love it. First up we have Hannah Perez. My wife has wanted to put her in a super-heroine outfit for a while now, and that means I get to be a bad guy most likely. If that's not lucky enough I have my own shoot with her split between some custom work and what I'm sure Ms. Perez will consider incredibly jacked restraint. That's in 3-days so we're in the planning stages. I'm thinking right now we'll do a take on the whole "please tie me up" burglar scenario and perhaps the hogtie from hell series. I haven't seen any encasement work with her either, so I'm sure we'll do at least one nylon and a lot of duct tape scene!

A trio of firsts!

This has got to be one of my favorite images of all time. I mean, it's of my wife the lovely Angelique Kithos but I liked it before we even started getting serious. It breaks my heart to this day that there is no video of it, but that's what happens. You shoot video and go to yourself, "that would have made a great photo." Then you're taking photos and you realize that you're missing on on great video. Regardless, I got a wonderful photo and that's all that matters.

The first thing that jumps out at me are that Angelique's expression is perfect. I asked her how she could pull it off and she said at the time she literally hated me. Photographers do this thing that really piss models off. They say they need 5 more shots and then they see an angle that is just too good to pass up so they take 3 more shots. I think this was the 14th or so shot past that, but it was worth it. Anyway, she was sore and hurting and pissed off. She didn't call the safe-word though, so she must have know the material was going to be good.

The next thing that makes it special is that she has wonderful legs. The angle makes them look even longer and they run right up to those pulled-down panties. The really special part is her breasts and arms. She had done some tough bondage, but I was the one that got those elbows to touch. I also convinced her to do real breast bondage. So there she is, shoulders on fire, breasts aching, panties at her knees, drooling on herself and almost 20 shots past the point where she absolutely couldn't take it anymore. And yet she let me keep shooting. It's not a bad day of shooting when your first shoot with someone ends with her elbows toughing, her breasts bound and her naked ass sitting on your couch.

Ted Michaels

Hogtied Hottie and Microwave Madness

Ever notice that almost everything in the world uses a different kind of light bulb? I have. Ever notice that the things that you use almost all of the time have the type of bulbs you just can't go to the store and grab? I have. I ran into this with my strobes a bit back. They modeling lamps look like regular bulbs but no, they have a wacky wattage that required me to special order them. I ran into this with my television recently. I couldn't even order the bulb for that. Well I could, but I couldn't get the retailer/repair pricing which doubled the price. As such the television has been sitting at the repair shop for weeks. Now the microwave bulb goes out. How hard can that be to replace? I mean, it's just tiny, 3-way bulb. Hell, that's the worst of the bunch. The bulb needs to be ordered from the manufacturer.

That's why I decided to work on a clip based on the idea of someone getting their just desserts rather than misfortune falling on them. I released a story called Date with Welded Elbows a bit back. It's actually the second part of a series where two Sisters are set to inherit some money. One wants it all though and hires a goon to keep her Sister occupied during the reading of the will, thereby forfeiting her claim to half of a fortune. The sinister scheme backfires though when she has the audacity to question the ability of her hired man to get the job done. He shows her he's up to the task with tight ropes and welded elbows.

It was the first time I'd worked with Victoria and the first time she ended up in a jacked hogtie precariously balanced on a chair. I'll give it to her though. She drooled like hell and never broke character as the strands flew everywhere. See Victoria Ashley's first shoot appearance with me and discover how Date with Welded Elbows came to be in He Crushed My Elbows Because I Wanted Proof.V

Hogtied and Hurting

You know that you put a lot of rope on someone when you keep extra rope on hand just in case but you still have to go get even more. The last time I had to do that was when I had about 600 feet on Angelique Kitos for her version of the hogtie challenge! I used 200 feet alone for her arms on that one.

That happened with this hogtie as well. It was supposed to be a 300-foot hogtie challenge for a custom video request, something I've done a number of times. As such, I had 400 feet handy just in case. After I had her arms almost completely encased in rope, I knew I was going to run short so I had to break out 100 feet more to finish the tie!

It sounds like a lot of rope, but that thin cord goes fast. I like a lot of coverage on these ties, so it takes at least twice as much of the cord as it does the nylon rope I normally use. Thirty bucks in cotton cord doesn't sound like much but for one position that's a lot of rope! I can get 1000 feet of nylon rope for that much. It's worth it though. The challenges are fun ... correction, fun for me. They also seem to be popular with people.

So, what's notable about this sequence. Oh yeah, 500 feet of rope and a jacked hogtie! Kerri Taylor did a wonderful job on this one aptly dubbed 500 Feet Equals Hogtied and Hurting.

Sometimes losing a bet is a win

I shot again with Kerri Taylor recently and have to say again that I'm amazed at the material I get out of her. We were chatting about some crazy stuff people had tried to get her to do, and I quipped that I'd better cross that off the list for today. She responded with I can try what I want because she knows I'll get her out fast if she needs relief.

In the middle of shooting I was explaining a position, and she started teasing me about it. Granted it was a chicken wing hogtie and frogtie, but she really thought it sounded silly. I told her that it's a no-joke position, the kind that is agony from the start and hell near the finish. She told me that she could take anything, so we made a little bet. If she could hold out for 6 minutes from the time I finished tying, I'd make the last set an easier one. If she had to bail, she owed me one more short set at the end of the day.

The banter was playful until we got to the chicken wing. Her elbows were already smashed together and when those wrists went up to her shoulders she knew it was going to be a challenge. By the time I did that extra pull on the hogtied to get things tight she was already making noises of strain. We got the gag on and away we went. My job was to move the camera around her and get the right panning. She really couldn't do much. The position basically made her furniture. She wiggled her fingers and a foot, but she mostly made pained grunts.

Her face showed the strain and as minutes ticked by she was really gutting things out. I gave her the option to bail multiple times, but she wouldn't let me. After 6 minutes I lifted her head up and told her to say, "I win, you suck!" She didn't sound happy. I ungagged her and she begged me to be quick. I could hear in her voice she was just about to lose it, so I cut her elbows. I filmed the complete untying so people would know just how hard models have to work for these positions. She could have tapped out at any time and basically put herself through hell to one-up me. And she did. She won! Of course, I won too because the video made a killer clip of what happens when a rigger and a model decide to go toe-to-toe.

Check out Kerri Taylor in Tied to the Point of Tears if you want to see a great position, some real agony and how far Ms. Taylor will push herself to make me lose!

I am "HENCHMAN"

I get to play the assistant to a super villain today which means I'm a henchman. It's not just the shirt that makes me a henchman, even if it does say "HENCHMAN" ... it's that I get to tie up two gals and be, um, henchmanish. As you can tell I'm a firm believer that it's fine to make up words. I'm also a firm believer that it's awesome to have people ask you to do rigging for them. It's great practice to capture (pun intended) the vision of others rather than tie in my own style.

All the intro footage is being shot which leaves me a lot of time before my scene. Well, intro footage if you count two girls tussling and then spanking each other. That gives me plenty of time for updating clips. I still have a bunch of re-masters to finish, but that's not stopping me from getting new things done as well. I showed a sneak peek from a clip yesterday, and it's actually up today. It stars Angelique Kithos and Kerri Taylor in They Wore Tight Skirts and Rope That Hurts. It was a fun one because tight spaces are always a challenge for lighting and filming. It requires models that know how to keep moving and are smart enough to let me see that their elbows are tied even though they're jammed into a tight corner!

Ever clip I shoot there's always a scene that I kick myself for not filming. For this clip I shot a short intro of them pleading. Then I tied their elbows and chests and asked them to move into the doorway. Why I didn't take a photo of them from behind with those arms tied is beyond me. I was just in a hurry to get the scene going. The moral of the story is that I have a small digital camera for candid shots for a reason! Maybe next time :)

Tight Skirts and Ropes That Hurt

The last couple of days have been fun and exciting, and interlaced with some oddness as well. We've been hosting the charismatic Kerri Taylor while she's shooting in NC, and that means we got a big chunk of her time. I shot a boat load of maxed out bondage before anyone else got time with her. Sorry everyone for the rope marks! We got in a requested set of a bikini and belts, a storyline video where Kerri gets tied up for an insurance scam, a hogtie variation that I think was tough based on her continuing to say, "ow ow ow" and capped things off with a pile of rope, electrical tape, duct tape and a stocking hood position. That was day one of of her visit!

Yesterday we shot for Angelique's store where Kerri Canary rescues Wonder Kithos from a vicious chair tie only to end up subdued and in a cranked hogtie. When there are no visible gaps from wrists to elbows you have a tight position. Later two rival crime fighters tussle over who will capture a villain but the villain ends up getting the drop on them. The reveal scene is priceless as well as their bickering at the end!

Tomorrow Jack McNaughton stops by with his big box of super heroine goodies. I get to play the bad guy. Experience has taught me that Angelique will most likely draw blood because she gets me back for all the tight ties when I play the villain in Jack's videos. I'll still have a chance to grapple with both gals and tie 'em up tight so I can't complain.

Other than that it snowed, I got to use my new lights, my ankle is hosed again, I ran out of gas taking Kerri to the car rental place; oh yeah, I almost forgot. I tied Angelique and Kerri together in a very unique two-girl tie. Elbows welded, they both dealt with a tough one. I'll put up the video in tomorrow's update, but I'll give you a sneak peek tonight :)

There are bees in my head!

My brain is buzzing today from working it at all levels. I'm in the middle of a complete re-mastering of my C4S store front, and the level of activity has been full throttle. I'm having to create new preview images, stay in email touch with tech support, update descriptions, re-master videos and create new sample images. Since re-masters can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes, I'm trying to stay busy while those churn by working on all the rest. This means that my brain is switching between lobes constantly, and I'm burning on about 8 things at once at any given time.

I needed a bit of a break to let the buzzing in my head calm down, so I'm updating my blog while I sip wine and have a couple of slices of cheese! I will say that Shannon at C4S is a God-send. She acknowledged a tweet I made within minutes and jumped on the problem I was having. The short version is that previews sell clips and they were broken for my store. She's hand-generated previews for me and cracked the whip at programmers for several days now and after 8 days of issues my store is acting like normal. Phew!

I always like to make whiskey sours when life throws me lemons, so the revamp continues and I'm loving what it's looking like: better formatting, clearer descriptions, less typos (so unprofessional) and FULL-RES previews. I'm not done though. There are still more images to generate, more previews to render and more full clips to re-render. The end result though is bigger clips at higher bit rates, better color and no more issues with people having codec issues with MPEG2.

My second favorite video clip I've put up just got remastered. It's Angelique in Hooded Hottie Groping Hell. The clip was put up while C4S had stricter guidelines on clips dimensions and file sizes. Those have changed and I've re-mastered in 720x540, 2000 Kbps and stunning color. Oh, and poor Angelique gets the lotus tie of her life and my hands all over her tenders. I love my job!

Finding the groove

Does anyone else constantly fiddle with things? I do. I think it's an integral part of the creative process. Sure, I need to brand myself but evolution of style is important as well. When I started publishing it was after a period of trying to decide what was the best resolution, post-processing effect, bitrate and such. It turns out I was wrong on just about everything lol. The viewer of the material always shows you what works best. Hey, the clip with that lighting sells the most and people prefer this format over that format.

Viewers like 720x540 and 720x480 better, and that is what they should get. Viewers like higher bit rates, and that is what they should have. Additionally, I found a nice way to get lighting similar to how I edit my images which I love. Why shouldn't all my clips look the way I prefer? That creates a dilemma though because I already have dozens of clips up. Do I just leave them and put up new stuff with the revised quality? Do I take the ones that sell the most and re-do them? Do I take the ones that sell the least and re-do those in hopes that the higher quality will get them selling.

I didn't have to face any of those choices though because fate intervened. A number of people who like my clips have been asking for special versions of clips in WMV format. On top of that my previews keep going down which is KEY for people getting a glimpse at the clip. I'm not the type to sit on a broken system or ignore a valid request. The only way I could have reliable previews is if I provided them. This is great for viewers; they get to see full quality previews that contain snippets from a larger portion of the clip. Talk about try before you buy!

In the process of doing previews I realized I had the opportunity to remaster ALL clips while I was at it. I mean, I needed to do previews of EVERY clip so why not spend the time remastering all the clips in the new format and quality. And that's what I'm doing. Slowly, surely I am remastering and swapping out EVERY clip that isn't 720x540 or 720x480 and isn't 2000 kbps. It has taken days so far and will take a couple more, but the long hours are worth it. By this Wednesday I will have 100% revamped my entire storefront on clips4sale. Was it necessary? No, people would have kept buying clips as long as I kept putting them up. But it was the right thing :)

The first clip I remastered and put back up was Angelique in Bed Bound & Busty. It was a snippet of a play session that we decided to film where she is jacked out in brown rope, red panties and killer heels.

Where did she go?

So many people waft in and out of the business. It's no different that any other business, but I've worked with people that just model for a month. For that matter, I've heard of people leave after their first shoot. I can't really blame them though. You think it's one thing and then you get the ropes on and you decide that going back to school isn't such a bad idea! Then there are people that cycle in and out.

I met Renee years ago when I was shooting stock photography for comic books. She had never shot bondage before but had done some wrestling videos. I remember laughing to myself because she said the idea of being tied up seemed a bit rough but had already told me she'd done a dozen or so female wrestling videos where breast punching was involved. Call me crazy but I'd go for jacked restraint over getting punched in the Jimmy a dozen times. Regardless, after several emails we had our first shoot set up and ready to go, and it went great. Not only did her elbows touch, but she felt is was much less rough than she had originally thought. The material looked great, she was a great wiggler and the camera loved her. I immediately signed her up for a second shoot with video.

Then she disappeared. Well, she didn't disappear, but she worked under a manager (I can picture all the producers out there rolling their eyes) and they parted ways. And so our second shoot was foiled. To my surprise, I sent her an email just to touch bases about two years later and a shoot was back on courtesy of her new manager lol. Manager or no, we had two more shoots with some fun video. My style back then was based on cuts to provide drama and minimal moving camera work, mostly due to a crap motion sensor on my camcorder. I sometimes go back to that style because it really does make for good drama. I also tended to add more story to the shooting, so Renee got to play the part of a model that continually promises a bondage shoot but never comes through. Unfortunately this tactic only works so long before she becomes an Unwilling Bondage Model.