Musings in Search of a Muse

Another stunning woman


Maiko Kazano

Unfortunately I have only this part of the image. The original is really a stunning photograph overall -- lighting (soft yet still directional and able to show texture in the hair), pose (implicit rather than explicit nudity initially masked by attention-grabbing incongruity while the tilt of the head, the three-quarter view on the face, the expression, and the framing effect of the hair are perfect), environment (complimentary in tone yet with enough juxtaposition of textures that contrast her flawless skin and setting content to give a hint of tension), and composition (a classic left-to-right sloping S-curve that starts at the face and brings the viewer back). But it's the face that really caught me so I cropped out the nudity. Okay, it wasn't graphic nudity, but enough that it's an certainly an adult art photo and enough that if I looked at it often or at length the primitive male would take over from the rational male. That's not good for one who is struggling to maintain Christian values.

I really like great portraiture and the work I've seen on the Web with Miss Kazano -- even the nudes -- certainly falls into this group. She seems so fresh and relaxed with the camera. Rather playful, too, which seems to be unusual in Japanese portraiture. There's the requisite school girl outfit shots typical of the culture, of course, but more than a few of the images feature Miss Kazano in natural environments doing everyday things and enjoying it. I'm glad I saved this part of the image because it's for great tiled as wallpaper on the ol' puter.