Other photographers are very successful in capturing intimacy between two models, even two models who had not worked together previously. Just consider the work of D. Brian Nelson posted in Hotel Room Nudes. With only this single session to my credit, there’s clearly opportunity for more exploration. Watched Frida last night, for the umpteenth time. Aside from the story, which is carried off very nicely by Salma Hayek, I noticed for the first time the character Ashley Judd plays: Tina Modotti. As a student of photography will recognize, Modotti, a beautiful woman born in Italy, was an accomplished photographer in her own right, one of Edward Weston’s models and lovers, and intertwined with the California/Mexico circle of photographers and artists that included Kahlo and Diego Rivera. (In the scene where we meet Modotti (Judd), Rivera also mentions Manuel Alvarez Bravo — if you don’t know his work, including some striking nudes, much of it may be seen on the Internet.) To read more about the photographic and personal relationships among Weston, Modotti and another female photographer named Margrethe Mather, I suggest Margrethe Mather and Edward Weston: A Passionate Collaboration.
