New Photos and new toys on DBatesPhoto.com.

If you have seen my latest three blog posts sent from Flickr. Last night I posted a few samples of the latest photos from a group shoot I attended earlier this month. Over a dozen more with more to come have been posted in the DFS 2009 album.

Alaphotoman, Luther Horton a good friend and photographer, and Devin, one of my long time favorite models to work with, along with a little help from me and others set up the shoot and it was a fun one. The weather gave us fits for a little while. A heavy rain storm hit just as we headed to lunch. Luckily it cleared out while we were eating, but temps climbed and the air was so thick it was not very comfortable until an afternoon shower came along to cool things back down without forcing us to shut down.

We had some Beautiful models show up, Kimberly who I first met at the shoot hosted by Devin last year, DFS 2008; Felicia of www.ModelFelicia.com , who I have been shooting for over 5 years; Paula and Cassie who I met earlier this summer at the Southern Belle Model Shoot 2009; Sunda who I have been shooting a few years now as well as some new faces. RJ Clark and Sharon Bailey were there as well shooting along with Devin's Husband, Heath. We kept him pretty busy showing folks around and all last year so he did not get to break out his camera much and Devin stayed around the house more as a host. This year since we had a smaller group and most of us knew the location a little they were able to enjoy themselves a little more. Like I said it was a fun day and we are already working on the next one.

Now for the new toys here on DBatesPhoto.com, Since I am interested in hearing what people have to say about my work I have added two new items. First is something I added back in December, but it has not been used much. So I want to point out that I have added a Guestbook. The other new feature is a rating system in the galleries. Beneath each photo or photo album you will see a set of 5 stars. Clear stars means that image or album has not been voted on yet. Colored stars have been rated on a 5 star system; Bad, below average, Average, Above average or Great.

Would really like to hear what you all think.

Sunda from DFS 2009

Kim_IMGP6718_fe, originally uploaded by dbatesphoto.

I met Kimberly at the first TVP shoot on the Farm last year and have been looking forward to working with her again since then. She changed her look quite a bit and looked great. So I spent a good bit of the day working with Kim and look forward to shooting with her again. Expect to see much more out of her in the future.

See more of Kimberly and others from the shoot at:
http://www.dbatesphoto.com/gallery/main.php/v/latest_shots/DFS2009/

Felicia_IMGP6851_fe, originally uploaded by dbatesphoto.

Felicia has been one of my favorite models to work with for years. I first met her over five years ago at a TVP Group shoot and I have really enjoyed watching her grow as a model as well as a Beautiful young lady. She missed our shoot at the Farm last year, but this year she was back better than ever. While her site has not been updated in quite a while you can view tons of photos of her in my Portfolio as well as various shoots since 2004.

See more of Felicia and other models at :
http://www.dbatesphoto.com/gallery/main.php/v/latest_shots/DFS2009/

cassie_IMGP6914_fe, originally uploaded by dbatesphoto.

First Met Cassie at a TVP group shoot earlier this year. While being a new model she shows a lot of promise and I look forward to seeing her at future shoots. See more of her and other models from the shoot at:
http://www.dbatesphoto.com/gallery/main.php/v/latest_shots/DFS2009/

Happy Independence Day

"Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God" Tomb of Unknown Soldier Arlington Cemetery, photo by Nicholas Bates edited by Donald Bates DBatesPhoto


I just wanted to wish everyone a Safe and fun Independence day. Many have today off and are already on the road heading to their holiday vacation if not already celebrating today. I am taking it easy may do a little shopping later. Tomorrow I am planning on doing like many having a picnic with family. My dad and brother just got back home last night after spending a week in Virginia with another brother and his family. While there they went to DC for the day visited many of the monuments, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and Arlington. They were having problems with the camera I loaned them and did not shoot much, but my brother did get this one and I felt it was worth sharing and definitely serves as a good reminder of what this holiday is all about. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery.

If you have never been there be sure to at least view their website http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org The history behind the cemetery is as interesting as the history made by many of the people laid to rest and honored there. They truly have made America what it is today and serve as a reminder of the price we pay for the reason we are celebrating.

While grilling out and shooting fireworks this weekend please take a moment to remember what we truly are Celebrating. We may not always agree with how our Government is run these days, but We at least have the freedom and in fact the obligation to speak out and do our best to change it for the better. Around the world many of the freedoms we take for granted people are still fighting and dying for. Rarely a week passes without another soldier giving the ultimate sacrifice so that we can remain Free as well as hopefully one day share our freedom with others around the globe.

Have fun and stay safe this weekend, but while enjoying the food, fun and fireworks just pause for a second to honor and pay tribute to all of those that have paid for our freedom with their blood, those that continue to fight for freedom around the world as well as their families that sacrifice more than most can imagine.

Thank you all

I wanted to take a few moments to thank everyone for making 2008 a GREAT year for DBatesPhoto.com

Yesterday December 17, 2008 by 2:00 AM DBatesPhoto.com hit a milestone 100,000 Unique Visitors for the year. Not a major event for some sites, but it is quite an improvement over the 64,000 we just passed our first year on current server. I do not have records prior to January 9, 2007 due to server change and backup failure, but the site had only been active two weeks so I doubt there had been a ton of traffic.

With the holidays approaching I was expecting things to slack off, but it looks like if things keep up the site may hit a second milestone with a record month as well. I wanted to take the time to thank you all for visiting the site, referring your friends and coming back over the years.

With 2009 nearly here I am looking forward to it being an even bigger and better year. I have already implemented a few new improvements to the site. The Guest book is already online and ready to go. Please sign it and let me know what you think of the site and mention any ideas you have for improving the site. As you can see I have added a blog that I will be using often. I am planning a few shoots and while there may not be as many new models as there used to be I will be doing my best to add fresh photos frequently and am looking for new models in the area to work with on numerous projects.

Before I close I want to say once again Thank you all for coming to my site. Merry Christmas, I hope you have a Safe and Happy Holiday season.

Bettie Mae Page
1923-2008

Legendary pinup Model, Bettie Page subject of the 2005 film The Notorious Bettie Page starring Gretchen Mol passed away Thursday the 11^th of December 2008 of complications from a heart attack she suffered December 02, 2008. She is said to have died peacefully in the Los Angeles hospital where she has been being treated never regaining consciousness.

Born Bettie Mae Page in 1923 she grew up in Tennessee. She graduated in Nashville as Salutatorian and was voted most likely to Succeed prior to receiving a scholarship to George Peabody College in Nashville. She worked as a secretary and studied acting while planning to become a teacher. She never dreamed a short career as a model started by a Police Officer and amateur Photographer asking her to pose would turn her into one of the most Legendary faces of the 1950s.

The amateur photographer Jerry Tibbs opened a new world to Bettie and introduced the world to one of the most recognizable models of the last 50 years. Her mail order photos with Irving Klaw and his sister Paula made her the first known Bondage model and still arguably one of the most famous. Her often controversial photos led her to be called to testify before the US Senate. While excused from actually testifying many of the negatives from her shoots with Klaw were destroyed and many more of the remaining photos were classified illegal to print. In 1954 while on vacation in Florida she met former model turned Photographer Bunny Yeager. Yeager was so amazed by her photographs she contacted an up and coming magazine publisher, Hugh Hefner. She appeared the following year in the January 55 issue as the Playboy Playmate of the month wearing only a Santa hat and hanging a Christmas tree ornament.

Heffner told the AP on Thursday, "I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society ... She was a very dear person." Her Photos with Yeager and Klaw along with Hefner’s Playboy Magazine are considered to have helped jumpstart the Sexual Revolution of the 60s and 70s. Asked about her legendary status she was quoted as saying "I don't know what they mean by an icon. I never thought of myself as being that. It seems strange to me. I was just modeling, thinking of as many different poses as possible. I made more money modeling than being a secretary. I had a lot of free time. You could go back to work after an absence of a few months. I couldn't do that as a secretary."

As quickly as she appeared she disappeared. While there have been many reasons for her disappearance including numerous claims of her death, most likely it was due to the fact that On New Years Eve 1958 she walked into a small church in Key West, Florida and came out with a renewed religious belief. She began attending the church and became a born again Christian. Over the next two decades she worked for many Christian organizations including working full time for the Evangelist Billy Graham. In the late 80s and 90s she resurfaced. While refusing to be photographed or appearing publicly she did sit down for a few interviews including Playboy in 1998. She often remarked that she wanted to be remembered as she was in her photos.

Her disappearing at the pinnacle of her career to become a secretary or religious missionary living a troubled life is hard to forget, but I chose to remember the Iconic Sex Symbol, the Raven haired Beauty with the Perfect figure and Gorgeous smile that attracted national attention with her risqué poses. While she may be gone, her photos will continue to keep her legend alive for decades to come.

Test post, originally uploaded by dbatesphoto.

2008 has been a very busy and crazy year. Unfortunately with so much going on in my personal life it has not left much time for getting out and shooting. In Mid September I took the day off to spend some time with friends and meeting some new ones at a group shoot. The image here is one of the better ones from the day and has already received more than a few favorable nods.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed shooting it and the others from that day.

With just a few shopping days left before Christmas and not a lot of time left in 2008 either I just wanted to say hello and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday.