Dan Kitchens

Winter has come to LA...

In many parts of the US, the winter means freezing temperatures, snow, and ice, but in LA we continue to have pretty balmy weather, but with a smattering of stormy weather that allows for some lushness to creep back into the barren landscape.  People here are used to the sun and the warmth and wouldn't even think to hike in the middle of a rainstorm, as doable as it is.  All this makes winter my favorite time to hike the trails around Los Angeles - they feel alive with moisture, and ye...

Night Swimmer (Preview)

I have only rarely attempted to shoot at night in a pool.  All the attempts have had mixed results - usually I end up with a a lot of blurry or blown out shots because the lens can find the subject in the dark (I have yet to properly do a night shoot with external lighting pointing into the pool - hopefully this summer), and I end up with a lot of wonky images and get frustrated and put off the idea of shooting at night anymore.  

Lately though I have been revisiting those wonky...

Alexis in the Redwoods - BTS

This set of 14 hi-res images and 2 videos is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

Behind the scenes stuff from my 3 day road trip to Redwood National Park with my friend Alexis.

Del Norte Redwoods with Alexis

This set of 24 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

There isn't any place on earth like the tiny sliver of land that encompasses the entire range of the Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on Earth.  They only exist in a narrow range from the coast to about 30 miles inland from Central California at the southern end to about 15 miles into Southern oregon to the north. The groves of re...

Humboldt Redwoods with Alexis

This set of 23 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

Alexis and I had never met when i scooped her up from her family's house in the Bay Area in June 2015, so it was kind of an odd feeling to meet her mother before driving off with her for a 3 night trip into the wilderness of far Northern California to photograph her. She had never been up to the Redwoods, and hadn't done much modeling, but we...

Alexis in the Redwoods (Preview)

Coming right up for my $5+ patrons, images from a trip to the Redwoods of Northern California with my friend Alexis.  We went up there to do a cosplay shoot for her, but also got to do some exploring without her cos on as well...

Cacia's California Dream

This set of 16 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

Cacia Zoo underwater in Ladera Heights, Los Angeles, CA in July 2014. I am a pretty unfocused photographer when I get in water. Its definitely my happy place, especially if there are nude bodies in the water. The problem is either forget to shoot, or can...

Cacia bathing in the California Sun

This set of 20 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

Cacia Zoo underwater in Ladera Heights, Los Angeles, CA in July 2014. Most of these images I treated with a very specific color treatment that gives (at least to me) a feeling of nostalgia, like a faded photo. I don't typically "filter"my images like this, but this parti...

Cacia in floating in the Haze

This set of 22 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

Cacia Zoo underwater in Ladera Heights, Los Angeles, CA in July 2014.

Cacia California Dreamin'

I recently found and re-edited this set, from one of many times Cacia Zoo and I have gone skinny dipping, that we shot in Los Angeles back in July of 2014 when Cacia was staying with me while in California for a modeling trip. 

We went to a friend's pool that I had rarely ever shot in, and it had such a different feel from my usual pools - wide open with some palm trees next to it that gave it a really California vib...

Lydia at El Matadors

I have been using 'the Archive", a folder to which $20+ Patrons have access, as a means of motivating myself to go back through old shoots to re-edit them, and delete unnecessary files. I've been saving out sets of JPGs (sometimes big sets - this shoot of Lydia produced 54 images I was satisfied enough with to share) so as to have a record of them online.  

Its quite amusing to go back through those old memories, think about the person and the situation in the photos and the stream of mem...

New Exclusive Additions to the Archive

2 more sets were added in the last half of November to the Archive folder for patrons at the $20+ tiers (I added 4 exclusive sets in November in all).  For those with access to the folder, go look for these new sets: Ari at Deep Creek and Kai in Blacklight.  

Sunset in California - Anna

I haven't really been shooting at all the last couple months, and have been away in Hawaii the last 5 weeks, but i came home briefly for the Thanksgiving holiday and had an acquaintance from the Ukraine visiting Los Angeles, so she crashed at my place for a few nights and we went to see the sunset  at my favorite tide pool.  

Surprisingly, Anna was afraid to make her way down the path worn into the slope...

Alex underwater

Two physical things that i have been really drawn to when seeking out underwater models are shaved heads and tattoos.  I am so drawn to women that have the attitude to proudly bare their scalp to the world, and also really love to see the mixing of ink and bubbles underwater and want to compile a whole series of images of really inked bodies underwater.

While i search for those models that can fit either of these AND are comfortable swimming and sinking and photograph well under the water...

Poolplaytime with Cacia (BTS)

This set of 26 images and a video is now Archived and available only to Archive Patrons and above. Upgrade to check it out!

Cacia Zoo  skinny dipping in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA in Octob...

Poolplaytime with Cacia (Extras)

This set of 29 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

More shots from a pool day with Cacia Zoo in Los Angeles back in October 2014.

Poolplaytime with Cacia

From a random pool day with Cacia Zoo back in October 2014. We had a good day skinny dipping and I enjoying an autumn heat wave in LA.

Up to 85 hi-res images and a video coming for my various tiers in the next 36 hours.

Poolside with Cacia

This set of 28 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

These LOOK like summertime photos, but I live in Los Angeles, so these are actually shot in October (Autumn), but well, sometimes summer refuses to give up its grip on our city until November.  Cacia was staying at my house for a week or so before we went on a 5 day drive to Northern California, but took the opportunity of warm weather t...

Poolside with Cacia

This wasn't a proper shoot by any means (ie - we didn't pick a good time of day for light, I didn't have any "real" cameras with my either for above or below the water), but Cacia and I had so much fun on this particular day at the pool that I think these GoPro and iPhone images are still worth posting for you all to enjoy... 

2017-11-15 20:47:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Two Very Different "Water Nymph" sets...

Only for "Archive Patrons" ($20 or more per month), I have added two sets depicting very different "woman in water" experiences I photographed in California last autumn. Lilith in tide pools at Palos Verdes in September 2016, and Sara practicing ...

Mojave Freedom - Tasha (BTS)

 This set is now Archived and available only to Archive Patrons and above. Upgrade to check it out!

Shot while taking a weeklong road trip  around California with my friend Tasha in December 2016.  I love to observe the emotions a person goes through when...

Mojave Freedom - Tasha (Extras)

This set of 17 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

Besides shooting along a random stretch of highway between Joshua Tree and Death Valley during our California road trip last December, Tasha and I also go up for sunrise in Death Valley to see some sand dunes. It was only about 40°F (especially cold for someone from Tropical Southeast Asia like Tasha), but she really wanted to help me make a...

Spontaneous Double Shoot - Jess (BTS)

 This set is now Archived and available only to Archive Patrons and above. Upgrade to check it out!

Just a bit of info regarding the location Jess and I were walking at: Its Charmlee P...

An Unplanned Double Shoot

I mostly shoot my friends (models usually intimidate me with their skill!), but usually there is some sort of plan to take pictures when we go out hiking.  I remember this one day in March of last year when I was feeling stressed out about artwork, and my friend Jess was going through all kinds of personal drama in her life, and we both agreed we needed to get outside for the day and planned to go to the beach in...

November Previews....

of a few sets coming this month! Stay tuned!
For those not subscribed - Patrons at the $5 tier typically get a set of 15-25 high-res images each week, and the $10 tier gets a second set on top of that with more images from the same shoot, and $15 tier patrons get those sets and a set of behind the scenes and alternate images, plus usually a brief video taken at the shoot that is downloadable.  Those in the $20 tier get all those sets each week, and also access to the Archive, which has a...

Neon Ghost - Sara (BTS)

 This set is now Archived and available only to Archive Patrons and above. Upgrade to check it out!

Usually my wife leaves me to it when I have a model over shooting, but once she saw the water in the bath start glowing she got super into it and later had the idea ...

Neon Ghost - Sara (preview)

Mining more darker stuff for this Halloween week.  This was the second time I shot with my friend Sara Haase, who is an amazing painter.  She had brought so much to this shoot - her own skills as a nude artists' life drawing model, her creative eye, and also the idea of how to make bath water GLOW! The results were amazing and I can't wait to do it more in the future.

A lot more from this shoot coming thi...

Ghostly Skeleton - Lexi

I had always wanted to use this sheer lace skeleton dress in an underwater shoot and finally brought it along when I shot Lexi in the pool.  These stark treatments seem a good fit for Halloween week...  

2017-10-27 19:40:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Celia in Autumn - BTS

 This set is now Archived and available only to Archive Patrons and above. Upgrade to check it out!

Looking back - this was SUCH a nice day of discovery - discovering how this place I spend so much time in looked in the autumn, and discovering such a fine human sou...

Technicolor Vampire

I already posted sets from this shoot with Celia in Angeles National Forest from when we hiked there last Autumn, but realized I didn't post images of her in this vivid Eley Kishimoto coat.  I just might have to post double sets this week! Also check Celia's instagram as she has been doing some fun stuff - digitally drawing over some nudes I shot of her - her art is SO fun.  

Dozens of uncensored ima...