By CYAN

After a long day of errand running and appearing on This Week in Startups, I headed to the office to get two hours of pressing work done. I'm going to Sundance next week and I wanted to get as much done as possible so I could take this weekend off. I got into the office, took off my jacket and appreciated the silence. Just as I placed my fingers on the home row on my keyboard and thought to myself how much I loved our new Zivity office, a huge thud sound came from the suite next door. 

BAM. 

Ok, no biggy, someone's redecorating or something over there. It reminded me that I had some framed art I needed to hang in the new place. Good reminder. 

BAM. Then I hear a woman yell, "BASTARD!"

Huh. Clicky. Clicky.

BAM. BAM. BAM. "OH NO HE WON'T!"

I sit up straight in my chair. Was that really coming from next door. I'm second guessing myself now. Maybe it is upstairs.

BAM "I'M GOING TO SMASH THAT ATTITUDE RIGHT OUT OF HIM!!"

Our office is next to a therapist. We've heard some mumbling over there and every now and then we can make a few words or sentences out, but nothing has ever come in this clear.

BAM - groaning noises. grunts. more groaning... roaring like a lion. 

BAM. BAM. BAM.

"MOTHER FUCKER! THIS IS BULLSHIT!"

BAM.

Then I hear two other voices, a man and woman and they are encouraging the woman to hit whatever it is she is hitting and to get out these expressions of anger. I hear their voices say...

"GOOOOOD! THAT'S IT! GET IT OUT. GOOOOOOD. AGAIN"

BAM. BAM.

At this point I'm laughing. I have a good sense of humor. I pull out my iphone and do what every good person does when they hear or see something funny, I share it with the world on Twitter. I can't laugh alone. However, the work I needed to get done, just isn't getting done. My productivity at this point? Completely killed. All I can think about is the bastard she was yelling about and I was thinking about this woman and her life. I was thinking about this strange way of working through her issues and I imagined I was sitting in some sort of Two and Half Men type of comedy show. This wasn't my real life. There were cameras somewhere. Right?

BAM.

I hear a knock on my door. My neighbor wants to know if I'm the one making noise. Nope. Not me. We may have naked ladies, but we're professionals. We're quiet. We're respectful.

BAM. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOU!" groan. groan. groan. grunt. RAWR. Lion sounds.. etc. 

The downstairs neighbor goes to knock on the door and sees a sign on the handle that says, "DO NOT DISTURB, IN SESSION" or something close to that. It was a clear keep the fuck out of here kind of sign. He makes gestures like he's going to knock and says, "screw it, I'm calling the landlord."

He's calling the landlord, so I don't have to. I hear another knock.

BAM!! (they are getting more intense) "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I explain again it isn't me to another neighbor and he knocks on the door...

Knock. Knock. Knock.

BAM. "What?" says one of the coaching voices.

BAM. groan......

Neighbor "Uhm, could you keep it down in there. Nobody out here is able to get work done. At a minimum, could you stop the banging? It is disrupting the whole floor."

Female coaching voice, "NO. We can not. We will not. We are in a session. Go away."

We look at each other. Puzzled. Did she really just say that? Seriously? This is a floor of offices about 600 square feet each with paper thin walls. There's about 10 of them on our floor. 

Female coaching voice, "Give us 10 more minutes and we'll come out and talk to you."

BAM. Encouraging voice, "Keep going. Its ok. Don't stop"

BAM. BAM. BAM. ughhhhhh (now it sounds like groaning grunting sex noises) This woman is going full animal now. She's a fucking bear. I try to picture her in my mind. 

The neighbor goes to call the police. At this point, I also email the landlord. Things are getting tense in the office.

10 solid minutes go on with the banging, the cursing and the getting pounded noises. The woman ends her session with a good laugh and says, "wow, that felt good." I hide. I don't want them to see me. I don't want to see her. I imagine them carting her out of the office with a burlap sack on her head so we never know who she is. I'm afraid I might know her. I just hide. My door is glass and they can see through if I'm not in the perfect hiding position.

It is suddenly quiet. At this point it is 5pm and I need to head home.

I peek around the corner and their office is dark. The neighbor comes back dismayed that they never came to explain the beating noises. We apologize for meeting each other this way. He's annoyed. I'm amused, but also annoyed I didn't get any work done. I'm thankful I have a sense of humor. This guy had more serious work to get done than I did. He threatened to move out. 

Man. What was going on there? What kind of office have we moved into?

How strange.  

YIKES! Ok, so yesterday I was just too excited to get the list out there and sent the wrong numbers. I am so sorry! Seriously. I know how hard all of these artists work and to be on this list is no small feat. Please forgive me. :(

Here are the corrected vote totals and the corrected Top 10. 

Drum roll please..... It's time to share with you the first in our series highlighting the Top Models and Photographers of 2011. First up, we're going to announce the Top Models for 2011 by VOTERS. These are the ladies that had the highest number of members voting on their sets.

Next week we'll share the Top Models of 2011 by VOTES.

Now, enough chatter, on to the winners.....

Congrats to Vivka. Our #1 Top Model of 2011 by Voters.
Hardlit Fur by CorwinPrescottII

#2. Gwendolyn
Dripping Ecstasy by Craigman

#3. Vaunt
No Couch Potato by CorruptImageData

#4. VeraBaby
and a Wooden Box by BoldDaniel

#6. CherieDeville
Morning Light by SadPenguin

It's January and so that means we get to show you the Top 10 Models (by votes) for December! If you don't see your favorite model here drop on by and give her sets some vote love and you might just see her here next month! 

We must have been VERY good this year because Santa gifted us with lots of great new sets. So many in fact, we just had to share some of our favorites with you!

Zivity artists love to shoot sets based around the holidays, and winter is one of the best times of year for it.  From sets shot out in the freezing snow, to beautiful ice queens and so much more, I wanted to explore some of my favourite winter sets!

Kitty13/Pirate Photography

xx

We all have seen his pictures around on the site with the infamous Storm Trooper avatar. World, the man without need for an introduction: Tmronin.

TMronin: <blinks back tears>  Thank you for this...I would like to thank the academy, my hair stylist, my mom...oh wait, I'm not getting an award?!  man...really?  This is like when I entered The Zivity Circa '63 Contest - me and GogoAmy shot an awesome disco ball set with "Staying Alive" blasting in the background...we thought it was Zivity Circa '73!  oo...boogie ooogie ooogie...I, I I...stayin'...oh wait."

Uh...On to the questions...!

Where are you from and how has it affected your work?

Well, I'm from North Carolina but I moved around a lot when I was younger.  By the time I had graduated college - I had attended 15 schools, I was always the shiny New Kid.  I was raised on MTV and WWF wrestling (Charlotte, NC is a professional wrestling Mecca) - so I tend to believe in the Rockstar theory of talent: "when you don't have as much as you would like - Boobs, Backlighting and Bright Colors make up for a lot." hahahahahaha!  I've been in NYC for a bunch of years now and pretty much can't imagine living anywhere else at this moment - the sense of purpose and the insane energy in this town is addicting.

When did you first discover that you wanted to be a photographer? How long have you been doing it since then?

Dad is a very enthuastic advanced amateur photographer (mom's an artist) - so I was surrounded by photography my entire life.  To be honest, I'm kinda amazed that I can see today after all the flash bulbs that went off in my face before I was five.  LOL!  I've always had a camera of some sort and shot a bunch in college until I took my first real photography class.  I realized that I'm not cut out to take artsy blurry shots with really impressive artist manifestos describing what you are supposed to be looking at.  Should have realized then and there, I was destined for a life of commercial photography.  But then I discovered the campus radio station (WKNC in Raleigh, NC).  Fast forward to NYC 2000 while working in the music industry and getting a digital point and shoot camera in trade for a website design.  In 2004, I got a DSLR and discovered that naked girls would sometimes jump in front of it.  So, 8 years later - I am doing my level best not to suck on a daily basis.

What was your journey like at the beginning? What did you struggle with coming into your own as a professional photographer?

I was in a weird position when I started (still am, in ways)  A lot of my music industry friends moved into other fields and figured it's easier to screw me on my rates than get screwed by someone they didn't know.  LOL!  I shot a lot of comic book conventions (shot a poker game at Kevin Smith's house for Wizard World Guide to Comics), night club events, Doggie Holiday Portraits, catalogs, lookbooks and other "Making the Doughnuts" type of shoots to make ends meet...actually still do.  I have no ego when it comes to paying work.  shoot, assist, paint cycs, whatever.  better than a desk job.  It's like that line from Office Space:

Bob: "Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately."

Peter: "I wouldn't say I've been *missing* it, Bob."

What is one of the most important lessons you've learned during your career?

Knowing how to handle people is as important as being able to handle a camera.  You can be the most AMAZING photographer to EVER pick up a camera and be forced to work a day job because you can't deal with the business/people/networking side of being a photographer - it's about the hustle.  Opportunities very rarely come to you.  Chance favors the prepared.  In this respect, I'm a get-shit-done Boy Scout.  I make sure that I'm ready for whatever I can hustle up for a gig.  Oh!  also...Bigger the hair, Closer to God.  (so sayth my patron saint, Saint Dolly of the big boobs and bigger hair)

How did you find Zivity?

I got invited to the beta when I was a staff photographer for suicidegirls.com and when I saw that one of the first sets on the site was the awesome Missy shot Sash set (Sash just makes me melt as a photographer - lord, that girl needs to be in front of a camera, often), I was excited to check it out.  I emailed one of my favorite people (Vivka) and we shot something quick for the site when I was up in Detroit for a wedding.  The rest is history.

What were you doing before you joined Zivity? How is this site different from your other photographic ventures?

Staff photographer for SG - pretty much the same but different.  I LOVE this site - no-one tells me what or who to shoot.  If a set goes up, I know if someone
votes on it, we will be paid. The diversity on this site is bonkers - All the sets don't look the same (don't get me started on the sheer amount of talent shooting for zivity - between Corwin, Thingstolookat, Shooter, AddictedImage, Adam Robertson, Dwam, P-Mod, Ghettomonk, Lorelei and others: I just stare at the screen and try to convince myself I don't just suck.  LOL!)

If I want to shoot something that is a bit out of my usual box - ArdenLeigh's debut set for example, I can.  I can shoot sets with heavy studio lighting, natural light, high concept, no concept...whatever is clever.  I can shoot a quick zivity set with my model friends for fun and they can be as involved as much (or as little) as they want.  Stoya's debut set is a great example. We shot a pack of fuji instax while she was taking a smoke break after getting her hair done for a magazine layout on the balcony at the location.  No muss, no fuss.

What is the craziest/funniest thing that has ever happened to you while taking photos?

Couple of years ago, I shot a model down in NJ at Sandy Hook (famous nude beach).  It was a foggy morning in August.  Do you know who comes to a nude beach in New Jersey at 8am on a foggy thursday in August?  Old dudes who can't be described as "thin".  Do you know what these naked old dudes do on a nude beach in New Jersey at 8am on a foggy thursday in August?

Pick up shells.

Pick up shells without bending their knees.

What has been seen, can't be unseen.

So...after we figured out that a) we were in the interesting shell capitol of the beach (cuz all the old naked dudes were picking up a LOT of shells right near us) and b) if we combined our ages between the 3 of us (me, model and her friend who was assisting), we were younger than anyone on the beach - we decided we should get on to the business of shooting.

All is going well, then an....err..older gentleman in a rainbow thong walked over and inquired if he could be in the photoshoot.  I politely thanked him and said, "no thanks sir."  (I was raised to respect my elders - esp. ones that someone somewhere calls "Grandad".)  Couple more shots and the model (who was mostly naked by now) steps away to do a quick hair fix with her friend.  The older guy comes back...sans thong and not, well, un-excited.  ifyaknowhatimsayin'?  Once again, I thank him for offering to jump into the shoot and tell him that his services as a male model aren't needed at this moment.  He runs off into the water and errr...proceeds to make the ocean a bit more, well, "salty".  Needless to say, I didn't point this out to the model at that time. (pretty much cuz I wanted to finish the shoot without an 18 year old naked girl killing a 75 year old naked guy with a boner on a beach in NJ.  Pretty sure that would make the 6pm news. LOL!)

(download)

Click here to download:

artists-exposed-tmronin-DCEcabjymIvleedrACkc.zip (1.48 MB)

How would you describe your own work?

A product of the three B's - Boobs, Backlighting and Bright colors.  Here at Team Rockstar, we believe in nothing is worth doing unless you can over-do it.

What other things are you passionate about? Why are you passionate about them?

hmmm...I like coffee, things that go "vroom" - mainly american muscle cars and italian motorcycles, coffee, beer, books (lots and lots of books), coffee, loud music, the past (what has been done before that looks cool), the future (what can I do that will look cool)...oh yeah, coffee.

<sigh>  y'all are gonna ask about the whole coffee thing, aren't you?  Ok, fine.  I have 3 coffee-themed tattoos (including half my chest done by Paul Booth as well as "Death Before Decaf" on my ribs) and have told someone's mother at a holiday dinner, "if coffee had boobs, I would marry it."  (for the record, I was sitting next to my wife at the time.)  What can I say?  I like coffee...a lot.

So I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I have the biggest girl crush on Rachel Dashae. Her work is consistently eye-catching and beautiful. What's more is that once I started to ask her those tough abstract questions, she took on the challenge and beautifully worded the responses. This girl is a true model - oh and don't get me started on that wicked hair!

When did you first start modeling? What drew you into it?

I first started modeling in 2006; I took breaks off and on, and then became full time in 2010. I wanted to become a different person; I wanted an outlet for my creative spirit. 

Why did you want to be a different person? 

It's like acting; it's like growing out of your skin. But in a good way, haha. Like this other person coming through your eyes and expressions. I want to own the demons, the lust, the happiness, the love inside of me, and sometimes I feel like throwing that out in front of a camera makes you appreciate it. 

How does modeling help you do that?

 It lets me see the end result of my emotions, and how I am putting it into my art. 

What is it about modeling that strikes your creative spirit?

 I get to be a part of someone's vision. They come up with these ideas, concepts, styling, and I get to act it out for them. 

What was the moment you realized it was something you wanted to keep doing? 

Ever since I started. I would stop sometimes, but I would come crawling back shortly after. It's been the only thing that has stayed consistent in my life for 5 years now. 

What are you trying to express through your work? Do you think you've accomplished it? 

Vulnerability, high emotion, and staying fierce and proud. Telling a story with movement and eyes, instead  Yes, that is the one thing I always feel proud about when looking at an image, just how I can show anything that has been pent up for weeks through an image. 

How did you find out about Zivity? What sold you on joining? 

Dastardly Dave actually told me about it! And it was before I was doing nude work, so I was very excited for it. 

You've build a strong fan base both on and off of Zivity - how do you connect with them? How have they influenced your work? 

I try to comment back on any posts, comments, e-mails, etc. I try to actually build a connection and speak with them with truth. I feel like people then think of you as a person they can relate to. They have influenced me to keep going no matter what. Like I have said, I stopped a few times, sometimes I think I would've permanently quit if it wasn't for my fan base. They make my work feel worth it, even if I am being tough on myself. 

Is there anything a fan has ever said to you that has stuck with you? If so, what? 

There have been lots of things. Ever since the first "You are so pretty!" comment most things stick with me. I think what sticks with me the most though, is when people tell me the story they say see in my eyes, or in my hands. It's so awesome that I can inspire someone in that way. 

What is the craziest/funniest thing that has ever happened to you on a shoot? 

One time, I was on some railroad tracks (haha), that were on an overpass over a pretty main road.  I dropped one of my shoes in that little sneaky bend part between the columns. I actually climbed down into the crack (sliding on my butt down rails, haha!) to get my shoe. They were like $5 dollar shoes, but it was really muddy out because it had just rained and the thought of possibly breaking my leg was better than having to walk barefoot through the mud! 

You travel quite a bit! What was one of the most exciting trips you've made? Describe your experience! 

I try! This year will come along with much more traveling. One of the most exciting though I think was to Boston with PXE. Her and I just get along sssooo well; I flew into NYC, and met her. Which was just fun in general, we stayed up all night drinking soda and playing around. The next day we drove to Boston, and the whole trip was way fun. I also think it was a blast because it was just on a whim, I think I had a week to plan anything, haha. 

Is there anything else you're passionate about besides modeling? If so, what and why?

That's a tough one. I put so much into modeling, so I feel like maybe my other passions are photos (I just got a new digital camera, so look out for some pictures), fashion, and learning. I love to read about any subject from "the fattest country in the world" to "black holes". 

What do you enjoy doing when you're not working?

I love hanging out with my family. I am very family oriented; I am the oldest of 5 and am extremely close to my mother. I spend a lot of my extra time with them and my boyfriend. Other than that, I like to exercise (mostly yoga), read, and hang out with friends. I frequent clubs on the weekends and LOVE to go out and have some fun! I feel like sometimes I'm a dirty house wife and no one realizes it, haha!

Can you believe that the Holidays are here already? Time sure does fly when you spend your days looking at gorgeous pictures. We don't care if you've been naughty or nice we think you deserve a little treat. So here are some of our favorite Holiday Themed sets.

From all of us here at Zivity, we wish you and yours a very Happy Holidays!

AaliyahLove in Christmas Present by JayAllan

CordialLee in Dearest Zivity, are you a naughty or a nice nut? by Tabatha

Gwendolyn in Naughty or Nice? by Craigman

InfraRedRoses in Fesitvus For the Rest of Us by NicoleNygaardPhoto

KrystalKaos in XXXmas by samguss

Lyndsey_Love in Dressing the Tree, Undressing Me by Photogofer

Mosh in Have Yourself a Moshy Little Christmas by DastardlyDave

RoxieTee in Ribbons and Bows by Allenm1

SarahPrankha in Santa Baby by chrismaverick

xotorreyox in Santa's Sweet Helper by ricyoung