1. What made you decide to create a bondage site?
What made me decide to do the site. To be honest, I had just purchased a new car and was looking for a way to maybe make some extra money. At the same time, I noticed websites being started as well as bondage websites. I thought to myself hum. Maybe I can do one. I knew almost nothing about bondage and even less about photography. But got hooked up with my webmaster and here we are today some 17 years later.
2. How much work goes into running your bondage site? What does it entail?
I have a web guy that handles all the site stuff; all I do is send him the material. I am sure it is a lot more work than I want to know about. My part is the easy part, I would guess.
3. How much work goes into preparing for a bondage shoot?
I try to make sure first I have snacks and stuff to drink in the house. Otherwise make sure the place is cleaned up. I do most of my shoots in the basement so all I pretty much try to do is get the lighting ready and whatever ropes etc. that I will need.
4. How do you decide what outfits or positions will be used for one of your shoots?
I have way more female cloths than I should admit. I usually will just tell the model to pick out a skirt and blouse. If I pick, I always tend to pick outfits that look the same. Positions -- If doing ,say, an average shoot, I do a tie on the floor, chair tie, hogtie and maybe the last one is a pole tie or maybe a strappado. All depends on my mood and the model.
Amanda Kent
5. Describe one of your typical photo and video shoots from start to finish?
Well nothing really too exciting here. The girl will show up or maybe is already here from the night before. We will discuss outfits for a few minutes. Usually, I just let them pick it out; otherwise I tend to pick the same look all the time. A black skirt and blouse. Hehe But that’s what I like. If doing a van set, I try to steer away from the black skirt because the van floor is black. Then, I usually try to get in 4 ties. Hogtie, Chairtie, laying on the floor tied up and then a pole or the old bed or maybe the van depending on the weather. It gets very hot back there when it’s 90 out. Take a few minutes break in between each. I try to have some snacks, drinks (non alcohol) and fruit. I like to start 10 am, shoot and get done. Most of the time, we go get dinner after.
6. What has been the most memorable moment for you out of all the shoots you’ve done?
Most memorable moment would be doing a van shoot where Fayth on Fire was hogtied in the back with cameras rolling. I was then driving around my neighborhood for about 5 mins. Well, someone called the police about a suspicious van and I got pulled over 2 blocks from my house. She was still tied but was able to get her gag off. I was scared to death. In the end it was ok, but I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.
7. What is your policy about models bringing escorts or chaperones to your bondage photoshoots?
I don’t really care if the models bring someone. I don’t work with too many new models these days, so I know most I have worked with before and we all know each other.
8. What is the dream shoot you have not yet done during your career as a rigger and site producer?
My dream shoot would be a bank heist in a bank. With a group of male and female robbers and 6 to 8 girls in the bank. Some would be bank workers and some would be people in the bank waiting to speak with a teller. The robbers come in. Get all the workers and customers on the floor. Bank manger has to go around filling up the money sacks. There’d be lots of bondage with the girls being tied up. Probably 2 are taken hostage to the hideout to be part 2 of the shoot.
9. What are your favorites: gags, type of restraint, bondage position for the model?
Favorite gag. Panties in the mouth with tape wrapped around the head
Favorite restraint Would be rope. ¼ inch hemp or jute.
Favorite position A good tight tie on a old chair.
SaraLiz
10. How did you acquire your technique for rigging and photography?
My rigging and photography are all self taught. When I started, I knew nothing more about taking a picture other than point and shoot. My rope skills back then were really bad. LOL But I watched to see what others were doing and took some ideas from everything I saw to develop my style. And today we all have our styles. Can look at a picture and say that is Steve Villas work or that is a Dominic Wolfe picture. And others may say ah that is a Ropexpert picture.
11. Can you describe your very first bondage shoot and then describe how you’ve seen your style/technique evolve since that first shoot?
Well, I toyed around tying a couple of girls and taking their pictures with a Polaroid before I actually did a shoot. But those were very bad. I set up my first shoot in I think it was like October of 99 down in St Louis. A five hour drive for me. But when the day came to go down, I was so scared and nervous that I cancelled it. Then her and I talked on the phone and set it up and finally did do it the following week. She was great. I would have to look up her model name. But she was awesome and her husband was there and they were very nice. But my rope work sucked; my hand was shaking the entire time. The ties were very basic and simple. The light was quartz hardware store lights that were very hot when on. I will never forget it.
Over time, the rope work got a lot cleaner and neat. Tight, always cinched. Have to cinch the rope that finishes it off. I no longer use nylon rope which I always used when I just started out. I now use cotton, hemp and jute. Lighting for pictures, I love the use of strobes with a narrow beam of light. I love the dark back ground. And like anything else you get better with each time doing it.
12. Are there any riggers/producers who have influenced you over the years? And, if so, how?
Well of course they have. I am not going to mention any by name, but there are lots of great bondage people out there. I have learned a lot from others. Mostly on how I would want to be and a couple on how not to be.
I find the models on Fetlife and Model Mayhem, word of mouth from other models and places like Fetcon etc. Lately, I have really only been working with models I worked with before. But there are a few new girls out there I would like to work with in 2017. I could not even tell you how many are on the site. Lots! LOL
14. What are your thoughts on the piracy of bondage content on the Internet where your work is posted elsewhere without your permission?
Well of course I do not like it and it has hurt us all financially. After all just Google bondage and go to a site that comes up and there are 100s of video clips there for free. I don’t think there is any way to stop it. It’s up to the people that go to those sites to stay away and come to a site and join and look at the material there. As time goes on, I am sure you will see more and more sites disappear and, along with that, content will disappear. That will take many years of course. But no different than in main stream and to this day if someone comes over with a boot-legged copy of a new movie, I will not play it in my place. I will rent it when it comes out or go to a theater. It is theft, not to the extent of robbing a bank, but still not right. So do I like it, no. Is there anything I can do about it? Again, probably no. Am I going to cry about it? No.
Jade Indica
15. How do you respond to this statement: BDSM equals abuse of women?
I would say in most cases, it is not abuse. Both parties know what is in store and if that is what each other wants, then no it is not. Go and have fun. Can it be abuse? Sure. But that takes it to another level where something else is going on and BDSM is used unwillingly or unwanted. I would say that most is not abuse. I have tied up more girls than I can remember, but none of them were ever abused.
16. What advice would you give to a person who wants to begin a bondage website as a producer/photographer/rigger?
I would tell them really to think twice about getting into it. It is not like it was in 2005, 2006. Back in the good old days. If you want to do it for a little fun, then maybe. But do not think in this day and age you are going to get rich off a simple bondage site. It is not going to happen. And think about why are you doing it. Is it just because it is the only way you can get to tie someone up? Or do you really want to try to create something really cool? Would I start one today? No way.
17. What else do you want your fans to know about you and your work?
I would like for the fans to tell me more of what they like and to try to get more input from them. If any are out there, please get back with me [email protected] And I am always looking for new members. www.ropexpert.com and www.nabher.com Would love to add more to the site, but have to watch the budget. If you sign up because of this interview, send me an email and I will talk to my webmaster and see if we can do something extra for that member.
Thanks for the interview!
By the way, the e-mail in that last paragraph is invalid. I think it should be ropexpert (at) aol (dot) com?
Glad you enjoyed the interview and I really appreciate the email info again!
The interview looks fine now from where I'm sitting.
Thanks for the interview, I can always spot one of his pics from across a room, too.
LMAO, God bless America. Excellent interview, he seems like a cool dude.
Enjoyed it.
(But he needs an editor for his writing....)
Yes, he really does come across as down-to-earth.
Thanks again.