Under: Matt Mahon Explores the Sex Industry in Photo Gallery

The photos themselves are very nice. I wish the collection had balance.

Photos of girls cuddling, laughing, and out in public with their hobby friends having a good time would contrast nicely with the stark despair most of these photos portray. Is the girl finding solace with her client? Is it an act? Is the the affection what those men are really paying for?

Just a suggestion.

Interesting photos, but frankly, it just looks like he has an agenda to me.

1. By his numbers, we could reasonably assume that roughly 96% of providers are engaged in, shall we say, unhealthy behaviors that require staff editing to discuss. I call bullshit.

2. A quick perusal of showcases show that providers come in a mind boggling array of shapes, sizes, ages, races. The one constant among the pics is that most of the providers fit within a fairly narrow range of age and body type, and there was little variation in race.

The collection as a whole seems intentionally tilted toward feeding the typical stereotypes of prostitutes: broken by early childhood sexual trauma, trapped by addiction, living an aimless existence buffeted between the drives of addiction and the lure of easy money with no or few resources to escape what is essentially an exploitative prison.

If you really want to capture the essence of escorts, then work on amassing a collection of photo shoots that truly reflect an accurate sampling of the escort population. Where are the 30+ providers? Where are the average body size and up providers? Where are the TS providers? Where are the fetish providers? Where are the hispanic, asian, and ebony providers? All of these and more exist, but I don't see them anywhere in the photos.

Angel, Sins, you both hit upon the thing that struck me right away--this is a photo shoot with a message/perspective. That is always the photographer's right, but when people take it as more representative of the entire picture it becomes problematic. I won't go into other issues, but I specifically had problems with the crafted overwhelming message of dependency and numbness--that the women clearly had to do something to mask the senses. I completely acknowledge such things are in this corner of the world, but it is not the entierty of it. Was it the ladies selected, the photos selected, or my interpretation--i cannot say.

The pictures clearly show the unhealthy and stereotypical side of the hobby, it also clearly shows his preferred type of lady's.

The hobby for me is about seeing mature uninhibited women that truly enjoy what they do and do not partake to support unhealthy habits or to support their man.

This was not always the case for me, but one I have grown into after seeing the devastating affects of what the pictures show. I can no longer in good continence see any lady I suspect or know has a abusive issue.

There are plenty of women that provide that do so for the joy of the hobby and have a respect for themselves and others that is healthy.

A true gentleman does not knowingly feed such unhealthy choices.

Interesting photos, but frankly, it just looks like he has an agenda to me.

1. By his numbers, we could reasonably assume that roughly 96% of providers are engaged in, shall we say, unhealthy behaviors that require staff editing to discuss. I call bullshit.

2. A quick perusal of showcases show that providers come in a mind boggling array of shapes, sizes, ages, races. The one constant among the pics is that most of the providers fit within a fairly narrow range of age and body type, and there was little variation in race.

The collection as a whole seems intentionally tilted toward feeding the typical stereotypes of prostitutes: broken by early childhood sexual trauma, trapped by addiction, living an aimless existence buffeted between the drives of addiction and the lure of easy money with no or few resources to escape what is essentially an exploitative prison.

If you really want to capture the essence of escorts, then work on amassing a collection of photo shoots that truly reflect an accurate sampling of the escort population. Where are the 30+ providers? Where are the average body size and up providers? Where are the TS providers? Where are the fetish providers? Where are the hispanic, asian, and ebony providers? All of these and more exist, but I don't see them anywhere in the photos. Originally Posted by SinsOfTheFlesh

The pictures clearly show the unhealthy and stereotypical side of the hobby, it also clearly shows his preferred type of lady's.

The hobby for me is about seeing mature uninhibited women that truly enjoy what they do and do not partake to support unhealthy habits or to support their man.

This was not always the case for me, but one I have grown into after seeing the devastating affects of what the pictures show. I can no longer in good continence see any lady I suspect or know has a abusive issue.

There are plenty of women that provide that do so for the joy of the hobby and have a respect for themselves and others that is healthy.

A true gentleman does not knowingly feed such unhealthy choices. Originally Posted by Drtry2

Double BINGO!

Hey all I know is I made a good 900 $ watching a photographer bounce around my room high as a kite.


Staff edit to follow lol.

Double BINGO! Originally Posted by Still Looking

You mean I said something right for once? Oops, I must be slipping!

Well, that is a story of a small handful of Austin natives. It is NOT my story. My story has no sadness, and no bad habits.... maybe a glass of wine! But isn't small amounts of wine healthy?? It DOES include a lot of love, friendships, laughter, lunches, and all out good times. Perhaps that should be his next project.... his next agenda.... to show a small handful of ladies who do really enjoy this without having a bad habit to maintain! I'll be a model! Come bounce around my hotel room high as a kite! lol
Oops, I'm not his preferred type...

Who else was playing "name that hotel"?

whenever a photographer takes on a project like this, there's an "agenda". there has to be, or there's no point. now, the agenda may be political, personal, artistic, or simply what he/she is being paid to capture. you may not agree with it, but that's not the intent. i'm currently shooting one focused on the economic decay of my hometown. is that the only story? of course not, but it's what moves me right now.

Hey all I know is I made a good 900 $ watching a photographer bounce around my room high as a kite.


Staff edit to follow lol. Originally Posted by NikkiWhite

Do tell Nikki...

You mean I said something right for once? Oops, I must be slipping! Originally Posted by SinsOfTheFlesh

Sins like me your always right it's just how we say it LOL

whenever a photographer takes on a project like this, there's an "agenda". there has to be, or there's no point. now, the agenda may be political, personal, artistic, or simply what he/she is being paid to capture. you may not agree with it, but that's not the intent. i'm currently shooting one focused on the economic decay of my hometown. is that the only story? of course not, but it's what moves me right now. Originally Posted by john_deere

But Mr. Deere you have an excellent reputation as a photographer and more importantly its never been said you fucked someone out of money to get your pictures. I bet you probably even have release forms signed. And rumor has it you're NOT a drug addict. Sadly they are NOT all like you sir! Bravo!

But Mr. Deere you have an excellent reputation as a photographer and more importantly its never been said you fucked someone out of money to get your pictures. I bet you probably even have release forms signed. And rumor has it you're NOT a drug addict. Sadly they are NOT all like you sir! Bravo! Originally Posted by Still Looking

heh. nope, no shenanigans from me. my only crime is being crazy.

as for release forms.....as soon as an escort is willing to sign her real name, i'll be all over that.....

as for release forms.....as soon as an escort is willing to sign her real name, i'll be all over that..... Originally Posted by john_deere

I've signed non-disclosures with my real name...catch is they did too and we both have copies.

whenever a photographer takes on a project like this, there's an "agenda". there has to be, or there's no point. now, the agenda may be political, personal, artistic, or simply what he/she is being paid to capture. you may not agree with it, but that's not the intent. i'm currently shooting one focused on the economic decay of my hometown. is that the only story? of course not, but it's what moves me right now. Originally Posted by john_deere

Well that is definitely a fair point. However, I am heartily sick and tired of even well meaning documentarians and the like portraying escorting as the resort and refuge of those among us who have been damaged, broken, and discarded. Affording us no escape from our addictions, attracting us with the lure of easy money, and trapping us with few opportunities to get out of the life. There is no denying that this is the unfortunate story for many women. It is not however, the story of all women.

To be blunt his 'agenda' here is neither new nor original. His photographs only serve to tell the same tired story over and over again.

It would be really nice if just once, someone would come along with a desire to represent the silent segment* of escorts who chose this occupation for reasons other than supporting a bad habit. THAT would be something new and original, and a breath of fresh air besides.

* I started to type "silent majority" here, but sadly, I am not naive enough to believe that those among us who do not have substance issues are the majority. It is honestly impossible to tell what the real break down is among providers supporting a bad habit versus those who are not. Our story is rarely told by anyone. But we do exist, and we are not few in numbers. It is past time for us to be seen and heard.

By the way, wish me happy birthday. On June 26 I will celebrate 21 years clean and sober. Eight years of escorting, so do the math

Oh and PS. I would love to see the photographs you took once your project is complete. It sounds like it would be worth looking at and then some.