by Nahp Suicide

Sawa is a model and a photographer who has worked with SuicideGirls since 2004. She has shot more than 100 sets and has been featured in SG’s films.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I first started with Suicide Girls as a model. It was about 8 years ago. Missy shot me in my friend’s Hollywood apartment at dusk. I have to admit, one of my main motivations for getting in the mix for SG was to get on the other side of the camera too. I was already shooting a bit and convincing my friends to get naked for me.



What’s your background photography-wise?

Originally I took some photo classes at a few community colleges. I did some darkroom classes at Pierce College and did the whole photo program at Pasadena City College. But back then everything was shot on film. I remember I once spent a few years only shooting on 4″x5″ film. I had to re-learn a lot of things when I switched to digital. 
I also learn a lot from working on set. I do camera work on commercials and movies, and I’d say this is where I have done the most learning. They light things differently. I used to use only flash and natural light, and now I’ve become partial to continuous lighting. 


What was the first photo you had published?

That’s hard to say. I think some of the first photos I had published were in the metal scene. I’m pretty sure it was for my friend Chris Dodge’s label Slap-a-ham. I shot a lot of grindcore and noise bands back then and he put some of my black & white photos in the “Short Fast and Loud” compilation. I think most of my early published photos had to do with bands.



How would you describe your style?

I think certain styles or “looks” vary per shoot and what you are going after. I do like certain photos to look like a still out of a movie instead of a posed portrait. When I’m not shooting SG stuff, I like a lot of conceptual portraits. One of the trademark series I have been doing is my “Viva Banditas” series and those are a bit more raw and gritty and street art style. 




What gear do you use?

Usually a Canon 5D. Lately I’ve been shooting a lot more Polaroids. When I shoot film I use a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. I also have a panoramic camera and a whole collection of vintage medium format cameras. I also have a LOT of fun with Diana and Holga cameras.

For lighting my favorite portrait light is a gem ball (learned this from movie lighting), and I use Diva Kino lights a lot. Sometimes I use strobes…and for outdoor shooting it’s always good to carry a shiny bounce. 



How important is Photoshop in your final images?

Sometimes you can create a cool look with Photoshop but I believe all of your exposure control should be done in camera. I would never want to rely on Photoshop to save an image. I try to be consistent throughout a shoot. Photoshop can definitely help polish an image, which is good for fashion stuff. But for SuicideGirls we like the girls to be real so I think it’s important to not go too heavy on the Photoshop.



What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

I love shooting inspiring girls that naturally give you great ideas. It’s such a treat to shoot a muse like that. I also get a lot of ideas from music. I sometimes get images in my head of an idea for a shoot and I have to write it down or else I will forget it for sure.



What is your favorite image?

Impossible! It’s too hard to narrow it down. 





Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t?

As far as the site goes, I’ve been really lucky to shoot some amazing girls from around the world. I still haven’t shot Lass or Manko and I hope that will come soon. I have ideas for both of those girls!
In general, I have ideas to last me for like the next 10 years and a huge blessing would be to one day have the time to devote myself full time to these projects. And just to add more things to my plate, I’m in prep to start directing some music videos. In the meantime, I’ve also started running a gallery in the arts district of Downtown LA (Get Her! La Compound gallery) so I’m getting a huge kick out of collaborating with other fellow artists. Everything from street art, to fine art, and most definitely photography. I sometimes wish there were more hours in the day.

For more on Sawa visit: thesawa.com and lacompound.com

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by A.J. Focht

The world press premiere of The Avengers was last week, and there’s been nothing but good reviews. While lips have been sealed to avoid leaks and spoilers, all the news that has come out has been positive. Despite many fans raving that Hulk was their favorite character, it doesn’t look like Hulk is getting another solo movie. Seems Hulk’s success in The Avengers was the high note that Marvel producers wanted to end him on, for a while at least.

While The Avengers has been pumping out trailer after trailer and multiple previews from the start, The Dark Knight Rises has been more subtle with their media releases. While many of the photos and previews from The Dark Knight Rises have been unofficial, Entertainment Weekly just published six new official shots from the film and a cover exclusive.

Dylan Sprayberry, who plays young Clark Kent in the upcoming Man of Steel, has revealed a little more about the film. Following in the path of the Batman series, Man of Steel will be edgier and center on making Superman more realistic. The start of the movie focuses on Superman growing up, and how his early life is filled with dilemmas and drama.

A new international trailer was released for The Amazing Spider-Man. The trailer features more of Peter Parker’s past struggles with his parents and his battle against the Lizard. That wasn’t the only Spider-Man news this last week either, Marvel announced that the Spider-Men comics will officially feature the crossover between Spider-Man, Peter Parker, and new Spider-Man, Miles Morales.

One last superhero update, Joss Whedon dropped more information about the upcoming Dr. Horrible sequel during a Reddit question and answer session. All the cast member will be returning for their parts, but Whedon said, “Penny will be… um… I don’t want to say decomposing.” So what does that mean? Will Penny be a zombie? Will Dr. Horrible have her frozen, working on a resurrection method? Only Joss knows, but they are currently working on the script and plan to start filming this summer.

Hunger Games director Gary Ross has officially stepped down from doing the sequel. With Ross out, Lionsgate has started a short list of directors for the sequel. The list currently contains Alfonso Cuaron, David Cronenberg, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Robert Rodriquez and Frank Miller are moving forward with a Sin City sequel entitled Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. There isn’t much more information on the project, but we can all rest a little easier knowing it’s at least going to happen.

The popularity brought to the Tron series by Tron: Legacy has spawned a sequel, but probably not the sequel you wanted. Tron: Uprising is a new graphic series that will appear on the Disney Channel.

Finally, the Ghostbusters series has long talked of a third movie, with Bill Murray being the only hold out. But during a recent interview, the funnyman said the project was ‘a possibility’ which is more hope than we have gotten from him previously. So while the project still remains in what actor Dan Aykroyd calls a ‘state of suspended animation,’ there is still hope.

by Blogbot

Every week we ask the ladies and gentlemen of the web to show us their finest ink in celebration of #TattooTuesday.

Our favorite submission from Twitter wins a free 3 month membership to SuicideGirls.com.

This week’s #TattooTuesday winner is @win_meow who self-identifies as “The girl with the *Cats* Tattoo.”

Enter this week’s competition by replying to this tweet with a pic of your fav tattoo and the #tattootuesday hashtag.

Good luck!

A few things to remember:

• You have to be 18 to qualify.
• The tattoo has to be yours…that means permanently etched on your body.
• On Twitter we search for your entries by looking up the hashtag #TattooTuesday, so make sure you include it in your tweet!

Check out the Tattoo Tuesday winners of weeks past!

by Fred Topel

The ‘90s were a vital decade for independent film. That’s when unique voices discovered at the Sundance Film Festival started finding their way into movie theaters nationwide. It was the decade of Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Ed Burns, filmmakers who emphasized the dialogue their characters would speak. One of the most respected artists of that era was Whit Stillman.

His debut film Metropolitan was a comedy about wealthy New Yorkers discussing their lifestyle with a stranger. His follow-up Barcelona took that sensibility to Spain. But 1998’s The Last Days of Disco was the last we’ve seen of Whit Stillman. He calls the 10 subsequent years his “lost decade,” a more highbrow way of saying “development hell.”

Stillman is back with a new movie. Damsels in Distress still has the unique dialogue found in ‘90s independent cinema, so it may seem even more special in today’s world. The film stars Greta Gerwig as Violet, a college student who leads a suicide prevention center. She and her fellow gals are so committed to helping the student body, she creates a new dance called the Sambola. She thinks if people dance they’ll be too happy to kill themselves.

The film is full of whimsical tangents and concepts. Some of the Seven Oaks college boys practice the Cathar religion, and some of the traffic lights are blue. Stillman took as mellow an approach to discussing the film as his characters seem to have living it. He had some deep thoughts but only in the spirit of having fun and not taking oneself too seriously.

Read our exclusive interview with Whit Stillman on SuicideGirls.com.

Discoquette Suicide in Detention

• INTO: Photography, art, painting.
• NOT INTO: Drugs, animal abuse.
• MAKES ME SAD: Loneliness.
• HOBBIES: Movies, music, art, candies.

Get to know Discoquette better over at SuicideGirls.com!