Passings: Photographer James Bond

[blackleatherbookshelf]

I just was notified by my friend here, Nipper, that James Bond passed away on New Years eve. He was one of the best known photographers in the kink community, which is where most folks know him by his Nom de Camera, James Bond. Jim was also an expert in Railroading and trains, and I once accompanied him on a late night photo shoot in Los Angeles of an historic Steam Engine that was in a roundhouse for an evening.

James Bond got into the kinky photography field when he visited the New York Bondage Club, founded by Bob Wingate, who had an idea for a magazine to be called Bound and Gagged. Bond contributed photos to the very first issue of B&G, introducing rubber gear and wetsuits all combined with intense rope bondage. His work has appeared in B&G, Rubber Rebel, Vulcan America and on countless websites, feeding the kinky rubber/bondage community.

While Jim's pictures probably most seen by readers of Bound and Gagged magazine, his work often appeared in my publications Rubber Rebel and Bound and Gagged. Frankly, Vulcan would not have been nearly as interesting without his work. He also sat with me one evening at a Delta Run for a profile that appears in my book Skin Tight. We talked about his fetishes and his coming into kink as a photographer....and his cantankerously conservative politics.

Here's Jim in his own words from that interview in 2006. 

What excites men who can come to me is generally the gear, and the idea of a good top that can tie them up and make them feel good, and they don’t have to worry. I am not a threatening image. There are men in the scene that could scare the shit out of you. I have seen this as a characteristic of a lot of leather tops; part of their scene is to be intimidating. The people I play with tend to go the other way. They don’t want to be intimidated. There is a big difference between a top and a master. I am not a master, I don’t role play; I approach my bottoms one-to-one. It’s you and me and I’m here to let you have fun. I will use whatever skills I have to make you feel good. Now, if making you fell good means hanging you upside-down and being unable to breathe for a minute, well, that is your definition of feeling good.

I took that picture in (I think) 1997 and Jim told me it was one of his favorites of himself. I'm gonna miss you, you old grump....

Comments

[andybr.livejournal.com]

Photography trains and bondage...Jim certainly had diverse interests! Did he combine all three I wonder?

[mark-shutterbug.livejournal.com]

I think it was 2006 when Jim was in our cabin. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him. May he rest in peace.