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Interview With Tom O' Shields by Cary Tom O'Shields is an amazing photographer in many mediums and we are lucky that he spends some of his time working in Fetish. What inspired you to pick up a camera? Guess that goes back a long way to Boy Scouts. Yes, blame all my perverted pics on the BSA. Got a merit badge in photography and that kind of started everything. Afterwards I spent a long time working in different roles that you don't want to know about for the U.S.A. My specialty became covert reconnaissance and surveillance which put huge demands on my photography skills. Just so you know this was outside the U.S. No domestic spying . By the time I was again living in the U.S. my camera had become an extension of my body and I have always been in the habit of having a camera with me at all times and taking that "shot" as you never know what you'll see. I also did a lot of Himalayan climbing in my earlier years and that's what really got me into commercial photography. I use to send in photos to a lot of climbing and outdoor magazines. They got published but I never made any money. Then one day out of the blue I started getting calls from people wanting to know if I had so and so photo from years ago. One thing led to another and I'm in a place I never dreamed of. I started going to fetish parties 15 years ago and thought, Damn, I need to be shooting all this. No one would believe it otherwise. I shot a few scenes here and there and through a very long friendship with Glenn and Donna at Fetish Factory I eventually became their staff photographer for their monthly Alter Ego parties. Since then I've traveled the world shooting every major fetish event that happens each year. I think this year I have 29 major events on my schedule as well as something wherever I am every weekend. Fetish has been good to me and I've met many of my best friends through the fetish scene.
What particular challenges do you face with erotic photography as opposed to other genres? There are a lot of challenges I don't have to deal with in my "other real" job. Two of the biggest problems are models and location. There are a lot of Fetish/Alt "models" out there. Learning to cull the true professional from all the wannabes is a learning experience in itself. When preparing for a project I spend a lot of time thinking about the finished product. Probably the most important part of this process is "seeing" the model I want for the project and how she'll carry the theme. Sometimes I'm looking for the Mean Nazi Bitch from Hell and the next shoot I want your Sunday School Teacher but in latex. Finding the right model with the right look who can carry off the shoot is 75% of my preshoot work. I'm in the early stages of a book project that is going to feature one model throughout its entirety. This has become one of the most difficult things I've ever sought to do because of simply trying to find a model who can be any and everything. Any takers? I'm still looking. Location can also be a big problem depending on the locale I'm shooting in. I like to do a lot of outdoor shoots and finding a public location where models can and will parade around nude, bound, in latex, dressed up like a pony, you get the idea, can be very difficult. Yes, I have been arrested, had to run like hell a few times and even included the cops or offended party in a few shoots. Even got bitten on the ass by a zebra but that's another story. Sometimes that feeling of Being Very Bad in public makes the entire shoot even more fun for the models and me and it shows in the finished photos. I just did a shoot at Logan airport in Boston where I had a model dressed only in a garter belt, stockings and g-string with heels get out of a taxi, pull her carry-on bag behind her, walk through the airport lobby, stop and check the flight schedules on the overhead screens then exit the next set of doors and jump in another cab and split. I'm shooting like hell and praying we would get away with it. I did scout for police beforehand and we pulled it off. I got unbelievable photos of a fantastically beautiful model as well as some completely astounded travelers. Location, location, location.
Do you prefer to shoot with film or digital? Virtually everything I shoot now is digital. I make my living shooting two entirely different genres than fetish/alt. I have a portfolio of fashion clients that "pay the bills" and I work as a freelance stringer for several of the news agencies usually as a war correspondent which is what I'm currently doing until May of this year. With the new technology that is out there digital has taken over everything and will only get bigger. It has been a love/hate relationship for me. I started in this business a long time ago and now I'm having to learn so many new things that take up an inordinate amount of time. I had a great Photoshop employee but lost her due to her returning to school. Now I'm spending too much valuable time doing things she could do in her sleep. When I'm in the field shooting in a war zone or out somewhere in the boonies I always carry a couple of film cameras with black and white film as they are very reliable and I don't have to worry so much about battery life. I'm still stuck in the middle!
How did you become interested in Fetish/BDSM? I always had a secret fetish for women in stocking and beautiful feet. I didn't know it was a fetish until years later but it was always there. I think it all started with my high school sweetheart. She used to lie on the bed and masturbate while giving me a foot job with her perfect little feet in black nylons. A 16 year old mind is very impressionable. Something I'll never forget. After attending a lot of fetish parties I've learned a lot more from a lot of cool people and really look forward to every event I attend.
Do you enjoy Fetishism/BDSM play in your personal life and if so, what are you in to? Yes, very much. Where do I start? Stockings, spanking, feet, bondage, hair pulling. ass play, pussy worship, piercing, suspension, hot wax, definitely latex-this could go on forever. Just about anything but scat and infantilism. I'm married to a 25 year old fetish sex freak so I can't wait to get home everyday and see what new fetish I have!
Do you think Pinup/Fetish are becoming part of the mainstream culture? Yes, it is mainstream now. If you check out any of the fashion or Hollywood mags there is a latex article somewhere every month. I've shot latex in shows in the last 3 NY Fashion Weeks. Alexander Macqueen to Betsy Johnson. It's so cool the cool people have to have it! Pinup is totally accepted now. When I was a kid pinup was almost porn. Now its everywhere and totally accepted as just another art form.
Are there other creative mediums you work in? Not so much anymore. I use to do body casting that included neon sculpture in with the casting. Hope to get back to it some day.
What kind of music do you like? I like just about anything except whiney ass country music, worn out inner city hip hop and I hate what is Now known as R&B. I grew up in the Sixties so I still love a lot of the old stuff but not the top 40 classic rock shit everyone plays to death. When I'm clubbing gimme high energy techno, industrial pumpin' beats.
What do you like to do for fun? I read a lot. I still love the outdoors. I like cycling and still try to get in some rock climbing when I have time. Nothing like scaring the shit out of yourself every now and then to keep things in perspective. I don't have a lot of free time but I spend most of it with my friends. Of course there nothing any more fun than a big fetish party with lots of hot people, intelligent conversation and kinky after parties!
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