Steven Speliotis is a New York City-based freelance portrait photographer who has extensive experience in the realm of BDSM. His many scene-related projects explore the beauty of bondage, the tension between lovers and the human form as still life. These explorations have led him to add author, performance artist and event producer to his resume. Eros Zine spoke with him about his experiences and his inspirations.

Eros Zine: What is your background?

Steven Speliotis: When I was a college student at the Salem State College, in Salem, Mass., I enrolled in a three-month intensive photography summer workshop at the Essex Photographic Workshop, in Essex, Mass. (now defunct). It was there I learned the fine art of photography and how to establish my vision. I was also studying Martial Arts, Yoga and dance, and it was very natural for me to photograph my fellow students. I received several awards for those early dance photographs and was invited to exhibit in several juried shows. The positive reinforcement for me as a young photographer inspired me to keep doing what I loved.

EZ: What is your history with BDSM? How long have you been in the scene and how did you initially become involved?

SS: About 12 years ago I created a body of work titled "Curiosities." These were black and white portraits of "everyday people" made in an extraordinary way. The project was created to serve me in two ways: to give me a body of work that would eventually be my first one-person fine-art exhibit in a New York City gallery and to solicit portrait work from musicians, authors and other creative people.

It was the interviewing process for this project that first made me think about my BDSM tendencies. I must have interviewed 20 or more people and during those interviews at least 90 percent of them told me that they had been involved in some BDSM activity. At first I thought nothing of it, but as I heard it more and more, I asked myself why this message was being repeated to me through almost everyone I was meeting. I then began to explore my own kink and understand why.

EZ: What are your inspirations?

SS: My inspirations come from different aspects of my life...it could be a book I'm reading, a landscape, a movie, or a project I'm working on. But these days I am being inspired both personally and artistically by my observation of and participation in the BDSM scene. I am inspired to learn more about myself erotically and spiritually, about being honest with myself and others, about the art of role playing, about giving and receiving in my relationships. I am inspired to be more self realized and expressive, by the exotic and erotic world of fetish. And I'm inspired to bring people together and create.

EZ: Tell us about your accomplishments: photo shows, demos, events.

SS: The creation of my first photography book "Asia Bondage" began after my wife and I returned from Japan. While in Tokyo, I showed my portfolio to the Nikon Gallery and was invited to have a one-person show featuring my "Curiosities" series. It was explained to me that things are done differently in Japan and I needed to prepare myself properly for this opportunity. I began to learn the language and expand upon my "Curiosities" portfolio. This new body of work became my first published book.

I started "Asia Bondage," with two Asian women who said they'd be open for anything. One of them suggested I tie her up with some rope I had lying around the studio. Thus the project began. I eventually worked with over 36 different Asian models over an 18-month period to create "Asia Bondage."

Once "Asia Bondage" was published, and several wonderful book reviews had been written, I began to exhibit the photographs in galleries and different venues and hold book-signing parties. A friend suggested that I do something a little different and perform a bondage demonstration at an exhibit. I decided to try it at one of Berlin shows in November 2002.

This was all happening so fast and it was all so new to me! I called the Baroness for her suggestions on doing a demonstration for the German Audience. Her advice was just what I needed to focus my energy. The next thing I knew, I was in London and Berlin for three weeks promoting "Asia Bondage." My photographs were printed in several gallery listings and the exhibits were announced over the radio. However, I couldn't find a model for the demo. So at the opening reception, I wound up performing self-bondage demonstration and lecture. It was well received and gave me a new level of confidence. It also opened a new path in my life.

When I returned to New York, The Baroness invited me to perform a demonstration and have a book signing at her April Fetish Retinue. It was a packed house! Since then I've held several private book signing parties and events at various venues and I've shown my work at BondConNYC, Purple Passion DV8 Gallery, Bowery Tattoo Gallery, Magnitude Gallery, Art @ Large, Body Archive and Clock Work Apple Gallery. I've also been featured on Metro TV's Naked New York, the Playboy Channel's Sexcetera and RedLightTV.com's "Happy Endings." In April I'll be presenting my work to DomSubFriends in Manhattan.

EZ: Tell us about your experience with The Playboy Channel.

SS: I received a phone call from one of the producers who had seen "Asia Bondage" inquiring about what other projects I was working on. I mentioned I was experimenting with taking bondage under water. He said he loved it and immediately sent a crew to discuss the possibilities of shooting it at a later date. In the meantime I had to learn how to take underwater photographs, master new equipment and become Scuba certified. I also had to find a pool that wasn't going to mind four naked ladies being tied up for Playboy TV! Three months later the crew returned to New York to film my models and I doing an underwater bondage session.

RedLightTV.com had filmed me with a model doing a bondage demonstration at Gomorrah's Valentine's Day Red Party, and when I went to pick up the tape to be used in the Playboy segment, their producer and I talked about the possibility of RedLightTV doing a segment on me. I loved the idea and Playboy TV agreed to film RedLightTV's filming of my fantasy bondage photo session with Dragon Lily.

EZ: Describe the underwater bondage.

SS: I call the underwater bondage project "High Tied." To me, it is a natural progression of where I want to go with bondage: it's a challenge, it's dangerous and yet when we can master all of the elements, it's beautiful. There is a fine line between life and death when you're underwater for any amount of time. I could say it's being on the edge. I see being underwater wrapped in rope as metaphorically going back to the womb, being attached to mother's umbilical cord, a life line that can feed and nourish life in one moment and wrap around our neck and take a life in the next.

But I see "High Tied" as more of a narrative, a love story between three people: two women and a man. I want to portray how vulnerable we are to one another. Life is precious and sometimes we are careless.

Before I finish "High Tied," which will require additional access to a pool, I am also working on two other projects: "All American Girls" and "Asian Chicks with Tattoos" and their stories. "Asian Chicks with Tattoos" is a series of portraits of ladies with temporary or real tattoos shot against an urban landscape and walls of graffiti. I'm working with a wonderful tattoo artist, Tanya "Pinky" G., who is painting realistic tattoos on the models. We just premiered our project at a Valentine's fetish event. Over 100 guests attended and, along with a slide show, we had balloon play, a human carpet, liquid latex, temporary tattoos and a bondage demonstration. I would say things are progressing very nicely!

EZ: Talk about the dom/sub dynamic as it translates to your work.

SS: The dom/sub relationship is an interesting phenomena; by its very nature, a photography session is agreed upon and a certain set of rules are established -- who plays the photographer, director, lighting designer and who has control over what gets made into a photo. However, in the preliminary stages it is the client, or model, who is trusting the photographer to follow certain guidelines and create a valued result. Who is really in control? At various stages we take and give control. It is this dynamic that becomes heightened when I am conducting a bondage session -- what limits are set prior to the session and what limits are pushed artistically while involved.

EZ: What turns you on?

SS: A beautiful and respectful connection with a woman.

Steven Speliotis - by Abby Ehmann

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