The Sinful Sunday One Word Photo Contest results are in.

Drum roll please…

I WON! I can’t believe it! I’m humbled and honored to have been chosen as one of the two First Place winners! To be honest with you, I was a bit nervous. There were so many wonderful entries; I didn’t know how the judges were going to choose.

The best thing about winning, thanks to Ruby Kiddell, I get to attend ErotiCon Atlanta! How cool is that. I simply can’t wait for October 19^th to arrive.  Mrs. Kiddell, I can never thank you enough for donating such an amazing prize.

A big HUG for Ruby Kiddell of Write Sex Right who took her time and energy to step in a guest judge and for donating my prize! Also, a big thank you and hug to Molly of Sinful Sunday for hosting this great contest that challenged and inspired us.  Sinful Sunday truly is the highlight of my week.

I’m over whelmed at the response we’ve received for this image. Your support truly touches our hearts and inspires us to keep creating.

The story behind the picture -

Getting ready for this image was an exciting journey that’s helped us grow and learn so much. I’ve been holding back on telling everyone about it until the contest was over, even though I’ve wanted to so badly. I hope it inspires you to step out try something new. I’m here to tell you, if this middle aged house wife can do it, you can too.

Inspired by an image I saw on FetLife called Arch Angle, I came up with the idea of portraying a sacrifice using the same pose.  When I showed Hubby the photo, he loved the idea. Yet still, he thought it was impossible for us to do. You see, we didn’t know any thing about suspension bondage and my husband has a birth defect that affects his back. Needless to say, he just didn’t see how we could accomplish such complicated bondage to get a photo.   

The more he said no, the more I was convinced that I could do it.

With two weeks to prepare, I had my work cut out for me.

Knowing that I wanted to do the pose suspended as a sacrifice to the river gods, I set out to find a location for our photo shoot. I must’ve walked miles through the underbrush following creeks and streams near our home.  I found several spots that looked great. Unfortunately, they were all too far back into the woods for Hubby to make the trek. Just when I was about to give up, against his better judgment, Hubby gave me the go ahead to walk a larger river nearby in hope of finding a place that would work. You see, this particular river runs alongside a back road and he had justified concerns of being caught by a passerby.

Not wasting a moment, in case he changed his mind, I was off to explore. Walking a long way upstream and finding nothing, I decided to head back. Hubby wasn’t at our meeting place, so I decided to walk downstream. Just when I was about to give up and abandon the idea of suspension bondage, I turned the bend and there was a massive Locus tree fallen across the water. My heart began to beat harder with anticipation as I made my way through the underbrush along the bank. Once reached the tree, I knew it was ‘the spot’. After a week of hiking, I had finally found the place!

A large tree about three feet over my head, a large rock directly under the log, Laurel bushes and large rocks in the background; I couldn’t have imagined anything more perfect. There was windfall cluttering the water and a dead fallen tree in the shot’s view, but that would be easy to clean up. In addition, there was a large rock was covered with moss and grass; also, an easy fix. Hearing Hubby blow the horn, I was off to tell him the great news. Climbing up the bank and through a couple Laurel bushes, I realized that there was a nice deer path that led right to the bridge. Surprised at how easy it was to walk, I took it as a sign that this was indeed our spot. Once I came by the bridge, I walked a ways along the road to see if I could see the fallen tree; not a sign of it.

Jumping into the car, could wait to tell Hubby all about the perfect spot I had found. A bit leery he smiled and said, “Ok”.

Now it was time to learn the ropes. Although I have experience with floor rope work, I was worried about knots for load bearing. The last thing I wanted to do was get myself rigged up and have a catastrophic failure, fall on the large rock and split my head open. How would Hubby explain that? “Well, you see officer; my wife tied herself up to that tree. Nope, they’re not going to believe that.

With the help of a few great web sites and after consulting with a couple riggers, I began learning safe knots to use for suspension and about distributing weight. I knew Hubby wouldn’t be of much help and I would be using self suspension for the pose. Not wanting to take away from my photo by using pulleys  or other metal rigging gear, I learned knots and body wraps that would look minimal. Reaching out to a dear friend, we planned step by step how to accomplish the pose.

Fairly confident that I was ready, I headed down to the river to practice and clear away debris that would be in the background of my shot. With all of the wind fall gone and the water flowing uninhibited, I sawed a dead tree in half and moved it out of the way. Now, the area upstream looked wonderful and inviting. I cleaned off the large rock and grabbed my rope to practice. I figured a lot out during that trial run and when I headed back home, I was sure we would get the shot.

The day I’d been preparing for finally arrived and we were off to the river. With a bag full of rope and a tarp to protect it while I rigged myself, we headed down the deer trail. Along the way there were wild flowers everywhere in bloom. Picking as many as I could, I knew they would look much better than the ferns I’d planned to use.

I was a bit nervous and my heart was pounding in my chest when I walked out onto the rock. I had everything we needed to set up what I was hoping would turn out to be a breath taking photo; but could I really do it? I took a deep breath, spread out the tarp and got started. 

I gave Hubby the task of de-steaming the flowers while I rigged myself up. Taking it slow, I wrapped and worked the ropes. One by one, I managed to secure them around the log. Laying back and letting the ropes hold me, I knew kept analyzing everything. Is that rope too long, should this one be there, the questions filled my mind. With a few readjustments, I had it as close as I could. Hubby did his best to tie my foot and hand before sprinkling flowers across me and on the rock.

At first I was nervous, just waiting for something to slip. Then I began to relax. The rope felt nice holding my body tight. I felt safe and secure with it bound around me. I liked the feeling of being tied and hanging over the water.

Hubby grabbed the camera, jumped in the water and stared to stumble. Thank goodness the camera didn’t get wet, but he sure did. Taking pictures from every angle he could, Hubby snapped away. Out of nowhere, Hubby was standing over me with a big smile. As he began to tease my lady bits, I let the moment envelop me. An offering, I was stretched out before him. His to do with, what he pleased.

Preparing for this photo truly was a delight. Molly’s One Word challenged me to do something I never dreamed was possible. Best of all, we had fun doing everything to achieve this image.

I’m so proud of our work and overjoyed that it was so well received. We can’t wait for our next photo shoot.