During a shoot with the beautiful Riley Anne last fall, her close friend Sophie came up in conversation. I expressed how I’ve wanted to work with her, but she never seems to be around. Riley mentioned she was arriving in New York that night and staying with her.  She made the introduction, and we scheduled a shoot.

Now all that was left to do was come up with the concept. I decided on a rope themed shoot, maybe using the Shibari technique. I called a good friend of mine, skilled in the art of Shibari, that I’ve worked in the past, but she was unavailable. So I took it upon myself to learn a couple of knots and to use the ropes as a symbol more than a Shibari technique. 

The theme was “Bound to New York.” Reflecting on my own experiences of living in New York. The beauty, the energy, and opportunity you can achieve are what has bound me to New York. Planning for the shoot, I began looking for locations, sketching a few posing ideas, and within a few hours I was ready for the shoot.  

After picking up Sophie on the Vespa and going over the concept, we headed to the first location, where I bound her to a traffic light in the middle of 5 Ave. and Broadway with the iconic flat iron building in the background. From there, we hit four other locations, but the photograph in front of the Empire state building was probably the craziest. My concept was to have her stand on top of the rental bike docks in high heels with hands bound and leaning forward. To achieve this, I tied one end of the rope to the scaffolding and the other around her hands. This would allow her to lean forward without falling. Now the crazy thing, just before Sofia stepped on top of the bike dock, she unknowingly walked in a bit of oil. Now on the dock, she strikes the pose, and I start shooting. Within a short time, Sophie began to slip (because of the oil). I see her going down unable to do anything but watch in fear, down she went hands bound and in heals.

Sophie must be part cat because she landed on all 4’s and walked away with just a small scrape on her knee. She stood up and said, “did we get it?” I replied YES, we got it! And we were off to the next location. [Model: Sofia Jolie | IG: sophie.eternaloptimist]

About Gary Breckheimer

Gary Breckheimer is a New York City-based photographer, and has been pursuing his craft for over two decades. After attaining a BFA from Brooks Institute, he moved to New York City and eventually to Europe, where he was published in many international magazines. MAX Mag, Playboy, Vogue Sposa to name a few, for his fashion and portraiture.

Breckheimer then made the transition from Fashion to Fine Art, and developed a propensity for Black & White imagery. He predominantly focuses on juxtaposing the perceptible beauty of the female form against our manufactured environment. His intent, he explains, “is to allow viewers to contemplate the relationship of the human form and the urban environment. Observing my choice of location, placement and positioning of the model, use of props, along with my use of light and lines, each viewer is able to surmise his or her own conclusion about the relationship of humans and their environment. This is why there is an element of the unexpected, mixed with an overtone of solitude yet erotica in his work. As an artist, his goal is to create photographs where the story, the meaning is not immediately obvious, but to take photos that lure viewers back for deeper consideration so that his vision of humans relationship and sexuality can spawn infinite conclusions.

Breckheimer has been recognized for his vision by numerous awards, the prestigious, International Photography Award for Fine Art Nude, The Spider Awards, B&W Magazine, Erotic Signature and others, and featured in many books & publications including Nude Magazine, B&W, Fine Art Nudes, Erotic Signature, Mammoth Erotic Photography, Art Collector Magazine and many others. [Official Website]