THOMAS HOLM

THE
VENUSGRACES
ON MARS
 THOMAS HOLM

VENUS ON MARS
 PREFACE
Images stream past, a constant procession of the young, the
beautiful, pops of color, lush landscapes, decadent dishes,
the photographic evidence of enjoyment and entertainment.
Canned, spoonfed, all aspirational. And then something catches
my eye, monochrome against the blur of color. My thumb stops
the scroll. What I see: POWER. It is subtle, a bit provocative,
artistic to be sure. But in that instant, as I stare at a black and
white nude photograph of a female ballerina, all I can think is,
“The weaker sex?” and laugh to myself. The subject of the photo
is beautiful and feminine and exudes power. Her taut muscles
look ready to explode from the screen and yet she seems to be
completely at peace with herself and her surroundings. Power-
Amanda Micallef ful serenity.
President, Co-Founder Arsenic
This was my introduction to Thomas Holm, via Instagram. Not a
creative myself, I’ve been fortunate to spend more than 20 years
working with visual storytellers. Long enough to know that cap-
turing an image such as that is not an accident. It’s a process,
years in the making, and goes beyond skill or even talent; what’s
at the core of work like that is equal parts emotion and intel-
lect. You have to believe in your heart that beauty on the outside
doesn’t preclude beauty on the inside, you have to understand
that true intimacy can never be forced and you have to appreci-
ate people for who they really are. For a photographer to capture
the human form in its purest state, the subject and the artist
must form a bond beyond measure. When that trust is there,
all pretense falls away and no longer does it appear a model is
posing for a picture, but rather showing the lens her truest self.
As I became more familiar with Thomas’ work, I learned that his
repertoire varied, from black and white to color, from studio to
awe-inspiring locations, though all shared that one constant
thread -- strength.
We connected over email with the hopes of collaborating. And
when Thomas was in Los Angeles, this came to fruition with Ar-
senic hosting a shoot for him at the Arsenic House. Arsenic has
never shied away from the provocative and our foundation is
built on sex-positive feminism. What a woman chooses to wear
(or not wear) and the photos she may publish on social media or
elsewhere, should not have any bearing on how she is perceived
by the world. We stand for this principle and battle on the daily
to shift the conversation in this direction. Thomas fit squarely
within this idea. I was excited and a little nervous to meet and
introduce the models we often work with to this talented pho-
tographer who so deftly showcased the female form. What an
afternoon it turned out to be. The images from that shoot remain
some of my favorite we’ve ever been even a small part of. Many
are group shots, of the women, arm in arm, wearing nothing but
their own skin. They appear ready to conquer the world together,
totally at ease with each other, united.
I was humbled when Thomas asked if I would write the foreword
to his newest book. Having had the great honor of seeing an ear-
ly version of Venus on Mars, I know the pages ahead will leave
you in awe of the female form, the purity of a sisterhood, the
strength we all have inside us, and the incredible skill of Thomas
Holm. I also write this knowing that I’ll be seeing Thomas soon,
at his next photoshoot at the Arsenic House, and I can’t wait to
see him bring his special brand of magic into our community
once again.
THOMAS HOLM BIO

I was born in a sleepy suburb to Copenhagen in Denmark in 1967. I had a

heart defect which meant I was unable to run and thus partake in a lot
of the social life kids normally do. I was teased a lot in school for being
fat and unfit and felt somewhat as an outsider. I knew from a young age
that I’d need a heart surgery at some point or I would never turn 30. I
received the surgery at age 15 and obviously survived it. I guess I was a
bit introvert as a teenager and had many thoughts on emotion, life and
death. I started with photography and darkroom when I was around 14
years old. My dad had dabbled with photography many years before, and
had some semi-usable darkroom gear that I revitalized. I also borrowed
an old rangefinder camera with a fixed lens. After overcoming the first
inevitable fiascos I was hooked. The ability to freeze a moment in time,
and seeing it appear on print in the developer tray under a red lamp was
mesmerising. Even then I found value in being able to preserve a moment
for eternity, whether it was naturally occuring or arranged. I won my first
small photo competition just a couple of years after. The theme was nature and I borrowed a stuffed fox from a taxidermist,
placed it in a forest and made an image of that. I guess I have always been more interested in creating images than shooting
whatever is in front of me, it has always seemed a better way for me to convey a narrative.
Fast forward some years I managed to find a photographer that would take me in as an apprentice during the four and a half
years the formal danish education as commercial photographer takes. After about a year I got my own company van and started
to do solo work. About 2 years into my tenure my boss bought an old wooden house. he then spent the majority of the last two
years of my apprenticeship fixing it up. He only occationally made an appearence at the studio so I was left to handle whatever
jobs were at hand from end to end, and mentor another apprentice he had taken on at the same time.

Honing skills
A couple of months after my graduation I landed a job with one of the top advertising photographers in Denmark starting out in
the darkroom. He was a fantastic photographer but was also an alcoholic. Frequently he did not show up at work or fell over and
was away. He had a vicious streak and believed in management by fear. After a couple of month he appeared in the darkroom
and asked if I could shoot silverware. I said yes and got promoted and another guy was put into the darkoom. I shot various demo
shots and based on this we landed a huge job shooting a worldwide still life campaign for Danish silverware company Georg Jen-
sen. This was the old days before Photoshop, so everything had to be perfect on film, no retouching involved. I spent 3 months
shooting this campaign which was both fun and challanging. I did an additional seven months at the company where I shot im-
ages for varous national and international ads and campaigns for IBM, Tuborg, Jägermeister, Miele, Grundfoss and many others.
And I shot my first good art-nude image while there.
It was a fantastic intro into high-end advertising but in the end I quit as the working environment was not healthy. The tipping
point was when the owner almost killed another employee. In a drunken rage he threw a metal flag, like a frisbe, and almost
beheaded the other guy. The year I was at that studio nine other photographers came and left.
Then I worked for various other commercial and advertising photographers for the next 7-8 years shooting anything and
everything from huge campaigns, fashion catalogues to supermarket freesheets, honing my skills in creating images that work.

Working with digital

Around ‘96 one my former apprentices got a job at a photo studio founded by a cutting edge Danish prepress company. I got in
to ramp up the client list, but my motication was to learn about prepress. The company had one of the first high-end digital cam-
eras in Denmark, a Leaf DCB I aka. ‘The brick’. It was mounted on a Sinar large format camera, with an RGB filter wheel in front.
Color images needed 3 exposures, each through a red, green and blue filter so it was about 20 sec per picture. We could shoot
B&W with the fastest shutterspeed of 1/8 of a sec. It was a 4 Megapixel camera with a pricetag of around €80.000/$100.000
for the setup. Since we could not shoot anything that moved, such as bubbles in beer, or the display on a mobile phone display,
I became quite proficient in Photoshop as we just needed to do these things.
Around the same time Photoshop reached v.5, the first version with usable color management implemented. That combined
with the prepress environment got me really interested in reproduction. I read everything available on color management,
ColorSync, prepress, color separation etc. During that period we also started collaborating with Phase One® on their scanner
backs helping making them useful and more color accurate.
Since the studio was owned by a prepress company, I had the opportunity to learn a lot about color separation and publishing.
And I taught a lot about photography and RGB to the scanner operators, who were equally interested in seeing what was possi-
ble with digital cameras.

The ultimate testing ground

After 2 years a collegue and I were headhunted to start a new photo studio for the biggest publisher in Denmark. They wanted
to move as much photography as possible inhouse instead of using outside vendors. The publisher produced a plethora of
magazines and they had a large old-school prepress department as well as big department of designers and layouters.
With no small amount of hustling I got myself in a position to be able to work with the prepress department’s Scitex IRIS printers,
which at the time was state of the art proof printers. I managed to make near perfect simulations on newspaper stock for some
of the supermarket freesheets and for magazine advertising on woodfree stock. We used the many magazine publications to
test all sort of things. Retouching and color separations techniques like UCR/GCR, unsharp mask levels, resolution, minimum
points, dotgain and so on, and we could see the effect on print just days later. We made horrible mistakes now and then, but
learned a lot about both retouch, color separation, color management, printing and prepress.
Obviously I also took a lot of pictures. And again because of the variety of the magazines, I got to shoot everything from music ce-
lebrities like Robbie Williams and Janet Jackson for the music magazines, pregnant women, fashion editorials with agency mod-
els, naked men (they had another photographer especially for the sexy-girl magazines), interiors, architecture, packshots etc.
And we managed to build up a large portfolio of external customers of all kinds on the side to increase the studios profitability.
Other than learning about reproduction I realised that some of the most famous people in the world, and the most beautiful
models around, are just normal people living a very abnormal life. Treating them like any other person works much better than
putting them on a piedestal.

The crash
Then in 1999 I started my own company Pixl in an equal partnership with a colleague initially mainly doing photography. Some
years later I bought him out of the company for various reasons, which means I have since had relatively free reign over what I
do, as long as I can make a living doing it. But 4-5 years in I lost the desire to take pictures. I had reached a point where I could
solve pretty much any photographic problem. I knew instinctively or by experience how to light anything, I understood how the
business worked, I had plenty of customers, but I felt no joy taking pictures. I did too much of something I was good at but which
had nothing to do with the reason why I originally loved to take pictures and I lacked challenges.
I changed work direction towards color management consulting so helping printers, prepress companies, designers, publish-
ers, designers and photographers to get correct color on print. To streamline workflows, and optimize quality throughout the
publishing chain. It was a self invented niche business but after just 6 month time, I had enough work to be able to stop photo-
graphing. And I stopped completely. I didn’t take one photo, not even a private one, for about 5 years. I was disillusioned with the
industry and I just didn’t feel like photographing any more.

How to sell stuff

The reality of advertising was and generally still is like this: Unless you were someone truly unique and famous, you would
normally receive a layout from an ad-agency, or a product from a customer if no agency was involved. Then you’d have to make
that come alive so it would sell the product that are to be advertised.
First you figure out who the target audience is such as gender, age, demographic and possibly location. Then you find out what their
interest or desires are. Based on that you create an image which is intended to make the target audience crave whatever product
you are selling. It’s not about beauty or creativity it’s about selling stuff. Sure there is creativity involved, but I saw myself main-
ly as a good tradesman, not as someone doing creative work, which is what I originally wanted when I started with photography.
Another thing that happens in advertising especially when you have proper budgets is your crew becomes bigger. You can have
location scouts, stylists, assistants, makeup artists models. Then comes customers, agencies and then you need caterers and
all the sudden you are more in charge of a production than you are a photographer taking pictures.
The creative urge
Color management is a very technical field and while it does require creativity in regard to implementation and motivating
people, I began feeling the urge to do something truly creative again after some years. I dabbled with drawing and read up on
sculpture. I started to consider playing the piano again like I did in my teens, but in the end I came to the conclusion that pho-
tography was still what I wanted to do.
But every time I began to conceptualize something my professional background took over: “What is it for, who is the audience,
how do I solve the logistics” and that stopped me in my tracks.
I pondered one question in particular trying to find the core of my motivation: Why do I want to take pictures? I thought about
that question for several years. I wanted to shoot something that was as far away from commercial photography as possible,
that was a given for me, and I wanted something which required a minimum of crew and logistics setting up. I looked at a lot of
images, thousands of them, and was particularily attracted to three genres:
- Portraiture which, when done right can radiate emotion and mystery and bring froward some of the subjects personality.
Portraiture however is more interesting when you photograph someone famous so there is recoignition, or when you work with
someone with a really remarkable face.
- Landscapes where a beautiful patch of nature in perfect light has a moodiness and sometimes grandeur that just makes you
loose your breath and draw you in. The part of Denmark I live in is not terribly interesting though in regard to landscape, and
weather is generally somewhat bland and grey which is not very conductive to interesting images.
- Artistic nudes. When shooting nudes you only have form and light. Lines and shadows. And emotion. Fine art nudes have
always seemed very honest to me, but also delicate and fragile. And I had shot in that genre now and again when oportunity
presented itself from I was 19 or so. Nude images is arguably one of the most difficult genres to shoot as it so easy become s
tacky or lewd. It is also pretty much unsellable. Artistic nudes became my subject of choice.

Finding models
Initially finding nude models was hard. There was an online model site called Model Mayhem that listed ten Danish models who
modeled for nude images. I contacted them all and did not get one single reply. I‘ve never had the confidence to chat someone
up in the street and ask them if I could shoot them in the nude. Some of the professional danish model agencies did have a
couple of models that posed nude but the budget was way out of my league. At some point I needed to go to Krakow in Poland for
a conference and before going I discovered a Polish model site. In Krakow I had booked a suite which I managed to make into a
mini studio, and shot 3 different sessions. The models all brought lingerie, high heels stockings which are the tools of the trade
for many models, as plenty photographers want to shoot glamour type work and want models to appear sexy.
With the first model, Ania, I too fell into this ‘trap’ and created some sexy cliché images. Model in stockings and high heels on
a bed and similar glamour style stuff. The second and third model I did more art nudes with, more abstract things as well as
some more sexy stuff. But on evaluating the images afterwards I just did not like any of the sexy images. They were beautiful
depictions of the models but too easy, too shallow.
Developing a style
I did more traveling and more photography with local models wherever I went, some good and some bad. After a year or so two
things happened: I set up a shoot with a Danish model, who alerted me to Facebook and photography/model groups. And this
made it much easier to find models. Secondly I actually sat down over many days and very carefully looked at and evaluated
the images I had made.
I came to the realization that I mostly did not like images where the models were wearing any kind of clothing, lingerie or shoes.
Or images where I had tried to implement a story in which the models were doing someting. I discovered that the images I pre-
ferred were images that could really be described as both landscapes, nudes and portraits at the same time, and images that
had a timeless quality. A second category I really appreciated were sculptural art nude images in the studio. I also figured out
generally how I prefer lighting, and started putting some words on my main compositional preferences.
And I thrived just shooting exactly what I loved to shoot, simply because I felt like shooting it that way. I mostly published on
social media, despite the ludicrous ‘community rules’, or to be more precise lack of clear rules which led to frequent banning
and creation of new social media profiles. And I did a couple of solo exhibitions. From this point on many people on social media
began to say they recognized my images as Thomas Holm images before realizing they were made by me.
I also set up a Facebook group for models traveling the Denmark, and photographers interested in shooting them, which made it
easier yet to find good models. These days I have no shortage of models. Very frequently experienced traveling models contact
me and want to work together, and with the advent of instagram there is simply an abundance of models available.

Competitions
I also started entering various photo competitions. It is a valuable exercise to try to select, say, your best four monochrome
images. It will force you to look critically at your own work, judge one image against another and that is valuable for everyone. I
did very well in almost anything I entered and have a huge pile of medals and trophies as a result.
Saying I don’t enjoy winning gold and medals in competitions would be untrue. But along the way I realised that whether or not
you win are often based on personal preferences of the judges, who are people you don’t know, employing a scoring system you
don’t have access to. And many of the competitions appear to be created solely as a money making scheme.
In some salon circuits one of my images would win gold in one competition and not even be accepted in another. A circuit is
a joint venture where 3-5 different competitions are judging the same images. So 3-5 sets of judges will rate all images. The
highest score will win gold, and images with a too low score will not be accepted at all. So for one judge a particular image would
be the best of all in a category, and for another judge, evaluating the exact same image in the same category against the same
images as theother judge it would not even qualify for the competition. Possibly because a particular judge is biased against
nudity or pro landscape or whatever, but you just don’t know.
Unless I know the people judging my work are someone who’s vision is one I admire, and unless I win/qualify amongst work that
I admire myself, winning a competion is just a superficial pad on the back. I still participate in the odd competition. But only if
it is something specific to nudes or a larger competition where I percieve the competition will be really hard. I still win some
awards in these competirions and for those I’m quite proud. I am however still my own worst/best critic.
The Why question
I’ve always been interested in the way some of the old masters of painting like Rembrandt would use light to create or enhance
a mood and direct focus. And sculpture I simply never get tired of. Watching a sculpture by Michelangelo, Rodin or Degas, or
many of the other masters is a humbling experience to me. The anatomy, the way the artist shape their material, making marble
or bronze look like soft fabric with muscles so realistic you can almost feel them. The way light can wrap itself around the near
perfect shapes and enhance the anatomy, and the tactile feel and emotion a good sculpture can have fascinates me.
Since my teenage years I have been fascinated by and attracted to women, very likely for the same genetic reasons most
younger men are. I have tried hard from a logical perspective to figure out why, but I can’t put my finger on it. I simply love to
watch women. I can walk out after a full day shoot with a super beautiful nude model, and across the street I might see another
woman flick her hair, and stride on and I just can’t help looking. Noticing the spring in her step or shape of her calf or some such
thing. It’s not about sexual attraction it’s pure unbridled fascination of anatomy, femininity and sensuality.
On the outside I find the female body to be amazing. It’s soft, curvaceous but with strange hard spots like hip-bones, spine,
collarbone and sometimes ribs. It can be feminine, or androgynous, slim or curvaceous. It’s generally attractive both for men
and women and it seems to posess so many untold secrets. And every single body is different.
Women are strong. They do not only have the ability to nurture new life and give birth to new generations, thus keeping the
human race and civilization alive. They are also gatekeepers who decide which part of the male population will be allowed to
pass on their genes. At the same time women are fragile, tender, emotive and full of self doubt, regardless of how unobtainable,
attractive and accomplished they may appear on the outside.
Photographing women for me is a way of immersing myself into the mystery of women, and possibly get closer to an under-
standing. In my images I use the environment, sometimes as an allegory, and the women’s pose and expression to create an
emotional experience that I have seen or sensed in women. And I use light to sculpt the body, draw out certain traits while hiding
others and enhance the sense of wonder I feel women possess.
Portraying women in the way I percieve them is what drives me. Feminine, sensual, emotional, strong, fragile, alone, together
and if possible in harmony with nature. And I also really appreciate the sense of empowerment women experience when they
see really beautiful images of themselves. These days I also do both private and commercial assignments when I feel my goals
and way of working allign with whoever I’m working for.

The Graces
After some years of shooting Art-nudes I set about to create a book with my best images. Obviously
it is a great ego boost to publish a book with your photography. Seeing images in print is an en-
tirely different experience than watching images on a computer or smartphone. And it will
lend you a certain credibility and set you apart from other photographers. But I also had
a different reason. My day to day job is color management consulting, I help optimize
printing and publishing throughout the graphical workflow from photography
to printing. I know how pretty much everything about creating books from pho-
tography, selection, retouch, layout, color separation, proofing, press standard-
ization, to how printing works. I sell different software tools which can optimize publishing.
Color servers to optimize and perfect color conversion. Software to automatically resize images in In-Design® to the print
size and apply correct amounts of sharpening. Proofing systems to make proof prints to predict the printing accurately. And
software and know-how to set print curves on CtP, and optimize print density, to ensure the printing machine will run perfectly
according to the standard it should run to and thus print correctly and predictably.
And I used everything I had to create that book The Graces. It was meant to be a showpiece to illustrate what both I, and the
software I sell in my consultant business, are capable off. I can’t say one reason were more important than another, but the
finished product, my first book The Graces turned out beautifully.

Art prints
As an artist it is important to have an audience. Books are a good vessel, online media a necessary evil as images seen on a
smartphone or a computerscreen, look and feel so much less interesting and fleeing than in a book, or when printed framed
and hung on a wall. To satisfy both my own but also others’ wishes to see my images the way they are intended to be seen,
I produce fine art prints myself. My color management background really pays off here as I have a better knowledge than
most on how to optimize both a file but also state-of-the-art printers and media combinations to produce the best possible
prints. And besides, who better than the photographer himself to ensure that a fine art print looks the way it is supposed to?
Currently my main platform for selling art prints are shop,commandoart.com. If you want some of the beautiful images that I
create for your own wall you can order them directly on my site.
VENUS ON MARS PROJECT
In April 2016 Roarie Yum came to Denmark and we managed to schedule a shoot. We had a really good creative connection and I
wanted to shoot more with her on location. We talked about many things and somehow got to talk about southern Utah being one
of the most amazing places in the world for landscapes. I had seen a bit of the Colorado plateau on previous trips in the US and I
loved the idea of shooting nudes in the awesome landscapes there, and the idea of an extended trip with the same model/models.
Roarie and I talked back and forth for some months and during autumn I decided that I wanted to do a trip in the US Southwest with
Roarie and another model the next year. When I work with someone for a prolonged period I feel I get closer to learning who they
are. When spending a lot of time together you simply let go of pretense and allow you to be yourself. Sometimes that allows me to
catch a glimpse of the models soul and when I’m lucky I also manage to make that shine through in my images.

Figuring out a route

I started researching locations but had a really hard time figuring out how to plan a route. I played with Roadtrippers map figuring
out a rough trip. That online service will show you points of interest nearby, but frequently I found the POI were not accurate. Then
I started googling anything and everything about the area. And I talked with photographers who I could see had shot in any of the
areas I planned to go. I figured out I needed 8-10 days for a route that would take me from Las Vegas to Bisti Badlands south of Lake
Powel and back via Moab. I printed out 500 or so pages of locations and info on the places I wanted to shoot in, classified them in
different general areas and put them in two ringbinders.
I went over every single of the pages, found GPS coordinates for the trailhead, the start of the hike, the end destination, sometimes
promising points on the way, and plotted all these into my handheld GPS. I booked flights, a car, a hotel in Las Vegas on either end
of the roadtrip, and set off.
Setback
Originally the working title of the project was From Vegas to Mars. I was planning yo shooting some nudes in Vegas and thought it
could be a good contrast to the stark landscapes and could be kind of a travelogue. I had early on decided that it would be best to
have two models both for variability, option for duo-shoots and to be able to switch between models when it got cold. But disaster
struck before my plane even landed in Las Vegas. The second model informed me via text she was not able to come after all. There
were good reasons but essentially I lost half of my talent before even starting. So it was down to Roarie and myself and we were
setting off 2 days later. The next day I was stocking up on provisions, camping gear, and various items I was missing for the trip. And
I was trying to see if I could find another model, but for a 10 day trip starting the day after that proved impossible.
Roarie arrived the next day, and we set off to the first designated location. I’m not going into a point by point list of where we went
as this alone would require some pages, but I will tell you a few things which I know from experience are crucial for such a trip.

Weather and supplies

Weather is unpredictable, and there will be times where your plan won’t work. Suppose your idea is to go shoot in a slot canyon and
it starts to rain. Or you have planned a sailing trip on Lake Powell and
the wind picks up so the boat rental is closed. Or it starts to snow
in the next location you plan on going to. Been there done that. You
should always have a plan B, and possibly even a plan C, know how
to get there, know how long the walk in is, and have extra provisions
at hand. Without my GPS and all the things I had researched and
entered, we would not have been able to shoot more than a third of
the images we did. We would simply not have found the right places
in time to shoot. And at one point we would have been completely
lost on some rarely used sandy tracks overnight.

Desert dangers and precautions

Deserts are not very hospitable places. On the first trip from late April to early May temperatures ranged from 47ºC/116ºF near Las
Vegas to -8ºC/17ºF at night in Escalante and we did spend some nights in a tent. Be prepared for bad weather, a flat tire, minor inju-
ries (always bring a first aid kit) and emergencies. Always have ex-
tra provisions, snacks and plenty of water (as in 2-3 days more than
you think you might need). And know your own personal physical
limitations. Don’t expect your phone to work in most of the remote
areas as there is simply no cellphone reception.
Night and morning temperatures can be cold so bring a windproof
fleece blanket (like a waterproof picnic blanket) for your model.
A thermos with hot Tea can make a huge difference in the success
of your shoot too. A happy model, who feel secure, who can see you
know what you are doing and who knows that the cold is temporary,
will perform much better than a model close to hypothermia who wonder if she will get frostbite. Being considerate is important in
building trust. The sun can be merciless so bring plenty of sunscreen, electrolytes and bugspray. Also there can be rattlesnakes,
scorpions and poisonous spiders around so be careful where you place your hands, what rocks you lift, and always know where the
nearest hospital is. And in the US make sure you have insurance, both for yourself and for your models.

Shooting in public
The US and Utah in particular is very strict on what they call public indecency. Utah is predominantly mormon and you can risk being
charged as a sexual offender if your models are naked and people see and take offense. So when researching locations, terms
like “This is one of the most popular hikes…” should likely disqualify the place however fantastic it may look. From dawn and a few
hours onwards you will likely be able to have most locations more or less to yourself so that is the best time. If you encounter other
people and you absolutely want to shoot there, it is a good idea, to go ask them if they mind. Frequently other photographers and
nature-loving people will not mind seeing a naked bum but ask and make sure. General courtesy goes a long way, and could prevent
you from receiving a huge fine or something much worse.

Structuring photography around a day

When shooting outdoor with available light you will almost always have the best light around the first two and last two hours of the
day when the sun is lower on the horizon and there is more direction to the light. This means that you will generally be waking up in
the middle of the night, transport yourself to your location, hike
in frequently will be wearing headlamps or carrying flashlights.
Midday it will be best to shoot in covered areas like slot can-
yons or other plces without direct sun, however there will be
more people around midday. Shooting and hiking is physically
excerting and both you and the models will need rest so there
are some logistics to consider. I usually structure my day so
we would wake up around 4am, Models do make-up, we go to
location and shoot from 5.30-7.30am. Drive back to the hotel
have breakfast and sleep for a few hours. Check out of the
hotel, move on to the next accomodation (hotel/campsite). Do
whatever shopping necessary on the way or after checking in
at the accomodation. Sleep for a few hours if necessary, go to afternoon/evening location, hike in and shoot. Hike back to the car
and go to a restaurant and have dinner or cook something yourself if restaurants are not feasible. Then back and sleep. There could
be variations where we also hike/shoot midday depending on transport time but this is the general idea. Don’t underestimate sleep
and food, everyone will need plenty of energy if you are keeping this up for more than a few days and food and sleep is the key.
Most models I find don’t want to eat prior to shooting to avoid looking bloated so you have to factor this into your schedule. And at
all times make sure to bring some high energy food like bananas, nuts, chocolate, healthy energy bars and similar snacks.
Casting of trip two
Coming home after the trip with Roarie I knew I didn’t have enough material for a proper book. Even if both my planned models had
been along I likely still would not have had enough for a large art-book. I started analyzing the content I had and tried to figure out
how much more I would need, and thus how much time was required for my next trip, and I put out a casting call on social media and
some model forums. I described exactly what I required, what kind of physical exertion would be involved, stressing the hardships
and lack of sleep necessary for dawn/sunset shoots, and the sometimes primitive conditions. But also explaining what the models
would get out of it, and that they would be able to experience some of the most spectacular places in the Southwest.
I simply did not want a prima-donna model. I wanted someone low maintenance who would be able to physically and mentally take
it on which requires a lot of experience and someone who had character and gracefulness. And someone who really wanted to take
part in the creative process. Since I had a lot of images of Roarie, and would need her to come along for shooting duo and trio sets,
the new models should also be able to both compliment and contrast her. And I knew I absolutely needed someone with a good
sense of humour as otherwise they would likely hate me after just a couple of days. Working with people with a sense of humour
makes everything more fun in my opinion.
After I posted the casting call I received more than a hundred messages from interested models. Some were just the brief, ‘Oh this
could be fun to try’, but many were full time professional art models from around the world who were interested. I started evalu-
ating their previous work and found what I believed were the
best candidates and started a back and forth communication.
I was clarifying their questions, and at the same time trying
to figure out their personalities and level of humor. And thus
trying to figure out how everything could work out with the
four of us as a group. In the end I settled on Sekaa Chavez and
Willa Prescott, and we started coordinating possible dates
almost 6 month ahead.
Having already done one trip with Roarie helped a lot. For a
model to commit to a 2 week long trip where you are pretty
much together 24/7, driving around in remote areas, without
knowing if you can trust a photographer or without know-
ing whether he has any concern for models safety must be
daunting. Obviously the models will closely vet anyone they
work with for safety reasons, and especially for something as
extensive as this. I believe my reputation and other models
reviews of working with me, along with Roaries first hand ex-
perience were important for gaining their trust.

The second trip

After we settled on the dates I started planning a new trip. Some of the places I wanted to go to are limited access only by lot-
tery and access of max. 10 people per day. So I started to apply for some online lotteries 4 month before. Last trip I brought
the huge ringbinders with paper on the locations but I did not find that terribly efficient. So I started to create a custom map
with Google Maps. With a custom map you can essentially both search for specific locations and save the POI’s or type
in GPS coordinates and save as a custom map. I plotted in everything that I found interesting both near the places I thought
I would go, but also further away in all directions. The Google map made it fairly obvious where the bulk of areas I was inter-
ested in visiting were geographically, where there were huge mountains and lakes etc. Pins you save on a Google map
can be shared directly to my handheld Garmin GPS device (and most other GPS devicws as well) which is a huge bonus. It is
also be available on a mobile phone, but since you won’t have mobile connection in many places you can’t rely on it though.
After finding everything of interest I began to look closer into each site and prioritize based on visual appeal as well as how
easy or hard a location would be to get to. I began typing in my
priorities into a calendar program, mapping out which areas I
expected to do in mornings, expected shoot time, how long the
drive to the next location would be, possible hotel accommo-
dations and campsites with contact info, etc.
We set out for the trip, and like the last time around there were
things that did not go as expected. We had to reshuffle the
agenda, in face every evening I’d open the map and check
out the plan for the day after factoring in weather and so on.
Sometimes we had to do alternative locations because of bad
weather, skip other locations as some wonderful opportuni-
ties presented themselves underway. We also had to add in
some resting time instead of shooting in some of the planned
locations to avoid burnout. It’s super important to keep morale
high on something like this.
All in all everything worked out smoothly. Roarie returned to Vegas and flew onwards to another engagements after a week, and
the rest of us continued the planned trip and shot for another week in the magic landscapes - and did a small sidetrip to the alien
highway in Nevada close to Area 51 when I discovered we were nearby. And then we were back in Las Vegas two weeks after we
set out as planned. And let me add that a day or two of luxury, a soft bed and good food, is the perfect way to end of a trip like this.
Post production
I had shot a total of about 20.000 images during the trip and
started the grueling process of sorting these down to the
best 3-5 images from each set. Then I printed these 500+
images laid them out on the studio floor, and over a couple of
days began to sequence the images for the book along with
the images I shot the year before.
From then on the images was laid out in Adobe® InDesign®,
reshuffled several times as I found out that some images
were great but didn’t work together with others, or the image
format crop didn’t work. And at some point I had something re-
sembling a book. Then came the editing, and color correction
of the images and again some further selection and modifica-
tions and finally the image portion of the book were finished.

Printing a book
This is super technical stuff and really suited for a book of it’s own, but shortly described: Find the exact dimensions you want the
book to be and how many pages you need. What kind and thickness of paper you want and what type of cover and binding. Then
you ask specialized book printers for price and timeframe and pick a vendor. Before you make the PDF ideally all the images should
be resized, have another application of unsharpmask after the downsizing to make the best possible print. This could be a daunting
task if done manually but I use Elpical Claro which will essentially take the placement sizes of each image, resize to the percentage
from the image box, apply intelligent unsharp mask, and replace the new image in Indesign in 100%. Then you find out what kind of
color separation (ICC profile/print standard) is needed for the chosen print type and paper, and then all images must be converted
from RGB to this profile. In this case a custom variant of ISO coated v2. I always convert with devicelink profiles which gives better
color fidelity and I use a slightly higher GCR (more black) in the neutral areas. This enhances grey balance when printing, as neutral
colors are printed with a higher percentage of Black, but the colors can still be adjusted. And I never convert the images in Photo-
shop® or InDesign®, I do it with a ColorServer and convert the Finished PDF file.
Then I create a PDF file (Generally PDF/X-4 convert this to CMYK in the colorserver as mentioned above, and create proof prints of
every single page in GMG ColorProof which I feel is the most accurate proofsystem available. Each spread is carefully evaluated. If
something is not absolutely spot on, I will go back, edit the RGB file, build a new PDF, convert this in the colorserver and make a new
proof print. The proof is the ideal scenario for how the finished print will appear in the book and it should be nothing short of perfect.
Once everything is good on proof I will upload the finished PDF to the printer’s online approval system for final approval.
And once we get to the printing I will always want to be on site to make sure everything is as it should be, and help guide the printers
if something is not perfect. Printing is an organic process and there are many factors that can change the color, and sometimes
some compromises has to be made. If so I want to be the one making them.
After the printing the paper need to settle for a couple of days to properly dry after which the book will be folded, assembled,
trimmed, glued ontoh the cover, and packaged in cases. And then the book is ready for shipment.
Finding locations
For this trip and for most wilderness photography I do, photography is the main objective but not the only one. I also want to see some
of the earth’s more spectacular spots, I mean who wouldn’t? I don’t mind putting in the work to hike to somewhere spectacular, so
I’m initially looking for beautiful places on either photo galleries from fellow photographers or google images or even photography
books or magazines to find spots I’d like to see. And then I try to find out where they are located. and plan a shoot around the location.
Shooting in places with elevation is a huge plus as it does not give a flat horizon line, and will allow you so shoot from different
perspectives. Then I try to figure out how lighting wil be in a certain location in the morning or evening which are my preferred times
for shooting. Other than the quality of the light I really like to be alone on a deserted location by the break of dawn and experience
the serenety and miracle of light and try to to capture that emotion.
I check elevation of nearby mountains/cliffs on a topographical map. I want to figure out whether a high cliff nearby will obscure my
object of desire at a certain time. There are various phone apps and websites that will show you exact angles for sunrise/sunset.
And this information can usually be correlated with a topo-map so you know that a certain spot may not have any sunlight from,
say, 1h before sunset. Then I will estimate how long it takes to go there (drive + hike from parking spot) to make sure I can be ready
to shoot in time. Once I’m onsite at a location, if I have time I will frequently walk around alone, possibly with my GPS if it is a larger
area. I will find or plot the best shooting spots, and backgrounds, bearing in mind the direction of light so the available light will hit
the model in a flattering way. That way I have a good idea of the possibilities of the area and I can quickly find the spots again as
they are in my GPS. And then we start shooting. If I am on an out-and-back route I will normally trek all the way to the end first. That
way I know all the locations available and can shoot on the way back, and I also have a high degree of knowledge of where people
can appear from during a shoot.
Suppose I wanted to shoot at the Horseshoe bend in Arizona at
the beginning of the Colorado river (feel free to google it and
find it on a map it might help you understand). There is only
one direction you can shoot, namely facing west and lighting
is best in the early evening or just around dusk. However this
is one of the most popular tourist destinations near Page. It is
very easy to get to as you can practically drive up to it. So it
could have hundreds of people hanging around to watch the
sunset over the Colorado river. Sunrise in May on the other
hand would occur around 6am, and the light would emerge be-
hind me. So shooting would be possible from around 5.40 and
the likelihood of too many other people at that time is slim. So
from there I start to look for sunrise images from the area so
I know what to expect. And try to find out what focal length to
use (12-16mm) and whether there are places I could position a model in the foreground. Since the light would be coming behind me
the model would need to be standing on a rock near the edge or lying on the edge of the cliff but not below the main horizon line
(after sunrise), for me to be able to get both model and canyon in the frame. Also because of the large depth of field necessary I
would need a tripod (a high one) to be able to pull the shot off and possibly a remote trigger. With more light I might be able to do
with a monopod. In the end I never shot there but it was on my alternative list and Roarie and I went midday just to see the place
while passing through. I think there were about 300 people on or near the rim during the middle of the day.
Directing a model
When I start a shoot on location I will show the model the initial starting place and possibly pose based on my perception of where
and how I can create a good image. And then I will allow the model space to work and interact with the surroundings. I want the
model’s input and I want to have her way of working and thus a bit of her personality shine through, rather than enforcing my idea on
how posing should be done on every model. So typically the model will pose freely, but when I see her doing something I like, I will
start to direct very speifically. Suggesting small alterations to the position, pose, slight changes in facial expression, down to the
direction of looking, position of fingers etc. This will give me 10-30 variations of the same pose that I like and thus some variations
to choose from. Then the model will try something else and the process restarts. At some point I just know we have the image, or I
know we won’t get it and we’ll move on.
I try to keep an open mind when I start a shoot. I rarely have a specific idea unless I know the location really well, so I try to let myself
be inspired but whatever I encounter. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for until I see it, but once I see something I like, my brain
snap into action. From there I become very specific and direct the model closer and closer to the exact shape and emotion I strive
for and try to refine the camera angle to optimise the composition to try to create something that really resonates.
When I select images after the shoot I look for images with a strong graphic presence or iumpact, good lines leading the eye around
in the image and a model/scene that radiate some emotion. I find having a good selection with small variations works best for me..
On Editing
When you sit and talk to a person you engage in multiple ways. You have eye contact mostly, sometimes you will look at the mouth,
nose, clothing but mostly eye contact as that is the way we generallyengage politely. Perhaps you notice that the person have a bit
of parsley between their teeth or maybe a few wrinkels under their eye, or a pimple but you don’t normally remember or pay atten-
tion to that. You remember the conversation, eye contact, mood
and all kinds of things that invoke your senses. But when looking
at an image you can and will study it in excrutiating detail and you
notice things that has nothing to do with what the image is trying
to convey, which can draw your attention away.
Not only do I pick the single image that are the best of all the
available pictures, all my images are also edited. I’m not a purist
or documentary photographer and I create works of fiction not a
depiction of reality. I try to draw the viewers attention in a specific
direction, and I will eliminate most things that distract from my
intention either by choosing a specific kind and direction of light,
camera angle, or I will minimise the unwanted detail afterwards
when the images are edited to strengthen composition and the
image as a whole.
If a model have a bruise, marks from sitting on a rock, blotched
skin, acne or anything that would not be there in a couple of
weeks, I’ll remove it. I rarely see the value in showing temporary
imperfections. I generally leave stretch marks, birthmarks and
smaller scars in, as well as skin wrinkles unless I feel they dis-
tract from the total image. I also enhance anatomy such as hip
bones, muscles, sinew and tendons. And I will smooth skin, per-
haps add a bit of structure as this gives a more pleasing look and a
clearer anatomy. I always strive to give my images an anatomical
three-dimensional look like you would experience when looking
at something with two eyes. And frequently I edit backgrounds to
give a better separation between background and model and thus
emphasize the model.
I do on occation use tools such as Liquify to change shape but it
is rare I use it on a model’s figure to make them appear slimmer or
something like that. But I frequently use it to give a slight swirl to
hair or make a more harmonious shape in a background.
Because all these images are shot in natural light often under
challenging circumstances there are some dilemmas on color cor-
recting and contrast. For example normal color skin tone doesn’t
exist in a slot canyon made of Navajo sandstone.
All the light is orange due to the rock reflecting sunlight, except for blue light directly from the sky above. If you make skin appear
‘normal’, the way our brain perceive it while in a canyon, the rock will become colorless or violet and black/brown hair will look blue
which is not how you experience it. If you use the color the camera has captured, it will look very strange and wrong even though it
objectively is the way the camera captured the scene. So you have
to strike a balance between how you recall the scene and what will
appear not only right in the image, but also will appear good looking
on print.
Likewise I may be in a location where the light is not perfect but
the location is too good to pass up. For this I will try and build up
contrast first when developing the image in lightroom and later in
Photoshop by various means to make anatomy appear clearer and
focus attention.
I do all editing in the highest possible resolution and with great
attention to detail. On average I spend 45-60 minutes per image
developing, editing and color correcting.
All the editing is done in a very structured way and always the
same way. Most color- and tonalcorrection as well as necessary
image rotation or perspective corrections are done in Lightroom
on the raw data. Then I export an 8-bit color image. Then I retouch
blemishes, and change shapes with liquify if necessary. Smooth
skintones, Convert to B&W (or not) tonal correction in luminosity to
finetune overall contrast, and possibly tiny color corrections and
then dodge and burn, possibly followed by local color adjustment
if something is a bit off. Then sharpening, add noise, add wtermark
and save both the layered image and a JPEG version.
The structure helps immensely in first of all allowing you to work
nondestructively on the image. Secondly it speed things up and it
gives you a very good idea on when your image is finished as there
is really nothing else to do after completing the sequence.
If you are interested in learning more on how how I edit images
please have a look at my website Shop.CommandoArt.Com where
you can find several online video tutorials available.
 ROARIE YUM
After years of receiving the well intended but limiting compliment “you
should model”, I finally started dabbling with modeling in 2010.
I was a novice and just beginning to understand my body and how it moved.
Thankfully, Doug Swinskey, a local photographer, mentored me. He intro-
duced me to European fashion nudes and it changed my perception of nudi-
ty in relation to the hyper sexualized female nude I was familiar with having
grown up in North America. In the following years, I utilized modeling as a
safe space to explore who I was and how I saw the world. I expanded the
societally dictated constraints of the female form, discovering new ways it
can appear and pushing back on the idea that female nudity is only inher-
ently sexual.
Freelance modeling has been a wonderful gift and I’m grateful to each artist
I’ve been able to work with. Part of modeling is allowing yourself to be vul-
nerable, and hoping the people you are creating with have the same intent
www.RoarieYum.com desire to create without ego. Thomas Holm’s body of work is beautiful and I
Facebook.com/roarie.yum think a large part of that is due to his inclusion of the models he works with.
His approach to collaboration, being open to discussion, and his willingness
IG: @roarie_yum
to listen, makes his already good work that much better. Every time I’ve
worked with Thomas I felt respected and included as a decision maker, so
I was more willing to match his efforts of inclusion with my efforts of hard
work. It was an easy yes accepting this trip, even if it meant waking up at
4am and hiking sometimes nine miles in a day.
The landscapes, with which we created during these trips, are precious.
These images honor them and their beauty. It’s also important to mention
our deep respect for nature. Thomas did a lot of research in preparation
of our travels. We knew what types of plants, animals, and sediments to
expect and how to leave no trace. Some of these places are very vulnerable,
and if we don’t take care of them, they won’t be around in years to come.
Modeling has been a journey for my mental growth but also a physical jour-
ney, it’s taken me all over the world. Growing up in a small town I wouldn’t
have imagined I’d be able to travel to 44 countries and create beautiful art
all along the way. It has shaped and formed every aspect of my life and has
provided an extensive visual diary. Through the work I’ve helped to create,
my hope is to inspire others to rethink what we’ve been told and challenge
it, to discover or create the path in life that suits us best.
 SEKAA CHAVEZ
I was pursuing a pre-med path when I eventually burned out. So, during the
summer of 2013, I started modeling. What began as a form of therapy quickly
turned into a life-changing career. Modeling became a new means for me to
express my inner thoughts and emotions while exploring the world around
me. I didn’t plan on modeling nude, but after my first bodyscape photoshoot,
I became intrigued by the freedom of being without wardrobe. Not only the
physical freedom, but I noticed that wardrobe also constricts character
and time period in an image. Although I deeply appreciate design elements,
there is an undeniable magic to posing bare, especially amongst nature. As
a model, I enjoy exploring relationships while illustrating nuanced emotions
and geometries. Being nude allows me to do so with an air of openness as I
articulate expression through every curve of my body, from my face to my
extremities.
Modeling as a freelancer has enabled me to collaborate with various cre-
atives around the world, to all of whom I am grateful. From these experi-
www.Sekaa.net ences, I have received an abundance of information about art and photog-
facebook.com/sekaa.chavez raphy that accumulates with each encounter. Overflowing with inspiration,
IG: @sekaamodel I now take my modeling to a more cathartic level by photographing myself.
Self-portraiture allows me to continue exploring my most vulnerable self
while developing my own voice as a photographer. Since models give up
most photo rights to those with whom we create, when I am not posing for
myself, I find it utterly important to collaborate with people who practice
honest, open communication and consideration. Shooting with such a skilled
and respectful crew for this project, and at locations that felt like natural
wonders, made a recipe for fantastic photo-making!
This book celebrates our journey as a collaborative team while honoring
one of my favorite regions in North America. The landscapes we witnessed
were nothing short of mesmerizing. Despite their majesty, most sites were
also quite fragile. Respecting the environments we create with is an excep-
tionally high priority. In order to help preserve the ecosystems we stepped
foot in, we were mindful to leave no trace behind, which also meant making
as few footsteps as possible. For instance, we would hike in a single-file
line, imitating each step of the person in front when reasonably possible.
Creating outdoors has required me to prepare for and respectfully navigate
different terrains worldwide, strengthening my already profound reverence
for nature. For those viewing this book, my hope is to help further an appre-
ciation for the female form, connection, and the extraordinary natural world
from which we all come and to which we all will return.
 WILLA PRESCOTT
I am a 5’10’, freckle-faced model originally from Virginia but I moved
to North Carolina in 2016. Due to my height, people always told me
that I should model, so I started modeling in 2015 as a hobby. Thanks
to photographers sharing pictures of me online my hobby quickly
blossomed into a full time job.
My first couple of shoots I wore lingerie and it felt very unnatural, but
the second I was nude I felt normal again. I often forget that nudity is
taboo because it feels so natural. Because of this I was primarily an
art model in the beginning but now I work in many different genres
such as fashion and beauty.
Modeling offers me a lot of freedom to explore beautiful places as
well as explore myself. I have learned to go with the flow. I travel of-
ten and love to visit new places and make new memories. In travel-
www.WillaPrescott.com ing by myself I have found great independence, and having beautiful
IG: @willavanillaaa pictures to look back on from all the places I’ve been is very special
Email: [email protected] to me.
My greatest modeling accomplishment was shooting for Playboy -
on several occations. First time it happened I realized that all the
hard work I was putting in with modeling and networking was truly
paying off.
I find that the most rewarding part about modeling is getting to work
with artists from all over the world with all different backgrounds.
I meet some of the most interesting, lovely people that I would never
have met if it weren’t for modeling. All of my best friends are artists
that I plan to stay connected with whether I’m modeling or not.
One of my modeling dreams is to shoot with as many different ani-
mals as possible. Lions, chickens, bears, lambs, wolves, elephants,
you name it! I have not had the opportunity to shoot with all that
many animals yet, but I have hopes to fix this soon. I plan to continue
creating as long as I can. Right now I am a full time student, but I still
travel weekly. I love the path I’m on and I can’t wait to see where it
takes me next.
THANKS
I would like to express my profound gratitude to Roarie Yum, Sekaa
Chaves and Willa Prescott. Thanks you, you wonderful people for
placing your trust in me, enduring the elements, some very early
mornings and long hikes to help create images with just the look and
feel I was striving for. I’m awed by your grace and your will to keep
going until everything is just right, your fantastic sense of humor and
I am thankfull for getting to know you and for your friendship.
I also owe a huge thanks to my wife and son for their understanding,
patience and support throughout life.
I’d also like to thank all the other people who have generously offered
their kind help in producing the images in this book, who have offered
their invaluable advice and suggestions, encouragement and support
of the project. In aprticular I’d like to thank my friend Ingrid Schneller
from Kanab for taking us to some great places and Preben & Anette
for their hospitality.
Thank you
IMPRINT
© 2019 Pixl ApS
Photographs © Thomas Holm 2019, All rights reserved

Art direction, design and production: Pixl ApS - www.pixl.dk

Text by Pixl ApS
Cover design: Pixl ApS
Print: Livonia Print Sia
Color separation: Thomas Holm/Pixl Aps

Published by
Pixl ApS
Lille Strandvej 1A, kld
DK-2900 Hellerup
Denmark
E-Mail: [email protected]
ISBN: 978-87-998633-1-0
This publication must not be reproduced in any form, shape or media,
on print or electronically, in whole or in part, without prior written permis-
sion by the publisher.
All rights for images and text are reserved worldwide.
We have taken every reasonable precaution to ensure all details in this
book is correct, but we cannot be held responsible for potential inaccura-
cies nor any subsequent damage or loss arising as a result if errors were
inadvertently made.
Venus On Mars is a photographic journey around the hauntingly beautiful landscapes
of the Colorado plateau. The images by Thomas Holm are exploring femininity, intimacy
and emotion with three models juxtaposing the barren landscapes of this geological
wonderland. The elegant and unconventional images are landscape photos, portraiture
and artistic nude imagery all in one. The Images convey a message of unity, femininity,
sensuality and being at one with nature.
ISBN: 978-87-998633-1-0