Photography is a wonderful combination of art and technology. And the masters of this medium know how to harness the technology to bring their artistic concepts life. Anyone can point and shoot, but it is a rare individual who can first envision something uniquely beautiful in his mind’s eye and then craft and create it for public exhibition.

Frequent MetArt contributing photographer Rylsky is one of these rare and gifted artists, and this series is a fine demonstration of how art and technical skill can be combined to produce something truly impressive.

Crafted in the studio, “Bolero” is a study in simplicity. But how it was executed was anything but simple! We have a model, and we have an inky, velvety, completely impenetrable black background. The model is beautifully lit and every detail of her body is clearly visible, but there is not a hint of glare, the source of the light is never revealed, and while her extremities may be shrouded in shadow from time to time, she never throws a shadow of her own, the background is simply too deep and dark. The effect isn’t easy to describe, but it is an impressive technical and artistic accomplishment.

As for the model, I commented on her first MetArt erotic photo gallery, which was also shot by Rylsky, and I enjoyed her performance but felt the set was something of a jumble. “Bolero” is anything but a jumble, this is an organic, cohesive, and expertly executed pictorial. And Swan A brings an uninhibited attitude, as well as a lively, varied, and energetic spirit to the proceedings. Unlike the subject of my last post, Swan A uses her face to create dozens of different looks and moods. In three images, chosen at random — #010, #053, and #083 — one gets some sense of the model’s expressive range. Still more notable variety, in terms of expression and pose, can be found in #098, #110, and #120, a truly fine figure study. I don’t know how, exactly, Mr. Rylsky works his artistic magic, but I’m certainly glad he does — “Bolero” is a bravura performance.