Originally Posted by Jon Oso

Eddie,

Since our little spat ago I've decided to move on and not bring you up on the boards, and frankly I've only had a conversation with one model that's shot with you since shooting that one chick.

I'm just going to say right now, that I'm still not going to try to make this into a drama post, but if it comes off that way I understand...

That being said - MOST of the AZ guys I know are pretty cool with each other. Some hate each other, absolutely. Board egos and he-said-she-said bullshit happens. I hang out with a site owner and model pretty regularly (you know this) and I've hung out with several other people on the board. People just seem to get along well in person.

Nobody is perfect 100% of the time. We all have bad personal and working relationships, the best thing to do is just move the fuck on.

1. There aren't that many content shooters in AZ. No reason why we shouldn't all get along. But for that to happen everyone has to be open and HONEST with each other, which will likely never happen. Working together on projects would be the first step to actually knowing how people act on location. If you shoot a girl, have a great experience and she loves you, you send her to me and the same thing happens, but she tells me you were a complete prick and she tells you the same thing... what then? We've never worked together, don't know the inner-workings of each others tactics for recruiting or shooting or whatever, and we're in the position we're in now making a mess of this board and trying to just stay away from each other instead of working "together." Not together in the sense that you aim the lens and I look in the viewfinder and the next guy operates the shutter, but we just know what the fuck is happening.

2. You're going to get slandered, I'm going to get slandered, everyone is going to get slandered... girls talk shit. Not saying it's a new thing they're doing or that all women are piles of shit - but it happens. Could be that you were 2 minutes late arriving to a location or you missed a phone call and all of a sudden you're a flake. You could trip over a chord and land on the couch next to her, you're a creep. The list goes on. There's a reason girls talk shit, and it's either valid or it's not. Sometimes it's talking shit, other times it's legit and it just sounds that way. Every time someone tells a story, it gets bigger, more detailed, blown out of proportion.

3/4. People just need to lighten the fuck up. If I shoot a model and I know other people can use her (or might be able to use her), I send that girl to them. If they get denied, oh well I wasted 4 minutes sending an email and they probably wasted all of a minute looking at the pictures and no harm is done.

Where people run into problems is how models are allegedly being treated when they arrive to shoots. I would NEVER send a model to someone I haven't met in person, had a conversation with or heard from a few other models they were treated well by that person. Am I hoarding girls? Definitely not. If I shoot a girl and then everyone else on the planet shoots them (well maybe not to that extreme but you get what I'm saying) it doesn't matter one bit to me. I'm all about getting what I need first, and then helping everyone else out.

Have I heard some pretty shitty things from models and other shooters about you? Definitely. Is it all true? Probably not. Could some of it be? Frankly I don't know. I've never met you, only had conversation with you through ICQ, email and this board and I think that's where a lot of my distrust you for you comes in. If you act the way you have towards me coupled with what I've heard from models (whether it's bullshit or not) ... what am I supposed to think? What are other people supposed to think when they read you and I, you and Antonio, you and whomever, Gonzo and whomever, blah blah blah going back and forth with each other just talking shit? I'd be weary to do business with any of us too.

We all just need to shut the fuck up about it really. Would I hang out and have a beer with you? Eh, I really don't know. I'd like to say I would because I like to be able to get along with most people, but we have a pretty shitty history with each other and frankly I don't know if the bad blood between us will ever go away. Maybe, maybe not - doesn't affect my shooting, recruiting or working with models you've shot, Antonio has shot, Buck30 has shot, Rob has shot, whatever.

This state is too fucking small for all the hostility. I'm buying a house this month and when I'm moved in I might have an industry BBQ so people that have met can hang out, and the people that have only communicated through the internet can get face to face and figure out if they really don't like the person or not.

Not trying to be the guy that unites the AZ shooter community, but shit is getting ridiculous. There are people that have never met each other hating each other and it could be for a valid reason or it could just be a misunderstanding.


I think I'm rambling.