There was a time a couple of years ago when people encouraged me to take the leap into rope topping. I was more than a little unsure of my ability to craft a scene and apply rope to make it worth everyone's while. I also had lots of encouragement to start shooting my own rope work. When Michele decided that she wanted to shoot her work for the first time, I had the opportunity to pay some of that encouragement forward to her, to help get her to ignore her own self-censor, the one we all have to fight with whenever we dare stretch our wings, and give it a go.

The result of Michele's stretching was a set of images that encompassed quite a bit of what she'd learned about one of my bondage loves, that of being pulled in different directions and angles by very taut rope. It was the perfect end to a long day and allowed us to connect in rope in a new way. I loved being able to pull against the heavy gym equipment with all my might and feel the traction of the ropes not give an inch.

I've been the solo subject of Michele's camera before but adding her bondage to the mix was a treat for both of us. We had the opportunity to both enter into a particular kind of head space together, one infused with our trust in each other, not because this was a physically dangerous set but an emotionally intense one.

I think she soared.