We met Sophia at dinner after a class Michele and I tought for Max on our first trip to Seattle together. She was fun to tease and make laugh. She was a constant target for several of the characters at that table. Such a good sport...

Since then I've had the pleasure of watching her play with a few people I know and she's a joy. It wasn't a forgone conclusion that we'd end up together in front of Michele's camera last year. Again, Michele had shot her a couple of times with various partners while we all got to know each other a little better -- to trust each other well enough to be comfortable with the idea of sharing rope with me as top.

It comes down to that one idea: trust. I have to trust that the person I'm topping is going to be fully present and not just using me as a vehicle for their own agenda. They have to trust that I'm going to help keep them safe and be open enough to guide them along an enjoyable, and often intense, path. We have to trust each other with our vulnerabilities. It took a couple of years for Sophie, Michele and me to get there. The perfect opportunity presented itself when Sophia said she wanted to shoot with Michele after the hustle and bustle of SEAF was over; she needed to make some art to releave the tension of working a major Art Show. And she'd be up for letting rope be part of that. That's where I came in.

Once we'd gone over our boundaries, limitations and talked about what we'd each like to get out of the experience, we found a natural flow and pace that let us both explore parts of ourselves. I'm a playful and tender top but I can also be a little mean (there are a couple of shots in the gallery that shows that side of me). Sophia was open to all that; she's a bottom who really enjoys different sensations and it was wonderful how she showed me visually and verbally where she was at all times.

When we finished, we were both rope high and the three of us had big smiles from an afternoon well-spent with rope and camera.