As the photographer (or, as they say in Germany, photoartist) half of the duo, blende666 can often be found in the pits of fetish fashion catwalks or “lying on the floor shooting his wife” (with his camera, we hope).

“We’ve got that great benefit that we’re living together,” he says. “So we can do brainstorming for new projects even late at night.

“Very often we make props together and we also discuss all picture post-production before we publish our photographs.”

Sarathustra adds: “And because we’re working together in every single phase, we’re able to create our artworks as harmonic compositions.

“The style and colour of the clothes match the location. The accessories and make-up perfectly match the clothing.

“My poses and facial expressions underline the mood we want to set in the scenery, supported by my husband’s lighting set-ups and perspectives.

“And with different methods of post-production we make everything even more harmonic once again. We love to be accurate in each little detail.

“We’re not that spontaneous. And we’re perfectionists. Every single shoot takes a minimum of three weeks of planning and preparation.”

So there’s a huge investment of time and money to produce new photographs. Can this be a lucrative business?

“We believe that artwork and business can run alongside each other,” Sarathustra asserts.

“We offer all labels the assurance of booking a perfectly matched team of model and photographer.

“We know each other very well and so, on a catalogue shoot, we can produce high quality pictures from the very first second.

‘There’s not the stress of booking a model and photographer separately, no schedule problems, easy logistics, one contact and a make-up artist included’

“There is none of the stress of booking a model separate from a photographer, no schedule problems, easy logistics, one contact and a makeup-artist included as well.”

The money Sarathustra and blende666 make from shooting catalogues and fashion shows is spent directly on funding new artwork projects.

“Most of our artwork projects are quiet expensive. For example, for one of our shoots we rented a whole baroque castle which cost us about €1,500. As a free art project without a paying client behind it, this is not that cheap.

“Our second — perhaps even our main — pillar is selling our photographs afterwards as artprints or in calendars. Of course we always feel very honoured if someone likes our artwork so much that they want to take some home!”

The art prints shown by the couple at exhibitions in Germany can also be ordered via e-mail or from their DaWanda online shop (see Links panel below).

But while Sarathustra and blende666 love to break boundaries with their art, they do have some no-goes.

“We’d never glorify cruelty and violence against any living creature,” Sarathustra explains. “And I’m really bad at acting like I’m a submissive person — it never looks authentic. In fact I really don’t like to play a sub role at all.”

What materials do they prefer to shoot with? Well, as you can see in the gallery pictures, it’s much more than just latex. Sarathustra says she prefers the smell of leather, but she refuses to wear real fur.

With vinyl clothing label Lackina as one of their clients, the couple also do lots of PVC shoots. But one thing will never change, says the model:

“I don’t care if I wear no clothes at shoots or shows. But I’d feel naked if not allowed to wear high heels!”

Recently, thanks to their new sponsor Elite Heels, the couple’s shoe collection has grown to the point where Sarathustra now owns about 100 pairs of heels

And recently, thanks to their new sponsor Elite Heels, the couple’s shoe collection has grown to the point where Sarathustra now owns about 100 pairs of heels.

Most of them are six inches or higher (even without platforms). “They deliver to us almost every high heel we need for our shoots,” says her photographer husband.

“And as Sarathustra also wears them in her private life on a daily basis, it is a big benefit in this way too.”

sarathustra.de
blende666