Site review: Alt Exclusive

I chanced upon Alt Exclusive last month, and - as I strongly suspected - I couldn't resist the immense lure of so many lovely models, and so many great photographers. Although I don't have the physical magazine, I signed up to the accompanying site is where they post more full sets of the magazine shoots - including more nudity than makes it into print, together with some out-take videos and the like.

Alt Exclusive is a relatively new venture - now on the third issue of the magazine - devoted to pinup, fetish and tattoed glamour. That being the operative word here - I'm tempted to dispute the 'Alt' label since to me that suggests more punk/emo-type alt porn, along the lines of Suicide Girls, God's Girls and Burning Angel - which are all great sites, but this is definitely high glamour, albeit with tattoos and latex.

It's hard to know where to start describing the work here, because there is such a concentration of talent; somehow they've managed to get the top names in models, photographers and clothing designers all in one place - and I'm hugely enthused about it.

To start with, Viva Van Story has some amazing work here. Some wonderful pictures of Laura Dore, Marlo Marquise and Sharon TK, in her trademark evocative retro kitchen and bedroom scenes; but perhaps even more interesting are her more recent shots of Mosh, Jade Vixen and Angela Ryan, in more contemporary settings and in and out of some very seductive latex dresses.

And some great shots by Shannon Brooke - who I'm very fond of, since seeing her work in Korero's Kustom Kamera - including Sabina Kelly, Notorious Ang and Lourdes. Some of Ms Brooke's photos are done against a plain studio background; generally I prefer more context, but in this case, everything is spot on and they look amazing. But others are even better, contrasting the beauty of Mosh, Masuimi Max & Darenzia with harsh industrial backgrounds.

Continuing the who's-who theme, models you'll also find here include Ludella Hahn, Lauren WK, Vanessa Lake - and great to see Cervenna Fox & Ulorin Vex from the UK. And photographers Redrum Collaboration (Ludella in blue latex, on the left), Lithium Picnic (Mosh and Masuimi Max as geishas is inspired) and Monique Antoinette (Mosh and Bernie Dexter in bondage is very racy). And there are some fun behind-the-scenes videos, where we get to see the models chatting and posing for the camera.

Although the content can't be faulted, I have a couple of gripes about the site itself. It's a bit glitchy; some links to zip sets don't work, and the downloadable videos are smaller than the streaming ones. More annoying is that membership only gets you 1200 pixel images; the much-vaunted high-res, 3500 pixel versions are pay-per-download - that's per picture, not per set. The membership fee of $15 is relatively modest, but I'd have been much happier if either this restriction was obvious before joining (I see no mention of it); or if the membership was a bit higher but with access to the high-res pictures.

But, with those caveats aside, this is a good site with unparalleled and unique material. Although it's fairly new, and there are only about 80 picture sets of approx 15 pictures, they are stunning and worth joining get - and to support such a good venture, and all involved.