| Review:
By now most of you will have already heard of Abby Winters, an
Australian chick (her word) who decided to start up her own porn site in
response to all of the lousy adult material out there that "missed
the point" or was "boring and uninspired." This is the
origin of AbbyWinters.com, and it's important to keep in mind. It's
something we'll have more to say about later.
But first off we have to say this is a superb site. It was a great
site when we first visited in 2002, and it's only getting better. Navigation is
super user-friendly, but we advise you to go to the site map first to
see where everything is. In addition to everything else, this has become
a very big site with a lot of different areas. There's even a separate
"sound bites" section with files of the girls saying "You
have an e-mail!" and other such things in their Aussie accents.
Loved it!
At times the categorization seems to get a little out of hand though.
Is it trying too hard? "Backstage" and "Girl-Girl"
are self-explanatory. "Deviations" ("special sets
different from the norm") is more like a come-on.
"Mezzanine" totally eluded us (and the
definition--"models on another scale"--wasn't a big help).
Just browsing the site is fun (we love the little pee icons), but we
thought there might be room for a model search function where users
could search by hair colour, breast size, etc. We also thought the
proofreading was a little slack for a site that looks so damn
good. But we pick up on this for every site we visit and we're really
not sure anyone aside from us cares. No webmasters have offered to pay
us for our services as "porn proofreaders". But we could help
out with text like "both started slow and ended up having a fun
exploring journy of eachothers bodies [all sic]."
Site support is everywhere. There is a lot of personal
involvement in the site on a daily basis, with Abby and the rest of her
team (including some of the models) taking part in a very active message
board. The pics are full screen-plus and incredibly sharp, whether in
full body or super close-up. Total shoots can be
downloaded in zip files. You can save these pics as wallpapers. The
quality of digital photography on the Internet has gotten so good
lately, you have to wonder why more of the pros aren't getting with the program.
Why is stuff this good being done by amateurs (and there a number of
great amateur nude photography sites out there now) when the big boys
are still screwing us around with their little pics? And if you want to
know how Abby does it, just read her About page as she proudly
inventories the tools of her trade (that's her photographic equipment,
by the way).
You can check out the site stats anytime (and do take advantage of
the very generous site tour). When we last visited they broke down to
nearly 65,000 pics and 683 videos. All done by Abby herself. Wow.
The videos in the main members section are high
quality mpgs, looking great full-screen. Most of them run from 25-60
megs, which is a nice size. They aren't split up into tiny clips. After
some early experimentation and apparent legal hassles, the music has
been canned. Thank god! Who wouldn't rather listen to natural sound? In
the clips we watched the editing and camera movement was very
professional, reminding us of the movies at LittleMutt.com.
The pace is very relaxed, but erotic in a realistic, inoffensive kind of
way.
Overall the action is pretty tame,
though you do get a bit of toy play, shaving, peeing and quite a lot of
soft lesbian action. A bit of cock. Very little fetish (though the Gold Members area--which
comes with a three-month membership--does have a Deviations section where you'll find some basic bondage and other
slightly kinky stuff, including some pregnant chicks). You should also
plan on spending a lot of time getting to know the girls. Interviews
make up a substantial part of the video section. Not really sexy, but
charming.
Updates are
occurring seven days a week, with around 500 pics and three videos spread
out over the week. In all of this there is nothing to knock.
Our suspicions were raised somewhat by the two-tiered membership. But
again, a trip through the site tour will let you know exactly what you
are getting with a Basic membership and what you get with a Gold.
All-in-all, we didn't think holding out the gold was a scam. Basic
membership is a relatively cheap $17.50 a month, so a gold at $30 a
month or $45.00 for
three months isn't that big a deal. And for the Gold membership you
really get a lot more, especially in terms of video (another way
of putting that is to say that for a Basic membership you don't get as
much). There are a lot of movie files available for download now, including
plenty of "hardcore" lesbian action (we're never sure
what that term means when applied to two women, but suffice to say they
go at it). You will want to read the clip descriptions first however, as
there is also a fair bit of talk and the thumbnailing for the videos
just isn't happening. This needs to be improved.
Having said all this, we should point out that AbbyWinters.com isn't
for everyone. Remember, this is a site that set out to be a kind of
antidote to what, for lack of a better word, we'll call industry porn.
Abby's focus on the natural and the normal over the plastic fantastic
look of mainstream porn can be almost self-defeating.
Many of the models are very cute and attractive, but there are also a
number who are just average. (All are quite young, by the way. Abby
targets the 18-23 age group. Older Australian chicks can be found at Girls
Out West.) Eschewing
glamour and fantasy, Abby skirts a thin line with the unerotic. Forget
about the make-up or sexy outrageous clothes or "pornstar
hair." This is dismissed as "guff." Forget about sexy
fantasy shoots, those "high heels, stripper uniforms or dumb
doctor-and-nurse scenarios."
Well, yes, we'd like to say, but . . . work with us Abby!
There is a section of models who shave, but it is small and Abby tells
us "We don't do this much any more." That's what you call a
royal "We". Expect bush. Silicone boobs are definitely not in.
Clothes are very much what you wear around the house (many of the models
are shot in their own homes), including a lot of baggy,
bunchy underwear. Are thongs illegal in Australia? With all those
beaches, they can't be! And yet when Abby shoots girls on the beach
they are wearing bikinis that seem almost vintage.
We found ourselves returning to Abby's claim that industry porn
misses the point. But what is the point? Arousal? Abby's is an aesthetic
of naturalness and personality. Her models are "young and
natural, healthy and happy." It's like she isn't even trying to be
sexy, at least in a Stephen J. Hicks or Suze Randall kind of way. Her
photos and videos are indirectly or "unselfconsciously"
erotic, but they do work. In the end, we're not sure we'd call
Abby a great photographer, at least yet, but there's no question she
creates an atmosphere. She's found her visual "voice" and her
industry niche. Who knows? She may end up being recognized as one of the
seminal artists of the Internet.
And did we just get away with saying "seminal"?
OK, these are philosophical differences. And while our own prejudices
lean more toward fantasy and porn with a narrative, there's no denying
Abby's triumph in creating such a terrific site to showcase her own
vision. In addition, this vision is
front and center at all times. A quick tour of the site--and Abby really
has a great tour--will let you
know what you're getting. In terms of its technical accomplishment
there is simply nothing to fault. This is as good a production as you
will find anywhere. It may not want to be "glam", but it's
flat out impressive all the same. For those who like to keep it real, we
recommend it very highly. The basic membership is a good deal, but you
do get a whole lot more with the gold.
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