We quickly set up our base, the girls oiled up and got into their sarongs. I was eager to get started and ordered the girls to playfully roll in the sand and splash in the sea... but when I took out my video camera both the Russian models froze... they did not want to make videos they said !!! Oh my God... this was getting on my nerves. Luckily I had the contracts with me proving what they had already agreed to... but the girls still didn't budge, so I had to be cruel and say either they do as agreed or this job was over... and that is what it took to get them back in the game. But such negative incidents put a downer on the shoot, and I had to constantly fuel them to get what I wanted.

Two hours later one of the Russians went on strike again. She demanded to eat in a restaurant. Our tropical fruit buffet with nuts, sandwiches and a muesli that would make any super model smile from ear to ear was not good enough for her. She wanted meat for lunch. Again I had to threaten to fire her unless she shut up and got back to work. After some tears she was back posing.

What was supposed to be a day of island hopping was amputated to a one-beach session. After half a day, and frequent ‘bad’ moods from the Russians, we returned to base camp exhausted and frustrated... I needed to lighten the mood, and fast! So I ordered a few masseuses to come over to pamper the girls. And it seemed to work, because for the first time I saw a glimpse of a smile on the Russian faces as soft Thai hands rubbed their naked bodies bathing in the warm sunset.

Till tomorrow

P