Photographer Christine Kessler Commits Suicide

LOS ANGELES—Well-respected fetish and glam erotica photographer Christine Kessler took her own life Thursday night, friends report. Having withdrawn from her professional and social circles for the past several years, Kessler is said to have been battling intense personal demons that she was never able to overcome. Kessler's work has been featured in leading publications including Penthouse, Bizarre, Hustler's Taboo, Interview, Esquire UK, Playboy Special Edition and Club. She also published the photo compendiums Pervy Girls and Nylon Girls, as well as contributed photos to a number of other anthologies and erotic fiction books. In addition, her photography has appeared on websites including GodsGirls.com, Danni.com and Michelle7.com, and been commissioned by such commercial clients as HMS Latex, The Stockroom, Pinup Girl Clothing, Syren Latex, Stormy Leather, Exquisite Restraint and Motley Crue. On Friday, fellow fetish photographer Steve Diet Goedde posted to his Facebook page: "Today I say goodbye to yet another friend and colleague. Christine Kessler left our world yesterday leaving behind a vaccuum of talent. ... Christine, you will always be an inspiration. Rest well, my friend." Another fetish photography peer, Dave Naz, told AVN, "I've known her for years, and she was always really sweet and just loved photography and loved shooting pretty girls in the fetish community." Adult performer Stoya, whom Kessler was one of the first photogs to shoot and who appeared in Nylon Girls, offered, "I always got the impression from both Steen as a person and her work that she loved her models because of our quirks. She was my fairy pervert godmother. She was one of the first people to depict fetish in a joyful way. And she had the best damn ethical practices with models I've ever experienced. She will be very missed." Fetish model Darenzia Elizabeth shared extensive comments about Kessler on her Facebook page Saturday and Sunday, including the eulogy, "To deny Steen's impact on my life and work is to deny a large portion of my own life and work. Regardless of how we ended, Steen was the person I collaborated with more than any other photographer and she was hugely influential in my creative and artistic development. She made an impact on my life in many ways both good and bad. There was a time when we were so close that our collaborations were like fucking magic. Then they weren't. Life goes on. Thanks for preserving those magical moments through your eyes forever in time." Pictured: Photo of Stoya by Christine Kessler, courtesy of Kessler's Facebook page; inset, Darenzia Elizabeth (l) and Christine Kessler (r), courtesy of Elizabeth's Twitter feed.