Ron Harris

When I found out that Ron Harris used to shoot girls for Playboy, I felt a little let down. Playboy is for kids in high school. Honestly, my approach to both Ron Harris' Official Studio and the Harris Archives was a little lacking in enthusiasm, but a few minutes of looking around both sites and downloading videos and high resolution images, I am happy to report that Ron Harris has surpassed all my expectations and I have a newfound respect for this old geezer, whom Playboy called the "Granddaddy of Softcore."

Both websites are very simple to navigate and user-friendly. I read somewhere that the site design came from Ron Harris' head itself and it's meant to provide intuitive navigation, so members' can truly enjoy the nudes and softcore videos without worrying about menu's, quick links, etc.

The Official Studio I think is the younger of the two sites. Harris Archives went online in 2003 and is supposed to be as some sort of repository for much of Ron Harris' 25,000 published photographs (I don't know if unpublished photographs have been added but I think it's a good idea). The Official Studio features the latest works, including the hottest porn newcomer, Sasha Grey who's been in the biz a few months.

The pictures have a flawless Photo Shop quality to them. This is not entirely a bad thing as long as they didn't mess with the natural curvature of the ladies, and I think they didn't (compare the pics to the video). As for the images, there are three qualities to choose from: 800x600, 1500x100 and 3000x2000 though these resolutions may vary per model. You can also download entire sets as zip files but this option is only available for hi-rez photos.

Now I can find the videos and images in all three resolution quite easily at The Official Studio, but you might have to upgrade your membership to the Harris Archives if you want to download videos and sleazier pics. content are divided into pictures and videos.

The videos are in WMV format and are available in three qualities based on bandwidth: 500 kbs, 1000kbs and 3000kbs. It's obvious that Ron Harris is no director as the videos are as gonzo as gonzo gets. One irritant is that you can hear Ron Harris' weird voice in the background. He actually sounds like a director of extreme videos rather than an artistic nude photographer.

Also, while you're in the site, check out the models' mini bio. They've got a snapshot of each one's driver license. Real names are blocked out but you can see their real ages and what they look like in normal life. I think it's a nice touch.