Introduction
The story of Donna is one that is known to many individuals within the photographic and publishing fields, at least on the thumbnail bio level. When she came to me, asking me to collaborate with her on a much more personal story of her life, I felt it was one of those once-in-a-life-time chances that present themselves, generally, only in fantasy. Needless to say, I gladly accepted the assignment, and we spent over a month tape recording the raw material that finally resulted in this book, taking advantage of whatever breaks we could find in our busy schedules (I was finishing a book on the subject of sex change operations which is entitled The Hormosexuals; while Donna was her ever-busy self, doing feature photography for a number of magazines, advertising agencies, and the like), at times flying from one coast to the other just to tape a few hours of conversation, whenever we found we had a compatible hiatus in our work.
Donna came about her fame as a photographer (or as she prefers to call it jokingly, photographess) through rather unusual circumstances. Although she cultivated an early interest in the field of photography, she never seriously believed that she would be able to compete in the male-dominated world of photography as a vocation. However, needing financial assistance to aid with her tuition while a student in college, she was persuaded to do a series of nude photographs by a friend who was a professional photographer. He, in turn, sold the photos to a burgeoning men's magazine which featured her as a monthly centerfold.
Her centerfold feature was such a sensation that the magazine actually sold out the issue. The publisher/editor of the magazine immediately tracked Donna down via the photographer, persuading her to do another series of more 'arty' poses. In a sense, he felt, the centerfold shots of
Donna were helping his sales, for by the time her second feature appeared, the circulation of the publication had nearly tripled.
And so Donna's success began to match that of the magazine's, the publisher running still another set of nudes featuring her charms. It was about this time that Donna persuaded him to let her do some work behind the camera, fulfilling her long-time wish to put her photographic hobby to professional use, a dream she never thought she'd actualize.
To many of the unobserving readers, Donna's transition from model to photographer was a voyeuristic loss, but if they had only read the photo credits, they would have realized that they had her to thank for many of the more erotic and innovative nude layouts that began to appear in subsequent issues. So pleased was the publisher with Donna's talents, he ran a feature article on her nearly two years after she had first appeared as a centerfold, showing her at work on both sides of the camera to acquaint those who did not already know with the fact of Donna's transition.
The response to the article was tremendous, and Donna's real career was launched. Moving on from being the house photographer for the now-popular publication, she went on to take various additional photographic assignments as the offers began to pour in-advertising, album covers, travel features . . . her accomplishments were endless. She even did a brief stint as a freelance photographer for a major national newsmagazine, as well as finding time to publish several books of her own photographs.
Somehow, Donna has found the chance to do several more features along the way for the publisher who started her off on her career. The company has expanded to become a mini-empire, rivaling those of other girlie-magazine-funded operations such as Playboy and Penthouse, publishing several other magazines, as well as owning a conglomeration consisting of everything from a record company to private membership clubs.
"The only difference," she now confides, "is that I got several times the amount I received for my first layouts those times around. Still, the rates they pay aren't up to the standards of the competition. With all that money they have now, you'd think they wouldn't be so cheap."
If one notes a slight trace of bitterness in Donna's voice, it is not without reason. Even though it was the publisher of this magazine who gave Donna her start, she has come to identify with the Women's Liberation Movement, and feels that he has exploited women throughout his reign. Donna is anything but a raving feminist, having no regrets, for instance, about having posed nude in the first place. She has no really bad feelings about her association with the men's magazine, or men's magazines in general.
"The thing that really gets to me," she states, "is the fact that he's come out with this magazine that's supposed to be for women, and I do mean supposed. He tricked me into shooting a big layout for his first issue, and I went for it against my better judgment as I'd been having some differences with him for some time. But the idea of having a woman's magazine to counter all those men's magazines, one showing nude males for a change, really appealed to me, even if the idea wasn't original-I'd thought of the idea some time before, as well as other women, like the ones that came out with that calendar with nude males . . . Lady's Home Companion or something like that. But as it turns out, the magazine is only intended for women in name. There were more female nudes than male, and they usually had a girl in the pictures with the guys, so even that effect was destroyed. Sure it's O.K. for men to look at pictures of girls, although it would be nice to show more average girls, but give the girls something too . . . without the exploitation."
At thirty years of age, Donna is anything but average. She still retains the eye-catching figure that won her fame as a centerfold nearly eight years ago. She is an attractive brunette, outspoken, witty and urbane. Although she has remained unmarried due to her career, she has not ruled it out, if the right man comes along. As it is, she never lacks for attention from men.
Donna is free about her sexual activities and enjoys the overtures she receives from men she meets during her travels to cover assignments. But she also makes no bones about the fact that she enjoys lovemaking performed with other women as well. It was the publisher she first worked for who first discussed having her do a book about her sexual life.
"The trouble with it was, I would have had to fictionalize a lot of it to make it suitable to his tastes. He just wanted another title for this new book line he was bringing out and figured that my name would bring success to him again. But I'd have to delete parts, phony them up-particularly the parts about him."
Still, after turning him down, she gave the idea of a biography thought. If she were to do it, she wanted to do an in-depth book, pulling no punches, holding back nothing. Therefore she contacted me through a mutual friend who had recommended me to her and we agreed to collaborate on this book. I think you will agree, that Donna Mitchell has had enough adventure in her life to fill any three, and her account of it leaves little to the imagination.
-The Author