| Review:
MARCH 2007 RE-VISIT
This is our second re-visit review of Girls Out West,
a site we first reviewed shortly after its launch some four years ago.
It's been a couple of years since we were last here and they'd just
completed a fairly major re-design. As far as that's concerned, we'd
give it a thumbs-up. It looks a lot more like a blog now, but then blogs
are where it's at these days so that's not real surprising. And the blog
format also keeps the daily updates front and center. But we also
thought the main page looked a little too busy with too much going on.
However, the navigation menu at the top makes it pretty easy to find
your way around and we didn't get lost or confused. The advanced search
function was still a work in progress when we visited though so we can't
tell you how much use that was.
As you know by now (and if you don't know all the
background, please read our earlier reviews) this site is all about real
Aussie amateur girls. And when we say "real" we mainly mean
the dedicated pro-porn feminist natural look. Expect to see lots of bush
and not much make-up. What style points are being scored are mainly of
the alt variety (tattoos especially), not glam.
There is a lot to be said for this approach having its
place in the generic porn marketplace, but as it's something we've said
before with regard to this site and Abby
Winters, we won't repeat ourselves. On to what's different, or new,
or worth remarking upon this time out.
Looks like Annie's up to over 300 models now. Most of
the action is solo. There were 10 boy-girl sets however and about 40
lesbian sets in the mix. There was also some fetish-type weirdness going
on with regard to squirting and fisting. Nothing nasty, these aren't
Steve Sweet's fisting lessons, but more in keeping with the guiding
philosophy of the site. A few areas seemed to need bulking up. Under the
Stories tab there were only three entries. And these weren't fiction but
essays on subjects like camel toes, squirting, and nude photography.
Also a bit disappointing was Annie's own blog. Only one entry up when we
visited, but it was terrific. Even some (faceless) pics of someone we
assumed was Annie herself. Anyway, it was a very honest and detailed
account of a wild romp she had with her toy-boy. At least we assumed she
was being honest. She confesses to not being into swallowing and
apparently he doesn't eat pussy.
Un-fucking-real. He doesn't eat pussy? And if those
pictures are of Annie, she is one good looking woman. What the fuck's
the matter with the guy?
Anyway, here's hoping she updates this blog more
frequently. Maybe if she took a break from riding all that cock . . .
The forum is an absolute must. The thing about sites
like these is they really foster a sense of community and where you see
that being expressed the most is in the forum. Also the girls/models
post here as well. That's a huge plus.
The photography is . . . getting better. Some of the
newer stuff doesn't look quite so from-the-hip as before. But it
definitely still has a natural, unstaged quality to it that complements
the models. Size is OK at 1250x830 or thereabouts. The video, which is
all in mpeg format, is the same. Very natural and artless. The
photographer even gets between the sun and the model on outdoor shoots,
with the resulting shadows playing all over the place.
Well, it is an amateur site.
Overall this is still one of the most distinctive and
one of the best amateur sites out there. They might want to kick up the
photo specs a bit, and offer more video download formats and options,
including a high-def version sometime, but those are the only big
complaints. And we are very impressed that they are still holding the
line on price. We thought this was remarkable two years ago, and it
still hasn't gone up! Good job!
MAY 2005 RE-VISIT
Only a year after our first visit and we don't have
that much to add. But the first thing to say is that Annie has been
adding a lot. She's up to approximately 150 models now, and over 100
movies. Updates seem to be occurring nearly every day. So that's all to
the good.
Also
to
the
good
is
how open
this
site
is.
We
don't
remember
this
from
our
first
visit,
and
since
we
didn't
mention
it
then
we
should
say
something
about
it
here.
This
is
one
of
those
exceptionally
honest
sites
where
you
can
basically
browse
through
the
whole
site--the
model
indexes,
video
and
gallery
indexes,
about
pages,
a
list
of
all
the
most
recent
updates,
you
can
even
read
the
forums!--without
becoming
a
member.
So
why
don't
you?
Annie
clearly
has
nothing
to
hide
and
you'll
get
a
much
better
idea
of
what's
going
on
then
we
can
give
you
in a
review.
Other positive stuff: Holding the line on price (still
only $19.50 a month, recurring, which is exceptional), improvements to
the video quality (the old stuff looked, and still looks, a bit choppy,
but the newer stuff, which is still all mpeg, is top-drawer), and not
only maintaining but expanding the personal/interactive touch with the
models by having them actively contribute to the forums. There aren't
many, if any, sites we've seen that give you this much contact. But
that's part of the whole site philosophy here.
Aside from what seems to be an increased interest in
girl-girl action (though there still isn't quite as much of this as the
site tour might lead you to expect), the content is pretty much the same
kind of stuff. As we noted in our earlier review, the emphasis is on
personality. You feel like these are real people you're getting to know.
So the videos do have a lot of talk and the sexiness is all of the
informal, natural kind. It's not a fantasy site. The models are
woman-next-door types (with wonderful Aussie accents!). Now obviously
such an angle isn't going to appeal to everyone. In fact some veteran
porn troopers might even find it disconcerting. But there's no denying
the positive atmosphere that Annie has created.
This
site
comes
real,
real
close
to
getting
our
top
grade.
Especially
with
that
low
price,
which
makes
it a
great
value.
But
we
found
the
site
design
to
be
kind
of
dull,
the
video
indexes
still
in
need
of
more
thumbnailing,
and
the
camerawork
in
the
video
pretty
hit
and
miss
(though
some
might
find
its
amateur
quality
adds
to
the
charm).
Though
the
emphasis
is
on
being
natural--with
the
girls
wearing
their
everyday
clothes
and
filming
on
location--the
shoots
are
usually
quite
imaginative
and
interesting
(the
outdoor
stuff
especially).
Our
main
complaint
with
the
photography
is
that
Annie
is
still
shooting
from
the
hip
quite
a
bit.
There
are
some
good
pics
but
you
have
to
wade
through
a
lot
of
very
average
stuff
to
find
them.
Again,
however,
that
is
the
house
style.
As
we
said
a
year
ago,
it's
not
really
our
thing
but
is a
very
honest,
open
site
that
works
hard
to
promote
its
own
vision
of
porn.
And
it's
only
getting
better.
JULY 2004 REVIEW
Girls Out West is an amateur photography site out of Australia:
"a wild country where nudity is the norm and freedom of sexual
expression is encouraged." Only it's not Abby this time, it's Annie. Annie X.
Yes, this site is a lot like Abby
Winters. It's not ashamed to make the connection. Annie (the
webmistress/photographer behind GOW) even refers to Abby's site as an
older sister. Other similarities are obvious: they are both Australian,
both female operated, have very similar navigation structures, and place
their emphasis on natural girls. Abby's site has slightly younger
models (read: teens), but otherwise the two sites really are kindred
spirits. More on the subtle differences later.
Given the resemblance, we thought we'd begin this review by
repeating something we said at the end of our review of Abby's site:
"Abby's focus on the natural and the normal can be almost
self-defeating. . . . Eschewing
glamour and fantasy, Abby skirts a thin line with the unerotic."
Same here. Instead of fantasy you get reality. You get nature.
Natural girls: not a lot of make-up, not a lot of sexy clothes, no
dramatized episodes. Just average-looking girls. They are supposed
to be average looking. That's what average, normal girls are. Of course
there are some cuties, but this is a site that caters to a taste for the
girl next door. The real girl next door.
Now aside from the age difference (which we didn't really notice
until it was pointed out), there are at least two ways we thought this
site differed from Abby's (aside from the obvious fact that it's not
nearly as big--it had only been going for four months when we visited).
In the first place, Annie puts a lot of emphasis on getting to know the
girls. Abby does this too, but Annie even more. A lot of the videos just
feature the girls talking (albeit there is usually some sexual context
to what they're saying). There are also "Details" given for
each model. The point of all this is to let you know these are real
people, not just some "pink bits." There's been a lot of ink
spilled about "feminist porn" or "women's porn", and
we have a hunch that this getting to know someone may be part of it.
Make no mistake, there's plenty of nudity and sexiness too, but the
desire to present the models as more than just a pretty face may be the
result of the different perspective.
The other difference we noted was that Annie seems to really like the
outdoors, which may be where the "out west" comes from. According to her bio (by the way, there's a lot of writing on
this site, and we liked it) Annie grew up on a farm.
That might be why she likes the countryside. Her bio also says she
studied "fetishes at the post graduate level" though, and we
had no idea what that meant. However, since some of us here at
Pornreports
grew up on farms and studied at the post graduate level (though not
fetish), we felt we could relate.
Along with the outdoor photography comes a drift toward
semi-public/flashing/exhibitionist stuff in the videos. These sometimes
feature bystanders ("chance encounters with toothless farmers or
wild animals") dropping by or hanging around the same area.
Otherwise what you'd normally consider fetish isn't heavily represented.
As noted, clothes aren't a big deal. There's a bit of peeing. A very
little bit of hardcore. Some toy play and girl-girl. But mostly solo
posing. The rule is whatever the girls are comfortable with. The words
"fun" and "natural" occur a lot.
Brass tacks: Site design is functional but a little dark. There's a model index, a News
page listing the latest updates, and a very full "category" index that really helps
browsing. A chance to interact with some of the girls is in the works,
but wasn't up when we dropped in.
60 models with pic sets and two new ones added every week. You can download total sets in zip format.
Most sets run around 100 pics (over 5,000 pics total). These are large,
clear and well lit (OK, when you're outside you just have to keep the
sun behind you, but you do have to watch out for shadows!). Some of the
sets seemed a bit snappy-happy, but that goes with the whole spontaneous
thing. It's not like you're getting dramatic or professional posing.
The video page had 36 movies available for download when we visited.
These all ran in the 20-40 meg range (running time 3-5 minutes). Mpeg
format. They come with very brief descriptions and single thumbnails.
This isn't enough. More thumbnails please! Even on high speed these
movies take a while to download so it's nice to see what you're getting.
Playback quality is just average. The movies themselves tend to be
informal talk and wank sessions.
Hard to grade this site. We love Abby's site, and this is clearly
very similar stuff. The production is quite good. We really enjoyed the
personality. The sort of material is not to our taste, but who can argue
taste? How do you define what porn is supposed to be, anyway? Just
something to get you off? Or is it an art, the expression of a personal
vision? Is fantasy essential to porn, and if so isn't the sort of
reality we see here (so much more real than the crowd of trashy
"reality porn" sites) its antithesis? When porn hit the
Internet it really took off in two new directions that had been
underserviced/ignored by the mainstream porn industry. One direction was
toward niche fetish. The other, exemplified by sites like Abby Winters
and Simon Scans, was
toward a celebration of naturalness. Obviously GOW is in the latter
camp. The question is whether or not all porn is essentially
fetishistic, and whether a fetish can be made of normality. Is this
porn, or just an erotic manifesto of the real?
We won't argue taste. The site is quite up-front and unabashed--nay! insistent!--on what it's all about.
We found ourselves disagreeing with a lot of it (example: bald pussy is not
about a "prepubescent look"--this is a canard of the hairy
camp), but that was fun too. The price is alright. If you've already
checked out Abby Winters and Simon Scans and you're looking for a
slightly different amateur perspective, we certainly recommend it.
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