Ajaye

One of my favorite sources of lighting and shooting locations are windows. Window light is an excellent, free light source. As an indoor light source, it can achieve the same effects as much bigger, more expensive lighting equipment. A large window is essentially a huge softbox. The earliest photography studios didn’t use fancy electric lighting. They just used big windows.

Freikörperkultur

The abbreviation FKK comes from the German word "Freikörperkultur". It roughly translates to Free Body Culture. It endorses a natural approach to sports and community living. Behind that is the joy of the experience of nature or also of being nude itself, without a direct relationship to sexuality. The German nudist movement was the first worldwide and marked the start of an increased acceptance of public nudity in Germany. Some of the early pioneers of FKK were avant-garde intellectuals in the late 19th century who wanted to challenge the uptight Victorian morals of mainstream society, while other proponents advocated a more natural, healthier lifestyle, at a time when the syphilis-ridden working classes lived in cramped, squalid conditions.

FFK still very much exists, but these days anyone who runs around naked in public in Germany risks a fine because of the administrative offense "harassing the general public". At bathing lakes or beaches, however, nudity is now tolerated almost everywhere and has become the normal appearance. Nudity also occurs in places such as a closed off nudist campsite. Hence, there are signs posting "Naturist activities only in fenced terrain". So now you know what is going on in this particular diorama— enjoy!

Finger Self-Portrait with HO Scale Miniaturplastiken Nudist Figure

Accessories for HO scale train sets include figures of all kinds from railroad workers to nudists, because what train set would be complete without a nudist colony? I hid the face at the request of the model...

Ash

I'm a ridiculously harsh critic... of others work. Judging by how quickly I can dismiss work that is very similar to my own, I can only assume that if I came across all of my own work without knowing that it was mine (photographic amnesia?) I would probably only be drawn to a few images. I'm pretty sure that I only like my own work as much as I do because it's a form of navel-gazing. I often feel that I'm pursuing styles that I'm going to really dislike in the future. I say this for a few good reasons. When I come across someone working in a rather similar vein I'll say to myself things like "it's too much HDR... too much Photoshop... too much re-touching"— even though I'm perhaps utilizing the same amount. Ouch. It's probably the psychological effect of not being able to objectively look at yourself or your own work. I often wish that I could step outside of myself, temporarily possessing an analogous but different mind that could be more objective. If everybody could do that, it would most likely have an amazing effect on humanity...

Sonia

"I like myself better naked. I don't mean that in a vain way... When you put clothes on, you immediately put a character on. Clothes are adjectives, they are indicators. When you don't have any clothes on, it's just you, raw, and you can't hide." ~Padma Lakshmi

Ajaye

I've always been fascinated with the idea of creating a large body of work dedicated to just close-ups of O-faces. The idea that of representing something very intimate, yet not really explicit at all, yet at the same time very genuine & erotic is an appealing challenge to me. The range of expressions that one sees in O-faces is compelling as well– everything from serene, to sexy, to even grotesque. It's a psychological smorgasbord!

Ajaye

I love the simplicity of this— it took about a minute to do this rope tie.

Ajaye

"I think a scarf is the most versatile item. It's good to wrap around yourself when you're cold or have someone tie you up with it. I love scarves." ~Martha Stewart

Izzy

Izzy is a photographer who happens to model for me on occasion. Izzy is her nickname. All of her work is erotic, and she is very good at it. We share a strong affinity for photography, which certainly helps with shooting together. Or perhaps it's just that she likes to take her clothes off. Seriously. She even likes to be undressed when behind the camera.

These two images show a shibari rope bra, a bit tight. I've noticed from some commentary that people either love this image, or they are upset by it. Those upset seem to feel that it disturbing to treat someone's breasts like this. While I admit that it is an extreme use of rope work, the fact is that this was her idea and she apparently enjoyed every minute of it. She certainly does not have a look of anguish in her facial expression. I think this may be a good example of how something comes across versus reality can be two very different things...

 

Li & Carl

"What I have tried to do is involve the people I was photographing... if they were willing to give, I was willing to photograph." ~Eve Arnold

Jade Vixen

$20 IKEA rug paired with very expensive 1940's vintage lingerie.

Nancy

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"  ~Leonardo da Vinci

Meira & Mara

This is an older shot that I've re-worked from scratch. There were some details that I think I overworked, and some details that I added which I now think were unnecessary. Sometimes it takes me a few years to realize that I didn't get it right the first time. Actually, it often takes me a few years to realize mistakes, and I rarely get it right the first time.

Ellen

This is a shameless homage to Edward Weston's Pepper #30, which has long been one of my favorite inspirations.

Natalie

Film had/has this thing called grain, and while back in the day some photographers hated it— most accepted it, if not embraced it. I tend to use either a film that had little visible grain or went with the opposite— employing & loving something with a serious grain (I would actually amplify it in the darkroom). Film has always had imperfections that are easy to embrace. Since the beginning of digital, noise has sort of been the equivalent of film's grain, but almost no one has embraced it— mostly because it lacks the inherent charm of film grain. The holy grail has been pristine quality, despite the fact that quality like that has never been necessary for artistic ambitions— commercial ambition, yes, but not necessarily creative ones. Ironically, we’re starting to get to a place in digital photography where we’re becoming less obsessed with megapixels and more fascinated with “look.” Camera sensors from different companies each reproduce subjects in a unique way, and to many photographers, that’s starting to matter more than how many pixels are crammed into their cameras.

Vox Serene

I've always been a fan of the extreme low-angle shot. A low angle shot of a person is one photographed from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up. Utilizing an extreme version, it can even as far as from below the subject's feet. Psychologically, the effect of the low-angle shot is that it makes the subject look strong and powerful. The downside is, well, it's a hard shot to get right. It's often not flattering or looks amateurish. Also, frankly, it's not really comfortable to shoot for long that way. The trick is to keep moving, looking and slightly changing up the angle until you finally see it working. Typically I can never really know if an image is successful until after editing— but with a low angle, you usually know it right away, because it will pack a punch. That is the upside.

Emily

This is a serious re-cropping, as well as a re-working, of an image that I posted a couple of years ago.

Izzy

These were single shots from the past (and posted as such a few years ago), that I shot consecutively and always meant to treat as a diptych... it just took me about ten years to get around to it.

Jezz

"In the beginning, it was all black and white"  ~Maureen O'Hara

Natalie

In real life, we typically have a brief amount of time to see things, then we move on. But photographs aren’t reality, they’re an illusion. So I get closer, and explore, and make up my own story. To really understand something, we need to sit still and get close. Really close.