House Party

[description: clone shot featuring 11 nude figures scattered throughout the rooms of an apartment]

I spent a whole day working on this photo. I do believe it breaks my record for number of clones in one shot, previously set (if I'm not mistaken) by Harem no Jutsu [link to DeviantArt], which featured seven clones. I had planned on using ten clones for this shot, but managed to squeeze in an eleventh at the last minute. I used the nonstandard layout of the apartment to my advantage, although I got quite the workout running back and forth across the length of the apartment for those farthest clones. Anyone who doesn't think photography is work, is clearly not a photographer. Thinking back on some of my earliest clone shots [broken link], it was just point and shoot. But that was seven years ago, when I was still green, and excited just to see a representation of myself in a picture. Nowadays, I'm determined to take pictures with interesting poses, that show off the model's body in the most flattering way. Which is particularly hard, when you're a self-portrait photographer. But I've gone into all that before.

I started out with the intention of shooting all of the clones in such a manner as to obscure any so-called "hardcore nudity" - if only just to gain the advantage of potentially being able to show off the shot in wider contexts, but after eleven clones, I started running out of pose ideas, and I didn't want to have them all looking the same. I haven't lost any of my enthusiasm for those "hardcore nudity" shots (which will be obvious to anyone following my work), but there's something to be said for the "implied" or "near" nude approach. The suggestion is thrilling, and where you perhaps can't go exposing yourself wholesale in the public square, you might just be able to get away with drawing a larger audience to a chaster exhibition, while still managing to be titillating. It's one of those strategic tricks where if you go too far, they'll put you in the "adult" category and prevent as many people as they can from seeing your work, but even if you have to compromise on your vision a little to reach mainstream audiences, it'll just be that much more effective in potentially opening new minds.

Not that so-called "self-censorship" will ever be a legitimate substitute for free speech in my mind, but I consider it another tool to toss in my toolbox, that has its time and place. There's no reason whatsoever that the following two images can't both exist simultaneously, just as long as the one isn't necessarily precluding the existence of the other:

[description: two nude shower portraits - a man with a towel, and a man bent over the tub exposed]

A Few Photos

Happy Friday the 13th!

[description: portrait of a nude man sitting on a chair, with a Pringles can between his legs]

Inspired by a photo I saw on deviantART [NSFW]. In the "non-nude" tradition of showing as much as absolutely possible, while not going "all the way". Also, I thought the shape of the Pringles can was humorously suggestive.

[description: two nude figures sit on a couch, one relaxed and the other reserved]

Conversations With A Nudist, Part 3 - The Conversion. Because you knew it was inevitable. Be sure and check out Part 1 and Part 2, as well.

[description: a clothed figure shares a couch with a nude man displaying an erection]

Casual chat on the couch. Only after I took this shot did I realize it's a variation on a theme I've been enamored with going back at least to this shot from 2010 [broken link], and even earlier. I learned a long time ago that nudity is more stark when contrasted with a dressed figure, and the same is true of erotic subjects. Masturbating alone in private is one thing, but the suggestion of a figure doing so in the presence of others (or, in this case, being so comfortable as to sit completely open-legged with a hard-on) is even more exciting - especially if the other figure treats it casually like it's no big deal, instead of pandering to the stereotype of exhibitionists shocking innocent prudes. Images like this one concoct a fantasy utopia where people aren't afraid of human sexuality, enabling the viewer to let his imagination run wild.

[description: b/w portrait of a nude man standing erect in a brightly backlit kitchen]

And here's a shot I've been sitting on from a couple months back, that I keep coming back to. I really like it. It's one of those shots where you look at it and you have to admit that even with the blatant eroticism suggested by the erection, it's a beautiful and artistic portrait. How could anyone be offended by this? It's not vulgar. It's not disgusting. It's a compelling affirmation of life.