nude photography - beautiful dawn
When your eyes meet with hers, she doesn't overt her eyes or dissolve in a protective smile - she pierces you with her blue eyes and stares into your soul.
It felt creepy the first time I experienced it, but at the same time it was intriguing. It was honest and because of that uncomfortable. It was a real way of connecting with her.
When I ask her if she would be interested in posing nude for me, she agrees.
The creek is loud and fast, carrying stirred up sediment and days' worth of rain. As we walk through the forest, she explains that her life alternates in two week intervals between the city and the woods.
When we get to the spot, she quickly undresses and starts crossing the creek to get over to one of the giant boulders to which I point. She moves gracefully, like a panther, and confidently - this is not her first time wading in the turbulent creek.
I watch her as if spellbound and when she stands up in the clearing, with soft light of an overcast sky illuminating the entire scene, she looks like a statue carved out of white marble. Her skin is so luminescent, it looks like she glows from within. She lifts her arms up to the sky and screams. There is no sound but the sound of the roaring water and her howl that the creek carries away with it. This, by far, has been one of the most powerful nude photoshoots that I have had.
My desire to pursue nude photography was born out of my own insecurities. I envied the freedom my husband had in his body when he would get out of the shower and parade around the house naked. Maybe it was a mating ritual, or a way to seduce me, but the way he carried himself was something I could never do.
I was jealous of the acceptance he had for his body, his not having the need to hide.
As I dug deeper into why that freedom was not available to me, I uncovered tons of shame about nudity, my body plus all the insecurities and dissatisfaction about my body that I’ve picked up from magazines, television, friends and family while growing up. I thought that I might not be the only one who feels this way. I got curious about how I could heal that. And that’s how the idea for an artistic nude photography project started (I talk in more detail about it in this story).
This journey started ten years ago. It has evolved and took me to places I didn’t even know existed. I met this amazing girl Katie who invited me to a photograph a nude Goddess Gathering that she was hosting. Katie found me on Instagram and we instantly clicked. She introduced me to her home at Sunsport Gardens Naturist Resort where she was living in a teal colored school bus and opened my eyes to the world of naturism I never knew existed.
I started seeking out places where I could be free and nude in nature. This month, for the first time in my life I visited a nude beach in South Florida. I am a regular visitor at Sunsport Gardens Naturist Resort, and I must tell you, the way I see and relate to my body is changing. I started creating artistic nude self-portraits of myself as a way to heal and that has been a powerful experience. I would be lying to you if I said that I one hundred percent accept and love myself, but I am definitely way better than I was years ago.
If you want to get closer to my world of creating self-portraits, artistic nude photography art, and naturism adventures, I invite you to join The Bliss Circle. The Bliss Circle is an art patronage community of people who want to support my art through different levels of monthly contribution. By becoming a patron, you get a more intimate look at my creative process, behind-the-scenes look at my photoshoots, and photo and video stories of naturism adventures. The topics I explore are self-acceptance, visibility, self-expression, creativity and connection to nature. The Bliss Circle gives you a closer look at the art that is not shared publicly, and allows me the opportunity to continue creating art.