black and white art nude Idaho

Sing It Louder

MODEL / KIM
PHOTOGRAPHY / JASON LEE

Idaho has such natural wonders! It is such a pleasure to get out for a hike and model shoot on a beautiful alpine lake! Kim and I hiked down to this beautiful area, formed long ago from the breaking of a volcano’s cone and now filled with crystal blue water and ancient trees. The natural setting and waterfalls inspire one to be free and whole in one’s skin – breathing in the air of God’s creation and experiencing the sun on your back – what a wonderful world we inhabit.

The More We Learn the Less We Know

MODEL / ASHLEY ROSE
PHOTOGRAPHY / JASON LEE

Ashley is an overcomer who isn’t afraid to face her challenges, organize them and tackle each one until she is victorious. We shot in an abandoned rock quarry in January — just the place for sunny, snowy, fur-lined fun photos. And she rocked it.

Nothing wrong – and lots right – with a bit of public nudity

An Excerpt from an article by the New Zealand Herald by Vera Alves
(c) New Zealand Herald

Why are we so hung up on the unclothed human body?

Does any major trauma come from seeing a stranger’s intimate body parts?
If the answer is yes, you’ve really got to start asking yourself why.


[A] woman who spotted the naked swimmers in Taupō said she was “horrified” at the sight.


We need to get horrified at horrific things – and there’s no shortage of those around. Get horrified about child cancer, sexual abuse, climate change and the threat of deadly pandemics.


Nipples and penises should be the least of your worries right now.
“But won’t someone think of the children?” I hear the Karens wonder in the deepest recesses of Facebook.


Yeah, Karen, I’m thinking of the children. The children who are soon going to be adults and grow up with some really messed up views of what bodies look like, if we keep restricting them to the bodies they see on porn sites or in fashion magazines….


This repressed and archaic view of the human body as something to be hidden and ashamed of is nothing if not a form of oppression – and there are far too many people going along with it without questioning it.
Ask yourself: why do you have such a big issue with seeing people naked?
“It’s just not right” and “it’s not the done thing” are not good enough answers.


You’ve been predisposed to think bodies need to be hidden and nakedness is wrong – but here’s the good news: you can change that way of thinking and absolutely nothing bad at all will happen. Your children will not grow up to be depraved – if anything, they might just grow up more confident and empowered – and isn’t that a risk worth taking?


Besides, you’re getting upset at the wrong thing. The problem is not nudity. The problem is the over-sexualisation of the human body, which leads to all kinds of issues. But a non-sexualised naked body – and I think we can all agree there’s nothing “sexual” about breastfeeding a child or going for a swim on a hot summer’s day – should not be a cause for concern, yet it all gets dumped in the same “lewdness” basket.


In fact, “normalising” the regular human body can be a really good thing. If our children are to grow up with healthy views of what a normal human body is, we need to shed these archaic taboos.


If your child sees someone naked, they will have natural questions. It is part of your duty as a parent to ensure you address these properly. It gives you a golden opportunity to talk to them about things like boundaries, consent and respect for others.


The human body is not immoral – stop making it so….

Beyond the Setting Sun

MODEL / Anonymous
PHOTOGRAPHY / JASON LEE

Here’s what the model wrote about our shoot:

My soul lies right between the earth and my body. Or maybe it is a mixture of the two. I was always intrigued by the human body, and was always interested in the strange argument behind why humans shame other humans for letting our bodies be free.
 
I’ve always believed that our most natural form is the most important form for us to embrace.  To completely love ourselves, we have to start from the purity of the soul, and pay close attention to the shell that it lives in, which is our bodies.
 
When I was given the opportunity to do a nude photoshoot, I wouldn’t say it’s something that had crossed my mind before. But I also saw it as an opportunity for me as a human to practice the way of life we were originally created in, as humans.
 
It will always be nerve wrecking, to do the things that society now shames us for… to do the things the world makes us think is wrong.
 
But never in my life, did I ever feel so alive, so raw, so natural.
 
Standing there, in my pure, natural form, I found my body & soul connecting more and more to the earth around me.
 
Slowly, I felt it all become ONE. I found myself sinking into the earth, as if it’s all my body had ever known. I was stripped of all the restrictions that society had me drowning in.
 
I felt free, and that’s what it’s about. It’s about finding freedom — showing  the world that our bodies are the most unharmful things. Though our minds can be corrupted, but our bodies are merely just a build up of bones, skin, fat. They are natural, they are real, & instead of being shamed and sexualized, they should be glorified for the beauty they are, and the beauty of being human.
 
We humans need to take back the one thing we have to take pride in, and it’s what we were born with, and given as a gift. These shells our souls walk in, are not to be shamed, we need to accept them with open, bare arms. We need to accept them, love them, and set them free.
 
It is a different view than what the world is used to today, but it’s the most beautiful view, from the inside and out.