ah yes, a pretty woman half naked, breast in silhouette, nice tone and lighting, black and white of coarse, maybe throw in a contrasting background and if your really good a bit a story behind it…. and bang you have your self a red bubble winner?
Maybe? Maybe not?
So what is it about the the lure of the female nude, has it been something forever present? What is it about the female form that attracts hordes of followers? Maybe it is phase of modern day society, am I wrong in saying that today, exploration of the female form is more prevalent than it’s male counterpart, I think of Renaissance art, ie to the statue of David, or even earlier Roman and Greek art where the male form is explored as much its opposite sex?
I too am lured by this search for the female form in this realm of art, while viewing and creating it. But, all I am trying with this journal entry is raise a few questions about why this is the way it is, your opinions are welcomed – and i wonder how many more “views” I will get because I have the word “nude” in my tags?
Sex sells I suppose.
Gino Iori, 8 months ago
Well said Adam. I must admit there is skill in taking good portrait photos – but how can you take a bad photo of a fantastically beautiful model. Do people admire the model, the artist, or both ?
1. Many other photos are “staged”. Hiring a set, actors, etc. There is nothing wrong with this I suppose. Personally, I consider this art, rather than photography.
2. We cannot all travel to exotic locations, and wait hours or days to get the perfect shot.
My personal challenge, and those of many other photographers, is to take photos of iconic places in a new way. This is very difficult when you live in cites such as Sydney, and photograph its surroundings. The Harbour Bridge and Opera House, have both been photographed a zillion times. But it is possible, to take a unique photograph that people admire and recognise – I have done it myself ! I must admit I was in the place at the right time, saw an opportunity and captured it. And to their credit, some people on Redbubble saw it and congratulated me on it. I was a newby, and only on this site for 2 weeks at the time.
Other people seem to have a gift of photographing everyday objects, in new and extraordinary ways. And to their credit, many are only using very basic compact cameras. I truly admire these people !
I am not a professional photographer. I never studied photography at school, at Uni, or a college. I taught myself buy reading some photography magazines, a few books, admiring other people’s work, and by just experimenting. I consider that I am still learning.
I am not on this site to promote my private business. I don’t think that I will ever sell any of my work on this site, and to be really honest I don’t really care. I just do photography for fun, and want to share it with others.
Ciao
Gino Iori, 8 months ago
Just for the record – I was not lured here by your title.
I noticed that you commented on the work that I uploaded yesterday ‘In Transit’, and thought that I would check out who you were, and what work was contained in your portfolio. You have some interesting and unique work.
Thank you for looking at my work and for your comment – I appreciate it !
Adam Lana, 8 months ago
Cheers for the words Gino, I guess unique is the biggest challenge that we and many other red bubblers face. Taking a cheesy shot is “easy”, but if you can take that cheesy shot in a way that no one else has, well then you are unique.
Part of the reason that I wrote that journal piece around the female nude, is that I have tentatively started to delve in to some nude photography and my main fear is not to produce a ‘cheesy’ photo, or creating a nude for the sake of the nude.
I would love you hear your thoughts on nude photography, as I have noticed your favorites are mainly landscapes. Well done on your work, maybe we will make the big bucks of our art one day ;)
Gino Iori, 8 months ago
Adam, thank you for the your kind words on my work, and for sending me a Buublemail informing me that you have replied to my entry.
I did intend to criticse people whom do nude photography. It’s not that I don’t admire the female form – but you just keep on seeing the same poses again and again. If you can come up with a new pose that is classy, and has never been done before, then you’re a genius !
I am a very open and honest person, whom wants to help others. I freely offer my advice to others when invited.
If you want to get into nude phtography, then go for it ! I know that being the gentleman that you are, you will always treat your models with the respect that they dererve, and always keep your mind on the job. If you don’t already do so, I suggest that you learn how to develop and print your own B&W work. At this point in time, digital B&W images are still not as good as film. Good B&W equipment can be found very cheap (just look on ebay). I understand that it is also getting more difficult to find labs that will develop and print B&W work. Some camera stores in Sydney do not stock B&W chemicals and paper anymore.
For me the challenges in photography are :
1. Trying to capture an instant in time that will never, and can never be reproduced.
2. To take photos of iconic places in a new way.
Good luck with what ever you decide to do.
nudemuse, 7 months ago
Thanks for letting me know about your journal. I think the nude form (male or female) is a beautiful and amazing subject. I think the key is getting past the base urges of sex and then you are free to see the huge possibilities that the nude form has. The nude can be photographed by itself (bits of itself), as a landscape, cityscape, fashion show, jewellery exhibit, fantasy figure, art, as part of music, pretty much anything you can think of (and a lot more you might not have). It is a limitless form of art.
Nude art and photography for me has always appealed to me more than any other form since I was a teenager. Even then I was drawn to images of Helmut Newton, David Bailey and the like and not the typical glamour images that most boys seem to like. I cannot put into words the exact reason, as it is more a feeling and a vision in the mind that drives one to creating art. Most of my work comes from an inner feeling and a vision that I cannot explain. Yes it is a good idea to start with an idea, setting or theme, but once you have those, let your feelings drive you. Most often I don’t think about technical aspects once the lighting has been set up. Once the technical is complete, just let your feelings drive you. I don’t often think about composition, or other things like that. I just simply look through my view finder and think, how does that make me feel? Is it a special shot? or ordinary?
I think the best one can do is follow your gut and feelings, as art lives in those parts in every one of us. How many times have you seen an image and where captured by a feeling first, then once you had time to overcome the feeling your analytical mind came to play.
Sorry it might not be much help, but I hope by looking at something through your feelings it might create that “non cheesy” photo you are after. I like your images and I think you are further along than you might realise. :)
angelfyre, 7 months ago
Hey I’ll admit it…I was attracted by the word nude. But I am a rare bird of my sex. Usually it is because I pride myself on my analytical side and I think most females, well I should say Females at least in my city are sadly lacking. Second, I think that the female form is one of the most beautiful and I am straight. Very very very straight, but it doesn’t mean I can’t look at a woman and appreciate her beauty or even the artistic look to her form. However I think that there are men out there that can also truly define beautiful. Their bodies and faces, it’s like a greek chisel was put to their face. These men I’ve seen I refer to as Renaissance good looks. But they are just as captivating in the nude as a female is. I think what you should focus on is why is it we love nudity so much? At three we’re happy to strip down to nothing and run around with everything hanging out. Only by being conditioned not to do that do we no longer think of the naked form as pure. Maybe we’ve transcended to a time when the human form is seen as dirty and I think that’s a travesty. You should photo as much of the naked human form as you can. It’s not tacky and it’s not porn. However I wouldn’t choose the most beautiful and I would also look for them to have a truly human qualtiy one you’d like to capture on film. Then it’s true art and not just because she’s beautiful naked.
Adam Lana, 7 months ago
Thanks heaps for the intelligent riposte angelfyre, I love the fact that your comments come from “Sin City” itself. I agree with the travesty that some see the human body as something to hide and something dirty, although I guess we must respect, that to some people, the body is a private temple not to be shared with the world.
Thanks for putting these thoughts into my head; on one hand you live in a city where nudity and flesh is livelihood for many people, in a city that has capitalised on the art of nudity… so is it the over selling that makes it dirty, or the people that pay to see it? Or, if everyone ran around like a nude three year old not caring about things hanging out, does the nude loose it’s lure? Sure the body is still beautiful no matter what, but is it the forbidden and private nature of nude that lures us in?
ENaLu, 7 months ago
the body as form speaks of our primitive impulse to touch and be touched,
I am mostly bored with the way the female form is treated mainly by men, of course women too, the whole gstring pointy bits shoved into your face it’s just
plain sad, empty and so limited ….... I crave some intelligent lifeforms some alchemy of light shade time twisting shapeshifting new worlds explored, it takes great skill and sometimes magic to create this…...but I believe if you truly worship the woman in front of you meditate on her energy she will show you the way, because she is the the gateway to creation , inside her is the lure that calls you, how you choose to listen and respond is the rub.
eminarsiac, 7 months ago
hey adam thx for commenting on one of the 1st of my(hopefully not one of the last) works.i decided to browse your gallery and journals just to see what kind of person would take interest in my amateur photos haha
nice topic
not sure if its the right spot for a 16yr old such as myself to”butt in”
but i think the whole concept of nudity to the average-day man/teen or even boy is completely warped
most of them arent interested in the work of the photographer nor the background of said nude model
theyre just interested in it because for some strange reason it appeals to their lust for err…well..sex
its not much different from when a 9-10 yr old boy first looks up the words sex,boobs ect just because they were curious and in my opinion somewhat lustfull and thinks looking up such words will satisfy that desire of theirs
personally as a teen i still vividly recall the days when i first learnt of these things and possessed an attraction as well as a curiosity for it.Honestly,i have personally indulged in pornography along with most of my piers but as to whether it was my lust or the pressure i got from my friends that finally drove me to try it still remains somewhat unclear and blurry.Oddly enough though,somewhere down the line the whole concept of porn,sex,nudity and anything that has any connections to those three began to lose their alure to me.Now,i think of sex as vile and dirty(maybe its just my personal and immature perception) and nudity as a lowly exposure of yourself to either seduce or entice the opposite gender.Perhaps i may develop into a homo or some form of phsychologicaly disturbed character or perhaps im just the one in a hundred people that have lost interest in this subject but either way,we cannot deny that most(not all) people look up nude pictures of the opposite gender because it somehow appeals to their basic animal desire for a sexual intercoarse.
In plain,most nude pictures are popular not because of the genius of the photographer but because of the looks of the model.However i am equally aware of people who are able to take the human body and produce masterpieces by cleverly implementing their know-how and talent in the field of photography these achievements are few and far between.
If youre still after that perfect shot you mentioned i suggest a nice model and as nudemuse mentioned,follow your gut instincts as that is where the source of inspiration for great masterpieces have often been found.
I am aware that my age and inexperience in the field of photography might mean that some of my opinons may be either incorrect or less interlectually informative and for that i apologise before hand :P
Adam Lana in reply to eminarsiac’s comment, 7 months ago
Thanks for your candid and honest reply, you are a very well spoken 16 year old. Sex, love, lust and sexuality are a very confusing subjects at someone of your age… we have all been there, and yes it does get easier. Keep up the rocking work!
Adam Lana in reply to ENaLu’s comment, 7 months ago
ah yes, let the lady do her magic, may the lens disappear and my response produce the goods.. I like, I like indeed.