Past & Present

I've been a little behind on my "year end festivities" this year - not that there's any rush. As you may be familiar with by now (if you've been paying attention :p), at the end of every year I like to go through all the photos I took throughout the previous year, and post a selection of the best of them in the gallery on my webpage. It's growing into a pretty formidable portfolio for me, and while it's getting pretty large now that I'm entering my eighth year as a serious nude/erotic photographer, I like that it shows my progression through the years as my equipment has improved and I've gained experience, and I've visited and revisited different themes in my photography.

So here are some links you should be familiar with (although consider yourself ahead of the curve if you're reading this, as most people seem to have trouble even locating my blog):

My main photography page: http://zharth.net/photos/index.html
My erotic photography page (which can be accessed from the previous link): http://zharth.net/erotica/main.html
My erotic photography gallery (which, also, can be accessed from the previous link): http://zharth.net/erotica/gallery.php
Here are the specific pages for this past year's photography: http://zharth.net/erotica/gallery.php?galleryName=2014a and http://zharth.net/erotica/gallery.php?galleryName=2014b

Also, there are some stray images in my nudist gallery, which I like to post separately for the benefit of those who may be enlightened enough to be able to appreciate nude photography, but are still a bit squeamish about human sexuality. You can find that here: http://zharth.net/photos/nudist/gallery.php (the new images are on pages 5 and 6).

In other news, here are a couple of fun (brand new!) pictures of me getting cheeky in the car on a cold January day, wearing nothing underneath my warm winter coat:

"What seems to be the problem, officer?"

A Whiter Shade

Here are some of the results from my first photoshoot of the new year! I don't know if you would call these images "high key" (I don't have a technical background in photography) or just overexposed, but I thought the ultra-bright lighting just worked gorgeously here. Actually, maybe it's because the technique is abused by amateurs, but I generally think "high key" photographs look horrendous. But in this case it's just a very bright, white-heavy form of black and white, and it looks great - soft, rather than harsh.

We'll start, however, with a regular dark shot to serve as contrast to the rest of the series:

It's funny that, when I think back, my nude/erotic photography hobby started out in the dark. Because of the taboo and generally unconventional nature of the subject, I kept it largely a secret at first. I wasn't living in my own home, and so most of my photography captured nighttime scenes, when most normal people hole themselves away in their homes and bedrooms and sleep. Whether lit ominously indoors, or using long exposures outside in the dark, my photography was frequently characterized by shadow.

But over the past several years, I've gradually come out of the dark and stepped into the light of day. The nature of my photography is still as taboo as ever (which makes it hard to get outside as much as I'd like), but I'm no longer living a nocturnal lifestyle, and I am in fact currently living in an apartment with large windows that gets a ton of bright, morning sunlight.

I am a 24 hour nudist now (at least at home, when there aren't guests over), and I can pull my camera out and take pictures any time of the day I want, without having to be sneaky about it (as long as I'm in the apartment, at least). It's a testament to the transformation I've undergone (such as it is) that I can take photos like these, that feature such an overabundance of light that it nearly drowns out my body!

Outfit of the Day (Reprise)

A couple months ago I posted an outfit of the day that consisted solely of me wearing a heavy winter jacket (and boots) - with nothing at all underneath - to the mall. I did not, at the time, get a picture of what was underneath, but I have finally rectified that oversight. I've worn that outfit several times over the winter, and probably will again before the spring comes to thaw everything out. Obviously, I can't wear it if I'm planning to, say, sit down at a restaurant and take my jacket off (!), but just for driving around in the car and walking through stores, it's perfectly sufficient (and no more revealing than outfits other people wear all the time - especially during the summer).

Much as I would have liked to have torn my jacket open and taken a picture in front of the mirror in the middle of the store, the fact that I may be a sexual "deviant" does not mean I am oblivious to the concerns of social propriety, and whatever thrill the public exposure might give me, it would, honestly, pale in comparison to the terror of potentially offending someone severely, and the repercussions of such an act. Therefore, there are not a lot of places where I can safely document what I am (not) wearing underneath my coat. One of those places is the fitting room. Another is the rest room, as you can see here:

Try This On For Size

I'm thinking I should make this a regular feature here on this blog. It's related to the Outfit of the Day posts, but instead of outfits I own that I've chosen to wear, this will be clothes I've tried on in the fitting room, whether I end up buying them or not, since that's something I enjoy doing whenever I get the chance.

I don't do as much clothes shopping in the winter, and don't enjoy it as much when I do, because naturally I gravitate towards the sexier, skimpier clothing that's more commonplace during the summer. But every so often the opportunity to try something on will present itself, even in the winter - and, if I had to be honest, though it's considerably more of a chore, the more layers I'm wearing, the more exciting it is having an excuse to strip them off in a semi-public context.

Well, I was browsing the racks today when I came across an attractive pink dress. While we're pretty far removed from both the Homecoming and prom seasons, it occurred to me that we're more or less smack dab in the middle of "winter formal" season! Regardless, there are usually a few prom-like dresses hanging around even out of season, and when I laid eyes on this one, I knew I had to try it on.

These boots give this dress a bit of attitude.

On the up side, it's one of those sexy, ruffled tube-type dresses, which means it doesn't have a non-elastic cinched waist, which is where I frequently find myself having trouble fitting into the dress. That wasn't a problem here. Unfortunately, on the other hand, I wasn't able to fit the arm straps around my wide shoulders, instead. There were only two of these dresses on the racks - one small and one medium; if there had been a large, I would have bought it up in an instant. Alas, my search for the perfect prom dress continues...

In Praise of Two Authors

Happy New Year, blog followers! I haven't posted in a little while. I've been dealing with the stress of the holidays (that are finally over!), and am just getting over the flu. So I haven't been feeling particularly attractive (enough to want to pose for pictures), and I'm least inspired during the winter months anyway, when it's cold and everybody's all huddled up, covering their bodies under layers of clothing. But I've been reading some great stuff, and I wanted to point out two authors who've written on subjects relevant to this blog, and who I think deserve much praise.

The first is Nancy Friday, a sex-positive feminist who has published several books since the 1970s. I recently read her first book, My Secret Garden, which is largely a collection of women's various sexual fantasies. I tell you, it's enlightening, and incredibly liberating to hear women talk so frankly about their own sexual desires and fantasies. Friday's book is not a scientific survey like Kinsey's was, but it is nevertheless refreshing to hear anecdotes from women who think about sex in ways they're not supposed to, and who defy cultural stereotypes.

I love Kinsey and his work, but this is the one perspective most lacking from his studies, and I would have loved to have heard his reaction to women's sexual liberation, had he lived long enough to experience it. This book confirms that - although every woman is an individual with unique attitudes and aptitudes with regard to sex - there are women who are at least as psychologically stimulated by sex as men: women who fantasize about sex - even very perverted things like rape and bestiality and incest; women who are actually turned on by pornography; women who look at men's bodies the way men look at women's bodies.

It's a huge step forward in equalizing the sexual playing field between men and women and it's concerning that although this book was first published in 1973 - though we have come a long way since then - it still feels somewhat shocking and taboo, which is a testament to how enduring those pesky conservative stereotypes about women's sexuality are. It's also nice in that, being a product of the '70s, it's free (at least to a point) from some of the modern day rhetoric surrounding acceptable and unacceptable sexual fantasies.

The author also includes a scathing introduction that condemns the hypocrisy of all strains of feminism that seek to oppress women's sexuality. But though the author's comments and contributions are welcome, the best part of this book is that it's not about psychoanalyzing women's fantasies, but merely documenting them in the various women's own words. I haven't read any of Nancy Friday's other books yet (although I've got my eye on a few), but this one alone is worth putting on my nonexistent mandatory reading list for all sex-positive progressives.

The other author I'd like to bring to your attention is one Marty Klein, who is actually a prominent sex therapist, with lots of experience counseling couples, giving talks to promote sexual literacy, and even serving as an expert witness in free speech trials. He has a number of books published on various sexual topics, but the one that speaks to me most is America's War on Sex, which lucidly clarifies the battle lines in what is an attack on the principles the United States were founded on (as enumerated in the Constitution, particularly the first amendment) by the moral conservatives who use their discomfort with sex as an excuse to push their oppressive agenda.

It's amazing how pervasive the moralistic dogma of the religious right is, that even normal everyday citizens buy into the shame surrounding normal sexual behavior, and go along with all the false information in the media about the evils of pornography, prostitution, masturbation, contraception, comprehensive sex education, and so on. You hear it everywhere you go, and so it is genuinely refreshing to read from someone who doesn't buy into all that crap. That's what I try to be, right here on my blog, and wherever I share my nude and erotic photography.

And if you don't feel like buying a book, you can read a whole lot of Marty Klein's writing on his own blog, Sexual Intelligence, which I've recently added to my sidebar of recommended blogs. I honestly couldn't praise it too highly - this is stuff I feel like I'd have written, if I had the experience and training and professional standing that Dr. Klein has, and it's so in tune with my feelings and beliefs that if you like what I write, and what I stand for, I think you'll enjoy reading through some of it. This is a guy I'd want on my side in the fight for sexual liberation.