Snow bunny

[ndwgolf]

Shot with the X2D II 90v in Hokkaido at minus -21 degrees. Both camera and model survived.

 

[koraks]

Thanks for posting these technically competent images of your fiancee in the snow. I think most will agree that she's a physically attractive woman who seems to have withstood the sub-zero temperatures during this (brief?) session admirably well.

These photos and others that you've posted of her before raise a some questions with me that I'm genuinely interested in. Perhaps you feel at liberty to comment, if you will. I'll try to explain.

The photos you and your fiancee make seem to me like a playful exercise in sexuality - by which I mean that the undertone is clearly (to me at least) sexual, perhaps in a kind of role-playing fashion, or at least seem to play with that concept. I find them cheerful and gleeful and I have the impression that your partner is very much at ease in front of your camera, and insofar as I can tell from the photos, there's a certain authenticity in how the two of you execute the concept. The fact that these photos are made in the context of your long-standing relationship (I recall you've been engaged to her for quite some time already?) sets them apart from visually similar images that often (but not always) have been the result of a more transactional relationship (i.e. a photographer or company hiring a model).

Now, photography in which 'playful sexuality' is exercised between partners is very common; millions of couples have engaged in it. But again, your case is different from many, in the sense that most couples do not seek to widely publish the results - often even the contrary; they want to painstakingly avoid such photos to end up in the public domain.

This raises the question with me what the role of the audience and wide-scale publication is in this photographic format for the both of you, and more specifically, what motivations you and her have for engaging a global audience in this? I imagine that those motivations/interests overlap to a certain extent, but I assume that the overlap is not complete and that some considerations are unique to either her or you. As an (amateur) photographer, I can make a reasonable guess as to what your motivations might be (although I'd still like to know since such a guess would be inherently unreliable) - on the other hand, your partner's motivations are less intuitive for me to grasp, so I'd be interested in hearing about her side of the story as well.

 

[ndwgolf]

Seems like a really big story for just a couple of photographs. That’s all they are just a couple of photos.

 

[pentaxuser]

I was expecting to see a white rabbit in the snow

pentaxuser

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

"Baby, it's cold out here."

 

[loccdor]

I can make a reasonable guess as to what your motivations might be (although I'd still like to know since such a guess would be inherently unreliable) - on the other hand, your partner's motivations are less intuitive for me to grasp, so I'd be interested in hearing about her side of the story as well.

Though people who enjoy showing their bare or mostly-bare body are rarer than those who don't, they certainly do exist and have throughout history. And I think the one group has always been hard to understand by the other. And some just don't care - my friend knew a girl who would just change all her clothes in front of you without thinking twice because I suppose she grew up without ever learning that she should feel certain parts must be hidden. It wasn't sexual for her. I guess it's just about what you're used to, including how you expect people in your culture to interact.

 

[koraks]

Seems like a really big story for just a couple of photographs. That’s all they are just a couple of photos.

Okay, shorter story - why do you guys feel compelled to share your photos? Genuinely interested.

And I think the one group has always been hard to understand by the other.

I'm not saying I don't understand. I know a whole host of possible reasons that can apply to either or both sides of the camera. I'm interested in theirs, that's all.

my friend knew a girl who would just change all her clothes in front of you without thinking twice because I suppose she grew up without ever learning that she should feel certain parts must be hidden. It wasn't sexual for her.

Goes to show - there's a massive difference between being A-OK with being naked in front of people and engaging in photography that's clearly erotic/sexual in intent. I'm not judging; just pointing out there's a difference. The former I find kind of obvious and uncomplicated; we're all naked under our clothes, big deal, who cares. We go to the sauna/spa a lot, that's naked around here. It has nothing to do with sex etc. It's just naked because it works better that way. The latter, i.e. creating & sharing photography with a personal sexual dimension, I find interesting because there's an inherent social tension and (for some) taboo involving sexuality, so I find it interesting when people challenge that status quo esp. if it somehow relates to their own relationship and private lives. That's a dimension that generally doesn't underlie the center folds.

Besides, I'm part of the audience. As such, I play a role in this exchange. Can I ask questions from that perspective? I sure hope so.